Chapter 6: From Romanticism to Realism

Attitudes toward Neoclassicism began changing toward
the end of the 18th century

Writers of the Sturm and Drang (Storm and Stress)
school in Germany began writing serious plays that
experimented both with bold subjects and dramatic
form.

Neoclassical ideals reversed almost completely by early
19th century, resulting in the development of
Romanticism
Romanticism
Neoclassicism:
Truth
is to be found in
the Universal
Romanticism:
Truth
is to be found in
the
Infinite Variety
of Creation
The Romantics valued Variety over Unity
Romanticism
The less a thing deviates from its natural state the
more truthful it is



Shakespeare’s plays became an argument for ignoring
the rules of neoclassicism
Mysterious and supernatural became common
occurrences
Historical accuracy in settings and costumes was
favored
Melodrama

The popular-culture manifestation of Romanticism
•
Melodrama = “music drama”
•
Action accompanied by musical score that enhanced emotional
tone
•
Emphasized clear moral tone and suspenseful plots
•
Set pattern of action: Good are rewarded and Evil are punished =
poetic justice
•
Characters were stereotypes (Good, Evil)
•
Elaborately staged spectacle
Melodrama

Created variety through use of:
•
Exotic locales
•
Special effects
•
Latest inventions
•
Dramatizations of popular novels and notorious
crimes
•
Horses for “equestrian melodramas”
•
Water tanks for “aquatic melodramas”
Melodrama
•
With advent of electricity (1880s), electric motors were
used with treadmills to stage horse or chariot races
•
Panoramas were rigged on spools and moved in time
with the treadmills; panoramas = long cloths on which
continuous scenes were painted
•
Efforts to make action as realistic as possible by using
machinery and special effects
Monte Cristo


Adapted from Dumas’s novel
Plot: many incidents, but simple pattern
•
•
•
•

Goodness is victimized
Evil is triumphant for a time
Evil is exposed and punished
Goodness is vindicated
Characterization: 3 categories of characters
•
•
•
Good
Evil
Functional
Monte Cristo



Attempted realistic/authentic costumes and settings
8 settings required
•
Performed on a flat, sectioned floor
•
Emphasis on 3-dimensional pieces, including furniture
•
Elevator traps raised and lowered heavy scenic units
Developments in lighting
•
Gas table = a central location from which all gas lines ran and
from which the supply of gas to any part of the theatre could
be controlled; enabled lights to be brightened or dimmed
•
Limelight = calcium + compressed hydrogen and oxygen
along with gas flame; heated to incandescence; bright
spotlight
The Advent of Realism

Darwin’s theories (1859)
All forms of life have developed gradually from a common
ancestry
2.
Evolution of species explained by “survival of the fittest”
Implications of Darwin’s theories
1.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Heredity and environment as primary causes for everything humans
are or do
People cannot be held fully responsible for their actions since
heredity and environment cannot be fully controlled
Progress
Humans are like other animals; not separate from nature
Change, rather than fixity, as the norm
The Advent of Realism

Freud’s theories
1.
2.
3.
Basic human instincts = aggression and sexuality
Without intervention, humans would seek to satisfy own
instincts without regard for others
Need for socialization: rewards and punishments teach
acceptable behavior and develop a superego
•
4.
Superego = an interior, subconscious censor or judge
Right and wrong are not absolute; relative to individual,
family, society
Realism and Naturalism
•
Grounded in scientific outlook: need to understand human
behavior in terms of natural cause and effect
•
Pursuit of truth: knowledge that can be verified through the 5
senses
•
The highest form of morality = truth
•
Playwrights wrote primarily about contemporary subjects
•
Introduced topics such as unsavory social conditions
A Doll’s House
•
Written by Henrik Ibsen (1879): Ibsen often called the “founder of
modern drama”
•
Basic assumption that heredity and environment determine
character and action
•
Play was considered controversial because it seemed like an attack
on the family
•
Dramatic construction: cause-to-effect, with late point of attack
A Doll’s House
•
Single setting used throughout play
•
•
•
Box set = set that fully encloses the acting space on 3 sides like
the walls of a room, with one side removed
Box sets enabled more realistic representations of indoor
spaces; extensive use of furnishings and props
Actors sought realistic behavior; interacted with setting and
furnishings
Zola and Naturalism
•
Unlike Realism, Naturalism was not successful in the
theatre, possibly due to its extreme demands
•
Chief advocate was Emile Zola (1840-1902)
•
Zola believed that the dramatist should expose social
ills so that their causes could be corrected
Zola and Naturalism
•
Naturalists believed that many Realists were more
concerned with theatrical effectiveness than with truth
•
Play as a slice of life = a segment of reality transferred
to the stage
•
Naturalism as short-lived movement that produced
few plays of significance
The Emergence of the Director
•
Prior to late 19th century, staging plays was the
responsibility of the playwright, the head of the company, or
the lead actor
•
Growing need for someone to unify all production elements,
which were becoming more numerous and more complex
•
2 key figures in the development and acceptance of the
modern director:
•
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
•
Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1826-1914)
The Emergence of the Director

Richard Wagner
•
Sought to create a “master artwork” through a fusion
of all the arts
•
Opposed Realism
•
Chose stories from German myths
•
Set his dramas to music
The Emergence of the Director

•
•
•
•
Richard Wagner
Wanted audience to be transported from everyday
existence into an idealized, communal, near-religious
experience
Seating as democratic = fan-shaped pattern
First to darken auditorium during performance
Strong “unity of production” = all elements of
production filtered through a single consciousness to
achieve a unified artistic effect
The Emergence of the Director

Georg II, duke of Saxe-Meiningen
•
Considered 1st director in modern sense
•
Exerted complete control over all aspects of
production: designed everything himself
•
Long rehearsal periods
•
Convincing crowd scenes, staged with precision
•
Total stage picture worked out carefully from moment
to moment
The Independent Theatre Movement
•
Throughout most of Europe, plays had to be approved
by a censor prior to performance for public audiences
•
Performances done by a group for its members only
were considered private performances; not subject to
censorship
The Independent Theatre Movement

By the late 1880s, a number of small
independent theatres exploited this loophole

Products of the Independent Theatre
Movement
•
Playwright George Bernard Shaw
•
The Moscow Art Theatre
•
Playwright Anton Chekhov
•
Konstantin Stanislavsky and
•
The Stanislavsky System of acting
Konstantin Stanislavsky and
The Stanislavsky System


The most pervasive influence on acting during the 20th
century
Contains basic premises of what is necessary for
effective acting:
•
•
•
•
•
Body and voice must be trained and flexible
Be a skilled observer of human behavior
The “Magic If”
Understand each character’s motivations and relationships
Concentrate moment by moment