20th Century Theatre Research Articles

La fine del Novecento teatrale tra storia e storiografia

The first historiographical effort to build a history of 20th century theatre is to identify the chronological coordinates that circumscribe it. It is a problem that concerns more the historiographical approach to the subject than the search for a historical truth. The question of the beginning and the end of the century, in fact, mainly concerns the critical analysis and the point of view from which the phenomena are observed. The historiographical problem is not to establish a possible date to start or end the twentieth century, but to establish what meaning we attribute to these extremes. If for the beginning of the twentieth century the critical debate has come to some conclusions more or less shared, the question of the end of the twentieth century is still open. The aim of the essay is to examine the subject through the analysis of some critical positions and some artistic experiences. Guccini, Schechner and De Marinis’ studies pose the problem of how stage practice and the idea of theatre were transformed in the eighties identifying at that time a break in the process of twentieth-century innovation. In many ways the same happens in artistic production as evidenced by Federico Tiezzi. It is not a process of regression but a new approach to language that starts from the principle of modern as classicism and from the idea that research on language is transformed into the practice of the spoken language of the contemporary.

O'Neill and Camille: Domestic Drama in “The Web” and “Recklessness”

Early in his career, O’Neill aspired to be a popular playwright. This contrasts with the conventional assessment of O’Neill’s ambitions. These earliest plays drawing on popular melodrama and relying on explicitly commercial theatrical inspiration do not fit the established model of the O’Neill who insisted he wanted “to be an artist” or nothing. The plays also draw on the influence of Dumas’ La dame aux camélias, O’Neill was been influenced by Ibsen and Strindberg in his later works, but these plays reveal these influences from the start. Finally, they demonstrate that O’Neill had family relationships that had nothing to do with the autobiography in Long Day’s Journey into Night. O’Neill intended “Recklessness” as a possible vehicle for his father. O’Neill is better placed in the context of late 19th and early 20th century theatre; continuing to regard him as sui generis, hobbles our understanding of American theatre and O’Neill’s genius.

”Theatre should be free, like air or love”. Joan Littlewood and the imperative of collective creation

This paper aims to investigate the theatrical practices that define the work of one of the most influential voices in 20th century theatre. The practices and methods developed by Joan Littlewood over four decades of work outline a highly personal, inventive and dynamic aesthetic in which the emphasis is on creating cohesion within the team. The team is seen as a ”composite mind”, an ensemble that through rigorous physical and vocal training, complex theme documentation and improvisation, comes to function organically and is able to explore more freely and intensely. The use of a wide variety of means and formulas - music hall, commedia dell'arte, clowning, mime, but also elaborate lighting, cinematic projections, sound effects - and the involvement of the audience in the scenic approach are also defining elements of the theatre promoted by Joan Littlewood.

L’unica risposta è la prossima domanda. L’esperienza teatrale e il suo mistero: conversazione fra Denis Diderot e Carmelo Rifici

This interview with Carmelo Rifici, Drama School Director of the Piccolo Teatro di Milano and award-winning theatrical director, discuss on the relationship between some thesis of theatrical aesthetics of the 18th century philosophe Denis Diderot, enclosed in their most complete way in the work Paradox of the actor, and the contemporary reflection on theatre, but also the practice of acting itself. How much does Diderot's thought still question and stimulate the debate on the experience of theatre in its various themes? Without neglecting the contents of this thought, on which 20th century theatre has been questioned a lot and which also emerge in all their facets and possible developments in the interview, during the interesting conversation with Rifici it appears that the true modernity of diderotian reflection and its still generating force today, lies in its asystematic character, in the search for paradox, for perennial question, as a fundamental element for preserving the theatre and its mystery. It is necessary asking others and themselves questions rather than defining solutions, to restore the theatrical experience, which is the experience of an event, in all its complexity, in diderotian theatrical theory as well as in modern acting practice.

