Experimental Theatre by https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r Made with a curious mind en-us 2018-10-30 09:40:47 UTC 2023-04-07 03:12:16 UTC hello@padlet.com E is for experiment. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298398977 Experimental theatre is a hard concept to get one's head around, since everyone defines it differently. It wasn't always so. For much of the 20th century, naturalism was the dominant mode. Hence the rise of several radical alternatives: at different times people pinned their faith in expressionism, symbolism, absurdism and Theatre of Cruelty. Today, however, we live in a world where there is no consensus about what constitutes an act of theatre and where avant garde directors such as Robert Wilson and Julie Taymor have been sucked into the mainstream. ]]> 2018-10-30 09:48:32 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298398977 Street Theatre. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298399504 After visiting London on numerous occasions and watching the street theatre statues that are in abundance in this major city, it came as a major realisation that it is not just London that has this form of street theatre, but other countries have this too. Whilst cruising around the Mediterranean and visiting several different cities it became abundantly clear that this type of theatre is not just seen in London, the photos were taken in Barcelona and Gibraltar. ]]> 2018-10-30 09:50:11 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298399504 Avante Garde Theatre. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298399750 This term has been applied since the end of the nineteenth century, it was applied to the theatre and many other art's and practitioners. It involved introducing experimental and original idea's, also forms and techniques. Examples of some of the practitioners range from 'Jarry' and 'Apolinaire', 'Artaud' to 'Cage' and 'Robert Wilson'.
Although loosely termed 'Experimental Theatre', throughout the ages it has been known by many other names, for example 'Event' or 'Happening' in the 1950's, then in the1960's 'Multimedia', 'Visual Theatre' in the 1970's, 'Performance Art' in the1980's and 'Live Art' in the 1990's.
Rarely have these names been coined by practitioners, moreover they are used by critics when they are confronted by theatre which is not a play, they see it as foreign to the traditions of theatre so therefore must be defined as separate an 'Experiment'. The critics had been unable to develop a vocabulary that could cope with the physicality and volatility of experimental performance or its multiple meanings.
 
French playwright 'Alfred Jarry' as mentioned afore is credited to be the godfather of this genre and his masterpiece 'Ubu Roi' caused a theatrical revolution and some of the artistic descendants of this playwright are to include Samual Beckett, Egene Ionesco, Peter Brook, Jean Genet, Luigi Pirandello, and Richard Maxwell.
Many elements of experimental theatre are now more common place on stage, these include nudity, profanity, breaking the fourth wall and interaction with the audience, nonlinear structure and no narrative at all, so with so many festivals and artists and practitioners claiming the experimental label could this then be the start of an Alfred Jarry style theatrical coup. 
 
Watch this space and stage closely the next time you pay a visit to the theatre to see a play and you come out scratching your head or maybe challenging yourself and the performance maybe you've witnessed experimental theatre.
Moving forward with something that we have previously mentioned Festivals, one of the biggest events to watch experimental theatre is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the seed for this was sown by Rudolf Bing an Austrian impresario who wanted to create an international festival in the UK.  after many searches he collaborated with Henry Harvey Wood of the British Council who made the suggestion of Edinburgh, this idea was supported by Sir John Falconer and Lady Rosebury, so in 1945 a festival committee was formed the committee decided that 1947 would be the start of the festival. A festival that to date is still running and is still as popular as ever.
Experimental Theatre is an excellent platform for expression of numerous elements, for example, political issues, social issue, it can also be used as a tool in schools to address issues such as bullying, Racial issues and Internet danger to name but a few, the Belgrade Theatre Company was a front runner in this and was formed and the company was taken into schools and use experimental theatre to address such issues.
We shall now look at some of the practitioner's influenced by Alfred Jarry, in 1955 Peter Brook astonished the most traditional of Shakespeare audience's with his bold version of 'Titus Andronicus' and in the same year Samuel Beckett's 'En Attendent Godot' (waiting for godot 1954) was given its premiere in London, this led to many other practitioners to develop stage company's and a revolution was underway in English Theatre. To name but a few of these 'John Osbourne', 'Harold Pinter', 'John Arden', 'Arnold Webster', 'Edward Bond', and 'Tom Stoppard' began to dominate the stage also the emergence of 'Joan Littlewood's' theatre workshop in London's east end in 1953, deemed to be an alternative to mainstream theatre was attracting a working class audience and an audience engagement that radically differed from the existing relationship of London's commercial stage.  
In 1963 an American called 'Charles Harowitz' teamed with 'Peter Brook' developed a new theatre company 'The Theatre Of Cruelty Group', this was done to apply some of 'Antonin Artaud's' theories and techniques resulting in a five week programme of 'Artaud's' three minute 'Spirit of Blood', this type of theatre aimed to shock audiences by the use of gesture, image, sound and lighting. Artaud was one of the most influential theorists and another key figure in the European Avant-Garde.
