Poor Theatre - Year 7 Drama

POOR THEATRE

What is 'poor theatre'?

• Poor theatre is a performance style that focuses on the training and skill of the actor(s), rather than the use of elaborate production areas (e.g. costumes, lights, etc.).

• Jerzy Grotowski is a Polish theatre practitioner who coined the term “poor theatre”, defining a performance as ridding itself from the excess of theatre (lavish costumes and detailed sets). The performance lacked anything fancy, so in essence, looked ‘poor’.

Conventions of Poor Theatre

Conventions are recognisable features or aspects of a performance.

If something is a convention of poor theatre, that means it is something we would use/see in most performances of this style.

• Minimal/limited use of production areas (not many props, set pieces, costumes, etc.)

• Symbolic use of object and object transformation (using one object/prop as different things)

• Realistic/believable acting

• Using the actors’ bodies to create scenery or objects

• Neutral lighting

• Breaking the 4th wall - acknowledging that the audience is watching

• Non-traditional stage spaces and/or positioning the audience in the acting space

Multiple Choice

Which practitioner is associated with poor theatre?

• Jerzy Groovy

• Charlie Chaplin

• Jerzy Grotowski

• Jerry Grotowski

Multiple Choice

Poor theatre is a performance style that...

• Doesn't pay the actors high wages

• Doesn't cost much for the audience to buy a ticket for

• Spreads messages about poverty

• Does not use fancy props, costumes, set peices, etc.

Multiple Choice

Poor theatre is likely to be performed...

• In a traditional theatre space

• Theatres with large curtains

• In non-traditional spaces

• In a bank

Multiple Choice

Grotowski liked to place the audience...

• Far away from the stage

• In unusual spaces like all sides of the performance space, or amongst the performers

• In comfortable seats with cushions and drink holders

• In uncomfortable seats or on the ground

Multiple Choice

Instead of lavish costumes and elaborate sets, what is the focus of poor theatre?

• The training and skill of the actors

• To raise money

• How well the script is written

• The use of multiple actors performing at once, like in a chorus

Multiple Choice

What would the stage typically look like in a poor theatre performance?

• It would have realistic/ believable set pieces and props

• It would be filled with fancy scenery and decorations

• It would be painted with different symbolic colours

• It would be bare, with only limited use of props or set pieces

Multiple Select

In which of the following ways does poor theatre use props? (select all that apply)

• It uses realistic and believable props

• It uses minimal props

• It doesn't use any props, the actors must mime all objects

• It uses props that are symbolic or have special meaning

• It uses props that can be transformed into different things by the actor(s)