The Creative Spirit: An Introduction to Theatre
, by Arnold, Stephanie- ISBN: 9780073514147 | 0073514144
- Cover: Paperback
- Copyright: 2/6/2007
Stephanie Arnold teaches acting, directing, and dramatic literature including a special topics course in Latino Theatre. The productions she has directed include works by classical and contemporary playwrights as well as musicals and opera. She is currently at work on the fifth edition of her textbook, The Creative Spirit: An Introduction to Theatre, which is published by McGraw-Hill and in use at colleges and universities around the country. She has recently returned from leading the Lewis & Clark College off campus study program to New York City.
Preface | p. xxi |
The Nature of Theatre | p. 1 |
The Impulse to Perform | p. 3 |
Personal Performance | p. 5 |
Community Performance | p. 5 |
Ritual Performance among the Hopi | p. 8 |
Kachina Performances | p. 8 |
The Hopi Performer | p. 8 |
Performance as Community Obligation | p. 10 |
Professional Performance: Four Stories | p. 10 |
Bill Irwin: Physical Humor | p. 10 |
Anna Deavere Smith: The Power of Words | p. 12 |
Neil Marcus: Storyteller and Dancer | p. 13 |
Frances McDormand: Creation of Character | p. 15 |
Why They Perform | p. 17 |
Summary | p. 20 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 20 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 20 |
Theatre and Society | p. 23 |
The Power of the Theatre | p. 24 |
Society and Aesthetic Expression | p. 25 |
The Collective and Public Nature of Theatre | p. 26 |
Theatre as a Social Force | p. 26 |
Theatre and Religious Festivals | p. 27 |
The Greek Theatre: Athens, Fifth Century B.C.E. | p. 28 |
The Origin of Greek Theatre in the Worship of Dionysus | p. 28 |
Medea | p. 30 |
Staging Conventions | p. 31 |
The Medieval Mystery Cycle | p. 35 |
Staging and Production: A Community Endeavor | p. 36 |
Aesthetic Expression: A Shared, Sacred Language | p. 36 |
The Role of the Mystery Cycles in Medieval Society | p. 37 |
The Professional Theatre | p. 38 |
The Elizabethan Theatre | p. 39 |
The Theatre in Society | p. 39 |
The Nature of Elizabethan Drama | p. 40 |
William Shakespeare | p. 41 |
Elizabethan Staging | p. 43 |
Acting in Elizabethan Dramas | p. 45 |
The Beijing Opera of China | p. 45 |
A Formal Society | p. 46 |
Playwrights and Plays | p. 46 |
A Language of Gesture | p. 47 |
Acting and Staging | p. 48 |
The Beijing Opera and the Communist Revolution | p. 50 |
Theatre as a Mirror of Society | p. 51 |
Theatre and Social Change | p. 52 |
The Sustaining Power of the Theatre: Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo | p. 55 |
Summary | p. 57 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 58 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 58 |
The Nature of Performance: The Theatre Practitioners | p. 61 |
The Playwright's Vision | p. 63 |
Looking at Joe Turner's Come and Gone | |
Exploring the Text of Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 66 |
Plot and Characters: A Meeting of Two Worlds | p. 67 |
Historical and Cultural Contexts of the Play | p. 68 |
Theatre as History | p. 69 |
The Aftermath of Slavery: Peonage and Sharecropping | p. 69 |
Migration to the North | p. 69 |
The Metaphor of the Road | p. 70 |
The Oral Tradition | p. 71 |
The Playwright's Sources | p. 71 |
Bessie Smith and Romare Bearden | p. 71 |
Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket | p. 73 |
Folk Sources and W. C. Handy | p. 73 |
The Complete Text of Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 76 |
Producing Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 115 |
The Construction of Meaning Through Collaboration | p. 115 |
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival | p. 115 |
The Actors at Work | p. 116 |
Understanding the Play | p. 116 |
The Rehearsal Process | p. 117 |
Physical Characterization | p. 119 |
Staging the Juba | p. 120 |
Drumming and Dancing | p. 120 |
Text and Verbal Improvisation | p. 121 |
The Meaning of the Juba | p. 122 |
Expanding the Stage Image: The Work of the Designers | p. 123 |
The Set Design | p. 124 |
The Costume Design | p. 125 |
The Lighting Design | p. 126 |
Conclusion: History and Meaning in Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 127 |
The Quest for Self | p. 127 |
Family and Inheritance: The Way from the Past to the Future | p. 128 |
Summary | p. 129 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 129 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 130 |
The Art of the Actor | p. 133 |
The Presence of the Actor | p. 134 |
The Actor's Craft | p. 136 |
The Work of the Actor | p. 138 |
Competing for Roles: The Audition | p. 138 |
Preparing for the Role | p. 140 |
The Rehearsal Process | p. 141 |
Approaches to Acting | p. 146 |
The Internal Approach | p. 146 |
The External Approach | p. 147 |
Acting Cordelia in King Lear | p. 148 |
Gestural Acting | p. 150 |