Eugenio Barba and Extra-Daily Scenic Behaviour: Influences of Stanislavski, Meyerhold and Grotowski

Three directors who influenced 20th century theatre, Konstantin Stanislavski, Vsevolod Meyerhold and Jerzy Grotowski, and they each conducted comprehensive studies on the position of acting through theatrical aesthetic. In order to realize this theatrical aesthetic, these directors emphasized the need for actors to practice systematic exercises and develop particular scenic behaviour, which is different from daily behaviour. Their work has paved the way for various theoretical studies on acting. The actor who is going to act within a reality that fictionalized on stage, no matter the strength of its relationship with daily reality, has to leave the automatized daily behaviour behind and develop a technique that is built upon the necessities of the stage context. In this article, the basis of the extra-daily scenic behaviour of actors in the Odin Theatre is dealt with in the light of approaches of directors who strongly affected the theatre approach that developed through the 20th century: namely Stanislavski, Meyerhold and Grotowski.

Theatre Scenography of Architecture Objects

Abstract Since the beginning of the 20th century theatre has developed a completely different form of expression tools. The development of architectural methods has reached the point where it is continually moving apart from its archetype to newer and newer intellectual encryption. The method of its creation and perception have been radicalised by means of new media to offer a greater extent of its own representation. Architecture in the context of our study will be represented by the scenography. Architecture will be explored in relation to a space and its inherent characteristics by means of heterotopy and synaesthesia. Space with its specific role becomes a sphere of imagination for the audience. The study does not consider the classical term of architecture as the building and scenography as a staging of decorative mise-en-scéne.

Marcel Marceau jako rzecznik mimu współczesnego

The article is a sketch of the subject of mime, a theatrical form known since the ancient times, but nowadays existing in a new version. A contemporary mime that came into being based on the research of avant-garde theoreticians and practitioners of the early 20th century theatre owes its current shape to the French artists such as Étienne Decroux, Marcel Marceau, and Jean-Louis Barrault. The presented concept of mime is based on Marceau’s theory and practice—both having a particular philosophical touch. Marceau who dedicated his life to promoting theory and methodology of contemporary mime by means of performances, interviews and teaching has become a mime expert whose work has a timeless quality worldwide. These days mime is becoming a kind of theatre where silence plays the key role and becomes a new dimension of a human being when words fail, and where an actor-mime with perfect technical skills makes the invisible visible on stage The article consists of two parts. The first part outlines a historical context of mime. It also tries to organize its terminology. The second one presents philosophical and technical aspects of contemporary mime on the basis of Marcel Marceau’s work.

Taolu: credibility and decipherability in the practice of Chinese martial movement

The practice of taolu (tao4lu4, tao lu, 套路 ), the prearranged movement patterns of the Chinese martial arts, has been explained in fantastically diverse ways spanning a range of interpretations from the essential and functional to the narrative, theatrical and religious. Rather than trying to find a universal reason for the practice of taolu, this paper proposes to look at the idea of prearranged movement patterns through the lens of credibility and decipherability. These twin concepts, borrowed from the Great Reform movement in 20th century theatre practice, helpfully embrace both the criteria by which the performance of taolu is usually judged and also the deficiencies in our contemporary understanding of reasons behind this palimpsestic training method. As conceptual tools, credibility and decipherability also offer us insight into how the practice of prearranged martial movement patterns is presented and interpreted as a personal and phenomenological experience of embodied practice. This paper hopes to pragmatically present new perspectives from which the practice of taolu can be understood.

