Greek Theatre - History of Drama.
Greek Theatre History of Drama In early ages, people used to communicate without using words. They also performed some sort of ritualistic communication to protect themselves from animals. Then gradually they started to put language in and started to do some sort of performances for their own amusement. This kept on evolving and took the face of the type of performances we see now days. The Greek Theatre originated in 300 BC. The Greek Empire however originated in 600 BC. Greeks were the first who invented the theatre as a place to perform and watch performances. A famous Greek philosopher, named Homer talked about Gods and Legends. He also told some of the very famous stories of that time such as Illiod. Homer also spoke about Mortal Heros, which then became some of the characters of these performances. The first ever theatre performances were done in Greece carried out by priests. These performances were religious. They started of by performing in the mountains as it helped them to project their voices to a longer distance with as the sound in the mountains echoed. All of these performances were based on Greek Gods. The main Greek God was Dionysus. He was the God of Wine, Agriculture and Fertility of Nature. Most of the plays were based around Dionysus himself. The main theme or genre of the performances was tragedy but as time passed comic plays were also performed.
Steven Berkoff - East. Social, Cultural & Historical.
Steven Berkoff - East Social, Cultural & Historical Steven Berkoff is one of the most influential figures of the turn of the century in British Theatre. As an actor, director and playwright and general nonconformist Berkoff tried to change theatre and encourage us to think in terms of 'Total Theatre', where the actor-audience relationship is immediate and where the actors, through expressive physicality and language, mould their environment. Steven Berkoff grew up in the East End of London to a Jewish family. He originally wanted to be a musician but was denied that opportunity, this frustration is conveyed through his acting as uses his body like an instrument. In 'East' he deals with what he calls the 'prime basic elements', these were investigations into his childhood which were the source for his inspiration. He brings to life emotions that had been suppressed in him for along time, he wanted to be bold and outrageous; to show how life was really like in his childhood. He tries to authenticate his notoriety and 'in-yer-face' style of performing. Berkoff wants to project himself, powered by the need for self-justification, power and his own unquenchable anger. In his career after 'East' took great pains to associate himself with infamy. Berkoff liked to be linked to the Kray twins, Ronnie and Reggie. They chose to be criminals as opposed to becoming ones because of their
The Hard Nut
The Hard Nut The Hard Nut Is Based On The Nutcracker and Mouse King by ETA Hoffmann, the dance company they used was the Mark Morris Company and the music is by Tchaikovsky. The director of the Hard Nut has not been original, as he has used the same music from the original Nutcracker. The video is a live recording. Act 1 The opening scene starts with three people on the stage dressed as young children, they have their backs to the audience and are dressed in a black and white style, and the curtains are drawn. The curtains go up and Act One Begins. The scenery is black and white there is also a big door bigger than the characters on the stage. The three main characters on the stage are children we can tell this by the way they are acting and the facial expressions they pull. The director is dealing with gender issues a lot of the women are played by men. The dance style they are using is ballet. The huge door opens and the set changes to a living room style setting. It is around Christmas we can tell this, as there is a Christmas tree in the corner of the stage. The characters are dressed in green and red which are the colours of Christmas. In the days were the musical is set they did not have coloured televisions the television starts to go colour and the music starts to be multipurpose as if there is a fire. Throughout the play the use of humour is quite big. The three
A comparison between 'Bazaar and Rummage' and 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui'
A comparison between 'Bazaar and Rummage' and 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui' We are currently working on the play 'Bazaar and Rummage' by Sue Townsend. It is set in a church hall, in the early 1980s, and is about a group of agoraphobic women who are persuaded to venture from their homes to run a jumble sale. It can be described 'A bittersweet drama of agoraphobics trying to overcome their fear of the great outdoors, it is their smooth transition from comedy to pathos.' The cast consists of six women, ranging from 18 to 65. The production 'The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui' is a menacing parable, written by Bertolt Brecht in 1941 at the height of Nazi supremacy in Europe, captures the build-up to horrors that were to be unleashed by the Third Reich in the later years of the Second World War. From Hitler's beginnings as a political upstart, his appointment as German chancellor, the destruction of the Reichstag, the murder of Austria's chancellor and the conquest of central Europe, Arturo Ui recreates an atmosphere that is as deeply unsettling as it is darkly comic. It was played by only three actors, this was because Brecht was more interested in actors demonstrating the role as opposed to being the role. The actors playing several roles, also meant that the audience were more distanced from any emotional connection with the piece of theatre, but in our play the audience
Firstly, what does auteur theory mean?
