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Instructor’s
Resource Manual
for
The
Essential Theatre
Enhanced 10th edition
Oscar G. Brockett and Robert
J. Ball
Prepared by
Jodi Karjala
Trinity
University
John Fleming
Texas
State University
Andrew Carlson
University
of Texas at Austin
CONTENTS
Preface
Pedagogy Issues
Highlight of Key
Revisions
Acknowledgements
Part 1 Foundations 1
Chapter 1 The
Nature of Theatre 1
Terminology 1
Outline 1
Discussion
Questions 3
Suggested
Activities 4
Sample
Quiz Questions 4
Chapter 2 Audience
and Criticism 6
Terminology 6
Outline 6
Discussion
Questions 9
Suggested
Activities 9
Sample
Quiz Questions 9
Chapter 3 The
Play 11
Terminology 11
Outline 11
Discussion
Questions 17
Suggested
Activities 17
Sample
Quiz Questions 17
Part 2 Varieties of Theatrical Experience 19
Chapter 4 Festival
Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experiences 19
Terminology 19
Outline 20
Discussion
Questions 32
Suggested
Activities 33
Sample
Quiz Questions 33
Chapter 5 Creating
a Professional Theatre: Elizabethan England
dell’Arte,
and Seventeenth-Century France
Terminology 36
Outline 36
Discussion
Questions 49
Suggested
Activities 49
Sample
Quiz Questions 50
Chapter 6 From Romanticism to Realism 53
Terminology 53
Outline 53
Discussion
Questions 61
Suggested
Activities 61
Sample
Quiz Questions 61
Chapter 7 Modernism
and Its Effects: 1885-1960 64
Terminology 64
Outline 64
Discussion
Questions 76
Suggested
Activities 76
Sample
Quiz Questions 76
Chapter 8 Decentralization
and Subsidization: New Directions 80
Terminology 80
Outline 80
Discussion
Questions 88
Suggested
Activities 88
Sample
Quiz Questions 88
Chapter 9 Contemporary
Theatre and Its Diversity 91
Terminology 91
Outline 91
Discussion
Questions 98
Suggested
Activities 98
Sample
Quiz Questions 99
Chapter 10 Asian
and African Theatre 102
Terminology 102
Outline 102
Discussion
Questions 113
Suggested
Activities 113
Sample
Quiz Questions 114
Part 3 Theatrical Production 116
Chapter 11 Theatrical
Space and Production Design 116
Terminology 116
Outline 116
Discussion
Questions 121
Suggested
Activities 121
Sample
Quiz Questions 121
Chapter 12 Playwriting
and Dramaturgy 123
Terminology 123
Outline 123
Discussion
Questions 127
Suggested
Activities 127
Sample
Quiz Questions 128
Chapter 13 Directing
and Producing 130
Terminology 130
Outline 130
Discussion
Questions 138
Suggested
Activities 138
Sample
Quiz Questions 139
Chapter 14 Acting 142
Terminology 142
Outline 142
Discussion
Questions 147
Suggested
Activities 147
Sample
Quiz Questions 148
Chapter 15 Scene
Design 150
Terminology 150
Outline 150
Discussion
Questions 156
Suggested
Activities 156
Sample
Quiz Questions 156
Chapter 16 Costume
Design and Makeup 159
Terminology 159
Outline 159
Discussion
Questions 164
Suggested
Activities 164
Sample
Quiz Questions 165
Chapter 17 Lighting
and Sound Design 167
Terminology 167
Outline 167
Discussion
Questions 176
Suggested
Activities 176
Sample
Quiz Questions 177
Additional Activities 179
Video Resources 182
Website Resources 184
PREFACE
This instructor’s manual is
intended as a resource for instructors using The Essential Theatre, Enhanced 10th
edition as a main textbook for their course.
The Essential Theatre is malleable to a number of uses. Certainly, among its many uses the main two
are as a textbook for courses in theatre appreciation (teaching future
theatregoers) and introduction to theatre (teaching future theatre
makers). This instructor’s manual has
been written with this broad potential usage in mind, and mindful of the very different
contexts in which one may teach such courses.
