Block 2: Theater

BLOCK 2: THEATER

LESSON 1: BASIC CONCEPTS 1.1. WHAT IS THE THEATER ? It is a branch of the performing arts related to the performance, written in dialogue form and presenting stories in front of an audience or using a combination of elements such as speech, gestures, scenery, music, sound and spectacle. Did you know ....? The theater universal day is celebrated on March 27. 1.2 . MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF THEATER PERFORMANCES (PLAYS) Characters: Everyone involved in the work, directly speaking, without the intervention of a narrator. Dialogues : what says an actor in a play, either as a recitation or a monologue. Appears in the script with the name of the character and a long dash. Acts : in splitting one to play. In each act presents a complete fact. Generally the plays are divided into three acts, but also can be divided into two or one. Pictures: Within each event, the work can be divided into frames, which are sequences that revolve around the same place and the same action. In the course of a play, at the end of an act the lights, but does not close the curtain, nor is there a middle and end of the proceedings. Scenes : Each of the parts in which an act is divided and the present are the same characters. A scene focuses on the same action, when the action changes the place or time, change the scene and can change the characters. Annotations : These are the signs indicated by the director related to the scenery, movements, gestures, and actions of the actors. In the script, they are usually written in parentheses and in italics.

LESSON 2: HISTORY OF THEATER 2.1. PRIMITIVE THEATER. In the past many primitive men communicated with nature and their gods through representations that gave origin to theater. They thought that to hunt the buffalo (bisonte) they had to do a symbolic dance with masks representing the hunting of a buffalo until they really went to hunt.

The creators of theater in the occidental culture were the Greeks who started it on the VI century A.C. to celebrate feasts to honor Dionysus (god of wine and vegetation) every March. These celebrations lasted 5 days in which the first day was the procession, the second to represent five comedies, and the last 3 there was competition of tragedies. The winner received a golden crown and laurels. The need to watch the plays was the reason to create big benches, made out of wood at first and later of stone. The masks that were used had a special kind of horn in the mouth that helped raise the volume of the voice. At first there were two types of masks: one for tragedy which had the expression of terror, and the other one for the comedy (it had a happy expression). These two masks today are used today as symbols of the theater.

2.2 THEATER IN THE MIDDLE AGES From V to XV century, everything was about God and religion, as the church was the main core of medieval culture. There were two forms of theater: religious and pagan (not religious). Religious theater was important in festivities like Passover (Pascua) and Christmas. Later it was related to miracles, mysteries, the Ascension of Virgin Mary, or the life of the saints. Also could be added the dance of the dead and the procession on carriages through the village streets .

The Profane Theater was represented by jugglers, buffoons, and mimes. They presented their plays-acts on public piazzas or castles. Their messages were about sex, to critize religion. And appears marionettes and puppet theater.

2.3 THEATER IN THE RENAISSENCE From XV to final of XVI, in Italy appear the first group of professional actors called “commedia dell´arte” acting 7 men and 3 women who devoted their life to comedy, also passing this career to their children. Each actor a had an assigned character and knew by memory all dialogues, monologues, song, acrobacies and other actions proper for each situation with enough elements to improvise, the plays were not written. Each character of the comedy used his own name, clothes and basic characteristics in other plays, but in different circumstances and relations. This characters were divided into 2 antagonist groups. The zanni represented a couple of servants, one very clever and intelligent and the second one (Harlequin) totally opposite. The smart one sometimes wins sometime loses, they both steal their master, come out of trouble, and usually marries the maid. The padroni (master, boss) were ridiculized and represented the rich ($$), intellectual, or military. Also there could be lovers.

1 In this time they could also use masks, to give emphasis to the movements and body of the actor and the actress, to strengthen their animal part inside.

2.4 THEATER IN THE BAROQUE. From XVI to XVII the monarchy rules, expansion and discoveries, and differences in social classes persist. The maximum writers were William Shakespeare (1564-1616), took the classics and wrote them into personal, joins the educated theater with the popular one, develops the psychology of the characters, analyzing their passions. The Spanish Lope de Vega (1562-1635) developed a new art to create comedies, Calderon de la Barca (1600- 1681) wrote plays about love and honor. And other important playwrights are: Moliere, Tirson, coneillie. The professionalism of the theatrical presentation demanded closed places where they charged money for the entrance ticket for different categories and prices. Shakespeare and Moliere created text to their plays whereas Calderon and Tirso sold their plays to moving acting companies who took these plays to different places.

