My Beatles; Haiku
Today, we'll finish our reading of My Beatles by Satoh Makoto.
Prompt:
1. select a pop cultural icon: ex. The Beatles, The Who, the Supremes, Scooby Doo & the gang, John Wayne, Madea, The Teletubbies, Magic Johnson, Kim Kardashian, J.K. Rowling, Pablo Picasso, Ansel Adams, Van Gogh, Michael Jackson, Spider-Man, etc. Think of your favorite authors, favorite actors, favorite musicians, favorite artists, favorite dancers, favorite singers, favorite celebrities, etc. The icon should be familiar with generations from you to your grandparents.
3. Use the human tragedy to suggest past historical events that may occur again. The invasion and control of a country by another or one culture by another is a tragedy that can be equated by a mass shooting or local killing, for example. Use your article as the first part of your metaphor. Use the pop culture icon to comment on the tragedy.
4. Write a scene where these are examined. Your play may be avant-garde, formalistic, or absurdist. These kinds of styles work best.
Some of these ideas/narrative theories may help:
Elements of absurdist play form:
1. Characters are often threatened by an unknown outside force.
2. The world or diegesis of the play/film is unpredictable or lacks meaning which the characters must contend with.
3. There is often an element of horror or tragedy; characters are often in hopeless situations or trapped.
4. Dialogue is often playful, full of nonsense, repetition, or engages in silly wordplay or banter.
5. Plays are often funny, although the theme is usually serious and symbolic. Absurdist theatre is often called "tragicomedy", having elements of broad humor and tragedy.
6. There is often a good deal of farce (mistaken identity, physical comedy, slapstick, sudden entrances, and interruptions, etc.)
7. Theatre of the absurd often presents characters failing at something without suggesting a solution to the problem. Characters are often "losers" who cannot dig themselves out of the problems they find themselves in.
8. Characters are often unable to communicate with others (particularly about their feelings, desires, or needs).
9. Plot is often cyclical or repetitive.
10. Plots have a dreamlike or surreal quality to them, akin to a nightmare. Plot events are often taken at face value; characters are unwilling or uninterested in examining "why?" something happens and instead react to "what" happens. Therefore the plot is often lacking the cause. The effect is often stressed as being more important.
Brechtian/Epic Theater Style:
Epic theatre was a reaction against other popular forms of theatre at the time, particularly the naturalistic approach pioneered by Constantin Stanislavski. Stanislavski directed the Moscow Art Theatre where Anton Chekhov (not the ensign of the Enterprise) premiered his plays (The Seagull, etc) Brecht disliked the spectacle, manipulative plots, and heightened emotion or unrealistic "overacting" of melodrama; While Stanislavski insisted on creating real human behavior in acting to absorb the audience completely in the fictional world of the play, Brecht saw Stanislavski's methodology as escapism. Brecht's own social and political focus departed also from surrealism and Theatre of Cruelty, as developed in the work of Antonin Artaud, who sought to affect audiences viscerally, psychologically, physically, and irrationally. Artaud plays were notoriously difficult to watch (and sometimes stage).
Epic theatre incorporates a mode of acting that utilizes what he calls gestus. His plays use choruses, music, projections, and disassociation as a means of commentary on political and social issues. The ultimate goal of epic theatre is that the audience should always be aware that it is watching a play. The epic approach to play production uses a montage technique of fragmentation, contrast, juxtaposition, and interruptions.
Common production techniques in epic theatre include a simplified, non-realistic scenic design offset against a selective realism in costuming and props, as well as announcements or visual captions that interrupt and summarize the action. Brecht used comedy to distance his audiences from the depicted events and was heavily influenced by musicals and fairground performers, putting music and song in his plays.
Acting in epic theatre requires actors to play characters believably without convincing either the audience or themselves that they have "become" the characters. Actors frequently address the audience directly out of character ("breaking the fourth wall") and play multiple roles.
2nd Period: Haiku (see last post).
HOMEWORK: Write a page of haiku (3-7 poems); Complete your scene from Sato Makoto or complete your scene from last class's prompts. Write at least a page or two of your scene.
