TABLE OF CONTENTS Part I: The Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Theater 1 Chapter 1: From Storytelling and Ritual to Theater 3 Chapter 2: From Theater to Drama 9 Chapter 3: From the Page to the Stage: Theater Artists at Work 17 Part II: An Anthology of the World’s Drama 25 Chapter 4: The Theater of Greece and Rome 27 Chapter 5: The Theater of Asia 45 Chapter 6: The Early Modern Theater 69 Chapter 7: The Modern Theater 101 Chapter 8: The Theater of Africa and the African Diaspora 151 Chapter 9: The Contemporary Theater 177 Answers to Examination Items 219 Appendices 229 Appendix A: An Extensive Bibliography 231 Appendix B: A Selected List of Videos 269 iii Part I: The Theoretical and Practical Foundations of Theater 1 2 PART I THE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THEATER CHAPTER 1 From Storytelling and Ritual to Theater GOAL: To identify some of the human impulses that create theater. KEY POINTS: 1. Theater is among the oldest, most instinctive art forms. 2. Theater developed from: • the innate human impulse to imitate; • the innate human impulse to tell and act out stories; • rituals, especially those related to spiritual needs, the agricultural calendar, and rites for the dead; • ceremonies that sustain cultural, civic, and institutional values. 3. Rituals: • are symbolic actions that satisfy the spiritual and cultural needs of a community; • are arranged in a pattern that eventually becomes precise in its repetition--this gives a sense of order and permanency that comforts the performers and audiences; • originally seem to have been intended to produce “magical effects.” 4. There are remarkable similarities in the origins of theater throughout the world: • theater most often developed in conjunction with spring planting and/or harvest rituals; • theater often dealt with a “slain god-king” who restores life and vitality to the land and its people; • theater involves a spiritual dimension, i.e., the recognition of a power or force greater than that of human beings. 5. Masks are a ubiquitous symbol of the theater and a global cultural phenomenon. 6. Master Pierre Pathelin is a play that embodies many of the concepts discussed in Chapter One. 3 TERMS, CONCEPTS, PEOPLE Balinese Barong dance ceremony Feast of Fools The Ion mask mimesis ritual story tellers griot sutradhara shaman rhapsode sympathetic magic Robert Edmund Jones Aristotle Plato Victor Turner ACTIVITIES AND TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 1. Describe a storyteller at work, emphasizing how s/he uses theatrical elements such as gesture, voice, body attitudes, bits of clothing and props to embellish the story. Discuss how storytellers from early cultures may have used the same elements to enhance their tales. 2. Describe a “ritual” at your school/university or in your community. Identify and discuss in particular those elements that are theatrical in nature. If possible, trace the history and evolution of this rite. Discuss the needs it satisfies within your community. 3. Visit a museum and investigate rituals and ceremonies devised by earlier peoples of the region. Note also any tales that may have become mythologized. Describe and discuss those elements that are theatrical. 4. Collect pictures of masks. Discuss their common characteristics and purposes, as well as those things that make the masks distinctive. 5. View the Jim Carrey film, The Mask: analyze it as it relates to the ideas discussed in Chapter 1. 6. Discuss how one functions in the daily world by knowing how to play roles, wear masks, and participate in rituals. 7. Collect and discuss some of the terminology we use in daily discourse that is drawn from the theater. Why do these words serve us well? 4 8. Read some popular folk tales drawn from various world cultures. Discuss how they reflect the needs and cultural concerns of the people who created them. Also, discuss how they could serve as useful material for plays. For instance, look at some of the tales of Coyote drawn from Native Americans or any of the delightful animal tales from Africa. GENERAL EXAMINATION ITEMS 1. Which of the following is not an example of a Story Teller: A. the West African griot B. the German kleinswertz C. the Brahman sutradhara D. the Pueblo shaman E. the Greek rhapsode 2. The characteristics of Rituals may be characterized by all of the following except: A. they are symbolic actions developed by and performed for a community, usually to satisfy its spiritual or cultural needs B. they are arranged in patterns that eventually become precise in their execution C. they are not necessarily synonymous with ceremonies D. they are believed to have originally been performed to achieve “magical” effects E. they are vitually indistinguishable from ceremonies 3. Which of the following aspects of American football are characteristics shared with rituals: A. the recitation