The Theatre and its Identity Crisis

Physical theatre is a form of performance where movement and physicality of the body has the main part within a performance. There are several quite distinct traditions of performance which all describe themselves using the term "physical theatre", which has led to a lot of confusion as to what the definition of physical theatre actually is. The term physical theatre has been applied to performances consisting mainly of mime, contemporary dance, theatrical clowning and other physical comedy (such as slapstick), puppetry and mask work and theatrical acrobatics and lifts. One of the early practitioners of physical theatre was Artaud. His ideas included total theatre, wherein actors appeal to all

The set used for Vernon God Little was highly symbolic and simplistic; when we walked into the theatre we could visually see that there were flowers, cards and memorable items attached on the audiences seats above our heads, which already created a sombre atmosphere around the theatre.

Judith Butler is an American post-structuralist philosopher and critical theorist. Her area of expertise is gender theory. She is most well known for her theory of gender performativity which states that gender is a social construct which is performative in nature. In simple terms what this means is that gender is not a quality that people have, but a pattern of behavior that people perform. The performance of gender, Butler contends, creates and reinforces societal gender norms which are perceived as “natural” and “normal” but are actually a set of learned behaviors which are fluid and constantly changing.

The Globe Theatre became what it is today because of its history. What was its history exactly? Unfortunately, those are two questions many people don’t have an answer to. So, what is the history?

Some of my favorite points that stuck with me throughout reading the first six chapters of The Actor and the Target are that fear makes us unable to act (p.31), that bad news is great news for the actor (p. 44) and that the target is waiting to be found (p.46).

The Webster dictionary defines morality as a moral discourse, statement or lesson. In the novel, “The Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald many of the characters could not be classified as truly moral people who exhibit goodness or correctness in their character and behavior. Tom, Daisy, and George all come to mind as the characters that have done the most moral damage throughout the novel. In the end, these individuals show characteristics of a moral decay in society because the cause corruption and lies, which is why they are morally responsible for the destruction of humanity.

Aaron Devor in, “Becoming Members of Society: Learning the Social Meanings of Gender,” argues that gender is a performance. He supports his argument by recognizing how society rewards, tolerates or punishes conformity to or divergence from social norms (widely accepted behaviors set by society). If a male fails to fall into his expected characterization of dominance and aggression or a female fails to act out in passivity and submission, they are at high risk of societal punishment.

Butler believes that we are tricked to recognize that gender “belongs properly to some other group” because society has crafted a standard as to what is “natural.” Because society gives the illusion that the standard is “proper” or correct, we must conform to it or we are not accepted. However, Butler argues that this standard is founded on false premises because “where the notion of the “proper” operates, it

Julie Greenwood, a transgendered woman, explained that, if you steer away from the social norms about women there could be consequences. She also explained that social norms are learned at a very young age. As we learned about in class, the gender role theories are roles that are learned in childhood, which can affect many of people’s choices. The social norms of gender can affect how people dress, the division of labor and essential differences. Men are usually expected to be independent, assertive and competitive while women are supposed to be passive, emotional and supportive of their male counter part. These gender norms can interfere with the careers women

In the theater, the role of a performer is to convince the audience they are something or someone they are not. In much the same way actors pretend to fool the audience, politicians likewise use acting to conceal their true political goals from potential opponents. This strong association between the theater and politics is readily apparent in Julius Caesar. The conspirators led by Cassius and Brutus use acting to conceal their politically motivated goal to assassinate Caesar. Marc Antony likewise uses acting to not only conceal his hatred for the conspirators, but to also turn public opinion against them. This relationship between politics and the theater is reinforced by having various characters directly reference the theater when discussing political goals. However, in the end, Antony manages to emerge victorious. This is largely due to Brutus’s decision to not only spare him but to allow him to speak at Caesars funeral. This decision marks a key turning point in the play and highlights a disconnect between Brutus and the theater. This disconnect results in the failure to anticipate not only Antony’s true intentions, but also in the power of rhetoric to sway the populace. Equally important is Antony’s own complete immersion in the theater to allow him to deceive the conspirators and recognize how best to use his words to influence the people. These two factors build off each other and are critical in determining the eventual conclusion

The looming ‘culture war’ phenomena is not a new one nor a particularly unique one in any history; this mythical ‘culture war’ can found, for example, in the in social history of the 1970’s with white evangelicals fighting more moderate and secular minded reformists, resulting in race riots and abortion clinic bombings. Consequently, because this trend is cyclical, we can see it’s reverberations in modern theater and can see, in many ways, that this current direction of America. It begins with the elimination of nuance. ‘Disagree with me, you’re a fascist’ types the antifa member, ‘I’ll punch you in the face you dirty commie,” retorts the MAGA-hat-clad alt-righter: this has become the height of our political discourse. In the-land-of-do-as-you-please,

Shakespeare’s play, “Twelfth Night” provides a great deal of insight into gender roles, gender identities, and desire in Elizabethan, as well as modern, society. Gender roles have also changed drastically over time. Many of the expectations and standards that woman, as well as men, were held to in Shakespearean times, no longer apply today. For example, women, and to a lesser extent, men, have become generally more free to pursue any career they wish. Partly because of the removal of such arbitrary restrictions, people tend to think that society as a whole has become more progressive over time, and in many cases, this is true.

People tend to accept and follow the traditional gender and familiar roles that are constructed by the society. Likewise, in his “Director’s Statement,” Östlund notes that “each person has a role to play and one expects others to perform according to a given role [perhaps unconsciously]” (Force Majeure). His statement shows how these stereotypes are embedded in our minds so deeply that we unconsciously expect others to follow them. In addition, each person acts in a way to be accepted by others

Theatre is an art form that has been revered by all civilizations. It is one of the oldest and most popular forms of art. In order to stay at the forefront of modern culture theatre has had to endure much opposition. Changing times and changing interests of the world have been reflected in theatrical advances. One of the biggest challenges facing theatre in the United States today is the challenge of funding. In a world that becomes increasingly filled with new forms of entertainment it is difficult for theatre and art to continue to earn their relevance. In order for any form of art or entertainment to be truly captivating there must be some level of edginess. An example of this is the popular television series titled Game of Thrones. This show is noted for its scenes of violence, sexual perversion, and foul language. The shows edginess is a strong contributor to the shows immense success. Shows like this are a difficult opponent for theatre in the realm of entertainment.

ostmodernism was a movement that began in the 1960s that affected all forms of art and literature of that time period. Postmodernism followed modernism and it sought to challenge the ideas and values of modernistic theatre, modernism was formed to shake up theatre, introducing new theories of science and technology to explain the world, whereas postmodern theatre raises more questions than supplying the answers for the audience. Modernism created a ‘grand-narrative’ whereby there was only one meaning which would be told to the audience. Postmodernism broke down the ‘grand-narrative’ when Jean-François Lyotard wrote La Condition postmoderne: Rapport sur le savoir (The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge) (1979), he came up with