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Tables of Contents for The Theater Experience
Chapter/Section Title
Page #
Page Count
Preface
xiii
INTRODUCTION
1
14
The Focus of Theater: Human Beings
2
2
The Impulse Toward Theater
4
1
Theater as a Transitory Art
5
3
The Elements of Theater
8
2
Summary
10
5
PART ONE THE AUDIENCE
15
70
CHAPTER ONE THE AUDIENCE: ITS ROLE AND IMAGINATION
15
28
The Relationship Between Performer and Audience
16
3
The Special Nature of Theater: A Contrast with Film
The Chemistry of Performer-Audience Contact
Theater as a Group Experience
19
3
Psychology of Groups
How Audience Makeup Affects the Theater Experience
19
3
The Separate Roles of Performers and Spectators
22
3
How Should the Audience Be Involved?
Audience Participation Through Direct Action
The Imagination of the Audience
25
6
Tools of the Imagination: Symbol and Metaphor
The "Reality" of the Imagination
The Imaginary Worlds of Theater
31
7
Theater as Metaphor
Realism and Nonrealism
Distinguishing Stage Reality from Fact
Summary
38
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
39
4
CHAPTER TWO BACKGROUND AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE AUDIENCE
43
24
Background of Individual Spectators
44
1
Background of the Period
45
1
Theater and Society
Greek Theater and Culture
Elizabethan Theater and Culture
Modern Theater and Culture
Play Synopsis: A Raisin in the Sun
46
6
Background Information on the Play or Playwright
52
7
Expectations: The Variety of Experiences in Modern Theater
59
4
Broadway and Touring Theater
Resident Professional Theaters
Alternative Theaters: Off-Broadway and Elsewhere
College and University Theaters
Multiethnic, Multicultural, and Gender Theaters
Summary
63
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
64
3
CHAPTER THREE THE CRITIC AND THE AUDIENCE
67
18
Theatrical Criticism
68
6
What Is Criticism?
Preparation for Criticism
Critical Criteria
Descriptive and Perspective Criticism
Fact and Opinion in Criticism
The Reviewer and the Critic
Play Synopsis: Fefu and Her Friends
74
2
Getting Started in Theater--Mel Gussow, Critic
76
1
The Audience's Relationship to Criticism: Two Issues
77
2
The Audience's Independent Judgement
Analysis and Overanalysis
Summary
79
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
79
6
PART TWO. THE PERFORMERS AND THE DIRECTOR
85
76
CHAPTER FOUR ACTING: OFFSTAGE AND IN THE PAST
85
18
"Acting" in Everyday Life
86
2
Imitation
Role Playing
Studies of "Acting" in Daily Life
Acting in Life Versus Acting Onstage
88
4
Photo Essay: Performers Play Many Parts
92
1
Stage Acting: A Historical Perspective
93
1
Physical Demands of Classical Drama
Vocal Demands of Classical Drama
Performing in Classics Today
Play Synopsis: Death of a Salesman
94
6
Summary
100
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
100
3
CHAPTER FIVE STAGE ACTING TODAY
103
26
The Acting Experience
104
2
The Challenges of Acting Today
106
1
Photo Essay: Performers Play Diverse Roles
107
7
The Development of Realistic Acting
Play Synopsis: The Cherry Orchard
114
10
Performers' Training Today
Synthesis and Integration
Judging Performances
124
1
Summary
125
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
126
3
CHAPTER SIX THE DIRECTOR AND THE PRODUCER
129
32
The Theater Director
129
3
Evolution of the Director: A Historical Perspective
Photo Essay: The Director at Work
132
7
The Director and the Script
Getting Started in Theater--Zelda Fichandler, Director
139
12
The Director and the Production
The Director's Power and Responsibility
The Producer or Manager
151
3
The Commercial Producer
Noncommercial Theaters
Completing the Picture: Playwright, Director, and Producer
154
1
Summary
155
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
156
5
PART THREE PURPOSE AND PERSPECTIVE
161
100
CHAPTER SEVEN SUBJECT, PURPOSE, AND POINT OF VIEW
161
18
Subject
162
1
Focus and Emphasis
162
2
Purpose
164
1
Viewpoint
165
7
What Is Point of View?
The Dramatist's Point of View
Society's Point of View
Viewpoint and Genre
Play Synopsis: M. Butterfly
172
3
Summary
175
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
176
3
CHAPTER EIGHT TRAGEDY AND OTHER SERIOUS DRAMA
179
20
Tragedy
179
3
Traditional Tragedy
Play Synopsis: Antigone
182
6
Modern Tragedy
Heroic Drama
188
1
Bourgeois or Domestic Drama
189
1
Photo Essay: Modern Domestic Drama
190
2
Melodrama
192
1
Getting Started in Theater--Emily Mann, Playwright-Director
193
3
Summary
196
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
196
3
CHAPTER NINE COMEDY AND TRAGICOMEDY
199
20
Comedy
199
3
Characteristics of Comedy
Play Synopsis: Tartuffe
202
6
Techniques of Comedy
Photo Essay: Forms of Comedy
208
3
Forms of Comedy
Tragicomedy
211
4
What Is Tragicomedy?