2.5 THEATER IN THE ROMANTICISM From the XVII to half the XIX. The French Revolution in 1789 and the fall of Napoleon in 1815, the burguese involved in liberal movements. This is the great moment for the opera, directed by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) who combined the harmony between words, singing, and musical, demanding the singers to be actors, capable of making the character live through their voice, gestures, and expressions of their emotions. The audience was normally the burghuesy who watched from the orchestra (platea) , leaving the boxes (palcos) for the aristocracy, and the amphitheater for the commoners. The authors mixed tragic and comic elements, prose and verse y their objective was to entertain or move (conmover) people. Little by little these plays turned into melodramas y popular and pictoric, giving life to farce (sainete) which was a funny one piece play, shown in the intermission o end of a play.

2.5 THEATER IN THE XX CENTURY . Expressionist during the first two decades of the XX century specially in Germany. It explored more grotesque and violent aspects of the human mind creating a nightmare on the stage. In 1920 appeared musicals combing songs, dances and comedy. The Russian Konstantin Stanislavsky (1863-1904) is the author of the theory dramatic realist interpretation, still used today. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the popular theater for the masses is born. The theater now went to the masses.

2.6 THEATER TODAY. The theater today uses technology through computer devices and communication that help the actors on stage improving their voice projection, offering light, etc. But the main element of theater is: MAN

LESSON 3: THEATRICAL LANGUAGE

3. 1. VERBAL LANGUAGE: Uses written or oral language. Communication happens between two o more people. Formed by: EMISSOR, RECEPTOR, MESSAJE, CONTEXT, CHANNEL, CODE.

3. 2. NONVERBAL LANGUAGE: Movements, eye movement, gestures, facial expressions, etc. Divided into: 1. Kinesic: facial and body movements. 2. Proxemic: use of space, the distance between the participants of the communication. 3. Iconic: Images or graphical representations of an objects. Example: the stop sign 4. Graphic Language. Writings using images to represent reality. Example: hieroglyphics 5. Signs: Symbolic representation according to society, example black for mourning. 6. Musical: Songs, melodies, sound effects that transmit emotions, feelings, used a lot in film, TV, and theater.

3. 2. PARAVERBAL LANGUAGE: It has a double function: to improve understanding of language and favors to demonstrate feelings, emotions, etc. It shows the listener how to interpret a message. Intonation, pauses, emphasis, voice projection, punctuation are important. Example:

4. Make a chart write 3 important characteristics of 2 ACTIVITY (20 PTS.) each period of the theater. 1. Answer who was Dionysus and why did people 5. Write 2 examples of each of the kind of languages: worship him? VERBAL, NONVERBAL, AND PARAVERBAL. 2. How long did the festivities to honor Dionysus last? 3. Who invented Greek Theater?

LESSON 4: NO VERBAL CODES IN THE INTERPRETATION OF A CHARACTER

3 Body language (also called nonverbal language)is defined by the hand movements, facial gestures, and body postures that an actor performs to give more emphasis to his words.

Body Language is the base of all stage demonstration, such as dancing, mimic, and theater, through the human body, men can express feelings, ideas, messages, and situations.

As soon as an actor sets foot on a stage, he is no longer the person he normally is, his name and last name that define him as a person in society is replaced by a character with determined voice, gestures, way of walking, and personality created by the actor and the script of theatrical piece. On stage he must show himself as an angry man through his body language, sadness should be seen through muscular tension on his face, happiness is shown through his arms with unique movements according to this emotional state, etc. Therefore, it is important to develop body language workshops in which young starting actors could discover step by step their psychic possibilities, and to ensure their successful performance on stage, in an interview, in a class, or even in their daily lives.

Exercise No. 1

Theme: Imitate Animals

Objective: Use your body to represent and communicate.

Participant: A student in front of the whole class.

Focus on: Using all your body.

Description: The teacher will have a box with cards written the name of different animals. The student will pick one of the cards, he will read it and imitate the animal written on the card. The rest of the class will observe the student’s imitation. They will take notes of the observation. Teacher will encourage students not to say outloud the name of the animal. Afterwards teacher will open a debate recalling the student’s performance stating positive points and suggestion to improve imitation.