of incantations in support of the favorite combatants B. the use of elaborate costumes C. the “battle” between the combatants which ends with the vanquishing of one by the other D. all of the above E. none of the above 4. All of the following are examples of the evolution from rituals to theater except: A. the Greek springtime rituals in honor of the god Dionysus B. the inspiration of the Hindu priest Bharata by the gods Brahma, Vishnu and Siva C. the Nordic celebrations in honor of the gods Thor and Valkrie D. the creation of the art form by Ogun as a means of bridging the gap between humanity and the gods E. the religious and agricultural festivals sponsored by Buddhist monks in ancient Japan 5. Masks, the quintessential symbol for the theater, serve many functions; among these functions are all of the following except: A. they have power to transform individuals into something more than they are in the ordinary world B. they empower, embolden, and permit us to do things we would not ordinarily do C. they discourage or stifle imagination because they supply an objectified symbol D. they are metaphors which symbolize something else E. they are appealing to us aesthetically TRUE/FALSE 5 6. Most people demonstrate an innate theatricality when they embellish their daily activities with symbolic gestures and visual symbols like “costumes” which are appropriate to the activities in which they are engaged. 7. Story telling, rituals, ceremonies, pageants, and carnivals, along with the basic human impulse for imitation, are among the cornerstones of the theatrical arts. 8. Because the contemporary theater often addresses various sociological, political, and aesthetic needs of its audience, it does not depend on commercial success. 9. Because the particulars of ritualistic events vary from place to place as a result of cultural influences and differences, the impulses to use theatrical means to engage the participants and audiences have very little in common. 10. Among the common characteristics of the theater in nearly all cultures are facts that we are mimetic and communal beings who seeks order and employ “masks” throughout our lives. 6 Master Pierre Pathelin 1. In Master Pierre Pathelin, Pierre's profession is: A. merchant B. carpenter C. lawyer D. we are not told his profession E. he has no job but lives only by his wits and cunning 2. The title character in Master Pierre Pathelin is one of the prevailing stock characters in world theater called the: A. witty fool B. con artist C. trickster D. unscrupulous lawyer E. country bumpkin 3. Master Pierre Pathelin contains which of the following Aristotelian qualitative elements of drama: A. diction B. spectacle C. thought D. all of the above E. none of the above 4. In Master Pierre Pathelin the literary term for the scene in which the shepherd outwits Pierre to keep the money is: A. exposition B. climax C. crisis D. denouement (falling action) E. point of attack (inciting moment) 5. In Master Pierre Pathelin one of the tricks Pierre and his wife use to convince the cloth \ merchant that Pierre is ill is: A. Pierre speaks "in tongues" by using a combination of languages and gibberish B. Pierre pretends to see demons C. Pierre feigns blindness and swears he cannot see the merchant D. Pierre’s wife administers huge quantities of medicine (actually it is ale) to Pierre E. Pierre pretends he is paralyzed and cannot get out of bed to walk 7 TRUE/FALSE 6. The climax in Master Pierre Pathelin occurs when the shepherd cheats Pierre out of his money. 7. Music is a significant element in Master Pierre Pathelin. 8. Master Pierre Pathelin displays similarities to a popular medieval festival called the Feast of Fools. 9. In Master Pierre Pathelin, the title character promises to get cloth for his wife because it is their anniversary and he needs a gift for her. 10. In productions during the fifteenth century, Master Pierre Pathelin most likely would have been performed on a bare stage with a few simple props. 8 PART I THE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THEATER CHAPTER 2 From Theater to Drama GOAL: To identify and define the elements and performance modes that make drama and theater “art.” KEY POINTS Theater and Drama 1. Theater refers to those elements that bring drama—a play script—to life before an audience. 2. Drama is a specialized, highly organized, and compressed form of literary expression; conflict is central to the dramatic experience. 3. The term playwright denotes a conspicuous and conscientious attempt to craft a story to meet the demands of the theater. 4. Aristotle identified and defined six elements that are common to drama and theater: plot; character; thought; diction; music; spectacle. Genre 1. Genre classifies literary works into specific types (i.e., tragedy, comedy, and tragicomedy) each of which has its own subsets (farce, melodrama, etc.).