EXPLORE THEATRE: A BACKSTAGE PASS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I: The Event
Chapter 1: What Is Performance?
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Characteristics All Performances Share
Paradigm of Performance
Purpose of Performance
How Performances Differ
Performance As Ritual
Performance As Art
Live and Mediated Theatrical Performances
Performance of Self, Culture, History
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 2: The Text
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Reading and Analyzing a Play
Aristotle's Six Elements
Plot
Character
Thought, or Theme
Diction, or Language
Music and Spectacle
Genres
Tragedy
Comedy
Melodrama
Musical Theatre
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Appendix A: Questions for Analyzing Plays
Appendix B: Analyzing Scripts (Film, TV, and Stage)
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 4: Who Decides What Is Good Performance?
Introduction
Learning Objectives
The Audience
The Audience as Community
The Audience in History
In Sacred and Religious Theatres
In Professional Theatres
In Democratic Theatres
In Non-Western Theatres
The Critic
The Theorist
The Dramaturg
Theatre as Business
The Producer
The Marketing Team
The Agent
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 5: Where Can Performance Be Done?
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Theatre Configurations
The Proscenium
The Thrust
The Arena
The Flexible Space
Other Spaces
Producing Contexts
Commercial: Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Tours
Not-for-Profit: Off-Off-Broadway and Regional Theatre
Amateur Theatre: Educational and Community
Hybrids
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Unit II: The People
(Brief discussion of audience member as maker of meaning and how modern performances are constructed by performers and their audiences.)
Chapter 6: Playwrights
Introduction
Learning Objectives
The Playwright in History
Types of Playwrights
Playwriting Methods and Processes
Training and the Profession
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 7: Directors
Introduction
Learning Objectives
What Is Directing?
Working with the Text
Working with the Designers
Working with the Actors
Coordinating the Production
What Is Producing?
Types of Directors
Training and the Profession
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 8: Scenic and Costume Designers
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Scenic Designers
History
Materials, Methods and Processes
Related Aspects: Props
Costume Designers
History
Materials, Methods and Processes
Related Aspects: Masks, Makeup, Wigs, and Hair
Training and the Profession
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 9: Lighting Designers, Sound Designers, and Technical Production
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Lighting Designers
History
Materials, Methods and Processes
Related Aspects: Assistants and Technicians
Sound Designers
History
Materials, Methods and Processes
Technical Production
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 10: Actors
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Acting Defined
From Presentational ...
... to Representational
... to Realism
Acting Methods
Emotional Memory to Intercultural
Intercultural to Non-Western
The Actor's Process
The Audition
The Rehearsal
The Performance
Acting for the Stage vs. Acting for the Camera
The Profession
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Unit III: The Types
(Brief discussion of the major modes of performance.)
Chapter 11: The Play
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Elements of the Play in Context
Classical and Medieval Antecedents
Golden Ages
Drama and the Advent of Illusionistic Stages
Modern Drama
A Script: Two Character Play
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 12: Backstage at Two Character Play
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Rehearsals
Technical and Dress Rehearsals
Pre-Show and Preparation
The Performance
The Program
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
The Run of the Show
A Backstage Pass
Glossary
Key Concepts
Appendix
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 13: Musical Theatre
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Part One: The Broadway Musical
Elements of the Musical
Music
Lyrics
Libretto
Dance
Antecedents
The Birth of the Modern Musical
The Golden Age of Musical Theatre
Beyond the Golden Age
The British Invasion
The Broadway Musical Today
Part Two: Asian Music Theatre
Sanskrit Theatre
Beijing Opera
Noh
Kabuki
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Appendix
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 14: The Cinematic Experience
Introduction
Learning Objectives
From Stage to HD Video
Adaptation (video)
Casting (video)
Directing (video)
The Artists of Film
Producers and Directors (video)
Actors (video)
Lights (videos)
Costumes (video)
Crew (video)
The Film Finale (adaptation of Two Character Play) (video)
Theatre and Film Explored: A Documentary of Intersection (video)
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
Chapter 15: Popular Entertainments
Introduction
Learning Objectives
Mime and Pantomime
Roman Paratheatricals
Tournaments
Commedia Dell'arte
Vaudeville
Circus
Puppetry
Concerts
Stand-Up Comedy
Magicians and the Art of Illusion
For Further Information
Suggested Films
Glossary
Key Concepts
Instructor Resources
Practice Test
