Early Modern Theatre

Early Modern Theatre
1875 to 1945
Henrik Ibsen
Thornton Wilder
Henrik Ibsen
1828-1906
• Father of realistic
drama
• Resident playwright
and stage manager
for the Norwegian
National Theatre
• Left his homeland
in 1864
Ibsen’s Plays
• Began by writing romantic verse dramas
drawn from his Scandinavian past
• In the 1870s he abandoned verse drama
for realism
• In the 1890s, his work begins to show the
influence of the symbolist movement
Social plays
Explore the interaction of people with
society.
These works deal with such social problems
as…
1. An unhappy marriage
2. Sexual double standard
3. Position of women in society
4. Man’s responsibility to his community
Examples
1. Pillars of Society
(1877)
2. The Doll's House
(1879)
3. Ghosts (1881)
4. An Enemy of the
People (1882)
The Doll’s House
Character dramas
• Explore the
psychological, moral,
and ethical conflicts
within the character
• Example: Hedda
Gabler (1890)
Hedda Gabler
Anton Chekhov
1860-1904
• The major Russian
realist
• Wrote 4 full length
plays
• Most important
work: The Cherry
Orchard (1904)
The Cherry Orchard
Richard Wagner
Wagner
developed the
theory of the all
powerful
director
Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Meiningen is
considered
the first
realistic
director.
Andre Antoine
1858-1943
• French director
• Showed the world
how to stage
realistic drama
realistically
• Created the Theatre
Libre in 1887
Theatre Libre
1887-1894
• Was an amateur
theatre created to
produce realistic
drama
• Presented mostly
one act plays
• Critical success but
commercial failure
The “Little Theatre” Movement
• “Little Theatres” were private “clubs”
• Public performances of realistic plays were
banned because they were considered
obscene
• But private performances, restricted to
members of the club, were ok
• “Little Theatres” soon opened in London,
Berlin, Moscow and New York
Moscow Art Theatre
1897• A professional acting
company
• Created by
Stanislavski
• To present realistic
drama
• First work was The
Seagull by Chekhov
• First American
performances in 1923
The Group Theatre
1931-1941
• Produce socially
relevant dramas
• Introduced Method
Acting to America
• Company included
Eli Kazan and Lee
Strasberg
• Influence felt for next
20 years
Federal Theatre
1935-1939
• Purpose: To provide
work for the
unemployed
• Our only attempt to
create a national
theatre
• Shows were
reasonably priced: 25
to 55c
The Living Newspaper
• Dramatization of a
problem using stories
from the newspaper
• A kind of dramatic
journalism
Characteristics of
The Living Newspaper
• The plays were often plot less
• The major character was the narrator, the
Voice of the Living Newspaper
• Productions were often presented on a
bare stage
• Period and location was established
through costumes, props, and lighting.
From Triple A Plowed Under
“He's dead. I just drowned my son.
I couldn't feed him and
I couldn't bear to see him hungry... “
The Cradle Will Rock
1937
• Presented by FTP
• Directed by Orson
Welles
• A pro-union antibusiness “opera”
• Locked out of the
theatre on opening
night
Opening Night…
• The company found an empty house -- the
Venice Theatre
• The actors led the audience on a 1 1/2 mile
parade down "Broadway" to the new
theatre
• They performed, the show, not on stage but
in the auditorium
• The composer was at the piano on the
stage
At the Venice Theatre
From Cradle will Rock
The Aftermath…
• Producer John Houseman was fired
• Director Orson Welles quit
• Together they formed the Mercury
Theatre
• Which opened with Julius Caesar in
November, 1937
Julius Caesar
Federal Theatre Closed
• Many objected to the political content of
the plays
• The Federal Theatre was accused of
presenting "putrid plays" that were
"spewed from the gutters of the Kremlin
and . . . directed by Communists"
• Congress voted down the appropriation bill
which would have funded the project for
four more years
• The Federal Theatre closed June 30, 1939
Eugene O'Neill
1888-1953
• First American
playwright to receive
international
recognition
• Son of James O'Neil
• 1916- "Bound East for
Cardiff," is produced by
the Provincetown
Players
O’Neill’s Genres
• Expressionism: Emperor Jones (1920) and
The Hairy Ape (1922).
• Classic Tragedy: Mourning Becomes
Electra (1931),
• Comedy: Ah, Wilderness (1933)
• Realism: Long Day’s Journey Into Night (
1940 / 1957)
Autobiographical Play
• Long Day’s Journey
Into Night
• Written in 1940, but
not produced until
four years after his
death, in 1957
• Many consider it his
greatest drama
Awards
Four Pulitzer prizes
1. Beyond The Horizon (1920),
2. Anna Christie (1922),
3. Strange Interlude (1928)
4. Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1957)
1936 -- Nobel Price for Literature
Two major criticisms
1. His plays are long, often over 4 hours
2. Depressing
Thornton Wilder
1897-1975
• One of America’s
major playwrights
• Winner of 2 Pulitzer
Prizes for Drama: Our
Town (1938) and The
Skin of Our Teeth
(1942)
• Also won a Pulitzer for
The Bridge of San
Luis Rey (1928)
Our Town
• Wilder’s most
important work
• 3 days in the life of
George and Emily
• Performed on a bare
stage
• Narrator (Stage
Manager) is the
major character
The Matchmaker
1954
• Began as The
Merchant of
Yonkers (1938)
• Wilder added Dolly
Levi, a
matchmaker, in
1954
• Becomes Hello,
Dolly! in 1964
Symbolist Designers
1. Adolph Appia (1862-1928) – Developed
theory of modern lighting
2. Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966)
Symbolist Design
• Scenery should be three dimensional
• Scenery should be non-literal, it should
evoke the feeling of place
Edward Gordon Craig:
The Scene (1907)
Abstract Study
Hamlet
Hamlet @ MAT, 1908
Expressionism
• Audience sees the presentation through
the eyes of one of the characters
• The character’s view is usually distorted
• Works better in film and television than on
stage
• Most influential: The Box of Dr. Caligari
(1920 German film)
The Box of Dr Caligari