So, with this research the conclusion we can form is that Avant-Garde has led the way for Experimental Theatre, a form of theatre that is made to challenge an audience, remove the forth wall and have the audience become part of the performance.
]]> 2018-10-30 09:51:06 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298399750 rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298416286 2018-10-30 11:00:15 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298416286 rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298417027 2018-10-30 11:03:16 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298417027 rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298417245 2018-10-30 11:04:18 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298417245 rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298417434 2018-10-30 11:05:08 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/298417434 Agusto Boal, rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/299033057 Prezi presentation
https://prezi.com/view/48ZfKEa8UkY83Mqzk0mp/]]> 2018-10-31 15:29:14 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/299033057 rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/299924664 2018-11-02 17:53:24 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/299924664 rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/299925725 2018-11-02 17:55:16 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/299925725 rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/299927294 2018-11-02 17:58:08 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/299927294 Political Theatre. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/303754496 This term is used for theatre that has a political purpose. It can be used for campaigning and in part the work of a political party, it can be anything from community theatre to other more specific groups for example Women's, Black or LGBT companies. Other terms for this theatre include Alternative, Guerilla and Radical Theatre, common themes would immerge these being Peace against War, Democracy against Tyranny for example 'Agitprop'.
Most political theatre was socialist or communist inspired, it would often involve professionals working with amateurs in a non-traditional venue or space, an important effect on this type of theatre was brought about by some exceptional and inspirational practitioner’s like Piscator, Brecht, Littlewood and Boal. 
]]> 2018-11-13 14:45:31 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/303754496 Initial Ideas rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/303754820 The initial ideas for this performance was to undergo some street theatre, and also use some invisible theatre based on the programme Ant and Dec's Saturday night takeaway, where they have a celebrity who wears an ear piece and they hear instructions via this from Ant and Dec it makes for quite comical television viewing by the things the celebrity has to do. The plan therefore, was to do a piece of theatre in a public space and have someone wearing an ear piece and give them some comical things to do and capture the audience’s reaction to what was happening, after watching some other pieces of experimental theatre another idea started to form. After watching episodes of the sometimes political drama Judge John Deed, the idea was to produce a piece of theatre based around a court scene where the audience would be the jury and the judge would be passed notes to do different things by one person in the  room while everyone else is unaware of it and capture the reactions of everyone. ]]> 2018-11-13 14:45:53 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/303754820 Evaluation of performance. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/303754949 As the practitioner the evaluation of this performance is as follows, the initial outcome that stands out the most is the verdict that was given by the jury. In the dress rehearsal they found the accused guilty by a resounding number, yet in the actual performance they found the accused not guilty, the feeling is that this was because it was not all scripted and that in the actual performance things were added by the barristers and the questions and actions were different from the dress rehearsal and also because of that the answers and statements from the accused and the victim then took a different path. Also as mentioned previously the idea to use the concept from the television programme Ant and Decs Saturday Night Takeaway in which they send celebrities in what could be termed as street theatre out into the public where the celebrity is wearing an earpiece and they are told through the earpiece by Ant and Dec to do things of a comedic nature and the members of the public are completely unaware of what is happening, this was added to the performance by way of the practitioner passing notes to the judge to do things with the props that he had at the side of him, could this have had a bearing on the outcome as it was only shown in the performance and not in the dress rehearsal, the only people that knew of this were the practitioner and the person playing the judge, so bearing that in mind the reactions of the actors were different in both the performance and the rehearsal and also the verdicts were different in both, in the rehearsal the jury found the accused guilty yet in the actual performance they found the accused not guilty, why is there a difference is it because of things being said differently or because of the somewhat strange things the judge was doing which meant the jury were not 100% focused. As the practitioner and after watching back both the rehearsal and the performance the feeling is that it was a mix of both, so the effect on the audience was extreme in the nature of the verdict as it differed in both rehearsal and performance.
The unconventional theatre space, the feeling of this as the practitioner is thus, although it would have been a more convincing piece of theatre had it been staged in the coroner’s court it would have had a more dramatic effect and would have looked more judicial. What a better way to show unconventional theatre space at its best than to be in an ordinary room on the university campus and to try and recreate a courtroom from just the use of some tables and chairs which as the practitioner it felt added to the unconventional performance and space by making the actors and the audience use their imaginations of being in a court room scene. As the practitioner the only criticism is that if we had longer in the performance then more props could have been given to the judge to use in the hope to get more of a reaction from the audience, the feeling after the performance was that the judge was a bit eccentric and after seeing some of the props being carried in they were unsure as to what relevance this had to a courtroom scenario. The other point to make as the practitioner is that how would it have differed had the whole performance been scripted, well the feeling is that it would not have been as realistic and that the actors playing the parts of the accused and the victim would not have put themselves into the shoes of the people they were trying to portray.
