1. The Play
All the isms you’ll ever need…
and more!

2. What do we know?
• We talked about Aristotle’s Poetics
– Plot
– Character
– Thought/Theme
– Diction/Language
– Music
– Spectacle
• We talked about Genres
• We talked about audiences and critics and
theories

3. What do we still need to know?
• It’s important to think about the context of
the play – what were the trends in playwriting
through history? How about at the time the
play was written? What are the rules it’s
following? What are the rules it’s breaking?

4. Two Types of Plot Structures
Example: Sherlock
Holmes
• Climactic/Well-Made Play
– Late point of attack (which means, in terms
of the WHOLE STORY, the PLOT begins fairly close to the climax – we
don’t start at the birth of the character, we start at the main action)
– Distinct cause and effect structure with everything building logically to
a climax
– Fewer longer scenes covering a shorter period of time
– Defined by Eugene Scribe in 1811
– Sometimes seen as a “masculine” form
• Episodic
– Could be an earlier point of attack
– May not proceed in linear time
Example: Crash
– Some scenes even seem to stand on their own
– May cover a longer period of time
– More shorter scenes
– More “feminine” plot structure

5. Sanskrit Drama
• Not concerned about building to a climax, but
to induce the appropriate rasa (tone, mood or
flavor)

6. Classical
• Greeks
– I think we’ve pretty much
covered the Greeks…
• Romans
– Borrowed play ideas from Greeks, but plays were
losing popularity
– Paratheatricals: gladiators, naumachiae, chariot races,
bear baiting
– Mime (wild performances that included graphic sex
and violence… but also some of the first women on
stage)

7. Roman Playwrights
• Seneca
– Tragedy
– His plays were extremely bloody, and Romans had no problem
with tossing a prisoner or a slave on stage and killing them for
real
• Plautus
– Comedy
– His plays were like Menander’s – about domestic, daily topics
– Very popular with the audiences
• Terence
– Comedy
– His plays tended to include lessons about how to live a good life
– Tended to be more refined and popular with the upper classes
“Plautus for the masses, Terence for the classes”

8. Medieval
• Hroswitha (c. 950)
– Benedictine Nun
– Wrote plays based on
Terence’s work
• Saw Terence as impure
• Praised the sobriety and
chastity of women
– First known post-Roman
playwright
– First known female
playwright
– Plays probably not done,
but can’t say for sure.

9. Medieval
• Liturgical drama
– Quem Quaeritis: earliest known
example of dialogue and stage
directions as part of the liturgy:
“Whom do you seek?”
– Performed as part of the mass to
help commoners understand the
Bible stories (since they didn’t
speak Latin
– Grew more and more elaborate and were
eventually forced to move out into the town
square

10. Medieval
• Non-Liturgical Drama
– Grew out of liturgical drama, but was performed outside the church
– In the vernacular (the language of the people) rather than Latin
– Performers were not churchmen
– Cycle plays told complete sets of Bible stories
– The plays were performed in front of backdrops called “Mansions” on
stages or floors called “Plateas”
– The plays were sometimes performed on moving platforms called
pageant wagons

11. Medieval
• Mystery Plays: Stories from the Bible and life
of Christ
• Miracle Plays: Stories from the lives of saints
and Christian miracles
• Morality Plays: Allegorical tales about how to
get to heaven, live a good life, stay out of
trouble, keep from
temptation, etc.

12. Sidebar: Everyman
• Everyman: the prime example of the Morality play
• Characters were named after traits or qualities
(“Everyman”, “Good Deeds”, “Vice”) rather than
people
• In Everyman our hero learns:
– “Fellowship”, “Kindred”, and “Cousin” will not accompany
him to the grave.
– “Good Deeds” will go along, but first he must do penance,
as advised by “Knowledge”
– Then “Doctor” (a learned man) comes in to explain
everything
Version 1 Click on the links to watch! Version 2