Space in the 20th Century Theatre: 2. Determination, Consequence and Assumption

BACKGROUND: Interaction of literature, visual and performing arts as well as media, especially in the second half of the twentieth century, has substantially transformed the technical and artistic resources the theatre uses.AIM: The aim of this study is to present determination, consequence and assumption as parts of Space in the 20th Century Theatre.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three aspects of the architecture were described in details: determination, consequence and assumption of the space in the 20th century theatre.RESULTS: The idea of theatre is conveyed through houses, books, research documents, history and theory, but it is also conveyed through "theatre people". This concept, can be and must be understood the two ways: as a guideline for a highly heterogeneous and inarticulate "global tribe", and at the same time, as the common name for members of a particular theatre - the theatre as a troupe, or theatre as a movement, but mostly the theatre as an institution of what we often call "the theatre house".CONCLUSION: The causal system of relationships between the theatre house, theatre people and theatre as an idea (or the idea of theatre) is the central theme of my understanding of the definitions, values and purpose of theatre.

Space in the 20th Century Theatre: 1. Theatre and Architecture

AIM: The aim of this study is to present the state of the theatre and architecture as a part of Space in the 20th Century Theatre.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three aspects of the architecture were described: theatre in the typology of architectural objects, theatre as a programme in architecture, and theatre as an art form.RESULTS: Theatre has never been, nor could it ever become a subject independent of architecture. Correspondingly, the stage space is not, and should not be a separate issue, the subject of "consultants", but a crucial and equally worthy part of the complex, rich and consistent structure of the theatre house - as a whole. The theatre house in its entirety becomes a public facility and begins to develop its central function in the city. From this point of view, it is not only that the theatre has not lost its traditionally dominant urban position, on the contrary, that position is constantly evolving.CONCLUSIONS: Theatre, based on interpersonal communications in real space and real time, provoking our experiences on the borderline between reality and illusion, and constantly questioning those boundaries, can possibly discover the "otherness of the real world", that is to "change the nature of the individual, in order to change the essence of the world".

Kako Vitomil Zupan misli gledališče

The essay focuses on a seemingly simple question: How did Vitomil Zupan think theatre? The answer to this question can be found in a dialogue with the author’s thoughts from his plays, theatrical writings and essays that can be linked to the ideas of 20th century theatre practitioners and theorists such as Artaud, Brecht, Kermauner, Jovanović, Taufer and Šeligo. Zupan’s conceptions of drama and theatre are linked to and compared with the conceptions of theatre today. It is thus possible to establish how far-reaching his thinking about theatre was, and how productive it can be for theatre after the turn of the millennium. The centre of interest is Sholion (theatre 1972, with a particular focus on the mechanism of performance and its relation to the so-called message), his all too frequently forgotten theoretical treatise on theatre with its attractive conception of the highly dynamic relationship between drama and performance, as well as its concept of theatre as a complex phenomenon with its specific dialectic of mixed media. Drama writing must therefore be open to various ways of theatrical performance.

The influence of Meyerhold's biomechanics on 20th century theatre: The principle of equivalence

Meyerhold's biomechanics (Mejerhol'd E. V.), as an acting technique in preparation for a role and performance in front of the audience, originated in the 1920s. It represents a genuine way of work, as it derived from Meyerhold's authentic personality. The need to research the importance and influence of Meyerhold's biomechanics on the 20th century theatre stems from the importance of the opus that Vsevolod Emilevich Meyerhold produced, as well as from the assumption that the output of the 20th century directors Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba and Peter Brook was largely founded on the principles of biomechanics, which Meyerhold had based his work on with theatrical actors for years. The principle of equivalence is one of the principles in the book A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology: The Secret Art of the Performer by Eugenio Barba and Nicola Savarese. It provides help with the interpretation of the influence that Meyerhold's biomechanics had on the 20th century theatre and the authors such as Grotowski, Barba and Brook.

Towards a 20th Century History of Relationships between Theatre and Neuroscience

ABSTRACT This article considers some preliminary reflections in view of a 20th century theatre-and-neuroscience history. Up to now, the history of the 20th century theatre has been too fragmentary and irregular, missing out on the subterranean links which, either directly or indirectly, bound different experiences. The article aims to put in evidence the recurrent problems of these encounters. The hypothesis of the essay concerns the possibility of gathering and grouping a great part of the relationships between theatre and neuroscience around four trajectories: the physiology of action, the physiology of emotions, ethology, and studies on the spectator's perception.