LESSON 5: PARAVERBAL LANGUAGE IN SCENIC COMMUNICATION

According to a communication research, verbal communication represents only 7% , Para verbal 38%, and body language 55%, therefore it is important to learn how to improve our Para verbal and nonverbal communication.

Para verbal language has a double function: to improve understanding verbal language and to favor the representation of feelings, emotions, and attitudes of the speaker.

4 Now, on stage, verbal expression is one of the most important pillars of theater. It is important to do activities/exercises directed to improve pronunciation, voice projection, intonation, and interpretation of each character’s lines.

RECOMMENDATIONS: These are some exercises to help improve each of these oral characteristics:

1. For a good diction, it is important a good breathing. To achieve breathing capacity, you could choose a news article, an essay, a poem, or any other written piece, fill your lungs at maximum capacity and start reading out loud, without making any pauses until you are out of air. Do this exercise for several days and your diction capacity will increase.

2. Repeat several phrases in different heights.

3. Read a tongue twister, first very slowly and then start increasing the speed without losing clarity and intonation.

4. Recite poems keeping an appropriate breathing, vocalization, articulation, intonation, rhythm, and cadence of the verb.

POEM 20 The same night whitens, in the same branches. I can write the saddest lines tonight. We, from that time, we are not the same.

Write for example: «The night is fractured I don’t love her, that’s certain, but how I loved and they shiver, blue, those stars, in the her. distance». My voice tried to find the breeze to reach her.

The night wind turns in the sky and sings. Another’s kisses on her, like my kisses. Her voice, her bright body, infinite eyes. I can write the saddest lines tonight. I loved her, sometimes she loved me too. I don’t love her, that’s certain, but perhaps I love her. On nights like these I held her in my arms. Love is brief: forgetting lasts so long. I kissed her greatly under the infinite sky. Since, on these nights, I held her in my arms, She loved me, sometimes I loved her too. my soul is not content to have lost her. How could I not have loved her huge, still eyes. Though this is the last pain she will make me I can write the saddest lines tonight. suffer, To think I don’t have her, to feel I have lost her. and these are the last lines I will write for her.

Hear the vast night, vaster without her. Lines fall on the soul like dew on the grass.

What does it matter that I couldn’t keep her. The night is fractured and she is not with me.

That is all. Someone sings far off. Far off, my soul is not content to have lost her.

As though to reach her, my sight looks for her. My heart looks for her: she is not with me HOMEWORK: Practice reading this poem following 1-2-3-4 suggested activities to improve your oral skills

5 LESSON 5: COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS FROM PREVIOUS PAGES.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. In your own words, what is body language?

______

2. How is body language used in dancing, mimic, and theater?

______

3. Why is body language communication 55% over 7% of verbal communication? Explain.

______

4. CRITICAL THINKING. Para verbal Elements are used in your SPEECH subject class, explain how are these elements considered when teachers grade your SPEECH. Why do teachers test these para verbal elements?

EXPLAIN CLEARLY.

______6 LESSON 6: THEATRICAL REPRESENTATION USING VERBAL CODES, NONVERBAL AND PARAVERBAL THROUGH A TEXT.

Through this text students will make an adaptation of a text to make a presentation using all the communication codes studied in this BLOCK.

A theatrical adaptation is to modify a scientific, literary, musical, or any other piece that could be spread into a theatrical play. It is important to clarify, that the person making the adaptation is NOT writing another play, he is just changing its format.

Example:

With the following Hindu story “Go Forward” , we will make an adaptation:

WOODCUTTER: (APPEARS WITH A LOAD OF WOOD ON HIS BACK) Wife! I am back!

WIFE: Is this all you got?

WOODCUTTER: (UNLOADS HIS BACK, LEAVES WOOD ON THE FLOOR). Yes, I am very tired, I don’t know what is going to happen with us with only this little.

WIFE: Well, we will just have to accept it, for many years we have lived like this.

WOODCUTTER: I wish I could think like you. Or not even care about you and the children.

WIFE: What can you do then?

WOODCUTTER: Well, cut the double of the wood I cut!! That’s what I’ll do!! (HE LEAVES)

(WIFE LEAVES THE SCENE. THEN WE SEE THE WOODCUTTER RESTING AND NEXT TO HIM IS HIS AX AND A FEW PIECES OF WOOD. A HOLY MAN (ERMITAÑO) COMES IN.