Overall the feeling is the performance covered so many aspects of the research that has been undertaken as to what experimental theatre is and how and what effect it has on an audience for example becoming part of the performance by playing the role of the jury, also what effect it has on the actors and the audience when they are not a party to all things in the performance for example the notes being passed to the judge as had they known about it then we would have had yet again a different reaction.
]]> 2018-11-13 14:46:03 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/303754949 Character Profile. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/308680180 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK2690fTeHw
Some of the ideas for the performance and characters came from watching the drama series Judge John Deed, which is a court room drama that also has political and governmental undertones within its episodes. As the practitioner it was the choice to play the role of the prosecution barrister, research was undertaken as to the role of the barrister and in particular what questions would be asked, a conversation with a legal executive gave the answers and an insight as to how the performance would work with regards to the legal system and how it works. The legal executive that I spoke to agreed to play the role of the judge, it was then on to find people for the other roles, a defence barrister, a victim, the accused, a security officer, and a court clerk. This were all found, and members of the public were invited to become the jury. ]]> 2018-11-28 09:40:53 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/308680180 rehearsal. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/319195825 In the rehearsal everyone was positioned as near as we could to how a courtroom would look, we ran through the few parts that were scripted, as the practitioner it was decided that not all of the performance would be scripted as the initial idea was for the performance to be as natural as possible for example the witness /victim and the accused were just given a brief outline of what had happened in the actual crime of common assault. The performance was to be as realistic as possible so that the accused and victim could give as natural as possible responses to the questions that were put before them, as in a real courtroom although the solicitors and barristers may have information in front of them pertaining to the case none of it is scripted. Please see attached footage of the rehearsal as the outcome in the rehearsal is different to the actual performance, is that because it’s not totally scripted or because of the things the judge does in the main performance?]]> 2019-01-10 12:49:45 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/319195825 Conclusion and Analysis of Research Undertaken. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/323188438 As humans we are given the power of choice, so with that in mind what do we choose, do we choose a piece of theatre that is motivated by racial hatred? Do we see a piece of theatre that has sexual connotation’s and includes rape and violence or maybe a piece of theatre that is solely political in its views, well we choose the one that suits us best as an individual. We listen to the critics, we go on another's recommendation, we go on our feelings, for example 'Theatre of Cruelty' may not interest you as it may make you feel uncomfortable so you may prefer something like 'Musical Theatre' which can be extremely uplifting. The conclusion we can come to is that nowadays there are so many different types of theatre that there is something out there for everyone and that all types of theatre can hold some form of message if we look hard enough. ]]> 2019-01-22 19:33:26 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/323188438 Unconventional Theatre Space. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/323189503 What is an unconventional theatre space, it is important when finding your theatre space that you explore different avenues before the choice is made, we need to look at these spaces with and without performers and being used for a production? Over the years we have seen the development of an additional tool used in the exploration of theatre spaces and this has been used by the distinguished theatre historian Richard Beacham, his use of Computer Aided Design can be found on the Internet and has aided many students by giving them the ability to see many theatre structures through the use of virtual reality.
An event or activity that is termed 'Theatre' does not necessarily need to have the existence of a building known to us as a theatre or playhouse. A theatrical performance can take place almost anywhere and if we look back in history this was proven by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream when a group of amateur actors decided to go into the woods to find a rehearsal space and came upon the realisation that not only was this a great space for the rehearsal but also a great space for the play. It is the ability of the performers to engage an audience in virtually any suitable location. The alternative to a permanent theatre building is known as a 'Found Space', theatrical practitioners have found the constraints of permanent staging sometimes very constricting and through previous generations of theatre troupes and players have achieved the ability of removing said constraints of the traditional theatre spaces by using non-theatrical venues. The activity and liberation of finding a 'Found Space can shape a performance and these 'Devised performances' are known as site-specific or site-sensitive this is because of the qualities, themes and ideas that are derived from the venue itself and for this reason could not be presented anywhere else. The performances that were devised by 'Richard Schechner' and his performance group were termed 'Environmental Theatre', his works were inspired by the nature of the 'Found Space' shaping the performances and also led to the interesting use in the 'Experiments' in modern theatre, here are three significant statements from some of the most influential twentieth century practitioners.
" I propose abandoning the architecture of present-day theatres. We shall take some hanger or barn, which we shall have reconstructed according to the processes which have culminated in the architecture of certain churches or holy places and of certain temples in Tibet”, (AntoninArtaud,1970, p,74).