Firstly, what does auteur theory mean? It compares the film director to the author of a book, it attributes artistic control to the director and proposes that the film is the artistic project of the director primarily. His or her vision, creativity, and design determine the end result, the finished film. Basically, it means that if the director is an auteur, the film will be completely their ideas and visions and they have complete control of it. I believe Danny Boyle uses this control to make his films. Danny Boyle was born in Manchester in 1956. He started a career in theatre at the age of 18 and by the time he left the Royal Court Theatre in 1987 he was the deputy director. He also did some television direction in the 80s including Mr Wroe's Virgins and episodes of Inspector Morse. Shallow Grave, released in 1994, was Danny Boyle's first film. It took 30 days to film and had a budget of £1,000,000. £150,000 was from Glasgow Film Fund and the remaining £850,000 came from Channel Four. Although the film was set in Edinburgh, the money from Glasgow meant that a lot of the film was made there. The film's scriptwriter John Hodge was very clear minded about how to get the film made for "virtually nothing", for instance the majority of the film is filmed inside a flat. Danny Boyle said the film has "fascinating character development" but not in the "traditional" way because
Antonin Artaud was born on the 4th September 1896, On March 4th, 1948 Artaud died, alone in his pavilion, seated at the foot o
Antonin Artaud was born on the 4th September 1896, On March 4th, 1948 Artaud died, alone in his pavilion, seated at the foot of his bed, holding his shoe. Theories suggest that he died from a lethal dose of the drug chloral, although whether or not he took it knowing it was a lethal dose is not known. Artaud was described as a madman and his credentials as one are impeccable. By age 21 he had already suffered a bout of meningitis, hereditary syphilis and a nervous breakdown. Furthermore, he spent approximately 15 years of his life inside various mental institutions. (I myself spent nine years in an insane asylum and I never had the obsession of suicide, but I know that each conversation with a psychiatrist, every morning at the time of his visit, made me want to hang myself, realizing that I would not be able to cut his throat). Surrealism Dictionary: Surrealism, n. Pure psychic automatism, by which one proposes to express, either verbally, or in writing, or by any other manner, the real functioning of thought. Dictation of thought in the absence of all control exercised by reason, outside of all aesthetic and moral preoccupation. Encyclopedia: Surrealism. Philosophy. Surrealism is based on the belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously neglected associations, in the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought. It tends to ruin once and
Discussing Antigone.
Antigone Antigone is a Greek drama, part of the House of Thebes trilogy written by Sophocles in the early fifth century BC. The drama has a lot of relevance to today's society due to the themes of Moral Law vis a vis State Law. At this point, Thebes was in civil war after Eteocles and Polyneices (both brothers) argue about who should rule the kingdom after their father. Polyneices is exiled and returns with an army to fight his brother and both are killed. At the beginning of the play the current ruler is Creon and he has made a decree that since Polyneices fought against the ruler of Thebes he shall be unburied whereas his brother is to be buried with full military honors. Antigone is the youngest daughter of Oedipus and sister too the two dead brothers. At the start of the play Antigone, has just found out, ahead of a formal public announcement, Creon's proclamations about the burial of her brothers. This scene could be staged in the Royal throne rooms, with levels showing the importance of Creon; with him being on the top of a series of rising stages. Guards could be placed round him to provide a threatening atmosphere and show his royal status and Antigone would be at the very bottom of the staging, on the floor, to show how unimportant she is classed as in the Greek social status. As an actor I would choose to play Ismene in the first section of the play. This is
Twelfth Night Theatre Review
Twelfth Night Theatre Review Within a school group, on 12th February 2009, I saw a performance of the Donmar Warehouse production Twelfth Night, starring Derek Jacobi and Ron Cook, at the Wyndam's theatre. The dipped stage of the theatre, made from driftwood, gave the appearance of a worn down floor, such as the deck of a boat, which was fitting for the beginning of the play when Viola and Sebastian are shipwrecked. The actors remained on the main raised stage at all times, which helped to create a boundary between them and the audience - this was also effective at moments of direct address, such as Malvolio's monologues, as the contrast between the previous staging as the fourth wall was broken. A sense of naturalism was achieved by having very few uses of levels within the show - whilst characters often stood or sat, there were no raised areas on the main stage, which created the effect of the characters being in a real life situation. The only level used within the play was in Act IV Scene II, where a trapdoor opened centre stage to create a prison for Malvolio. This also helped to present to the audience the social status of Malvolio at this point in the play - as he is considered mad, he is imprisoned, and is lower in status than the other characters in the scene. The use of costume was also very strong within the production. In the opening shipwreck scene, Viola is
GCSE Apllied Business 2
GCSE Applied Business Studies: Unit 2 Task 2 Coca Cola is a large public limited company (plc) its owners are all shareholders, meaning that it has a lot of directors due to its large size. These directors are responsible for the way the business is run. Each director has his own department which he/she controls; he is responsible for every thing that comes out of his department. Due to the large amount of staff within the department, the director is forced to hire a number of managers which each control a certain group of operatives. Organisational chart: This director is responsible for the department of operations. This controls the production and making of the business. This director controls three managers. Manager (x) is the production manager; he has two supervisors the machinery supervisor and the repair supervisor who controls the operatives. Manager (y) is the manager in charge of stock; he has two operatives, the handling supervisor and the shipping supervisor who are in charge of the operatives below them. Manager (z) is the distribution manager he is responsible for two supervisors, the supervisor in charge of health and safety and the distribution supervisor both these supervisors are senor to the operatives and watch there progress and give feedback to the manager. In the Coca Cola the communication within the levels is at an acceptable level. The
With The Village, Shyamalan continues to paint himself into a corner. People expect the twist, but unfortunately the filmmaker
A quality cast that includes William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver, and Joaquin Phoenix lead M Night Shyamalan's tale about an isolated rustic community For M Night Shyamalan's breakthrough, The Sixth Sense (1999), the twist ending worked well, adding another level to an already decent film. Repeated to good effect in Unbreakable (2000), the surprise ending became the director's signature. But with Signs (2002) it was losing its novelty, or more accurately, it was becoming problematic as there's no way Shyamalan could keep delivering entirely effective twists. Signs had its moments, but the end result was a pompous and ludicrously illogical film. And the twist ploy felt forced. With The Village, Shyamalan continues to paint himself into a corner. People expect the twist, but unfortunately the filmmaker seems to have become a slave to it. The Village is a film based more on a pitch than on a fully realised idea and solid storytelling. It's the high concept backfiring. The fact that Shyamalan seems to be trapped and / or intent upon remaining 'the guy who does twist endings' is an exasperating situation - as in many ways he's a skilled filmmaker, adept with atmosphere and visuals, and able to elicit worthwhile performances from actors. Perhaps he should relinquish some control next time round and allow someone else to write a decent script. The premise here concerns an isolated