13. Sanskrit
• Sakuntala by Kalidasa
• Largely episodic and improvisational
• 200-800 CE: Golden age of Sanskrit theatre

14. Kabuki
• Began in early 17th century
• The kanjis that make up Kabuki mean sing, dance and
skill
• Started out performed by women (many of whom were
also prostitutes)
– Mid 17th century – transition to being performed only by
men – onnagata
• Kyogen - comic interludes
• Still performed as it was hundreds of years ago
• In performances today, there is historical audience
participation in which audience members stand up and
shout out the name of legendary kabuki performers,
comparing the contemporary performers to the greats

15. Nōh
• 14th century classical Japanese theatre
• Evolved out of popular and folk drama
• Influenced by Zen Buddhism
• Zeami Motokiyo – son in a father/son team that established
the rules for Nōh theatre
• Also includes kyogen interludes

16. Bunraku
• Japanese Puppet theatre
• Founded late 17th century
• Large puppets designed
and built by master
craftsmen and puppeteers

17. Beijing Opera
• Began during the 14th Century – Yuan Dynasty
• Based on novels and stories
• Multiple acts, prominent songs

18. African Theatre
• Largely ceremonial and improvised, unlike its
more traditionally scripted Western
counterpart

19. Golden Age of Spain (Siglo d’oro)
• c. 1580-1680
• Autos sacramentales
– Religious/morality plays
– Calderon de la Barca (La Vida es Sueño)
• Capa y espada
– Cloak and sword
– Lope de Vega (Fuente Ovejuna)
• Loas and entremeses
– Short pieces before or between acts

20. Elizabethan
• By about 1560, religion and
current politics were forbidden
subjects for theatre to present
on stage across Western Europe
– Protestant split from Catholic
church had made theatre a
battle ground for each side
– Morality plays about evils of
Catholicism/Protestantism
• Elizabeth I takes the throne in
1558 (held till her death in
1603)

21. Can’t Forget ol’ Billy!
• William Shakespeare
– April 23, 1564-April 23, 1616
– Actor and writer
– Wrote in Iambic Pentameter
• 10 syllables per line
• Blank verse (the lines don’t
rhyme
• Tragedy
• Comedy
• History

22. Restoration Theatre (1660-1750)
• England, 1660
• The plays were sort of
neoclassical, but they weren’t
as concerned about the rules
as the French
• Comedy of manners
• Audiences were smaller and
less diverse… mostly just the
rich folks
– Some of the richest folks sat on
stage so they could be seen

23. Restoration Women
• First time women were
allowed on stage
– There were a lot of rape
scenes (oh-so-dramatic)
– They also created breeches
roles (roles in which women
dressed as young boys)
– Nell Gwynne a very famous
early actress
• Aphra Behn was the first
professional female
playwright
– The Rover

24. Classici
sm

25. Ooh, la la!
• Louis XIII (r 1610-1643)
and Cardinal Richelieu
(like Batman and Robin…
only French)
– Goal of making France the
cultural center of the
world
– Established the Academie
Française to make the
decisions about all things
regarding French art and
culture

26. Who loves Italy? France!
• Richelieu was bringing Italian
designers over to France to give
them all their fancy new design
innovations
• In 1548, they built the Hotel de
Bourgogne – the 1st permanent
theatre in Europe since Roman
times
• In 1629 a group of actors was
assembled to perform there –
they were the 1st professional
theatre company in Paris

27. But wait, there’s more…
• Enter Louis Quatorze (XIV)
(r 1643-1715) and Cardinal
Mazarin (another dynamic duo)
– “L’etat c’est moi” (Louis centered
all the power of France around
himself
• Louis believed that supporting
and subsidizing theatre shows
erudition, taste, and power
• Established the Comédie
Francais – which is still
performing today

28. Sidebar: The Neoclassical
Ideal In the 16 th
• Verisimilitude – the appearance of truth century, Europe
• Three Unities rediscovered
classical theatre
– Time: action takes place in 24 hours – like Aristotle’s
– Place: action takes place in one location Poetics. The
Academie
– Action: the plot concerns only one main arc of Francais decided
action that was the only
• Decorum: characters behave way to make
appropriately according to their station theatre. They set
up a very rigid
in life: kings are honorable and servants are set of rules.
sneaky
• Purity of Form: tragedy is tragedy and comedy is
comedy and they should never mix
• Dulce et Utilo: theatre should be used to teach and to
please – to instruct and to entertain