Prompt:
1. select a pop cultural icon: ex. The Beatles, The Who, the Supremes, Scooby Doo & the gang, John Wayne, Madea, The Teletubbies, Magic Johnson, Kim Kardashian, J.K. Rowling, Pablo Picasso, Ansel Adams, Van Gogh, Michael Jackson, Spider-Man, etc. Think of your favorite authors, favorite actors, favorite musicians, favorite artists, favorite dancers, favorite singers, favorite celebrities, etc. The icon should be familiar with generations from you to your grandparents.
- What is the image or idea the pop culture icon represents? Make a short list of possibilities.
- Allow this character to represent this idea. Use this character to suggest your theme.
3. Use the human tragedy to suggest past historical events that may occur again. The invasion and control of a country by another or one culture by another is a tragedy that can be equated by a mass shooting or local killing, for example. Use your article as the first part of your metaphor. Use the pop culture icon to comment on the tragedy.
4. Write a scene where these are examined. Your play may be avant-garde, formalistic, or absurdist. These kinds of styles work best.
Some of these ideas/narrative theories may help:
Elements of absurdist play form:
1. Characters are often threatened by an unknown outside force.
2. The world or diegesis of the play/film is unpredictable or lacks meaning which the characters must contend with.
3. There is often an element of horror or tragedy; characters are often in hopeless situations or trapped.
4. Dialogue is often playful, full of nonsense, repetition, or engages in silly wordplay or banter.
5. Plays are often funny, although the theme is usually serious and symbolic. Absurdist theatre is often called "tragicomedy", having elements of broad humor and tragedy.
6. There is often a good deal of farce (mistaken identity, physical comedy, slapstick, sudden entrances, and interruptions, etc.)
7. Theatre of the absurd often presents characters failing at something without suggesting a solution to the problem. Characters are often "losers" who cannot dig themselves out of the problems they find themselves in.
8. Characters are often unable to communicate with others (particularly about their feelings, desires, or needs).
9. Plot is often cyclical or repetitive.
10. Plots have a dreamlike or surreal quality to them, akin to a nightmare. Plot events are often taken at face value; characters are unwilling or uninterested in examining "why?" something happens and instead react to "what" happens. Therefore the plot is often lacking the cause. The effect is often stressed as being more important.
Brechtian/Epic Theater Style:
Epic theatre was a reaction against other popular forms of theatre at the time, particularly the naturalistic approach pioneered by Constantin Stanislavski. Stanislavski directed the Moscow Art Theatre where Anton Chekhov (not the ensign of the Enterprise) premiered his plays (The Seagull, etc) Brecht disliked the spectacle, manipulative plots, and heightened emotion or unrealistic "overacting" of melodrama; While Stanislavski insisted on creating real human behavior in acting to absorb the audience completely in the fictional world of the play, Brecht saw Stanislavski's methodology as escapism. Brecht's own social and political focus departed also from surrealism and Theatre of Cruelty, as developed in the work of Antonin Artaud, who sought to affect audiences viscerally, psychologically, physically, and irrationally. Artaud plays were notoriously difficult to watch (and sometimes stage).
Epic theatre incorporates a mode of acting that utilizes what he calls gestus. His plays use choruses, music, projections, and disassociation as a means of commentary on political and social issues. The ultimate goal of epic theatre is that the audience should always be aware that it is watching a play. The epic approach to play production uses a montage technique of fragmentation, contrast, juxtaposition, and interruptions.
Common production techniques in epic theatre include a simplified, non-realistic scenic design offset against a selective realism in costuming and props, as well as announcements or visual captions that interrupt and summarize the action. Brecht used comedy to distance his audiences from the depicted events and was heavily influenced by musicals and fairground performers, putting music and song in his plays.
Acting in epic theatre requires actors to play characters believably without convincing either the audience or themselves that they have "become" the characters. Actors frequently address the audience directly out of character ("breaking the fourth wall") and play multiple roles.
2nd Period: Haiku (see last post).
HOMEWORK: Write a page of haiku (3-7 poems); Complete your scene from Sato Makoto or complete your scene from last class's prompts. Write at least a page or two of your scene.
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