1915-1945 with Lines

3/22/21 1915-1945 Wars and the Interim 1 Social, cultural, economic, political background l General instability of European nations, formation of alliances – Clashing networks of alliances generated WWI— “the war to end all wars” (hardly) l Postwar depression cycles: extreme in Germany & USA – Nationalism and fascism/totalitarianism rising from these conditions (Germany, Italy, Russia particularly) 2 Social, cultural, economic, political background l Alliances built up again in 1930s; only to explode again in WWII l Definitive end (?): the atomic bomb l Artistic expression became plagued with questions: – “How could rational people be so irrationally destructive?” – “Does humanity have any meaning in light of all this?” 3 1 3/22/21 Reactive Theatre Movements l EXPRESSIONISM (theatre: 1905- 1920; film: 1920s) – Flowered primarily in Germany, related to symbolism – Highly subjective, action seen through eyes of the dreamer – Action and staging distorted and dreamlike, many times disturbingly so— often highly political 4 Expressionism l Typical structure: “journey” play, with protagonist moving through a series of not-always-related incidents – What we call “episodic” drama, as opposed to realism which is “linear” – Exceptions abound to this, however l Dialogue spoken in short sentences— “telegraphic” l Similar to symbolism in that characters are often “types” l Key playwrights: Georg Kaiser (Gas I and II), Ernst Toller (Transformation), Strindberg (A Dream Play) l Key directors: Jürgen Fehling, Leopold Jessner (Richard III) 5 EXPRESSIONIST SET DESIGN Examples from period 6 2 3/22/21 Wozzeck by Alban Berg 7 Murderer the Woman’s Hope by Oskar Kokoschka 8 The Road to Damascus by August Strindberg 9 3 3/22/21 Transformation by Ernst Toller 10 Other 1910s “isms”: l Futurism (1909-1920s) / Constructivism (1920s) – Closely related; Futurism is most associated with Italian theatre while Constructivism is most associated with Russian (early Soviet) theatre & film – Characterized by a glorification of technology and the machine, idealization of war, attacking the past – Onstage, this translated (usually) into short, seemingly illogical pieces, with the audience being confronted, even antagonized – Set designs had a machine-like quality about them – Key proponent in theatre: Filippo Marinetti, whose productions involved no speech, only rearranging objects on stage 11 Futurist set design Enrico Prampolini’s Futurist Pantomime, The Merchant of Hearts (1927) 12 4 3/22/21 Constructivist design 13 Another 1910s “ism”: l Dada (1916-early 1920s) – Primarily Paris and Germany – Short-lived movement, reactive against horror of war – Replaced logic and reason with calculated madness – Productions were series of recitations, “sound” poems, dance, etc. – Use of chaotic visuals: lots of objects placed in an illogical order – Key proponent: Tristan Tzara (Switz.) 14 Dada in theatre Tristan Tzara’s Coeur à Gaz (date unknown) 15 5 3/22/21 Dali, Persistence of Memory (1931) 16 René Magritte, Cle de Champs (1931) 17 A 1920s “ism” l Surrealism (late 1910s-1920s) – Primarily France and Spain – Theory articulated by André Breton – Apex of stage use with Guillaume Apollinaire and Jean Cocteau – Film use with Luis Buñuel – Art with Salvador Dali 18 6 3/22/21 Surrealism, cont’d. l What you find in surrealist performance: – Representation of subconscious states – Dream imagery – Shocking visuals – Lotsa sex and violence – Freudian influence – Series of irrational events pasted together – Similar to Expressionism but more violent, often mixed in realistic elements, and was more confrontational 19 Famous Surrealists in action l Cocteau’s plays heavily influenced by Greek myth; best-known is a re-working of Antigone (1922) l Apollinaire was similarly influenced; his best known play is The Breasts of Tiresias (1917) l Buñuel’s films highly influential on 20th c. theatre and film: his Un Chien Cocteau’s Antigone (1922) Andalou (An Andalusian Dog, 1928) is standard fare in intro. Cinema courses and still shocks audiences today 20 France, 1915 - 1945 l Jacques Copeau felt that naturalism and spectacle in staging was shifting focus away from the text – Founded the Théâtre du Vieux Colombier which was text-centered (and process-centered) with bare stages l Prominent playwrights Jean Giradoux and Jean