HOLY MAN: Tired of your daily work?

WOODCUTTER: Tired and disappointed.

HOLY MAN: Why?

WOODCUTTER: All efforts seem to be in vain. I work very hard cutting wood, and what I get is not enough to keep a family. We fairly make it to the end of the month.

HOLY MAN: Son, go forward. 7 WOODCUTTER: Forward, where?

HOLY MAN: Do not stay on one spot. You seek an ideal, do not stop in trying to reach it.

WOODCUTTER: You are a master, tell me, how can I achieve it?

HOLY MAN: Don’t stay where you are, go forward, my son, forward. (HE LEAVES)

WOODCUTTER: Nice, master is this who doesn’t speak clearly! He tells me to go forward, but not where to go… I only have the forest in front of me… (PAUSES), but I have to recognize that he is a wise man, I will go forward into the forest. (HE LEAVES AND RETURNS HAPPILY WITHOUT THE WOOD, WITH ONLY HIS AX). Wife, I am home, look!!

WIFE: (SEES THE BAG OF MONEY HE IS HOLDING) How is this?

WOODCUTTER: You can’t imagine! I met a Holy Man, a wise man that is considered a master in the region, he gave me hope, and suggested that to achieve my goals, I should go forward. I did as he said, I went into the forest, and guess what I found?......

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And the adaptation continues till the end. As you can observe it is NO LONGER a short story, it is a theatrical piece, keeping its original essence, but now through DIALOGUES.

PROCESS IN MAKING AN ADAPTATION FROM A TEXT.

To make an adaptation, we must have knowledge of dramaturgy, writing, and spelling, as well as knowledge of the literary piece, author, and message. All these concepts should be considered when:

1. Read the text until understanding completely. Use a dictionary specialized in theatrical terms. (just in case you don’t understand or have doubts.

2. Analyze the cast of characters.

3. Analyze the sequence of the scenes.

4. Consider possible elimination or addition a character.

5. Consider possible elimination or addition of scenes.

6. Consider possible elimination or addition of dialogues.

7. Rewrite the piece entirely, in a theatrical format, considering all the previous steps.

STREET THEATER

Street Theater is a cultural expression created with the objective to connect Theater with the common people, instead of having people pay for a ticket to the theater, the theater went out to streets.

The origins of street theater goes way back to the Greeks where the travelers that arrived to the city of Athens, narrated their trip adventures, sharing their adventures with the people who wanted to listen.

The plays of street theaters are mostly different from the ones performed in theaters, they are usually a group creation, that take advantage of the surroundings where they perform, interacting with the audience (people watching) having them also participate.

8 They are usually done in improvised places, without the technical conditions of a real Theater. This kind of theater has become very popular. Many of these plays have social background content, where they promote the fight for social changes.

One of the benefits of street theater, is that any person can watch these plays without paying for a ticket, allowing all people to watch plays, knowing that many people cannot pay to go to a theater.

LESSON 6: EXERCISES AND ACTIVITIES: GROUP WORK

NAME OF STUDENT 1: ______NAME OF STUDENT 2: ______

READ AESOP’S FABLE AND MAKE AN ADAPTATION USING ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS ON PAGE 7.

The Lion and the Mouse Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon An Aesop's Fable him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him. The Little Mouse asked the Lion to forgive his life. The Little Mouse promised not to forget if the Lion did not kill him, even saying that maybe one day he could back this favor. The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go. Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on. Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad situation in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed1 away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts. The little Mouse was right that one day he could pay back the Lion.

______

1 Spanish: Mascó

9 ______10 ______

______

11 LESSON 7: TO PUT ON A THEATRICAL PRODUCTION Theatre production is a set of elements and actions necessary in order to stage a theatrical production. The basic elements are the scenery, the lights (illumination), decoration, costumes (dress/outfits), and makeup.

7.1 THE SCENERY Usually the place chosen for a production has to be chosen ahead of time to prepare it for the play. Classrooms, auditoriums, or meeting rooms can be used used once placing curtains, separation walls, etc. plays can be presented in open spaces, surrounded by an audience such as in the style of street theater, therefore adapting the production with imagination and props.

