#bc i often hear japan being used an extreme example

[tyrannuspitch]

not reblogging the whole thread because it's reeeally long but the interesting thing to me about that post about cultural differences in etiquette, beginning with how you always need to say "bonjour" before any interaction in france, is that it really takes a bit of effort for me to wrap my head around the idea that starting a conversation with "excuse me" is LESS polite than "hello". like... "excuse me" effectively IS a greeting, and an apology at the same time. of course you can say it in a rude way, as with anything else, but it's really just a compressed way of saying "hello stranger i'm so sorry to disturb you". using "hello" alone where "excuse me" is appropriate would come across as entitled, maybe even creepy; "excuse me" acknowledges the correct emotional distance to keep from strangers. of course there's no objective correct answer here. but it's interesting to think about anyway.

eta: like it's especially interesting because the thread mostly goes into the politenes of doing a social ritual vs the politeness of doing things quickly so you don't waste time... but this difference isn't that. this difference is literally order of priorities. in my culture we want to apologise and acknowledge personal space as quickly as possible so we merge the apology with the greeting. in others the greeting is sacred so you have to wait for the apology, if there is one at all. hmmmm

[evangelinecullperformingart-blog]

Classical Theatre Evaluation Report

I have explored different classical texts and investigated their features and acting demands throughout my second term of Performing Arts. For example, I have studied the Melodramatic style of acting, Greek Theatre, and Shakespeare.

Greek Tragedy:  

The first style of acting that I have looked at is Greek Theatre. I have investigated the play “Electra” which is a classic text performed in this style.

The social, cultural and historical context of the text and playwright:

Sophocles was born 497/496 BC in Colonus, Attica and he died 406/405 BC (aged 90 or 91) in Athens. Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. Sophocles wrote 120 plays during the course of his life, but only seven have survived in a complete form. Sophocles influenced the development of the drama by adding a third actor, this reduced the importance of the chorus in the presentation of the plot.

Electra is widely considered to be Sophocles's best character drama due to the thoroughness of its examination of the morals and motives of Electra herself. After Electra's father, King Agamemnon, returns from the Trojan War, his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus, murder him. Sophocles's play deals with Electra's intense desire for revenge in the years following her father's murder.

Although the exact date of Sophocles' s Electra is not known, it was probably written and first performed around 409 B.C. (at that year's Dionysia), when the playwright was in his eighties. At this time, the Greek states were battling one another in the Peloponnesian War. The city-state of Athens had established itself as the dominant region m Greece, following its decisive role in the defeat of die Persians in the battle of Salamis in 480 B.C.

After the Persians were expelled from Greece, the city-states banded together to form the Delian League. This alliance ensured the mutual protection of each state and was ostensibly a confederacy of equals. Each city paid an annual tribute to maintain the strength of the alliance. However, Athens gradually became the leader of the Delian League, and Pericles, head of the Athenians, used the surplus tribute to rebuild

The Ancient Greeks used drama to advance their culture, and in doing so, they promoted the morals of their gods/goddesses system and beliefs. For example, in Sophocles’ play Antigone he uses a clash between brothers, a quest for power, and the idea of inescapable fate to advance the moral that humans must obey the gods and their traditions even if it means physical death.

When Greek audiences watched these dramas, they were supposed to take away the moral and apply it to their lives.  If there was an invading city or culture that the Greeks were against, then the Greeks were expected to fight to the death in defense of their beliefs or traditions.

Ancient Greeks believed that music would cure people who are distressed and psychologically disturbed. Their resolution would be listening to certain kinds of music and watching certain types of performances. The theatre was believed to be a healthy healing sanctuary where people came from across the empire to cure disabilities and sickness.

The vocal and physical requirements:

In our Greek Tragedy sessions, we studied the play “Electra” by Sophocles. When interpreting this text and developing characters there are several vocal requirements that actors need to be aware of. Firstly, actors must be able to project their voices to a high standard so that large audience members can hear and follow the story. The masks would aid the actor’s vocal performance as the mask altered the acoustic characteristics of their voices. Therefore, both from the listener’s and the actor’s points of view these masks significantly modified the acoustic events and transformed the overall theatrical experience. Skills and techniques such as choral speaking, emotional tone, and pace are all important vocal qualities needed to be successful in Greek theatre. 

Modern actors would also need to consider the physical demands required in Greek theatre; chorus members had to react to what was happening on stage in unison and synchronization with other chorus members. Masks would be used to help actors to truly emphasize what their bodies were doing through the use of exaggerated movements as they couldn’t show the audience their emotions through their faces.  The skills of exaggerated movement and grand gestures is a key skill used in Greek tragedy because, at the time, audiences were so large that the gestures needed to be exaggerated so that the far away crowds could see the actors. Aristotle said that in his day excessive gestures were used which lead to overacting.

The chorus in Classical Greek drama was a group of actors who described and commented upon the main action of a play with song, dance, and recitation. Greek tragedy had its beginnings in choral performances, in which a group of 50 men danced and sang dithyrambs. The chorus would perform isolated movements, sometimes movements were synchronized and so the timing was key. They would even use slow motion and different paces to create a dramatic effect. Therefore, the performances were physically very straining so Greek performances demanded the actors to be fit and healthy so that they could perform these exaggerated/codified gestures for long periods of time. Not only this, the masks and costumes were extremely detailed to ensure all audience members could see and identify which character was which so the actors had to be physically fit to handle all of this.

Costumes helped indicate the social status, gender, and age of a character. Athenian characters wore more elaborate, decorated versions of everyday clothing, such as a tunic or undergarment, a cloak or over-garment. Costumes for characters that were non-Athenians were more outlandish. Tragic actors wore buskins (raised platform shoes) to symbolize superior status or actors who played tragic roles wore boots called cothurneses that elevated them above other actors. This just shows how exhausting it would have been to carry all this costume on one's body, emphasizing why actors had to physically strong. 

Actors would have to perform in a large open-air theatre, like the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens. The ancient Greek theatre stage design was very precise and unique. It had what is known as the skene, the orchestra, the parados, the proskein , the Dionysus alter and the theatron. This means that a modern actor must be able to project their voices to a high standard and increase the volume when needed to ensure that the audience can still hear the story even with the surrounding noise.

A modern actor would need to explore and develop their movement/gestures in order to meet the style. They’d need to analyze and pay close attention to the original Greek style of acting by copying original gestures and taking inspiration from them. A modern actor would need to attend classes and workshops along with conducting independent research in order to gain a full understanding of the codes and conventions of Greek theatre. They would need to work with a chorus and practice working as a unison with synchronized movements in order to get timings correct to suit this style. 

Shakespearian Classical Text: Romeo and Juliet:

The second classical text that I have investigated would be Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

The classical Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career. It was written around 1594–96.The story is about two young, “star-crossed lovers” whose deaths reconcile their feuding families. It was Shakespeare's most popular play during his lifetime and is one of his most frequently performed plays. Along with many of Shakespeare’s play, this classical text requires actors to have strong vocal and physical skills.

The social, cultural and historical context of the text and playwright are important because they have influenced Shakespeare’s work greatly; in particular, they have influenced Romeo and Juliet. 

His plays were written in the Elizabethan era, so Queen Elizabeth was ruling England (1558-1603). “Romeo and Juliet” was written in 1597, during this time several historical events happened in the world. For example, England troops went to Amiens, Flemish painter Frederick of Valckenborch became porter of Frankfurt-on-Main and also there were a lot of deaths. For example,  a group of early Japanese Christians were killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society, Lucas van Valckenborch, (a famous painter) died at the age of 61 and there were many more deaths which could have influenced Shakespeare’s ideas of so many characters’ in the play to dying.  There was also a plague in 1597, which is referenced in “Romeo and Juliet” when Friar John says he couldn’t deliver Friar Lawrence’s letter to Romeo because he was locked away hiding from the plague. In 1348 the bubonic plague ravaged Europe. In Italy, an estimated one-third of the population died from the disease. The effects of all this are significant factors in the play Romeo and Juliet.Shakespeare was also influenced by the world around him. His works include observations about current political struggles, the fear of diseases, and the popular language of the city's tradesmen and other professionals. He took inspiration from the kings of England and Elizabeth’s ancestor, for example, the Lords and Ladies in Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet comes from an Italian writer writing at the same time as Shakespeare. Shakespeare adapted the work of other writers which was very common at the time. Although he borrowed plots, Shakespeare made the details his own and often combined different plots.At 18 Shakespeare married a local girl, Anne Hathaway. They had three children – a daughter called Susanna and twins, Hamnet and Judith. Hamnet died in 1596. This is the time when Shakespeare was writing Romeo and Juliet, the death of his son may have influenced the deaths in his play, people have even suggested that both Romeo and Juliet were written to be within the same age range as Hamnet when he died.

In the time when the play was set, Verona was a very lively city. It was culturally rich and commercially successful, it was the wealthiest city-state in Italy. But in Verona, like all other regions of the country, there was violence and war. Battles between Romans, Etruscans, Gauls, Carthaginians, occurred regularly until the Roman Empire took control of Italy. Before this, it split into two distinct halves. The result of the split was a long-standing and savage power struggle that created hatred between sides. By the fourteenth century, the division between supporters of the emperor and supporters of the pope was firmly established. As in other Italian city-states, a fierce rivalry existed in Verona between these two sides. Supporters of the pope, called Guelfs, and partisans of the emperor, they had fights and battles. This moment of history could have been what influenced Shakespeare to create the harsh divide of Capulets and Montagues.