Anouilh used classical Greek sources to create eloquent, witty plays that spoke to modern audiences – Ex. Giradoux’ The Trojan War Shall Not Take Place (1935); Anouilh’ version of Antigone (1944) l Antonin Artaud — important theorist (“Theatre of Cruelty”) 21 7 3/22/21 Germany, 1915 - 1945 l Bauhaus (1920s) – Attempted to breaK down traditional boundaries between artist and craftsman – Attempted to unify architecture, painting, sculpture, and other arts into a communal expression – OsKar Schlemmer, director of A 1982 reconstruction of the stage worKshop, sought a 1920s Bauhaus piece, to unify the human body with Bauhaus Dances abstract stage space l Created 3-D costumes that transformed actors into “ambulant architecture” 22 Bauhaus Theatre Architecture The “total theatre” designed by Walter Gropius (never built) 23 Germany, 1915 - 1945 l Epic Theatre (1920s) – First conceived by Edwin Piscator, who wanted to create a “proletarian” theatre, oriented to political action l Felt a director could shape a text anyway s/he chose l Productions should be highly theatrical, embrace technology, and engage audience’s emotions l Called his most famous production, The Good Soldier Schweik (1928) “epic” because of its resemblance to epic poetry 24 8 3/22/21 Epic Theatre, 1930s l Bertolt Brecht developed the epic ideal further: – Episodic drama – History-based – Broad sweep of time and locale – Complex plots – Many characters – Should be didactic and create an intellectual climate for social change (highly political) – Decidedly Marxist in social outlook 25 Important Brechtian ideas l Audience should not get emotionally involved with the production— only intellectually – Called this effort to “detach” the audience the Verfremdungseffekt (lit. “alienation effect”) l All production elements (set, lights, etc.) should be independent of one another; each can convey the political message 26 Brecht in action l Ideas came under ire of Nazis and he fled, writing most seminal plays in exile, notably Mother Courage and Her Children (1938) and Galileo (1937- 1939) l Upon return, settled in East Berlin and developed his own theatre, the Berliner Ensemble— still very much thriving today! 27 9 3/22/21 Setzuan discussion 1. Discuss the ways the play’s structure fits the Brechtian model of playwrighting (or doesn’t fit). 2. Discuss the political or ideological content of the play, being specific to characters. 28 U.S. Theatre to WWII 29 First 2 decades of 20th c. l Continental seating in houses l Realism gaining popularity, in set design too A David Belasco set, replicating a restaurant, 1912 30 10 3/22/21 First 2 decades of 20th c. l NYC theatre gradually moving to midtown/Times Sq area l Community theatre movement across US – Notable here: the Provincetown Players, a haunt of Eugene O’Neill & co. Famous 1930 painting of PPH 31 1920s – Boom time / “Jazz Age” l 100s of theatres built Langston across US/B’way district Hughes mushrooming – “Little theatres” (non- commercial, avant- garde, like Europe) and summer theatres popping up l Harlem Renaissance’s impressive output through ‘30s l Revues like the Ziegfeld Follies and the first true musical, Show Boat (‘27) 32 1930s – Depression l Slump in B’way ticket sales, losing ground to the movies l Maturing of American realism with playwrights like O’Neill and Lillian Hellman l Social-protest plays like Odets’ Waiting for Lefty 33 11 3/22/21 Bold ‘30s experiment: the FTP l One of FDR’s “New Deal” plans to revive the arts: the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) l Head: Hallie Flannigan; divided US into 5 regions (NYC its own region) l Aims: to re-employ as many theatre people as possible; to make theatre accessible – Shows were completely subsidized by govt. (!), little to no admission charge – All kinds of plays staged, classics to new – Another aim: zero censorship (!!) 34 Federal Theatre Project l Lots of experimentation done, notably the “Living Newspaper,” dramatizing events of the day l Flannigan met with Congressional resistance all along the way, which was suspicious of the political content of the works – Their suspicions, in midst of first “Red Scare,” resulted in vote to kill program off l Remains the most extensive federally- funded arts project— and still generates controversy! 35 12.

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