Realism

The Rebellion Against Royal Neoclassicism Begins

After reading Chapter 8, you be able to

* Explain how realism became a movement * Know what is romanticism * Know the characteristics of realism in acting and staging * Know the pioneer playwrights and their significant works * Define naturalism * Know the plot of Chekhovs Three Sisters * Know the three major American playwrights and their significant works

The reasons for realism

* Realism was a revolt against the neoclassic standards. * Rebellion against the contrived manners and elitist snobbery also fueled the attack * Theatre, they felt, should hold a mirror up to nature

The first challenge to neoclassicism was Romanticism:

* * * *

originated in the late 18th century and stressed strong emotion Use of the Imagination Freedom from classical correctness in art forms, Rebellion against social conventions.

* Epic adventures

* Majestic style * Exotic locales * Grotesque villains * Survives today primarily in musicals and grand opera

Characteristics of Realism
* Realism sought a likeness to life * Realism remains today the dominant influence in the theatre. * Realist playwrights seek to have the audience understand their own struggles and to feel compassion for the human condition.

Qualities of Acting and Staging

* Actors seek to become the characters * Dialogue sounds like conversation * Scenery resembles the locale * Scenery depicts ordinary living conditions * Costumes represented status of character * Protagonist drawn from everyday life. * Protagonist may be perplexed and inarticulate in the face of conflict

* Themes: Thought provoking moral and social questions

Removing the fourth wall Watching a realistic play should be similar to looking in someones living room or house.

The fourth wall is missing for us to watch the characters.

Realism remains one of the dominant styles of presentation today.

* The unspoken purpose of every realistic play is exploring the mystery of life. * Characters in a realistic play are individuals we can compare thoughts and feelings with as they discover lifes meanings * The catharsis of this genre is that each member of the audience is to gain an understanding of his or her own struggles and feel compassion for the struggles of others. * Plays in this era were often referred to as problem plays since they focused on social concerns.

Henrik Ibsen=Father of Realism

* A Dolls House * Ghosts * An Enemy of the People

Themes: Social concerns

* Dolls House: Womens rights * Ghosts: Mercy Killing and Social Disease * An Enemy of the People: Political corruption

Russian realism: Anton Chekhov

* Chekhov worked with Russian director, Konstantin Stanislavsky and the Moscow Art Theatre, to create a series of plays dealing with the end of czarist Russia. * The Seagulls * Uncle Vanya

* Three Sisters * Cherry Orchard

Naturalism
* Extreme form of realism * A slice of life * Mans behavior is the result of genetic and social circumstances * Emphasis on character rather on plot

Americanrealist playwrights:
* Arthur Miller * Tennessee Williams * Eugene ONeill

Americas first master dramatist: Eugene ONeill was so called because his were the first American plays to receive recognition abroad.
* The Hairy Ape, Long Days Journey Into Night, Desire Under the Elms, The Iceman Cometh