Pedagogy Issues
There is neither one correct way to teach a
course, nor a one correct way to use The Essential Theatre or this
instructor’s manual. Therefore, this
manual strives to enhance your flexibility and to contribute valuable
pedagogical tools.
Flexibility Some instructors may not cover The Essential Theatre in the order that
the chapters are presented, while others may choose to cover only certain
chapters or parts of chapters. For this
reason, the manual offers broad overviews of each of the book’s three parts but
treats each chapter individually. The
detailed table of contents allows the instructor to turn quickly to a
particular chapter or section as needed.
Pedagogical Tools A useful
instructor’s manual offers the teacher pedagogical assistance. This manual includes a wide number of
pedagogical tools, including: identification of key terminology, detailed
chapter outlines, possible discussion questions, sample quiz questions, essay
questions (both short and long), and suggested class activities. The manual
also identifies additional activities that combine information or concepts from
two or more chapters to facilitate student integration of the material. Many of these activities allow students to
actively experience the process of creating theatre from the point of view of
various theatre practitioners. The
manual also identifies for the instructor pertinent video resources relating to
the material and to the plays from Plays for the Theatre, 11th
edition (the play anthology intended as a companion to The Essential Theatre). Finally, the manual identifies website
resources by providing a list of theatre research databases on the World Wide
Web.
For each chapter of
The Essential Theatre several teaching tools have been made available to
you:
Key
Terminology – A list of
specialized terms, concepts, names of key theatre practitioners and theatres
for each chapter. To provide maximum
flexibility, a specialized term that appears in more than one chapter has been
included in the list for each chapter in which it appears.
Outlines – Each chapter of The Essential Theatre has been outlined for you. Each outline
follows this basic format:
I.
Heading
A. Primary point of a paragraph
1. Sub-point within the paragraph
a. Clarification or example of the sub-point
i.
Further
clarification, often a list of examples
This manual may occasionally deviate from
this basic outline where clarity is improved by doing so. As you wish, the outline may serve as an
organizational tool for lecture or more simply as one distillation of the
chapter’s content.
Discussion
Questions – The discussion
questions provided aim to engage the students in processing what they have
read, encouraging them to make connections, comparisons and contrasts. In some instances, the questions ask the
students to relate the material to their lives and experiences. These discussion questions (as well as the sample
quiz and essay questions) focus their attention on one or more of the four
broad pedagogical goals developed by The
Essential Theatre:
1.
Creating
an awareness of how theatre uniquely explores and processes the human
experience by shaping ideas and perceptions about our lives into an active
experience that can stimulate critical thought, discussion and our
imaginations.
2.
Developing
the critical acumen to evaluate the effectiveness of theatre practitioners’
work, as well as their collaborative interaction in theatrical productions.
3.
Recognizing
theatre’s diversity by understanding the relationship between dramatic
literature (of different periods and styles) and the performance conditions,
practices, and conventions for which it was written.
4.
Understanding
of the function, process, and methods linked to the art form’s various practitioners
- playwrights, directors, designers, actors, etc.
Suggested
Activities – Activities
sometimes spark questions arising from a shared experience where lecture does
not.
The activities suggested hope to facilitate the application of each
chapter’s knowledge through a variety of experiences. Many of the activities provide opportunities
for the students to experience the process of creating theatre from the point
of view of its various practitioners.
Sample
Quiz Questions – The
multiple choice and true/false questions provided gage retention of factual
information. Still, the manual
recognizes that quizzes and tests may also be active learning experiences for
student as they separate and piece together pertinent information. For this reason some multiple-choice
questions reaffirm specific characteristics or practices related to a larger
concept or practitioner, while others require the student to discern fine
distinctions between concepts and practices.
Likewise, some of the true/false questions carry multiple bits of
information and require students to distinguish whether all the information
provided is true - if any portion of the statement is false, then the statement
as a whole is considered to be false.
Some instructors may wish to use the sample quiz questions from various
chapters to construct their midterm or final examinations. Use the tools provided as you think best.
