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International Theatre Institute (ITI)
- Formed under UNESCO
- Published World Theatre, periodical to disseminate information
- After 1954, sponsored annual festival
- Encouraged development throughout the world, resulting in the establishment of theatres where there had previously been few or none.
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Theatre in Paris during the war
Paris theatre prosperous if uninspired during occupation
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Post-War Paris
- Government sought to take a more active role
- Ministry of Arts and Letter subsidized new plays and a few new companies
- State theatres Reorganized: Opera and Opera Comique placed under single management, Comedie Francaise and Odeon Merged
- Major leaders Jean-Louis Barrault and Jean Vilar
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French Theatre around Paris post-war
- Government encouraged decentralization
- 1947, regional dramatic centers began to be established
- By 60s, 12 Dramatic Centers around France
- Centers also toured and made efforts to being remote audiences in
- Also founded festivals, by 60s more than 50 dramatic festivals annually
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Jean-Louis Barrault
- Had reputation as both stage and screen actor before the war
- 1940 became societaire at Comedie Francaise
- 1943 "The Satin Slipper" popularized "total theatre"
- Play had previously been thought unplayable due to length and complexity
- Text of a play is like an iceberg, only 1/8 visible
- Director's job is to complete text by revealing hidden portion through imaginative use of theatrical resources
- Sought synthesis of Copeau and Artaud
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Jean Vilar
- Worked for a number of companies before being hired to organize the festival at Avignon in 1947
- 1951 appointed director of Theatre National Populaire, then on the verge of collapse
- Assembled an impressive company and by 1954 it was one of the most popular troupes in France
- Placed major emphasis on actor, reinforced through costume and lighting, scenery minimal
- Principal home Palais de Chaillot in Paris, but also played the Avignon festival and toured, and it soon commanded more popular support than any other state troupe
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DeGaulle and Theatre
- Came to power in 1959
- Minister of Culture, Andre Malraux maintained direction, but made reforms
- In addition to Dramatic Centers, promoted cultural centers. First opened in 1962
- In addition to theatrical performances, housed facilities for film, music, dance, visual arts, and public lectures
- reorganized state theatres
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Jean-Paul Sartre
- Primary existentialist playwright
- The flies, No Exit, Dirty Hands, The Devil and the Good Lord
- Man becomes what he chooses: must choose his own values and live by them
- cast doubt in conformism that allowed Nazis to come to power
- Believed in the necessity of political engagement, because if not you are just allowing others to choose for
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Albert Camus
- Small dramatic output, most influence came through his essay "They Myth of Sisyphus"
- Argues that the human condition is absurd because of the gap between people's hopes and the irrational world in which they live
- Only remedy is each individual's search for a personal set of standards
- Differed most from Sartre on the topic of political engagemenet
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Absurdists
- Philosophical foundation laid by Sartre and Camus, though those two retained traditional dramatic form
- Absurdists tended to concentrate on the irrationality of existence without suggesting a way forward
- Unified by theme rather than cause-and-effect arrangement
- Absurdity increased by juxtaposition of incongruous events
- Demonstrated the inadequacy of language, which they say as major rationalistic tool
- Absurdism as a label popularized by Martin Eslin in his book The Theatre of the Absurd
- Most important playwrights: Beckett, Ionesco, Genet, and Adamov
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Samuel Beckett
- First absurdist to win international fame with Waiting for Godot (1953)
- Began writing around 1930, turned to drama after WWII
- In many ways, typical dramatist of 1950s, a decade anxious about the threat of nuclear war
- Many plays seem to take pace in a world already ravaged by disaster
- Expressed post-war doubts about the human capacity to understand and control the world
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Eugene Ionesco
- First play The Bald Soprano, labelled an "anti-play" to indicate a rebellion against conventional drama
- Early plays mainly negative, concentrating on the cliches of language and the irrationality of materialist values
- Later plays like The Killer, Rhinoceros, Exit the King, and Macbett show a protagonist holding out against conformity
- Primarily concerned with social relationships, especially those of middle-class families
