Realism and Theatre in the 20th Century

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Realism and Theatre in the 20th Century

• What is realism?
• Realism is a genre or style of theatre/film that
  seeks to portray life as it is. Using actual set
  pieces, actual props, actual clothing and speech
  patterns from daily life.
• For example a play takes place in a dorm room
  then there would be a bed, a wooden desk, books,
  scattered clothing, etc.
• The actor would wear jeans, t shirt, etc.

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• Realism is different from Elizabethan theatre in
  several ways
• Sets in Elizabethan theatre are representational
  and minimal. While sets in realism are elaborate
  and true to the place.
• Actors in Elizabethan theatre declare their lines
  to the audience in a loud, announcer voice. In
  Realism, the actors speak in a normal, everyday
  pattern, to each other not the audience.
• The language of Elizabethan theatre is mainly
  flowery verse and it is written in long
  declarative speeches. The language of Realistic
  theatre is every day prose speech and is written
  in dialogue form. It is very conversational.
• Elizabethan theatre is often about fantasy/
  fictional situations. Realism is ordinary
  people/situations.

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• Realism began in Europe. It had its start with
  playwrights such has Henrik Ibsen and Anton
  Chekhov.
• Ibsen was German and Chekhov was Russian.
• Ibsen wrote A Dolls House, and Chekhov wrote The
  Seagulls and The Cherry Orchard.
• Both men wrote plays about ordinary people.
• Their themes were about social and political
  upheaval.
• A Dolls House is about Sexism and womens
  rights.
• Chekhovs plays are all about the social upheaval
  because of the Russian revolution.

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Chekhov and Isben
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Konstantin Stansilavski

• 1863 1938
• Stanislavski was born to a wealthy merchant
  family in Moscow. A family that supported the
  arts and his endeavors.
• He began his career at an early age in a theatre
  company supported by his family.
• In 1897 he co founded the Moscow Art Theatre
  with Vladimir Danchenko.
• It was at this theatre he developed his acting
  system which became the basis for virtually all
  acting instruction in the Western world in the
  20th century.

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Stanislavski and The Moscow Art Theatre
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The System

• Stanislavski developed n acting style he called
  the system.
• This system instructed actors to use their
  affective memory to naturally portray a
  characters emotions.
• Affective memory is to think of a time in their
  own lives when they felt the desired emotion and
  replay it in their mind to give a genuine
  performance.
• This system makes actors work from inside out

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• Stanislavski continued to change and develop his
  system his whole life.
• He felt that developing the art of acting should
  be an ongoing process with no right or wrong way.
• He wrote three books
• An Actor Prepares, Building A Character and
  Creating A Role.
• Create your own method dont depend slavishly on
  mine. Make up something that will work for you!
  But keep breaking traditions, I beg you.

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Stanislavski in the US

• Stanislavskis system came to the US and
  influenced every generation of acting since the
  1930s.
• His influence was first felt at the Group Theatre
  in the 1930s.
• Then it was changed and developed by a man named
  Lee Strasberg first at the Group Theatre and then
  at the Actors Studio, in the 1950s.

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Lee Strasberg

• Strasberg was born in Hungary in 1901.
• He became a US citizen in 1936.
• In 1931 he started the Group Theatre with Harold
  Clurman and Cheryl Crawford.

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• Due to internal conflicts over acting theories
  the Group Theatre disbanded in 1941.
• Strasberg joined the Actors Studio in 1949 as an
  instructor.
• By 1952 he was the artistic and managing
  director.
• Strasbergs method relies very heavily on
  modern psychology and pushes the actor to become
  the character and experience all the characters
  experiences.

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• This method can be dangerous to actors creating
  psychological problems and potential physical
  harm.
• Strasberg taught this method at the Actors
  Studio both in NY and in LA.
• His students include many of the biggest stars of
  the 20th century Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman,
  Robert DeNiro, Paul Newman, Marilyn Monroe, James
  Dean and Ellen Burstyn.

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Stella Adler

• Stella Adler was an actress at the Group Theatre.
  
• She was the only member of the Group or the
  Actors Studio that actually worked with
  Stanislavski.

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• Stella spent a summer in France working with
  Stanislavski.
• When she returned she said that they had it all
  wrong. By the time she worked with Stanislavski,
  he had changed some of his ideas and moved along.
  
• Stella broke from group and began her own studio.
  
• Stella was much more taken with given
  circumstances and working with the words and
  situations the author gives us.