Research Paper On Shakespeare
Contextual Study essay on the assignment:
What difficulties does a 21st Century actor face when approaching an Elizabethan or Jacobean text?
Contextual study
Acting level 2
Penda Madeleine Faal
19th april 2010-04-18
Word count=
Pages of essay
I want to start with an introduction to the main
Elizabethan text:
Shakespeare organised reality by stylizing it. Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet arranges various materials and conventions that his audience was already familiar with- a popular story, elements of Elizabethan romantic comedy, the technique of Petrarchan love poetry. As an actor we have to go back to that period and explore with different ways of making an alienated text familiar. Romeo and Juliet is a sharp witted tragedy. …show more content…
Actors then commanded the attention of their large surrounding audience by generating emotion, especially pathos. As conventional staging allowed dissolving walls and ignored other practical details, the actors exercised their skills conspicuously to arouse empathy and dispel all sense of fiction.
The riverside Shakespeare
“Drury lane, which had held an audience of 2000, was rebuilt in 1794 to hold 3611. About the same time Covent Garden was expanded to hold about 3000. In such vast scenarios facial expressions, except the coarsest grimaces, would not carry further than the middle of the pit. Soft voices would not be heard; rapid speech would not be understood. Thus the actors were driven into that slow and heavy way of speaking with each phrase marked off by a strong pause, which we associate with stump oratory. Gesture, stride and stance had to be’ Grand’ if they were to be noticed... (p 1803)
“Contradicts what feel natural to me. I feel like I’m overacting and it feels somehow alien to my body language) ELABORATE
The stage: * Round stage then
Platform stage …show more content…
As many as 500 people would attend play performances. There was clearly some considerable profit to be made in theatrical productions. James Burbage was an actor, who at one time would have played in the Inn-yards and , no doubt , negotiated a high price with the Inn keeper to perform on his premises. It was the idea of James Burbage to construct the first purpose-built theatre - it was called 'The Theatre'. It was based on the style of the old Greek and Roman open-air amphitheatres. 'The Theatre' was to be the first of many Elizabethan Theatres. However, profit dropped in the winter as people would not venture to the cold open arenas of these massive Elizabethan Theatres. Playhouses were therefore used for many winter productions. Many of the playhouses were converted from the old coaching inns or other existing buildings - all productions were staged in the comparative warmth of these indoor Elizabethan Theatres. Most people associated Elizabethan Theatres with those built in a similar style to the Globe Theatre - the massive
What difficulties does a 21st Century actor face when approaching an Elizabethan or Jacobean text?
Contextual study
Acting level 2
Penda Madeleine Faal
19th april 2010-04-18
Word count=
Pages of essay
I want to start with an introduction to the main
Elizabethan text:
Shakespeare organised reality by stylizing it. Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet arranges various materials and conventions that his audience was already familiar with- a popular story, elements of Elizabethan romantic comedy, the technique of Petrarchan love poetry. As an actor we have to go back to that period and explore with different ways of making an alienated text familiar. Romeo and Juliet is a sharp witted tragedy. …show more content…
Actors then commanded the attention of their large surrounding audience by generating emotion, especially pathos. As conventional staging allowed dissolving walls and ignored other practical details, the actors exercised their skills conspicuously to arouse empathy and dispel all sense of fiction.
The riverside Shakespeare
“Drury lane, which had held an audience of 2000, was rebuilt in 1794 to hold 3611. About the same time Covent Garden was expanded to hold about 3000. In such vast scenarios facial expressions, except the coarsest grimaces, would not carry further than the middle of the pit. Soft voices would not be heard; rapid speech would not be understood. Thus the actors were driven into that slow and heavy way of speaking with each phrase marked off by a strong pause, which we associate with stump oratory. Gesture, stride and stance had to be’ Grand’ if they were to be noticed... (p 1803)
“Contradicts what feel natural to me. I feel like I’m overacting and it feels somehow alien to my body language) ELABORATE
The stage: * Round stage then
Platform stage …show more content…
As many as 500 people would attend play performances. There was clearly some considerable profit to be made in theatrical productions. James Burbage was an actor, who at one time would have played in the Inn-yards and , no doubt , negotiated a high price with the Inn keeper to perform on his premises. It was the idea of James Burbage to construct the first purpose-built theatre - it was called 'The Theatre'. It was based on the style of the old Greek and Roman open-air amphitheatres. 'The Theatre' was to be the first of many Elizabethan Theatres. However, profit dropped in the winter as people would not venture to the cold open arenas of these massive Elizabethan Theatres. Playhouses were therefore used for many winter productions. Many of the playhouses were converted from the old coaching inns or other existing buildings - all productions were staged in the comparative warmth of these indoor Elizabethan Theatres. Most people associated Elizabethan Theatres with those built in a similar style to the Globe Theatre - the massive