- 2 primary themes: deadening nature of materialistic society and the isolation of the individual
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Jean Genet
- Spent most of his life in prison
- First plays; The Maids and Deathwatch unsuccessful at first, but broke out with The BalconyCharacters rebel against conventional society
- deviation is essential if humans are to achieve integrity
- nothing has meaning without its opposite, therefore deviant behavior is as valuable as accepted virtues
- Transforms life into a series of rituals and ceremonies that lend structure to otherwise nonsensical behavior
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Arthur Adamov
- Characters condemned to eternal failure by their inability to communicate with one another
- Became progressively more socially oriented, and in 1956 denounced his earlier work and adopted the Brechtian form
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French Playwrights of the 60s
- After '60, many playrights treated political and socioeconomic themes
- Aime Cesaire: Black writer from Martinique, especially concerned with the problems of postcolonialism
- Gabrieal Cousin: wrote in the brechtian vein, but from a christian rather than marxist viewpoint
- Armand Gatti: wrote in a variation of brechtian form, advocated for humanitarian socialism and expressed hope for exploited populations
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Post-war Russia
- All subsidies save for a few favored theatres were discontinued
- 450 of Russia's 950 theatres destroyed in the war, by 1953 only about 250 left
- Socialist Realism the only acceptable style
- Western plays removed from the repertory, and new works expected to uphold government policy
- Following Stalin's death in 1953, standards gradually relaxed, and plays addressing individual concerns gradually gained popularity, replacing the didactic party propaganda plays
- In 1960s foreign works, like those of Brecht, Miller, Osborne, and Williams seen in Russia for the first time
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Post-war Moscow Art Theatre
- Lost prestige because of restrictions on content and style, came to be seen as more of a museum
- Other theatres rose to prestige in its place, such as Moscow's Contemporary Theatre (1957)
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Post-war Czech theatre
- Though subjugated to the USSR, strictures relaxed following break with Stalinism in 1956
- Made impact in the areas of technology and design, especially through Josef Svoboda
- Svoboda: Used moving and still images projected screens along with live actors
- Techniques shown at 1958 World's Fair in Brussels, where they created considerable excitement
- Also experimented with making a completely flexible stage which could change as the action of the play dictated
- Leading dramatist Vaclav Havel: biting saterical treatments of bureaucracy
- 1968 Czech theatre severely curtailed following a Warsaw Pact crackdown on growing liberalization
- New Repression to continue until 1989, when restrictions fell and soon Havel was elected president
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Post-war German theatre
- Although divided into East and West, shared many characteristics
- Both had strong state sponsorship
- Almost every city had its own theatre and many had an opera and ballet troupe as well
- Typically all state sponsored troupes in a city shared manager, facilities, and design team
- Large cities had multiple facilities, each with its own company
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Post-war German theatres
- A;though many destroyed in the war, massive rebuilding program after 1950 replaced most
- New theatres had improved sight lines, no boxes, and reduced balconies
- Emphasis on complex machinery continued
- Most proscenium arch
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Bayreuth Festival
- Most important of the festivals, which where of importance during post-war years
- Revived under direction of Wieland Wagner, then his brother Wolfgang
- Wagner's operas performed with simple scenery and atmospheric lighting, as opposed to realism which had been used since Wagner's time.
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Post-war German directors
- Kortner, Grundgens, and Hilpert
- Fritz Kortner - leading expressionist actor of the '20s
- Exile during the Nazi years, returned in 1949. Long rehearsals, dedication to emotional lives of characters
- Grundgens and Hilpert - worked under Hitler preserved German tradition
- Justified working for Nazis by saying they wanted to preserve German culture in an age of barbarism
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Berliner Ensamble
- Most famous of all German ensembles
- After Brecht returned in 1947, his plays rapidly found their way into the repertories of most German companies
- Opened in 1949 with Mother Courage
- Started sharing Deutsches, in 1954 given the Theater-am-Schiffbauerdamm
- After Brecht's death in 1956, wife, Helene Weigel took over
- Long, careful rehearsals, sometimes taking months
- When a production is ready Modelbuch containing 600 to 800 action photographs made.