Recommendations when installing a scenery:

A. The stage must have curtains that open (if possible), made of fabric or any material that could work. B. The back scene (telon de fondo) should be decorated according to the play's needs. It should have no divisions and lights can help produce setting effects. The color should be neutral, so it would not compete with the costumes or sceneries. C. On the sides can be placed the side and steady curtains where actors are hiding for their entrance moment.

7.2 ILLUMINATION (LIGHTS) It is a set of light devices placed to produce certain illumination effects, for practical or decoration purposes. The intensity of light in a scenery allows to make certain areas more relevant and to give them more emphasis. Electric lights are mostly used, but gas or petroleum lanterns, and even candles can be used too.

7.3 SCENERY DECORATION Decoration, lights, and sound effects, help build the setting of scenes and the actors' work . Furniture, painted back curtains, and different type of accessories are part of a decoration. For the painted back curtains, cheap fabric, bed sheets, curtains, or even tablecloths can be used by just hanging them over wooden frames. Always remember that the back scene and all the other elements should relate to the argument, the setting, mood, and time of the play.

7.4 COSTUMES (DRESSES AND OUTFITS) Costumes are really important because they help the actors represent their characters much better.

12 A costume bought from a provider is very expensive, it does not allow creativity and the details a actor might need. A costume created by an actor allows imagination and the use of different elements such as fabric, skirts, handkerchiefs, old clothes, ribbons, strings, etc. There is a difference between a costume and a dress. A costume hides the real personality of an actor and a dress (outfit for the play) helps represent the character.

7.5 MAKEUP Makeup is a technique to decorate the skin, hair, and other visible parts of the body to create an esthetic appearance. It is also used to correct some distortions produced by the lights and to help represent a character. A good makeup will depend on the study of the age, character traits, feelings, and emotions of the character the actor must represent. For better results, it is better to use makeup specially made for theater.

7.6 DECORATION Play productions are not necessarily written by well-known playwrights, they could be created from adaptations of legends, stories, cultural memories, or from common interests. It will require to write a script and stage directions.

Follow this process:

A. Choosing a theme: The theme can be chosen by all who would be part of the play. It must not be imposed by the teacher, school authorities, or parents. This will produce lack of enthusiasm. It should be built by discussions, ideas, and imagination of the students (if done by school students).

B. Developing the script: Before writing the script, all participants and maybe an expert should sit and discuss about the play, then start to write. A chart could help in writing the script in order to organize the play. In the chart could be written Scene #, Scenery, action, effects. Scenes are small dramatic units determined by the entrance and exit (leaving) of characters, then goes a change of scene. The scenery consists of the furniture (mobiliario), decorations, separation walls, and other objects that appear in a scene, and that change after every act. The action is a description of what happens, but it does not include lines, these are specified in the script. The effects are all technological tools for the play such as lights, music, sound, etc.

13 To produce a play actors and a director are important, but it is also necessary to organize different committees to help organize setting the stage, lights, scenography, costumes, makeup, music, sound effects, props (utileria), and other elements to make a good production.

7.7 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS TO PRODUCE A PLAY Once the script is finished and the production of the play is organized, a director must follow these recommendations: A. Select the place where the play will be presented. B. Select the place to rehearse (practice the play). C. Try to rehearse (practice the play) at the same hour, everyday if possible 2-4 hours. D. The plays should be presented to a big audience because this motivates the actors, creates integration among the group involved in a play, and more people can enjoy the performance. Therefore, it is necessary a commission to to promote the play and to attract the audience. E. The director of the play must prepare a technical file that must contain the objectives, a brief history of staging the play, to which audience it is directed to , recommendations about the play, number of actors, possible candidates for the each character, etc. This will help the director plan better and have an organized follow up. F. After the presenting the play, the director should organize a forum, if possible inviting some spectators, to evaluate positive and negative points about the play. This will help as a feedback and will improve future productions.