"The arbitrary conventions of our auditoriums and stages placed face to face still control us! Let us leave our theatres to their dying past, and let us construct elementary buildings, designed merely to cover the space in which we work”, (Adolph Appia, quoted in Roose-Evans, 1988).
"The theatre must give the audience of today a new experience of space. It is necessary for us to rediscover a relationship with space, the space around us as it is to explore outer space. We need to experience afresh the height and depth and breadth of space, its intimacy and immensity", (Roose Evans, 1988, p,135).
In conclusion theatre can be created anywhere and, in any venue, dependant on where the production is held can in fact affect the very nature of the performance, this also links well into 'Experimental Theatre' and how some of these productions are performed in outside spaces.
]]> 2019-01-22 19:35:27 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/323189503 Traditional Theatre Techniques. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/323190327 Traditional theatre techniques have changed immensely over the years, this is due to so many influences, from different types of theatre to what is needed in a theatrical setting. Here we will look at some of those and try and gain some understanding to the changes.
Firstly, we will look at the different types of theatre;
Musicals: these are plays that are performed completely in song and dance form, they were made popular by London's West End and New York's Broadway theatre.
Fringe Theatre: this is a form of theatre that is experimental in style and narrative, in the early days fringe plays would be held either in theatres of a small scale to sometimes little rooms above a public house. The plays are edgy and contain unconventional stories’, these can be led by one person and just a single act thus helping to keep the cost of the production down.
Immersive Theatre: this is an interesting and interactive form of theatre, whereas unlike conventional theatre where the line of communication is just one way, this type of theatre encourages audiences to play an active part in the performance. This type of theatre can be staged anywhere, and the audience are involved in the plot and movement of the performance.
Comedy: these plays cover a various number of themes, these include satire, malapropisms, characterizations and black humour to name but a few. Over the year’s comedy has become so many things but one that stands out is how it can deliver a social message in a more palatable form.
Tragedy: these plays are based upon the human suffering and emotional events, they have evolved from Greek tragedy plays. Earlier plays would chronicle the Royal's and immensely powerful people and places, whereas over the course of time they have become stories of the struggle of the common man.
Farce: this play has various comedy elements, everything in the plot is absurd and exaggerated and a farce mainly relies on slapstick humour.
Epic: this can often be mixed up with tragedy, it focuses less on identifying with the characters on stage and more on the connection of the stage setting. It relies on making people react to the storyline with rationality, rather than emotion.
We will now look at how technology has and can change theatre. The first is technology and Music, with the inclusion of digital technology the most noteworthy of changes is the growing use of pre-recorded music and tracks and the musical instruments that rely on digital technology to produce a more contemporary instrument. The view is that technology has drastically changed the musician’s performance and the soundscapes they can achieve. Secondly, we go too Technology and Sound Design, while the music is created in the orchestra pit the sound design team will use the technology in various ways to capture the audio and present it to the audience. Sound effects are no longer needed to be pre-recorded out in the field so to speak as digital effects can now be purchased on-line or can be created digital programmes, the sound rigging is better and now increasingly smaller making for easier use. Thirdly Automation, this could seem obvious and that is because it can be very noticeable on stage as hydraulics lift large props and set pieces, many traditional theatre items are now automatically timed by the technicians like theatre rigging and also follow spots for example, these were originally operated by stagehands but now it is operated digitally from a booth these alongside the lighting cues are now programmed into a desk. Projections and video displays are now used by the theatre creators. Lastly Social Media and Theatre, this may not have an effect on the day to day running of the theatre it has however had an effect on how a theatre can advertise, traditional forms of advertising are dwindling and in its place is social media, a quicker way to reach the public and to sell tickets. This is beneficial for the small or independent theatre, based on their on-line presence rather than their budget they can reach more potential ticket buyers. By using and including all these technical advances it can greatly improve creativity, improve the musical and visual levels seen by the audience and reach a wider public. 
]]> 2019-01-22 19:36:43 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/323190327 Reference List. rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/323193199 Stodder, J. H. and Lutz, R. C. (2017) ‘Experimental Theater’, Salem Press Encyclopedia of Literature. Available at: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=125599123&site=eds-live (Accessed: 10 January 2019).Anon., n.d. http://dictionary.tdf.org/experimentaltheatre/. [Online].

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]]> 2019-01-22 19:41:54 UTC https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/323193199 Bibleography rachcookson https://padlet.com/rachcookson/a0xapx01no2r/wish/323193592 Anon., n.d. https://beautifultrouble.org/theory/theater-of-the-oppressed/. [Online].

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roose-evans, j., 1970. experimental theatre, from stanislavsky to today. In: london: studio vista limited.

 

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