- Demonstrated the validity of Brechts theories, and humanitarian and social emphases ran counter to the absurdists
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Post-war German playwrights
- Less successful producing new playwrights, until late 1950s Most successful playwright was Brecht, who has written all his major works by 1946
- Theme of public guilt and responsibility would dominate German drama until 60s
- Major drama in Germany in the 1950s 2 Swiss playwrights, Frisch and Duerenmatt
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German drama in the 60s
- Most took form of "Docudrama" or "Theatre of Fact"
- Best known playwrights Hochhuth, Weiss, and Kipphardt
- Hochhuth controversial as he attributed questionable motives to real historical figures
- Weiss, most famous for "Marat/Sade" as produced by Peter Brook, then moved to more factual work like "The Investigation"
- Kipphardt first won renown for "In the case of J. Robert Oppenheimer" 1964, "Joel Brand" and "Brother Eichmann" directly adressing WWII
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Post-war Italy
- Position of playwright difficult, torn between demand for realism and universality
- Only an occasional playwright able to gain a nationwide following
- Ugo Betti began writing in 1929, but reputation rests on later works; concerned with crises of conscience, especially among those who have gained influence through questionable means
- Touring companies dominate, but first residential companies founded
- Most important resident troupe Piccolo Teatro in Milan. Given rent free space and later the first government subsidy to a theatre in Italy
- Giorgio Strehler directed 3/4 of productions, and invited prominent international directors for the rest
- Style Brechtian and leaned on plays of Goldoni, Brecht, and Shakespeare
- 2 prominent directors: Luchino Visconti one of the originators of neorealism, Franco Zeffirelli: reputation for making classics accessible
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Latin America 40-68
- Both commercial and independent theatres thrived after war
- Most acting based on Stanislavsky
- Production methods increasingly based on Brecht
- Argentina: The Bridge by Carlos Gorostiza first independent play to receive a commercial run
- "New Realists" emerge in 1950s in response to political turmoil - Frustrations of younger generation increasingly cynical about culture incapable of solving political problems
- Brazil: TBC (Theatro Brasileiro de Comedia) most highly regarded if the independt theatres
- Teatro de Arena founded by Jose Renato is Sao Paulo in 1953, dedicated to finding an authentic Brazilian theatre
- Augusto Boal joined in 1956, imprisoned in 1968. Released into exile in Argentina in 1971. While in exile developed cocepts for teatro journal and teatro invisivel
- Mexico:Government very supportive of theatre, resulting in massive expansion of theatres in Mexico City as well as touring companies
- Mexican Playwriting also flourished. Theatre generally not directly critical of national government, but students joined protests international protest movement in 1968. On Oct. 2 fired on by military, killing over 300 and injuring many more, government/teatre relations never the same
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English Drama after the WWII
- Directly after war, theatre fairly innocuous
- Old Vic was the most respected company after returning from the provinces, by 1946 one of the most respected companies in the world
- After 1948, Old Vic began to decline, dissolved in 1963
- As Old Vic declined, Stratford Festival gained prestige
- English theatre seemed to be in decline until 1956, when revived by English Stage Company and the Theatre Workshop
- Much of post-war accomplishments attributable toward beginning to have state subsidies for the arts
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English Stage Company
- Founded in 1956
- mission to produce new British plays and foreign plays not produced in England
- Look Back in Anger by John Osborne in 1956 widely seen as a turning point in British theatre
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Theare Workshop
- Founded in '45 by a group of young people dissatisfied with the commercial theatre
- Joan Littlewood became leader. Most important work between 1955 and 1961 when Littlewood retired
- Behan and Delaney playwrights especially associated with Theatre Workshop
- Known for production style, which drew heavily on Brechtian and music hall traditions, but also through lines of action from Stanislavsky
- Weakened by movement of successful productions to commercial theatres
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Harold Pinter
- Began playwriting in 1957 with The Room
- Everyday situations gradually take on air of mystery or menace
- unexplained, unrevealed, or ambiguous motivations
- authentic, seemingly thoughful, though carefully wrought dialogue
- Unspoken subtext often as important as dialogue
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Royal Shakespeare Company
- 1961 Shakespeare Memorial Theatre given new charter and new title
- New status owed most to Peter Hall, named head of the company in 1960
- Leased Aldwych theatre in London, making it a year-round operation
- Expanded repertory beyond Shakespeare
- By 1962, activites so expanded that Peter Brook and Michel Saint-Denis added to management
- 63-4 Brook with Marowitz produced series of productions under title "Theatre of Cruelty" including Marat/Sade
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Peter Brook
- Most influential of the directors associated with the RSC.
- Eclectic who combined ideas and techniques into his own vital productions
- Midsummer Night's Dream(1970) sought to divorce it from mystical trappings, interpreted as an exploration of love. Theseus and Hippolyta double cast as Oberon and Titania
- White walls, trees represented by metal coils, flying on trapezes, simple costumes
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National Theatre
- Implemented in 1963 after the Old Vic was disolved
- Olivier named director and Kenneth Tynan literary advisor
- Eclectic plays and production styles, utilizing numerous English and foreign directors and designers
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U.S. theatre after WWII
- Most influential figures Director Elia Kazan and designer Jo Meilziner
- Through work on plays like Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire and Miller's Death of a Salesman established an approach that would dominate into the 1960s
- Meilziner: stage settings eliminated nonessential features, creating theatrical realism
- Kazan: Acting moves increasingly toward psychological truth rooted in inner motivations
- Extension of Group Theatre's methods as taught at the Actors Studio
- After War, theatre threatened by combination of rapid development of television and rising production costs
- '44-'60 ticket prices doubled and production costs increase by more
- Low point in 49-50 with only 59 new productions
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Actors Studio
- Founded in 1947 by Robert Lewis, Elia Kazan, and Cheryl Crawford
- Designed to allow actors to develop by applying Stanislavsky's methods, with emphasis on intention and action
- 1948 Lewis resigned and Lee Strausberg became the dominant force, shifting the emphasis to emotion memory and the actor's psyche
- Marlin Brando's portrayal of Stanley Kowalski came to epitomize the Actors Studio ideal
- Influence began to wane in the 60s when interest began to turn to nonrealistic styles of acting.