7.8 BASIC ASPECTS IN THEATRICAL WORK In theatrical work, there are six stages that should be done in sequence: A. Training an actor: it is the physical preparation of an actor, it means to know himself and his physical abilities. B. Improvising: Once an actor feels self confident, he could free his feelings in a creative way, using his ability to narrate stories made up in the moment of acting. There are many practical exercises to help sharpen their senses in order to improve improvisation. C. Acting: an actor's goal is to represent a character's feelings, to make the audience cry or laugh, to reflect about their lives, and social problems of their families or communities using verbal, non verbal, and para verbal codes. There are many exercises to achieve this. The results will depend on the actor's will. D. Working the voice: it considers using breathing, articulation, intonation, voice projection, and interpretation of texts. There are many exercises to improve voice quality. E. Stage directions: there is a need of a director who also plays the role of the group leader. The director will be in charge of managing and coordinating the actions of the actors and all the people involved in the play. F. To put up a Scene: there are a series of factors that make possible a script become theatrical production. A script went through a process of selecting the cast (choosing actors), reading the play to all actors, and

14 rehearsing (practicing) the script, movements, actors, and scenography. All leading to the performance on stage and ending when curtains make their final closing.

All should be done in a logical order and sequence.

UNIDAD EDUCATIVA PARTICULAR BILINGUE JEFFERSON LESSON 7: HOMEWORK NAME OF STUDENT: ______CLASS: ______DATE: ______

A. RESEARCH AND READ INFORMATION ABOUT HISTORY OF ECUADORIAN THEATER FROM THESE LINKS: http://literatura-ecuatoriana.blogspot.com/2011/01/el-teatro-en-la-historia.html http://teatroquito.wordpress.com/2012/05/09/historia-del-teatro-en-ecuador/ http://translate.google.com.pe/translate?u=http://usuarios.lycos.es/historia_teatro/ecuador.htm&sl=es&tl=en

B. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. How was theater during prehispanic times in Ecuador?

2. Which were the names of the theaters built in Ecuador in the IXX century?

3. Who were two famous writers from the IXX century who promoted theater to Ecuadorian people?

4. What is the name of the first formal theatrical group in Ecuador in the XX century? Where does it have its base?

C. COPY AND PASTE A STAGE LAYOUT PLAN OF A THEATER AND WRITE THE NAME OF THE THEATER. http://hsc.csu.edu.au/entertain/industry/core/staging/3459/stage_plans.htm

15 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stage_Layout_Plan.jpg or find other sources.

D. FIND THE COMPLETE NAMES AND CITIES OF TWO IMPORTANT THEATERS (NOT CINEMAS) IN ECUADOR.

1. ______

2. ______

E. PASTE A PICTURE OF THE TWO THEATERS OF QUESTION D. DO NOT FORGET TO WRITE THEIR NAMES.

LESSON 8: NARRATIVE ELEMENTS: CONFLICTO, PLOTTER, AND CHARACTERS

8.1 THEATRICAL ELEMENTS

In a play there are two important parts:

1. The theatrical text made by the characters performance and the observations of the author (like instructions in the way to act, lights, music, etc) that usually are written between parenthesis. Words (Verbal code) is used.

16 2. To put on the scene, includes all the necessary elements to bring the characters to life on a stage such as: costumes, scenography, music, makeup, etc. Non verbal and Para verbal codes are used.

8.2 THEATRICAL INGREDIENTS

The ingredients are:

A. Dramatic Action: the set of events that happen in a scene divided into minor units called Situations (each event happens to the characters in a determined time and place).

The actions can be represented if they are part of a scene or narrated if they occurred out of the scene and the audience knows about them through a character, a narrator, or a voice in off. A play is divided into acts (normally three) , which are divided into spaces (each one shows the time, feeling, or period), and these are divided into Scenes (they start or end when a character enters or leaves the stage).

B. the characters: real or fictional. According to their importance they are divided into main and secondary. Main characters are divided into protagonists who have the main roles and antagonists whose actions are opposed to let the action advance.

C. Dramatic space: place or places where the dramatic action develops. It is built through the scene pointers (acotaciones escénicas) and the indirect instructions that the characters give in their performances. It is different to scenic space (physical space where the characters act).

D. Dramatic time: different moments in which happen the dramatic action. For example, a play can be presented in three moments: noon of a day, at three in the afternoon of another day, and the night of another day. Of course between these days, time passed, but it is not represented during the scenes, it is understood that they happened in the evolution of the events and plot.

8.3 DRAMATIC TECHNIQUES

In theater, the characters usually present their performances through dialogues, there could be monologues (used when the characters talk to themselves or to the audience) and aside (brief intervention of a character to himself or the audience while other characters pretend not to hear).

8.4 DRAMATIC SUBGENERA

A. Tragedy: is an unhappy ending work featuring characters struggling against fate and doom without being able to overcome them. Example: Romeo and Juliet, Antigone, etc.