Modern Tragicomedy
Summary
215
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
216
3
CHAPTER TEN MUSICAL THEATER
219
16
Background
220
2
Drama and Music
The Appeal of Music and Dance
Types of Musical Theater
A Brief History of the American Musical
222
6
Antecedents
The 1920s and 1930s: Musical Comedies
The 1920s and 1930s: Advances in Musicals
Musical Theater of the 1940s and 1950s
Photo Essay: Diverse American Musicals
228
4
Musicals from the 1960s Through the 1980s
Summary
232
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
233
2
CHAPTER ELEVEN THEATER OF DIVERSITY
235
26
African American Theater
236
3
Background of African American Theater
African American Theater in the Middle and Late Twentieth Century
Getting Started in Theater--August Wilson, Playwright
239
1
Play Synopsis: Fences
240
2
Asian American Theater
242
4
Background of Asian Theater
Contemporary Asian, American Theater
Hispanic Theater
246
2
Native American Theater
248
1
Feminist Theater
249
1
Gay and Lesbian Theater
250
2
Performance Art
252
2
Postmodernism and Culturally Diverse Theater
254
1
Summary
255
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
255
6
PART FOUR THE PLAYWRIGHT: DRAMATIC STRUCTURE AND DRAMATIC CHARACTERS
261
70
CHAPTER TWELVE CONVENTIONS OF DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
261
18
Essentials of Dramatic Structure
262
4
The Form of Drama: Plot versus Story
The Subject and Verb of Drama: People and Action
The Crucible of Drama: Conflict
Play Synopsis: Waiting for Godot
266
3
Structural Conventions: The Rules of the Game
269
5
Limited Space
Limited Time
Strongly Opposed Forces
A Balance of Forces
Incentive and Motivation
Creating a Dramatic Structure
274
2
The Opening Scene
Obstacles and Complications
Crisis and Climax
Summary
276
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
277
2
CHAPTER THIRTEEN DRAMATIC STRUCTURE: CLIMACTIC, EPISODIC, AND OTHER FORMS
279
30
Climatic Structure
280
2
Characteristics of Climatic Structure
Play Synopsis: Ghosts
282
4
Significant Periods of Climatic Structure
Episodic Structure
286
7
Characteristics of Episodic Structure
Significant Periods of Episodic Structure
Combinations of Climatic and Episodic Form
293
1
Theater of the Absurd
294
4
Absurdist Plots: Illogicality
Absurdist Language: Nonsense and Non Sequitur
Absurdist Characters: Existential Beings
Ritual and Pattern as Dramatic Structure
298
2
Rituals
Patterns
Serial Structure
300
1
Experimental and Avant-Grade Theater
300
1
Special Structures
Getting Started in Theater--Richard Foreman, Director
301
2
Segments and Tableaux as Structure
Structure in Musical Theater
303
2
Summary
305
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
306
3
CHAPTER FOURTEEN DRAMATIC CHARACTERS
309
22
Types of Characters
310
2
Extraordinary Characters
Representative or Quintessential Characters
Photo Essay: Extraordinary Characters
312
2
Play Synopsis: A Streetcar Named Desire
314
7
Stock Characters
Characters with a Dominant Trait
Minor Characters
A Narrator or Chorus
Nonbuman Characters
Using Dramatic Characters Effectively
321
4
Juxtaposition of Characters
Orchestration of Characters
Summary
325
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
326
5
PART FIVE THE DESIGNERS: ENVIRONMENT AND VISUAL ELEMENTS
331
112
CHAPTER FIFTEEN STAGE SPACES
331
24
Creating the Environment
332
1
Theater Spaces
333
17
Proscenium Stage
Arena Stage
Thrust Stage
Created and Found Spaces
All-Purpose Theater Spaces
Special Requirements of Theater Environments
350
1
Summary
351
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
352
3
CHAPTER SIXTEEN SCENERY
355
32
A Brief History of Stage Design
357
1
"Stage Sets" in Everyday Life
357
1
Scenery for the Stage
358
1
Objectives of Scence Design
359
1
Aesthetic Aspects of Scene Design
359
9
The Scenic Environment
Mood and Style
Realistic and Nonrealistic Scenery
Locale and Period
The Design Concept
The Central Image or Metaphor
Play Synopsis Mother Courage and Her Children
368
2
Coordination of the Whole
Practical Aspects of Scene Design
370
6
The Physical Layout
Materials of Scene Design
Special Effects
Getting Started in Theater--Robin Wagner, Scene Designer
376
1
The Process of Scene Design
377
1
Elements of Design
Steps in the Design Process
Photo Essay: The Designer Prepares a Production
378
5
The Scene Designer's Collaborators
Designing a Total Environment
Summary
383
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
384
3
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN STAGE COSTUMES
387
22
Costumes in Everyday Life
387
2
Costumes for the Stage
389
5
Objectives of Costume Design
Getting Started in Theater--Jess Goldstein, Costume Designer
394
5
The Costume Designer
Related Elements
399
3
Makeup
Hairstyles and Wigs
Masks
Photo Essay: Masks
402
2
Coordination of the Whole
404
1
Summary
405
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
406
3
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN LIGHTING AND SOUND
409
22
Stage Lighting
409
5
A Brief History of Stage Lighting
Objectives and Functions of Lighting Design
Photo Essay: Special Effects of Lighting
414
4
Achieving the Objectives: The Lighting Designer
Getting Started in Theater--Peggy Eisenhauer, Lighting Designer
418
5
Sound in the Theater
423
4
Sound Reproduction and Sound Reinforcement
Sound Technology
Summary
427
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
428
3
EPILOGUE
431
12
The Creators: Risks and Opportunities
432
1
The Audience: Integrating the Elements
433
2
Observation and Assimilation
Observing the Elements as Parts of a Whole
The Overall Effect: What Does Theater "Mean"?
435
3
The Modern Theater: Different Purposes, Different Experiences
438
2
The Future: What Lies Ahead
440
1
Summary
441
1
Exploring Theater: Questions and Exercises
442
1
APPENDIX ONE TECHNICAL TERMS
443
8
APPENDIX TWO MAJOR THEATRICAL FORMS AND MOVEMENTS
451
8
APPENDIX THREE HISTORICAL OUTLINE
459
14
Notes
473
2
Bibliography
475
4
Index
479