Sample Essay Questions – The sample essay questions allow
students to apply their knowledge and to make connections or draw comparisons
between topics covered within the chapter.
Frequently, the questions ask students to take a stance on an issue or
to view practices and concepts from the position a theatre practitioner or
audience member. Please note that many
of the essay questions require a long answer that might prove suitable for an
exam or even for short papers but are less suitable for use in a “quiz.” Other sample essay questions may well prove
suitable for quizzes.
At the end this instructor’s manual several additional
teaching tools have been made available to you:
Additional
Activities – These
activities are provided primarily to open up additional classroom activities
for you. The activities suggested
combine information from two or more chapters and are intended to facilitate
the application of this knowledge in a variety of experiences. Wherever possible these activities provide
opportunities for the students to experience rather than simply read about the
process of creating theatre.
Video Resources – Provided for you is a listing of video
resources for the plays and for topics covered in The Essential Theatre. The videos listed are by no means exhaustive
but they may prove particularly useful to those instructors teaching
introduction to theatre or theatre appreciation courses who might not yet have
identified such resources. The video
resources may also prove particularly useful for those using the tenth edition
of Plays for the Theatre.
Website
Resources – Provided for
you is a listing of theatre research databases on the World Wide Web. Each database provides numerous links to
theatre related topics, practitioners, companies, etc.
Key Revisions to The Essential Theatre and Plays for the Theatre, Enhanced 10th
Edition
As
“contributors” to an enhanced edition, our goal has been to build upon a
successful framework while enhancing the features we have found to be most
instructive in our own teaching. Likewise, we have listened to users of this
book in attempt to increase the clarity, content, and organization to fit the
needs of different instructors.
The “Theatre in
a Broad Context” timelines have been expanded and a new one has been added for
Chapter 10’s coverage of Asian and African Theatre. In addition, the material
in Part 2 has been reorganized to make the historical overview of theatre’s
many expressions more clear. The presentation of Chapter 7’s examination of
modernism’s influence on theatre and drama from 1885 to 1960 has been amended.
An examination of the differences between the early modernist movements of
realism, symbolism, expressionism, surrealism, futurism, and dada is now
featured in a pull-out box that contrasts the distinctive features of each
movement. In the second half of the chapter, the trends in post–World War I
European theatre are now treated together, followed by the trends in American
theatre, and concluding with a separate treatment of musical theatre during
that era. Chapter 8’s treatment of decentralization and subsidization now
includes a consideration of Sam Shepard’s play True West as it illustrates the back-and-forth movement between
regional theatres and the different tiers of theatre production found in New
York. Chapter 9’s treatment of diversity now includes a discussion of August
Wilson’s Fences and Tony Kushner’s Angels in America; its treatment of
contemporary theatre retains Octavio Solis’s controversial new play Lydia and is updated in its discussions
of both plays and musicals. In addition, Chapters 7, 8, and 9 now feature
increased attention to the major playwrights of the modern and contemporary
periods and all plays include a date of first production, thereby offering a
clearer sense of context.
In Part 3,
updates have been made so that the discussions of theatre production reflect
standard practices and terminology. There is also increased attention to the designer
as artist and interpreter; Chapters 15, 16, and 17 now include pull-out boxes
where designers discuss the artistry of their design process. In Chapter 17,
the expanded treatment of sound design has been retained.
Throughout the
text, the feature boxes, play summaries, and historical content has been subtly
edited to sharpen the clarity or significance of the topic being discussed.
Likewise, about two dozen photos and illustrations are new to this edition,
showing concepts and practices as vividly as possible.
Acknowledgements
It is impossible to list all the people to
whom we are indebted. We wish to thank the following colleagues for their
insightful and useful comments:
Pamela Cilek, St. Charles Community College
Nina LeNoir, Chapman University
Jeffrey Milet, Lehigh University
Simon Provan, University of Wisconsin, Sheboygan
Steve Reynolds,
Ph.D., Wittenberg University
Sarah Maines, Texas State University
Michelle Ney, Texas State University
Finally, we
thank the staff at Wadsworth Cengage: Michael Rosenberg, Publisher; Megan
Garvey, Development Editor; Erin Bosco, Assistant Editor; Rebecca Donahue,
Editorial Assistant; Dan Saaybe, Content Project Manager.