The Performance | p. 153 |
Theatre and Film | p. 154 |
Becoming an Actor | p. 155 |
Summary | p. 156 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 157 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 157 |
The Director | p. 159 |
The History of the Director | p. 160 |
The Director and the Development of Realism | p. 160 |
The Director and the Determination of Style | p. 163 |
The Visionary Director: Jerzy Grotowski | p. 164 |
Ping Chong | p. 166 |
Approaches to Directing | p. 170 |
The Director at Work | p. 171 |
Choosing the Play | p. 171 |
The Director's Initial Response to the Play | p. 173 |
Creating Metaphors | p. 173 |
Working With the Actors | p. 175 |
Casting | p. 175 |
Nontraditional Casting | p. 176 |
The Work Environment | p. 176 |
Improvisation | p. 177 |
Staging the Play | p. 178 |
Focus | p. 178 |
Spatial Composition and Character Development | p. 180 |
Rhythm and Pacing | p. 180 |
Preparing the Play for Performance | p. 181 |
The Director's Training | p. 182 |
Summary | p. 183 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 184 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 184 |
The Designers | p. 187 |
StageCraft and the Theatre | p. 189 |
The Theatrical Space | p. 190 |
The Proscenium Theatre | p. 191 |
Thrust, Arena, and Black Box Stages | p. 191 |
The Implications of Theatre Architecture for Designers | p. 191 |
Three-Dimensional Space | p. 194 |
Meetings and Interactions | p. 195 |
The History of Scene Design | p. 198 |
Scene Design Today | p. 200 |
Designing The Grapes of Wrath | p. 200 |
Costume Design | p. 203 |
Stylistic Unity | p. 204 |
The Psychology of Character | p. 205 |
The Costume Designer and the Actor | p. 207 |
Lighting Design | p. 208 |
The History of Light in the Theatre | p. 209 |
The Lighting Designer's Materials | p. 209 |
Conceptualizing with Light | p. 210 |
The Light Plot and Light Cues | p. 211 |
Visibility | p. 211 |
Focus | p. 212 |
Mood and Atmosphere | p. 212 |
The Rhythm of Light | p. 212 |
The Growing Prominence of Sound Design | p. 213 |
The Integration of Sound into the Production Process | p. 213 |
The Sound Designer's Materials | p. 213 |
Environmental Sound and Sound Reinforcement | p. 215 |
Summary | p. 215 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 216 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 217 |
The Musical Theatre | p. 219 |
Origins of Musical Theatre in America | p. 220 |
The Broadway Theatre | p. 221 |
Oklahoma! | p. 221 |
West Side Story | p. 223 |
My Fair Lady | p. 224 |
Cabaret | p. 226 |
Stephen Sondheim | p. 228 |
A Chorus Line | p. 230 |
New Directions for the Musical Theatre | p. 232 |
Savion Glover and Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk | p. 232 |
Jonathan Larson and Rent | p. 234 |
Julie Taymor and The Lion King | p. 235 |
Susan Stroman and Contact | p. 238 |
Summary | p. 240 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 241 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 241 |
The Nature of Style: Realism and Theatricalism | p. 243 |
Understanding Style: Realism | p. 245 |
Introduction to Realism | p. 246 |
"Realistic Elements in Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 246 |
Realism in Film | p. 247 |
Origins of Realism | p. 248 |
The Social Background of Realism | p. 249 |
European Realism | p. 250 |
Henrik Ibsen | p. 250 |
August Strindberg | p. 251 |
Anton Chekhov | p. 251 |
American Realism | p. 253 |
Lillian Hellman | p. 253 |
Poetic Realism: Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams | p. 254 |
Konstantin Stanislavsky and Realistic Acting | p. 256 |
Summary | p. 257 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 260 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 261 |
Expressing a Worldview Through Realism | p. 263 |
Looking at And the Soul Shall Dance | |
Exploring the Text of and the Soul Shall Dance | p. 264 |
Plot and Characters | p. 265 |
Personal, Cultural, and Historical Contexts of the Play | p. 265 |
The Play as Memory | p. 265 |
Personal History | p. 268 |
Prejudice, Discrimination, and Internment | p. 268 |
The Play as Social Document | p. 269 |
Evoking a World Through Detail | p. 270 |
The Complete Text of and the Soul Shall Dance | p. 272 |
Producing and the Soul Shall Dance | p. 303 |
Introduction to East West Players | p. 303 |
History of East West Players | p. 303 |
Location and Physical Space | p. 303 |
Staging the Play | p. 305 |
The Director's Prologue | p. 305 |
The Influence of Asian Theatre | p. 306 |
Staging a Period Play: The Work of the Director and the Actors | p. 306 |
Building Character Relationships | p. 310 |
Contrasting Productions: East West Players and Northwest Asian American Theatre | p. 313 |
Scene Design and the Physical Space | p. 313 |
Interpreting Family Relationships | p. 313 |
Sexuality and Gender | p. 315 |
