20th Century Theater

What is Modernist Theater?

• Theater that is modern

• theater after the industrial revolution

• a term for the bold new experimental styles and forms that swept the arts during the first third of the twentieth century

• Theater with wooden props

Expressionism

• A form of art in which the artist depicts the inner essence of man and projects his view of the world as colored by that essence.

• showing feelings and emotions

• something they do in performances

Who is Eugene O'Neill

• An african american playwright

• wrote Romeo and Julliet

• an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into U.S. drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish playwright August Strindberg

• a poet

What is Epic Theater?

• theater invented by Brecht

• THEATER THAT IS EPIC

• A type of theater, invented by Brecht, in which major social issues are dramatized with outlandish props and jarring dialogue and effects, all designed to alienate middle-class audiences and force them to think seriously about the problems raised in the plays.

Who is Bertolt Brecht?

• Belgian playwright who developed epic theater

• German dramatist and poet who developed a style of epic theater (1898-1956)

What is Surrealism?

• the act of being real

• An artistic movement that displayed vivid dream worlds and fantastic unreal images

What is Theater of the absurd?

• plays stressing the irrational or illogical aspects of life, usually to show that modern life is pointless

• theater of the amateurs

• Theater shows held for people who cannot afford tickets

Who is Samuel Beckett?

• Irish Novelist

• Wrote Waiting for Godot

What is Musical Theater?

• a genre of drama in which singing and dancing play an essential part

• dramatic theater with singing

• Chorus

Who is Arthur Miller?

• author of The Crucible

• American playwright