Media Dramaturgies of the Mind: Ivana Müller's cinematic choreographies

The development of 20th century theatre is intertwined with the rise of media culture. This article engages with the effects and implications of this development from the relationship between the ‘mind-set’ of the audience and what is presented on stage. Being ‘natural born cyborgs’, we are not merely users of technology, we are also used by it. Technology places demands on us, affords modes of interaction, and mediates in the development of new skills that impact how we enact perception, and even how we think. This incorporation of media technology is staged in a self-reflexive way in Ivana Müller's While We Were Holding It Together (2006) and Playing Ensemble Again and Again (2008), two durational performances that play with modes of perceiving and thinking characteristic of cinema. The direct way in which these performances address their audiences is typical of the shift in axis of theatrical communication that according to Hans-Thies Lehmann is an important characteristic of the post-dramatic theatre. Instead of aiming towards the construction of a closed, unitary and coherent world on stage, the post-dramatic theatre engages more explicitly and directly with the modes of perceiving and thinking of the audience. The implication that follows from Lehmann's observation (but is not elaborated by him) is a ‘shift in axis’ with regard to dramaturgy as well, from a focus on constructing worlds on stage towards the relationship between the ‘mind-set’ of the beholder and what is presented on stage. With her performances, Müller draws attention to how the cinematic mode of thinking that Deleuze has termed terms ´thinking through images´ has become part of this mind-set and how this allows for a rethinking of the notion of choreography as a ´writing of movement´ in the beholder rather than on stage, movement in which we are implicated.

Out of Hand: YouTube Amateurs and Professionals

As part of a broader regulatory regime, YouTube helps to sustain a powerful model of sincerity, bodily stability, and self-control that has its roots in 19th- and early 20th-century theatre ideologies of amateur vs. professional. Some of YouTube's most popular videos are best understood through these conjoined rubrics, including Britney Spears fan Chris Crocker's “Leave Britney Alone!” video and actor Seth Green's parody of it.

Understanding Neil Simon

Widely known as Broadway's king of comedy, Neil Simon has written such popular and critical successes as Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Brighton Beach Memoirs and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lost in Yonkers. In this guide to his work, Susan Koprince provides an overview of Simon's career and in-depth analyses of his major plays. Koprince suggests that, in addition to - or in spite of - his unmatched commercial success as a writer of comedy, Simon qualifies as a master dramatist of 20th-century theatre. Koprince recounts Simon's emergence from humble Jewish American origins to celebrated status as the most commercially successful playwright in the history of American theatre. She traces Simon's style to Greek New Comedy, acknowledges his affinity with Jewish humour, and emphasizes the Chekhovian blend of humour and pathos that has become the hallmark of Simon's writing. From Come Blow Your Horn, to Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Koprince examines 16 of Simon's most significant works. She underscores the range of Simon's dramaturgy and evaluates the reasons for Simon's popularity, including his gift for verbal and situational humour, his commitment to traditional values, and his mastery of a comedic style in which humour and sadness are inextricably intertwined.

Out on stage: lesbian and gay theatre in the twentieth century

Sinfeld tracks stage representations of lesbians and gays from Oscar Wilde to the present day, arguing that despite and because of censorship and discretion, 20th century theatre has been viewed as gay space. He concludes with provocative questions about the direction of new theatre writing, challenging notions of our sexual potential.

Actors and American Culture, 1880-1920

The 40 years from 1880 to 1920 marked the golden age of the American theatre as a national institution, a time when actors moved from being players outside the boundaries of respectable society to being significant figures in the social landscape. The book provides an overview of the late 19th and 20th century theatre and also a study of the legitimate stage that overtly attempts to connect actors and their work to the wider aspects of American life.