29. The Big Three
Three of the most
important Neoclassical
playwrights
• Corneille (1606-84)
– Le Cid
• Racine (1639 - 99)
– Phaedra
• Molière (1622 - 73)
– Tartuffe

30. The Neoclassical Ideal
The Time: 1636
The Place: France
The Play: Le Cid
The Writer: Pierre
Corneille
The Big Deal: Corneille
adapted the play from an
epic Spanish tale that did
not fit into the Neoclassical
Ideal – the Academie
Francais was outraged!

31. Le Cid Here’s the plot… you
decide if it fits the
Neoclassical Ideal!
• Ximena and Rodrigo are given permission by their
fathers to marry.
• The princess is in love with Rodrigo, but his status
is too low, so she gave him to Ximena and just
whines about it… a lot.
• Ximena & Rodrigo’s dads were both up for being
the prince’s tutor. Rodrigo’s dad gets the job,
Ximena’s dad insults him and slaps him. The king
asks Ximena’s father to apologize. He won’t.
• Rodrigo’s dad asks Rodrigo to avenge his honor.
• Rodrigo fights and kills Ximena’s father.
• Ximena demands Rodrigo’s death (but, of course,
she still loves him). He offers her the chance to
kill him, she doesn’t.

32. Le Cid – continued
• Rodrigo leads the army to conquer the Moors
who are invading – gaining the favor of the king.
(PS – now that he’s a war hero, the princess
could marry him, but she decides to honor
Ximena’s claim… and whines about it… a lot.)
• The king tells Ximena that Rodrigo died in the
battle to test her reaction. But… surprise! He’s
not dead!
• Ximena’s angry… demands his death. The best
anyone will do is a duel. Ximena agrees to
marry whoever wins the duel.
• Of course, Rodrigo wins (not before another
death scare) and she consents to marry him.
• It’s been one long day!

33. How’d he do?
• Verisimilitude: it’s not believable that all of this happened in
one day
• Three Unities
– Time: he did reset events that originally happened over 11 years
into one day
– Place: the action does take place in one town – stretching this a
bit
– Action: there are too many subplots
• Decorum: The princess is appropriate for not marrying
beneath her station, Ximena is inappropriate for agreeing to
marry the man who killed her father, and Rodrigo is not
appropriately punished
• Purity of Form: there are some comic elements interspersed
• Dulce et Utilo: there are lessons involved, and it was
considered very entertaining by most audiences

34. Jean Racine
• Strict Catholic
upbringing (even by
French standards)
– Emphasis on Guilt and
Sin in his plays
• Wrote one comedy,
based on a play by
Aristophanes, all the
rest of his plays were
tragedies
• His most famous play
was Phaedra… let’s see
how he stacks up on the
Neoclassical Ideal

35. Phaedra
• Phaedra is married to Theseus, but is in love
with her stepson, Hippolytus (who is in love
with Aricia)
• News! Theseus is dead, and Phaedra
confesses her love to Hippolytus and asks him
to kill her.
• News! Theseus is not dead. Phaedra’s nurse
has the great idea to accuse Hippolytus of
coming on to Phaedra.
• Theseus asks Neptune to strike down his son,
which he does.
• It’s a tragedy, so someone is going to die:
– Hippolytus dragged into the sea by
Neptune (offstage)
– Nurse drowns herself out of shame and
guilt
– Phaedra kills herself (same reason)

36. The Neo-Classic Scorecard: Phaedra
• Verisimilitude and
Reasonableness? As
good as we can get
with Neptune in the
story!
• 3 Unities? Yes!
• Decorum? Yes!
• Purity of Form? Yes!
• Appropriate Ending?
Tragedy = Death!

