Class notes

Class notes 

08 Aug. 2011

Greek theater 

Dionysus: the god of whine and drama.

Greek mythology --> theater plays were stories rooted in truth. 

500 B.C - Tragedy 

200 years later comedy was born 

Aristotle's poetics 

Definition according to him: 

"(...) imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play; in the form of action, not narrative (...)" 

For him, the most important genre was tragedy, since it was a catharsis. 

The Poetics

Imitation of action (mimesis)according to "the law of probability or necessity"

It's about the drama (not the narrative) 

History (specific) versus Drama (universal)

Six parts of tragedy:

Plot

Characters

Diction

Thoughts

Spectacle 

Melody 

Plot was the most important element in a play, according to Aristotle. 

-first principle

-the arrangement 

-a whole

-beginning, middle and end

Image 1. Perfect plot 

Example, 

        he believed that "Oedipus, the king" (Sofocles) was a perfect tragedy. 

Class notes

12 September 2011

Dramaturgy 101

Dramaturgy 101

Study of the play from a literary and performance point of view à social, political, cultural and historical contexts of play’s world.

“Multidimensional understanding”

Share what he/she learns

“Historical, critical, literacy and philosophical consciousness”

A dramaturg is a “watchdog” or “keeper of the text”, according to Proehl

The phrase that describes the work of a dramaturge, according to Bly, is “I question.”

Learns about a play’s text and its context.

Having a set procedure to follow is helpful and essential for beginners in the process of dramaturgy

Having a set procedure to follow is helpful and essential for beginners in the process of dramaturgy

Pre-production preparation à since the director has a particular view on the play and its world, it is vital for the dramaturg to “support and illuminate this vision through research and participation in the rehearsal process”

Tips:

1. Do initial readings à analysis of the text to obtain its essence and what needs to be researched.
2. Create a glossary à find key, intricate or confusing words to have them as a guide to start researching.
3. Research the background of the play à the historical period in which the play is set to communicate the pertinent societal concerns of people living in that era and place. The historical background is important because it provides the actors and the production with a context for the world.
4. Review materials that reflect the world of the play à examples are the art, music and customs of the time. Music and images that convey the mood and theme of the play. Maps, photographs, video, magazines, etc.
5. Organize your research for presentation à it is important to be concise, direct and to narrow down your research to note the most significant and relevant parts of the investigation that will contribute to the understanding and development of the play.

Response to text read:

After reading this article I became aware that the dramaturg’s role is vital to the creation of a play. It is his/ her job to inform the director, actors and production about the historical background of the play, what elements of the play represent, such as silence in “Waiting for Godot” and how the character are influenced by the time period. The job of a dramaturg is to question the text and interpret through a historical, philosophical and social scope. Although they should not intervene in the vision of the director or tell the actors what to do, he/she explains the why behind a scene, a phrase and the setting of the play. Context is relevant in anything we do and most of all in theater because it provides the actors and audience with a comprehension of space, a mood and an overall tone of the scenes. Context sets you in a place, time and moment. Without it one cannot develop a character in depth, because the actor would lack the awareness of their space and the world they live in. Setting and important facts of the time (including culture, society and politics) provide actors with material to enrich their interpretation. When they understand where they come from and where they are, they can create a sense of where they are going and why they are there.

     Without a doubt, dramaturgs are an essential piece in a play, since they provide the actors, director and production with valuable information that they can use to create. The creation process is not possible without material to work with. What dramaturgs give is the raw material that the directors mold and forge into the product.

Quotes about dramaturgy:

"In short, the Dramaturg is primarily
responsible for the dramatic and literary, as opposed to the
theatrical aspects of the theatre."

DRAMATURGY AND THE TEXT: "There used to be a time, as with the
Sacred, when we could go back to the Book and check our interpre-
tation.  The Text was the inseminating source to which we were to show fidelity, line perfect, deferring to the Author as if he
were God the Father."

 "I believe that the basic requirement for all rehearsal work (...) is primarily a kind of doubting process . . . a doubting and questioning of the theatrical means and also of the traditional themes."

DRAMATURGY AND LOVE: "A script comes in at my theatre, and I'm
the first one who is apt to fall in love with it. . . .  [S]ometimes there's no director for that play yet.  Okay now, I may not choose the director, but the fact is, once it goes into production I have had the longest relationship with that play of anybody at that theatre."