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Off Broadway Movement
- Less commercial and less expensive alternative to Broadway
- can be traced to the little theatre movement of the WWI era that declined significantly in the 1930s
- Major upturn when Circle on the Square earned critical praise for Summer and Smoke in 1952, after it failed on Broadway
- Gave first New York production of major European writers like Brecht, Ionesco, and Genet
- Circle in the Square and Phoenix Theatre of special importance in the 1950s
- Circle in the Square opened in 1951 by Jose Quintero and Theadore Mann. Completely flexible audience/actor relationship
- Pheonix Theatre founded in 1953 by NOrris Houghton and T. Edward Hambleton Presented a diverse group of plays and tried to get new directors for each production
- in '50s more interested in challenging repertory than innovating in staging
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Living Theatre
- founded in 1946 by Judith Malina and Julan Beck
- Originally interested in poetic drama and non-realistic production techniques
- Major turning point in 1959 with production of Jack Gelber's The Connection where audience supposedly invited to watch making of a documentary on dope addicts
- Kenneth Brown's The Brig (1963) Re-creates the repetitive and senseless routine of a Marine prison
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Off Off Broadway
- By 1960, Off Broadway beginning to feel the same economic pressures as Broadway, and so became less adventurous
- Off Off Broadway usually dated to opening of Cafe Cino by Joe Cino in 1958
- Soon plays being produced wherever space could be found
- Most influential OOB producer of 1960s Ellen Stewart began in a basement in 1961, Created LaMama Experimental Theatre Club
- 1969 LaMama acquired its own space, then expanded in 1974
- Took productions abroad starting in '64, invited to start branches in several countries
- OOB of the 60s: marked by pursuit of novelty as well as a lack of standards by which to judge it
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Lincoln Center
- Repertory company founded in 1963 under the direction of Elia Kazan and Robert Whitehead
- Results of first season so disappointing Kazan and Whitehead resigned
- Replaced by Herbert Blau and Jules Irving Blau resigned in 1967
- Irving slowly built company but artistic and financial problems continued to grow until he resigned in 1973
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Association of Producing Artists
- Second repertory company in New York from '60-'70
- on '64 formed a liaison with Phoenix Theatre
- Eclectic repertory and critical praise, but had to fold due to financial difficulties in 1970
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Regional Theatres
- Arena Theatre in Dallas in 1947 by Margo Jones
- Alley Theater in Houston in 1947 by Nina Vance
- Arena Stage in Washington in 1949 by Edward Mangum and Zelda Fischandler
- Actors' Workshop in San Francisco in 1952 by Jules Ircing and Herbert Blau (later to run the Lincoln Center)
- Expanded rapidly during the'60s
- '59 Ford Foundation made sizable grants to small companies that had established a foothold
- Tyrone Guthrie founded theatre in Minneapolis to favorable publicity in '63
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Summer Festivals
- Major Shakespeare festivals in Ashland, Oregon and San Diego
- 1954 Joseph Papp establishes New York Shakespeare Festival
- Subsequently many Shakespeare Festivals and Summer theatre festivals founded
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American Playwrights after of the 50s
- Flush with talent
- O'Neill returned to production with The Iceman Cometh and Long Day's Journey Into Night
- Williams and Miller emerged
- Others who showed promise including William Inge: Picnic, Bus Stop
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Tenessee Williams
- Glass Menagerie 1945
- Streetcar 1947
- Cat 1955
- by late '50s accused of repeating himself, and his critical prestige declined
- Created interesting characters caught in critical or violent junctures as they seek to retreat to a past or create a future more satisfying than the present
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Arthur Miller
- All My Sons (1947)
- reputation rests on Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), and A View from the Bridge (1955)
- Character stray because of materialistic values find peace in some more meaningful understanding of themselves and their roles in society
- Salesman usually considered most important because of how successfully if illustrates the conflict between desire for material success and adventure and happiness
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Neil Simon
- Tentative debut with Come Blow your Horn (1961), string of hits
- most successful playwright on Broadway in the '60s
- Comedies featuring zany humor, eccentric characters, slight hints of pain and desperation
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Edward Albee
- Highest regarded American playwright of the '60s
- First short plays produced Off-Broadway. At fist seemed allies with absurdists
- Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (1962) first full length play and first Broadway success
- showed affinity with Williams and Stindberg
- Most of his work concerned with values, became increasingly abstract and fell from favor, though he regained his following in the '90s
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Musical Comedy 1948-68
- Something of a golden age
- Pattern established by Oklahoma (1943), Carousel (1945), South Pacific (1949), and The King and I (1951)
- Lerner and Loewe: Brigadoon, My Fair Lady, CamelotFrank Loesser Guys and DollsLeonard Bernstein Candide and West Side Story
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