37. The Neo-Classic Scorecard: Phaedra
• Verisimilitude and
Reasonableness? As
good as we can get
with Neptune in the
story!
• 3 Unities? Yes!
• Decorum? Yes!
• Purity of Form? Yes!
• Appropriate Ending?
Tragedy = Death!
• Dulce et Utilo? Yes!

38. The Great Comedian: Molière
• Born Jean-Baptise Poquelin:
Moliere was his stage name
• Genius of French Comedy
• By 1660 he was head of a
theatre company, lead actor,
and manager.
• Favorite of Louis XIV
• Comedies draw from Roman
comedy, Commedia dell’Arte
and French farce
• Famous for sparkling, witty
dialogue and great plots
• Wrote Tartuffe, The
Imaginary Invalid, The Miser

39. Tell me about Tartuffe
• Orgon - head of a middle-class house - has fallen
under the spell of a con man – Tartuffe who
pretends to be a pious man
• Wife, Brother, Son, Daughter all see through
Tartuffe, but Orgon can’t
• Son overhears Tartuffe trying to seduce Orgon’s
wife (his mother), and accuses him publicly. Orgon
throws his son out of the house, writes him out of
the will.
• Wife arranges for Orgon to overhear Tartuffe
attempt to sleep with her
• The secret is out, but Tartuffe has the upper hand
because Orgon has been such a fool.
• At the last moment, a messenger arrives from the Click on the photo to see
King to arrest Tartuffe. The King knows all about it, a preview for a
and true justice is served. production of Tartuffe

40. The Neo-Classic Scorecard: Tartuffe
• Verisimilitude and
Reasonableness?
Absolutely
• 3 Unities? Yes!
• Decorum? Yes!
• Purity of Form? Yes!
• Five Act Form? You bet!
• Appropriate Ending?
Comedy = Mockery!
• Dulce et Utilo? Yes!

41. Molière: Going out with Style
• Molière played the
lead role in his play,
The Imaginary Invalid:
a hypochondriac who
is always acting sickly
• During one
performance he fell ill
and died later that
night
• At first he was denied a
Christian burial, but
Louis XIV interceded
on his behalf and he
received the
appropriate burial

42. Sentimentalism
• Post Neoclassicism
• Everybody is basically
good
– Evil a result of corruption -
People are perfectible
• Acting becomes more
conservative
• Lines of Business
– Lead
– Heavy
– Walking
Gentleman/woman

43. Romanticism
• Victor Hugo’s play Hernani helped to launch
Romanticism in France, rejecting the rigid
rules of Neoclassicism

44. German Romanticism
• Sturm und Drang (storm and stress)
• They were rejecting the rules of Neoclassicism
too
• Johann Wolfgang Goethe was a key figure in
Sturm und Drang, as well as a later return to
classical inspiration with Weimar Classicism
(you’ll notice that artistic trends tend to bounce
back and forth
– One of his most important If the Germans love one thing, it’s
plays is Faust David Hasselhof. If they love two
things, it’s David Hasselhof and
William Shakespeare

45. English Romanticism
• England’s Romanticism wasn’t
strong in playwriting
• Acting, poetry and novels was
where it was really at
– Garrick
– Shelly, Byron
– Mary Shelly: Frankenstein
• Romanticism:
– Knocked down Neoclassicism
– Created the image of the tortured
young artist
– Set the stage for future change

46. Romanticism vs. Realism

47. Realism
• Answered a call for “Seriousness”
• Introduced the idea of the BOX SET – basically they
would build a set that was like a box – a room with all
four sides – only one wall was lifted off so the audience
could watch the action
• Plays examined real-life issues of people
– Urban Poverty/Crime
– Unemployment
– Social Darwinism
• Henrik Ibsen – “father of realism”
– Norwegian playwright: A Doll’s House, Ghosts
• Anton Chehov
– Russian playwright: Seagull, The Three Sisters

48. Naturalism
• Realism is for sissies! Naturalism is a much
more extreme version of realism.
An early
production of the
Naturalistic classic
Miss Julie