Summary | p. 316 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 317 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 317 |
Understanding Style: Theatricalism | p. 319 |
Exposing the Mechanics of the Theatre | p. 321 |
Expressionism | p. 321 |
German Expressionism | p. 322 |
American Expressionism: Eugene O'Neill | p. 323 |
Epic Theatre: Bertolt Brecht | p. 325 |
Brecht's Concept of Alienation | p. 326 |
Brecht's Approach to Acting | p. 327 |
Theatre of the Absurd | p. 328 |
A Revolution in Movement: Martha Graham | p. 329 |
A New Dance Vocabulary | p. 329 |
Costume and Set as Partners in Dance | p. 331 |
Total Theatre: Robert Wilson | p. 331 |
Wilson's Experience | p. 332 |
The Interior Landscape | p. 332 |
A New Meeting of East and West; Shen Wei | p. 333 |
From Opera to Modern Dance | p. 333 |
Choreographer and Designer | p. 335 |
Summary | p. 336 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 336 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 337 |
Expressing a Worldview through Theatricalism | p. 339 |
Looking at Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | |
Exploring the Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | p. 341 |
Plot and Characters: A World in Spiritual Collapse | p. 341 |
The Role of Roy Cohn | p. 342 |
The Shifting Point of View | p. 342 |
Influences on Kushner as Playwright: Bertolt Brecht and Caryl Churchill | p. 342 |
The Historical Framework of Angels in America | p. 344 |
The Character Roy Cohn as a Historical Figure | p. 345 |
Roy Cohn and the Plot of Angels in America | p. 347 |
Roy Cohn and Ethel Rosenberg | p. 348 |
The Complete Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | p. 350 |
Producing Angels in America | p. 398 |
The Eureka Theatre and the Playwright | p. 398 |
The Role of the Dramaturg | p. 398 |
The Developmental Process | p. 400 |
Expanding Opportunities for the Development of New Plays | p. 404 |
Summary | p. 405 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 405 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 406 |
The Nature of Drama: Structure and Genre | p. 407 |
The Elements of Drama and Dramatic Structure | p. 409 |
Fundamental Elements of Structure | p. 410 |
Character | p. 410 |
Plot | p. 411 |
Language | p. 412 |
Music | p. 417 |
Spectacle | p. 417 |
The Organization of the Drama in Space and Time | p. 419 |
The Duration of the Performance | p. 419 |
Building the Drama: The Internal Rhythm | p. 420 |
Conflict, Rising Tension, and Resolution | p. 420 |
Summary | p. 422 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 423 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 423 |
Genre | p. 425 |
Introduction to Genre | p. 426 |
Tragedy and Comedy | p. 427 |
Origins in Greek Drama | p. 428 |
Aristotle on Tragedy and Comedy | p. 428 |
Tragedy: Catharsis and Awareness | p. 429 |
Plot Summaries of Selected Tragedies | p. 429 |
Common Themes of Tragedy | p. 431 |
Can Tragedy Exist Today? | p. 432 |
Melodrama | p. 434 |
Tragicomedy | p. 436 |
Farce | p. 439 |
Writing About the Theatre | p. 440 |
The Dramaturg | p. 441 |
The Critic | p. 443 |
Two Reviews of Medea | p. 445 |
Summary | p. 450 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 450 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 451 |
Choosing a Genre: Comedy | p. 453 |
Looking at Dog Lady | |
Exploring the Text of Dog Lady | p. 454 |
Plot and Characters | p. 454 |
The Playwright's Sources: An Intersection of Cultures | p. 455 |
Characteristics of the Play | p. 456 |
Blended Language | p. 456 |
Magical Realism | p. 457 |
Reinterpreting Catholic Imagery: The Virgin of Guadalupe | p. 458 |
A Latina Identity | p. 460 |
The Complete Text of Dog Lady | p. 461 |
Producing Dog Lady | p. 473 |
Intar | p. 473 |
Set Design and Ming Cho Lee | p. 473 |
Pop Art and Forced Perspective | p. 473 |
Breaking the Illusion | p. 474 |
Staging and Acting | p. 474 |
Sight Gags | p. 476 |
Vocal Style | p. 477 |
Using Comedy to Shift the Worldview | p. 478 |
Summary | p. 479 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 480 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 480 |
The Project | p. 483 |
Looking at Buried Child | |
Preparing a Production | p. 484 |
Buried Child and Alternative Play Choices | p. 484 |
Introduction to Sam Shepard | p. 485 |
Alternative Plays | p. 487 |
Working on the Project | p. 487 |
Sequence of Work | p. 487 |
Topics for Group Discussion (Group Meeting 1) | p. 488 |
Group Decisions (Group Meeting 2) | p. 488 |
Project Assignments | p. 488 |
The Director | p. 488 |
Character Analysis | p. 489 |
Scene Design | p. 489 |
Costume Design | p. 490 |
Music | p. 491 |
Program Note | p. 492 |
Poster | p. 492 |
Conclusion | p. 492 |
The Complete Text of Buried Child | p. 493 |
Suggestion for Further Reading | p. 532 |
Guided Writing Assignments | p. 533 |
Notes | p. 539 |
Glossary | p. 545 |
Credits | p. 551 |
Index | p. 555 |
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