Commedia dell'Arte

Some info from Wiki:

Commedia dell'Arte (Italian: "the comedy of art") is a form of improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century and held its popularity through the 18th century, although it is still performed today. Performances were unscripted, held outside, and used few props. They were free to watch, funded by donations. A troupe consisted of ten people: seven men and three women. Outside Italy the form was also known as "Italian Comedy".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commedia_dell

YouTube links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP3ruJiklkk&feature=PlayList&p=143D207D7C6C615D&index=0&playnext=1 Commedia Dell'Arte screener - Contemporary Arts Media
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RBmE9ldaZE Pulcinella's war -Antonio Fava & Merve Engin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqI0EqaXvWI Commedia Dell'Arte with Baroque Dance

Physical Theatre Essay - Due: 03-09-09

Physical Theatre Essay Due: 03-09-09!!!
• Write 500 words on one style of physical theatre using notes from class and further research. One class a week will be allocated to working on the essay. Mondays in Library: 17th 24th 31st August. Please line up at library.
• The essay MUST be in your own words! Use ‘quotations’ if you use excerpts from texts or when quoting a theatre practitioner, include footnotes or brackets to reference source of quote. (Max of 2 quotes only).
• Bibliography: Provide a list of resources used (websites, footnotes, books, mention class handouts used, etc)
Submit via e-mail only. ICT component will be assessed, including your individual contribution to the Yr 10 Drama Blogs on Physical Theatre.
• This piece is graded and will appear on the report. Use rubrics as a check list.
Due: Thurs 03-09-09.

carlymarotous@hotmail.com
http://gpsc10drama.blogspot.com

You will be marked on...

1. Overall essay structure, spelling grammar, word count.
2. Understanding of chosen theatrical style, essay expressed in own words & use of quotations.
3. ICT, submission of essay via e-mail & contribution to blog on topic.
4. Bibliography / list of sources.
5. Effective use of class time allocated to assessment.

TOPICS: Noh / No (masked performance), Banraku (Puppetry), Butoh (Freaky painted white bald guys that move in slow-mo), Kabuki (Japanese dance & song), Tadashi Suzuki (foot stamping exercise guy).

Interest fact: 1603–1629
Female performers played both men and women in comic playlets about ordinary life.
Since kabuki was already so popular, young male actors, known as wakashu (or sometimes oyama), took over after women were banned from performing. These young men could take the role of women due to their less masculine appearance and higher pitched voices in comparison to adult men.

Ensemble Performance

Please post a contribution to our group performance using inspiration from the many Japanese theatre styles we have looked at this term, such as: Kabuki, Noh, Banraku, Suzuki etc. You can google any of these and there are plenty of youtube videos out there just waiting to be ripped off! :-) Get creative, non-naturalistic and have fun! Feel free to post a link to any info or vids you find inspiring. M.

Ensemble Performance

Ok, so I have a massive lesson planned. We will begin to devise our ensemble (group) performance. We will be using selected dialogue from the play Macbeth. I'm hoping we can incorporate the physical theatre techniques we've developed thus far with these lines and maybe some music. The scene from Macbeth that we will be using is the famous 'Sleepwalking' scene where Lady Macbeth reveals a little too much information about having murdered old King Duncun to speed up the process of her husband Macbeth becoming King. It is a powerful moment in the play and the indisputably best ever portrayal of this role is by Judy Dench (1979).

Shakespeare: "Macbeth" (Judi Dench) - sleepwalking scene

Non-Realism

Non-realism was a dramatic movement that emerged in 1885 and signaled the beginning of modern theatre.
Artists reacted against representing the natural world on stage.
Modernism could be seen emerging, especially in the visual arts as abstract paintings and sculptures appeared.
Playwrights and directors began to use non-realistic forms and styles in their plays such as Symbolism, Dreams and Subconscious, Expressionism, Futurism and Dada.

YOUTUBE links - please watch some of the following clips.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) - Full Movie
The Blind by Maeterlinck PT 1 Directed by Neil Smith

Please see me to get the rest of the notes from today's lesson (27-07-09)

Don't forget to comment about last lesson's practical task under the ViewPoints entry.

Viewpoints

Viewpoints is a technique of improvisation that provides a vocabulary for thinking about and acting upon movement and gesture. Originally developed in the 1970s by choreographer Mary Overlie, The Viewpoints theory was adapted for stage acting by directors Anne Bogart and Tina Landau. Overlie's Six Viewpoints include: space, story, time, emotion, movement, and shape.

...

Integration/Isolation
• All of the different elements influence each other and work together, and can "cause" a change in a different element. For example, the shape of your body may carry a certain emotion with it as well - something in the space of your environment may make a story out of what you are doing - etc.
• The actors must focus first on the isolation of each separate viewpoint element on its own, before integrating and working them all together. It's often that a performer finds one of the elements comes naturally, and perhaps uses that one element they really understand to access the other elements, which they must work to become more familiar with.


Please see me for extended version if you were away on Wednesday's class and missed the work I set to copy out. If you haven't copied out all of teh info into your books, please do so as it will help with our written assessment...coming soon.

Physical Theatre - Board notes - 15-07-09

Physical Theatre
Physical theatre is a general term used to describe any mode of performance that pursues storytelling through primarily physical means. There are several quite distinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre" such as:Dance, Puppetry, Noh, Kabuki, Butoh and Tadashi Suzuki’s actor-training method.

Physical theatre may utilize pre-existing text, but the primary focus is on the physical work of the actors, expressed through the use of their bodies. It is a highly visual form of theatre. The action in physical theatre may have a psychological base, or symbolic resonance, or point to an emotional centre, or have a clear storyline, or any combination of the above, and it may grow out of codified forms, improvisational work, or invented gestural language among other means of creation. However, the means of expression are always primarily physical rather than textual.

Further reading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_theatre

Tadashi Suzuki
Tadashi Suzuki is the founder and director of the Suzuki Company of Toga(SCOT), Chairman of the Japan Performing Arts Foundation (JPAF), Artistic Director of the Shizuoka Performing Arts Center (SPAC), and the creator of the Suzuki Method of Actor-Training.

[Please ensure you have a copy of excerpt from The Way Of Acting by Tadashi Suzuki]

A preview of what's to come...

Welcome to Yr 10 Drama!

Welcome to technology in the Drama classroom! This blog will enable you to follow the year 10 Drama course, enabling you to post feedback on classes and personal experiences, as well as comment on other classmate's work. All content must be subject related and the abuse of other students will not be tolerated. As the administrator, I have the ability to monitor and moderate any comments that do not follow these terms. This is about encouraging each other, using technology and accessing information to further your educucation.
Have fun!

A REMINDER TO PLEASE USE YOUR FIRST NAME IN YOUR USERNAME FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES!