Stanislavski, Vakhtangov, Meyerhold & Theater

• A Doll's House highlights societal norms as well as their legal and moral frameworks.
• The legal/moral framework judges women by male-centric standards.
• Nora's struggle in A Doll's House highlights the disconnect between moral justification and legal condemnation.
• The play reveals the inflexibility of laws without accounting for context, morality, or human emotion.

The Personal Becomes Political

• A Doll's House serves as a representation of larger socio-political issues.
• Nora's forgery symbolizes the financial and legal dependence of women during the time-period.
• An imbalance of rights, in financial independence, is a key theme of the play.
• A character, Nora, lacks sufficient options, due to existing societal forces.

Feminism and Economic Agency

• A Doll's House questions whether financial independence is a feminist issue.
• The play is among the first to dive into modern feminist perspectives.
• The play's core issue of money reveals an inherently feminist struggle for agency.

The Power of Small Acts in Revolutionary Change

• Nora's choice to leave symbolizes a larger societal shift.
• Small actions can lead to personal and societal change.
• The play instills suspense, because it inspires the question of what comes next.

Who Has the Right to Tell a Story?

• Debate surrounds marginalized group accurate representation by privileged white men.
• Ibsen's privilege allowed visibility for A Doll's House.
• A Doll's House made upper-middle-class audience members confront issues they might have ignored.

Representation in Theatre Productions

• Productions should reflect the story being told.
• Casting choices impact the narrative.
• Playwrights have little control over work once passed to directors/producers.

Playwriting as a Collaborative Process

• Modern theatre requires collaboration for storytelling purposes.
• Playwrights must be open to new ideas while sticking to their original intention.
• Our current era allows for a level of storytelling ability that did not always exist.

The Importance of Cultural Representation

• Representation is an important element of theater, including race and cultural authenticity.
• Production details contribute to overall story.
• "Whitewashing" stems from fear of confronting cultural issues.

The Commercialization of Theatre

• Audience expectations are catered to through changes in artistic storytelling.
• Commercial pressure can lead to compromises in storytelling.
• Example: Changing a tragic ending to a happy one for Broader Appeal purposes.

Representation of Women in Theatre

• Women are often portrayed as villains when they are asserting their independence in theatre.
• A Doll's House tested traditional gender-roles through its depiction of female autonomy.

A Doll's House and Its Social Commentary

• George Bernard Shaw considered the play the end of an era in history.
• Nora expresses her transformation with the quote, “I believe that I am a human being just as much as you are."
• Wives/mothers idolization negates their humanity.
• Societal norms impose decorative and passive tendencies on women.

Nora's Transformation in A Doll's House

• She attempts to maintain control through manipulation.
• A revelation of Torvald's true self is uncovered in a letter from Krogstad.
• His quick change in affection shows his complete disregard for her feelings.
• These events lead to a life-altering point for Nora.

Science, Photography, and Freud's Influence on Realism

• Theatre Realism was influenced by the scientific method/photography for realism
• Louis Daguerre, of photography, was originally a set designer
• Sigmund Freud's psychology introduced individualism into character development.
• Stanislavski's acting method incorporates psychological and emotional processes.

The Transition from Romanticism to Realism & Modernism

• Romantic poets investigated existential and psychological themes.
• Theatre took some time to truly integrate deeper levels of psychological realism.
• Dominance of Realism in the late 19th century caused Modernism to challenge theatrical structures.

Realism vs. Modernism: A Shift in Theatrical Expression

• Theatre is judged by how “real” it is, continuing Realism's goal.
• Modernism pushes back against this in favor of alternative expression.

Modernism's Four Major Categories in Theatre

• Political and Social Change Theatre: Uses theatre to advocate for new ideas
• Exploration of the Subconscious: Representing psychological concepts in theatre
• Universal Human Connection: Emphasizing common shared human experiences
• Art as a Response to Science: Using art to challenge and transcend

The Evolution of Acting on Film: Silent Film

• Silent films focused on overstated body and face language due to lack of sound.
• Silent film acting was more representative of a character “type” than a full character.
• Villains represented cartoonishly via wealth symbols.
• Melodramatic style/tropes such as women in distress were used to symbolize clear binaries.
• Live music during such performances influenced film soundtracks.

The Transition to Sound: Stage Actors in Film

• 1927's The Jazz Singer caused a huge actor training shift.
• Stage actors were recruited because they knew diction and projection.
• Resulted in "filmed play" style with theatre-based acting/ Mid-Atlantic diction.

Method Acting and the Rise of Naturalism

• Method Acting was influenced by Stanislavski.
• Focus shifted to internal emotion over outward action.

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951): The Arrival of Method Acting

• Marlon Brandon's debut was the start of method influencing film.
• Stage play translated to film = stage style of acting represented in media.

Henrik Ibsen: The Birth of Modern Drama & His Lasting Influence

• He lived from 1828-1906, which was a time of major social, political and artistic changes.
• Began his playwrighting career with the publication of his first play in 1850.
• He accepted a playwright and stage-manager position at the Norwegian National Theatre.
• He spent 27 years in exile living mostly in Germany and Germany.
• Ibsen used that time to fine-tune his theatre skills.
• Ibsen wrote 25 plays between 1850 and 1899.

Three Phases of Ibsen's Playwriting

• (Early career) Verse Drama: Scandinavian folklore/myths with poetic verse
• Realism & Social Drama: Pivoted towards realism
• The most controversial plays came from this time
• Ibsen's play was thought to be radical due to its content, familiar setting, and morally complex characters

Lasting Impact of A Doll's House

• People still find Nora's decision to be controversial.
• Some actresses refused to play Nora, claiming that no mother would abandon their children.
• Ibsen was forced to rewrite the ending of his play for his english audience A Doll's House forced the confrontation of uncomfortable gender-role truths and shifted theatrical history.

Companions to Doll House Play

• Hedda Gabler: "female Hamlet" characterized as demanding/navigating manipulations
• An enemy of the people: Audacious
• The wild duck: Shift to symbolism/mysticism

Ibsen Theatrical Philosophy

• The writer demanded the theater to call to action for audience/spark debate.
• Plays posed question towards why marriage has always been considered sacred.
• Reputation earned from refusal to give moral answers

Lasting impact of Chekhov

• Almost every major playwright claims inspiration from his work.
• Plays were both worshipped/rebelled against
• Realists were inspired by his stripping of asides/collogues

Ibsen as Model for Realism

• Ibsen's plays eliminate melodrama tropes, create psychologically complex characters, and use a well-made play structure.
• Plays also highlight social issues through characters in specific situations

Themes of Manipulation and Power

• Plays reflect real world issues of power and hierarchy exaggerated to emphasize the chaotic nature of reality
• Characters struggle for more autonomy/agency due to lack of control with no resolve

Major Elements of Ibsens Characters

• Characters are often hiding, lying, manipulating or struggling internally
• The characters are morally ambiguous in nature forcing the audience to grapple with internal and external issues/questions through characters like Nora.

Realists vs. Experimentalists

• Realists are more direct with issues/lack symbolism and more dramatic
• Realist like to strip the obvious away.
• Experimentalist like to implement symbolism.

Chekhov's Themes

• Social Lie: women place husbands/fathers over themselves
• Infantilization: Women represented as less serious, treated like children by men.
• Both create social and emotional problems within Chekhov's work

Science technological impact on theater

• (C.1900) Science leads to a United narrative of human evolution that gives scientific theories considerable authority
• (c.1900) decline in religious explanations/science because method of understanding the universe.
• (C1900) Established science cumulative/cohesive. -The age of psychology Freudian theories allows subconscious things to be explored on stage.

Key themes throughout the semester

• Art vs science
• Realism vs idealism
• Censorship and patronage
• Technological advances

Country specific theater histories France

• Gov influence-realism nominated the stage.
• Urban Center caters to elite ( Paris,Opera)
• Government supported venues

Country specific Theater Histories England

• Theater evolution -Heroic dramas
• Licensing ACTS-censors plays to prevent political critique (provocative power)
• david Garrick realistic acting / standardized.

German states

• State supplied theaters and healthcare
• Goethe-Realistic and emotional blended.

Rissia

• westernization under Peter the Great European influences evolve to unique style.
• private court theaters are the wealthy.

Background context stage acting

• Western - stereotypes.
• Overly dramatic.
• gesture focused = Delsartes. Shift toward the revolutionization with Chekhov and Stanislavski.

Chekhov early/career+

• peasant parents.
• abused family father.
• medicine med school.
• short stories.

Stanislavski's acting technique.

• trutrthfullifelike perf.
• psychological depth.
• Emotional authenticity Legacy Chekhov 1900z
• Laid for collaboration.
• Subtle humor andrealisim Chekhov.

Russian Theater then now

• western hots adaptations now.
• Mact - Hub. Chekhov and Stanislavski new revolution.

Chekhov empathy and humanism in theater

• A doctor/ Emphatyy combined with scentific,
• why Chetov deep understanding conditions petty Shakespeare.
• Observer shaper.

Chekhov/ comedy realism

• irony detail founds stuck ambitions escape.
• Thwarted ambitions aspiritedachieve.

Chekhov and the Moscow art theater

• The seagull co directed
• All major work houses Chekhov
• conflicts.

Chekhov unique structure

• NarrIBSEN clear foward
• Jazz subtle cohesive,

Chekhov legacy

• Balance noteable and personal flows.
• Known for his quotes

Medical generosity in work+

• providing for affordable with less+
• Active and generous/long illness long .

Stan vision-

• Contemporary amatuer meldromatic.
• elevated scipled art+ .