17 B. Comedy: Popularly, a funny play; classically, a play that ends happily; metaphorically, a play with some humor that celebrates the eternal ironies of human existence ("divine comedy"). Characters are middle and low class people

C. Tragicomedy (tragicomedia): A play that begins as a tragedy but includes comic elements and ends happily. Tragicomedy was a popular genre in the eighteenth century but is rarely employed, at least under that name, in the modern theatre.

D. Comic relief (entremés) In a tragedy, a short comic scene that releases some of the built-up tension of the play - giving the audience a momentary "relief" before the tension. In the best tragedies, comic relief also provides an ironic counterpoint to the tragic action.

E. Farce (sainete) It's a short comical piece, sometimes with music, which can be represented independently. Often contains humorous social criticism and related key on your traditions or customs (costumbres).

LESSON 9: ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY.

One of the purposes of this new subject in the curriculum is develop in the students an experience called "School of Spectators" (escuela de espectadores). It is about all the class reading a play or actually attending a play at a theater. Then afterwards have a discussion session, like era forum, analyzing the play through critical thinking.

After watching a play: These are some questions that should be considered in the analysis as to start with, and later students will bring up their own for discussion.

A. General Information Stage

1-Who is the author? Which is his/her nationality? Where is the setting? (Time and place)

2- Was it recently written? How long ago was it written?

3- To what genre (genero teatral) does it belong to?

4- Is it an original piece or is it an adaptation of a story or novel?

B. Description Stage

5- Which is the basic argument or story of the play?

18 6- Which narrative or literary tools does the author use to develop the story or carry the action? (Use of words, metaphors, similes, symbols, etc.)

7- How are the characters described or developed (characterization)?

C. Performance of the characters Stage (Interpretación de los personajes)

8. What codes did each character use? (Analyze verbal, non, and para verbal codes used by the characters, specially main characters and antagonists).

D. Evaluation Stage

9. Did I enjoy the play? What kind of critiques do the acting, the direction, the costumes, the scenography, the lights, the sound and music, and other aspects deserve?

10. What aspect caused me a good impression? Why? What would I change?

11. Can I relate this play with another play or situation? What was the moral (lección o moraleja) that I conclude from the play? The idea is to associate the text with other cultural stimuli.

Theatrical Dictionary http://highered.mcgraw- hill.com/sites/0767430077/student_view0/glossary.html

UNIDAD EDUCATIVA PARTICULAR BILINGUE JEFFERSON

BLOCK: 2 THEATER PROJECT

"HASTA CUANDO PADRE ALMEIDA"

ACTIVITIES:

1. Read the attached file with the legend of "Hasta cuando Padre Almeida". It is in Spanish for all the class to clearly understand it.

19 2. Watch: The video seen in the class can be also seen at YouTube (it is also in Spanish). http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi2hvxhYG64

3. Analyze the characters. Write the name of three main characters and describe each one.

4. Write the scenes according the sequence of the scenes (as they appear in the VIDEO). You can write them in form of a list using numbers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

5. REWRITE ENTIRELY the legend with the format of a play (include directions, actions, lights, music)

- Type the play

6. DEVELOP THE Script following the chart attached to this file.

(Scene No., Scenography, Action, Effects).

7. Draw the poster of the play, dates of the play, main actors, director, theater, place, dates, etc. You can be creative, using the names of real actors, your classmates, etc. you can draw with colored pencils, markers, use computerized drawing tools, etc.

Make your own art. Do not copy paste from an existing work (that is plagiarism!!)

HOW TO DO THIS WORK:

Monday, Sept. 2: 1 B (Read the legend and watch video at home)

In class teamwork of MAXIMUM 3 PEOPLE (2-3)

Divide the tasks.

Complete folder: #3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (typed) and drafts

Hand in folder: Sept 9 (Monday 9)

Tuesday, Sept. 3: 1 A (Read the legend and watch video at home)

In class teamwork of MAXIMUM 3 PEOPLE (2-3)

Divide the tasks.

20 Complete folder: #3, 4, 5, 6, 7 (typed) and drafts

Hand in folder: Sept 10 (Tuesday, 10)

This is the Project Grade!!!

21 PLAY TITLE: ______

AUTHOR (S): ______

SCENE # SCENOGRAPHY ACTIONS EFFECTS