49. Naturalism’s Influences
• Emile Zola – depict social ills so that they may be
corrected – plays should show “slices of life”
• Interest in the lot of the working classes and the
rights of the common people – MAIN FOCUS of
the naturalist movement
• August Strindberg
– Swedish playwright: Miss Julie
• Konstantin Stanislavski at the Moscow Art
Theatre helped shape Realistic/Naturalistic acting
– we’ll talk A LOT more about him later

50. Avant-Gardism 1890 - 1960
• Impressionism – capture fleeting moments of
awareness that were believed to constitute
the essence of existence.

51. Symbolism
• Growing out of Freud’s ideas of the unconscious mind
• 1885
• Symbols to approximate truth
• Plays often set in the past or in fantasy lands

52. Expressionism
• Focused on political and social question in a stage
world close to nightmare. Plays unfolded in a
world of bizarre and garish colors, jagged angles
and oddly proportioned objects – ‘allegory
clothed in nightmare’
• Largely message centered
with exaggerated or
stereotyped characters
• German Expressionism:
Bertolt Brecht – but we’ll
talk more about him later

53. Dada & Futurism
Filippo Tommaso Emilio
Tristan Tzara
Marinetti
Swiss artist and thinker who
wrote the Dada manifestos. It
was basically a loose anti-art Marinetti and the futurists
movement intended to ridicule believed in technology, speed
the modern world, which they and violence. They celebrated
saw as meaningless. Their progress and all things new.
performances and poems were Anyone over about 30 years old
extremely free-form, not had nothing to offer them.
concerned with aesthetics. Their plays (called syntesi) were
They wanted to offend and extremely short and abstract.
criticize. The movement didn’t
last long (1916-1922).

54. Absurdism
• Looking at a world that could produce the
Holocaust and the nuclear bomb, playwrights
couldn’t find any meaning – the world seemed
absurd
• Samuel Beckett
– Irish playwright: Waiting for
Godot, Endgame

55. Postmodernism
• Post WWII
• Reaction to Modernism
• Breaks down barriers between art forms
• Narrative is less important
• Loss of belief in objectivity, truth & meaning
• Bottom-up participation
• Impossibility of communication, meaninglessness of
words
• Parody, satire, irony, self-reference and wit
• Attractive to feminist, LGBT and other marginalized
artists

56. Postmodernism has
been particularly
noteworthy in
architecture
The Gugenheim

57. Tehran, Thailand, China

58. Postmodern Tools
• Eclecticism – disparate and conflicting elements
• Parody – referencing and mocking well-known cultural figures,
behaviors or stories
• Irony – the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of
its literal meaning
• Allegory – representation of abstract ideas through concrete forms
• Schlock/Kitsch – playing with the excess of knick-knacks and useless
doo-dads of modern life
• Camp – playing up intentional ridiculousness
• Simulacrum – the idea that mass production is so overdone these
days, that there is no way of knowing something authentic when
we see it
• Media – playing with the overflow of forms of media available to us
– postmodernism often uses different forms of media together
• Self-reflexive – postmodernism tends to reference itself or be very
aware of its own message and even its own ridiculousness

59. Postmodern People
• Harold Pinter – The Homecoming, Betrayal
• David Mamet – Bobby Gould in Hell, Oleanna
• Heiner Müller - Hamletmachine
• Ntozake Shange – For colored girls who have
considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf
• Caryl Churchill – Top Girls, Fen, Cloud 9
• Robert Wilson – Einstein on the Beach
• Elizabeth LeCompte – The Wooster Group (check out
the next few slides for some images of her work)

60. The Wooster Group
Sakonnet Point
www.thewoostergorup.org
Rumstick Road

61. The Wooster Group
Brace Up!
Who’s Your Dada?
www.thewoostergorup.org

62. The Wooster Group
Route 1 & 9
www.thewoostergorup.org
The Emperor Jones

63. The Wooster Group
Nayatt School
Hamlet
www.thewoostergorup.org