Shakespeare's audience were far more boisterous compared to the theatre goers of today. They were loud and hot-tempered and were interested in what was happening off stage, as well as on. The audience were known to talk during the performances; they’d have fights, they’d “boo” the actors on stage, try to leave in the middle of the performance or even try to join in with the action on stage. Therefore, when developing characters for performance actors gestures must be very grand and over exaggerated, actors had to work really hard to keep the audience focussed and interested which is why their gestures and actions were so exaggerated. (This is where the melodramatic style of theatre came from). Therefore, when interpreting a text, actors must think about how they can use their gestures and movements to indicate their intentions, feelings, and emotions. It takes a lot of energy to perform and so a modern actor would need to be physically fit to be able to perform these exaggerated gestures for long periods of time. Along with this, Shakespearian plays require actors to wear elaborated clothing, for example, corsets. Originally, actors would have worn clothes that reflect their character’s status/class, there were even laws controlling what actors could wear. Costumes were mainly the modern dress of the time; some actors playing smaller roles might have worn their own clothing. The costumes helped the actors as they would help to emphasize their character’s social status. This means that the modern actors must understand and look at how the costume affects their overall movement and performance of gestures. Shakespearian plays require a modern actor to consider if the costume restricts their movement, stance, posture or gait.

As well as physical, there are vocal demands that actors should consider when interpreting the text and developing characters in Shakespeare. A lot of Shakespearian performances are performed outside. The changing weather conditions can surprisingly affect the voice; when you get cold your voice will become dry. The modern actor must consider how their voice is affected since one vocal requirement would be projection so that the audience can hear and follow the entire story. Not only this, Shakespearian performance require actors to speak in verse, the voice must be exaggerated and overemphasized in order to develop a character for performance. Shakespeare can be demanding technically in terms of diction; “some people are better at producing loud vowels but sometimes you can’t hear the consonants very well; others bite out the consonants so powerfully that you can’t actually hear the vowel. It’s not easy but you have to get a balance.” – Says Peter Hall, Royal Shakespeare Company.

Shakespeare requires a modern actor to analyze language deeply. Since Shakespeare is essentially like learning another language, a modern actor must truly read between the lines in order to discover their character’s intention, emotions and given circumstances. They must analyze language and have a strong understanding of the text before performing it. Understanding the language will help to the actor to identify the social economic and cultural factors that are affecting their character.

Melodrama:

I have investigated the melodramatic style of performance in several different plays, for example, “London Assurance” and “Romeo and Juliet”. 

Melodrama became popular in the 1780′s when theatres were not allowed to show drama due to Government legislation. 

Historical context of the playwright: Dion Boucicault

“Boucicault was an excellent actor, especially in pathetic parts. His uncanny ability to play these low-status roles earned him the nickname "Little Man Dion" in theatrical circles.”

 He has adapted many plays which have been extremely popular.

Dion Boucicault, the writer of “London Assurance”  was an Irish actor and playwright famed for his melodramas. After a year in London, Boucicault left to pursue acting in Cheltenham. Soon afterward he began to write plays. His first play, A Legend of the Devil's Dyke, opened in Brighton in 1838. Three years later he found immediate success as a dramatist with London Assurance. Produced at Covent Garden on 4 March 1841, its cast included such well-known actors as Charles Mathews, William Farren, Mrs Nesbitt and Madame Vestris.

In the summer of 1859, Boucicault took over as manager of Burton's New Theatre on Broadway just below Amity Street.There on 5 December 1859, he premiered his new sensation, the anti-slavery potboiler The Octoroon, in which he also starred. This was the first play to treat seriously the Black American population.

On his return to England, he produced at the Adelphi Theatre a dramatic adaptation of Gerald Griffin's novel, The Collegians, entitled The Colleen Bawn. This play, one of the most successful of the times, was performed in almost every city of the United Kingdom and the United States. He adapted many other plays such as  Washington Irving's Rip van Winkle. 

When developing characters for a melodramatic performance, actors must consider similar vocal and physical demands to those of Greek tragedy and Shakespearean performances. Firstly the use of codified gestures is a key skill needed in order to perform the melodramatic style. When developing characters, actors must consider if they could perform any classic codified gestures within a scene such as the “oh no” pose; in times of distress a character would raise the back of his/her hand to their forehead and lean backward. This is an iconic gesture that the melodramatic style is known for. An audience recognizes codified gestures; comedy can be created among the audience when gestures are grand and exaggerated which is why they are so important. An actor must also consider if their character is a protagonist or antagonist, a hero or a villain as this will help to determine what specific gestures should be portrayed to an audience. Along with exaggerated gestures, melodrama also includes dance routines so a modern actor must be physically fit and healthy in order to perform these elaborate routines. Some melodramatic performances use dramatic tableau to increase emotion which can be performed at different paces; so the modern actor must have skills such as varied movement and pace e.g. slow motion.

The melodramatic style of performance can often require actors to sing, actors must consider the tone of the piece to determine if the song is comic or serious. Like the other styles that I have investigated, a lot of melodrama would be performed to a large audience, possibly outdoor so it's important for the modern actor to have strong projection skills and to be able to show a strong emotional range through their use of vocals. As well as this, lots of melodramatic characters speak quickly and rapidly change the pace of their voice to add comedy which a modern actor must be able to adapt to.