John
Fleming, Texas State University
Andrew
Carlson, University of Texas at Austin
Part One – Foundations
I.
Part
One – Foundations
A. Theatre is a complex art at least 2500
years old, and has been as diverse as the cultures in which it has appeared.
1. It has undergone many changes and followed
diverse paths
B. Such diversity invites questions about what
theatre’s varied manifestations have in common and the significance of their
differences
1. It also invites questions about theatre’s
appeal:
a. Why do people create theatre?
b. What attracts audiences to it?
c.
What
makes one production seem better to us than another?
C. Part One examines some basic issues:
1. The nature and function of theatre
2. The relationship of theatre to other art
forms
3. Criteria for judging theatrical
performances
4. How play scripts are structured
D. These explorations will help build the
foundation for a fuller understanding and appreciation of theatre and the
processes of theatrical production
Chapter 1 - The Nature of
Theatre
Terminology
Theatre Drama Theatrical
conventions
Prior censorship Self-censorship Esthetic
distance
Willing suspension of disbelief Empathy Multiple
types of intelligence
Outline
I.
Theatre’s
Origins
A. Tribal rituals, storytelling and mimicry
B. Theatre achieved a distinct identity 2500
years ago
1. During its long history, theatre has been
both denounced and praised, and its value frequently questioned
2. Some have deemed theatre as immature,
immoral or dangerous and others as acceptable entertainment or a truthful
reflection of human behavior
II. The Basic Elements of Theatre
A. What is performed (the script, scenario or
plan)
1. “A performs B for C”
a. “A” = Producers, directors, designers,
performers, etc
b. “B” = Script, scenario or plan
c.
“C” =
Audience
2. There is a great diversity in “what” can be
performed
B. The performance (the production)
1. The people whose efforts make a production
happen: producer, director, actors, designers, etc.
2. Production components: the play, acting,
scenery, costumes, lighting, music, dance
C. The audience
1. Continuous feedback between the performers
and the audience, as well as among audience members affects the performance
experience
2. Audience expectations and motivations
affect what is performed
3. Not all theatre will appeal to all segments
of the public
III. Theatre as a Form of Art
A. Theatre should entertain, but not everyone
finds the same things entertaining
B. What is art?
1. Art is often depicted as too complex to be
fully understandable
2. The unfamiliar makes us uncomfortable
|
3. The many different attitudes about what art
is “worthwhile” and what art is not, may stem from our cultural perspective or
the context in which the art is presented
a. Popular culture vs. elitist culture
b. The use of unfamiliar or strange theatrical
conventions may confuse spectators
c.
Theatrical
conventions share characteristics with those of sporting events, yet have many
differences
d. The purpose of the performance
(entertainment, social justice, provoking thought, etc.)
|
4. Distinguishing characteristics of art
a. Art provides one way of understanding the
world
i.
By
reflecting fundamental patterns of human behavior
ii.
By
involving the audience’s emotions, imagination, intellect
iii. The stage is a magnifying glass -
examination of the human experience
b. Spectator response
i.
Willing
suspension of disbelief, esthetic distance, and empathy all play important
roles
ii.
Theatre
involves us esthetically and empathically
iii. Always open to multiple interpretations
|
IV. Special Qualities of Theatre
A. Lifelikeness
B. Ephemerality
C. Objectivity
D. Complexity of its means
E. Immediacy
1. Theatre has important attributes that TV
and Film do not duplicate
a. 3-dimensional experience
b. Interactive relationship
c.
Focus
d. Audience imagination
V. Art and Value
A. Art has the capacity to improve the quality
of life
B. Art is a form of cultural expression
C. Theatre (and other fine and performing
arts) is sometimes undervalued because it does not yield the same concrete
benefits as engineering or medicine
D. Although standardized tests typically
acknowledge and value linguistic and mathematical abilities, there may be other
abilities that, as additional types of intelligence, can be viewed as valuable:
a. Musical b. Kinesthetic c. Spatial
d. Interpersonal e.
Intrapersonal
i.
Theatre
develops and uses all of these types of intelligence
Discussion Questions
1. This chapter discusses “art” and the value
it may or may not have in today’s society.
What distinguishes “art” from other expressions or experiences? Do you think of theater as “art” or
“entertainment”? Are these terms
mutually exclusive? Why, or why
not? What value does art (in general)
and theatre (in specific) have for you?
2. Different people find different types of
stories or experiences entertaining.
What do you find entertaining?
How open are you to new experiences?
3. Theatre often exposes audiences to diverse
subjects and themes from a variety of perspectives. Are there particular subjects, themes, or
perspectives that you would not want to see staged? Would you endorse the use of censorship to keep
others from viewing these same subjects, themes, and/or perspectives? Why, or why not?
4. Try to image life without the arts: music,
dance, theatre, television, film, painting, sculpture, etc. What effect would their absence have on your
life?
5. In what ways does theatre resemble life?
Suggested Activity
Everyone’s taste for art varies
widely. You might clarify this by
introducing examples of what would be considered “high-brow” and “low-brow”
works of art (for example, you might contrast a Saturday Night Live sketch with
a foreign art film). Ask the students to
determine which they consider to be a work of “art,” or, if they consider all
your examples works of art, which they consider to be “high-brow” and which
“low-brow.” Then, ask them to explain on what basis they made these
distinctions. Such an activity might
lead to an energetic discussion of what qualifies as “art” as well as on the
role context, form, and purpose play in making such distinctions. Some instructors in smaller classes may wish
to divide the class into two groups: one group articulating arguments that
support an elitist stance on art, while the other group advocates a rationale
that supports a pop-culture perspective.
Sample
Quiz Questions
Multiple Choice
1. _____ Which statement best describes
“willing suspension of disbelief”?
A). A technique used by actors in which they
defer their own reality to accept that of the play
B). A dynamic in which the audience agrees to
accept the fictional world of the play on an imaginative level while knowing it
to be untrue.
C). A psychological dynamic in which one group
of audience members can affect the responses of others to an event,
particularly if they share the same cultural background.
2. _____ In the statement “A performs B for C”
which of the following is NOT
a component of “A”?
A). Producer
B). Designer
C). Audience
D). Actor
3. _____ Which statement accurately reflects
similarities between theatrical performance and sports?
A). Both have players and spectators
B). Both have specialized dress for their
participants
C). Both have a special playing space or area
for the activity
D). All of the above
E). None of the above
4. _____ Which does NOT express a difference between theatre and games or
sports?
A). Theatre has a predetermined outcome
B). In theatre, audience loyalty or support is
formed during the performance rather than preceding it.
C). In theatre, spectators assemble at a
special time and place for the event
5. ______ What types of intelligence does
theatre develop and make use of?
A). Verbal
B). Mathematical
C). Musical
D). All of the above
E). None of the above
True/False
1. _____ Parades, juggling, pantomime and
street carnivals may all be considered theatrical entertainments
2. _____ Audience taste may significantly
influence what is performed, how it is performed and where it is performed.
3. _____ All theatre depends upon a script as
its basic starting point.
4. _____ Because of “empathy,” we don’t call
the police if we see a character murdered on the stage during a performance.
5. _____ It is much easier to control audience
focus in the theatre than it is on television or film.
Essays
1. Theatre uniquely represents the human
condition and experience. Address the
ways in which theatre operates differently from film or television.
2. “A does B for C” is perhaps the simplest
definition of theatre. Who is “A,” what
is “B,” and who is “C”? What aspect or
role does each contribute to the theatre experience? How do they interact or influence each other?
 |
Quiz answers
Multiple Choice: (1) B pg. 16, (2) C pg. 6, (3) D pgs.
12-16, (4) C pg.12-16, (5) D pgs. 22-23
True/False: (1) True pg.6, (2) True pgs.
8-9, (3) False pg. 6, (4) False, pg. 16, (5) False pg. 21
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