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| The late August Wilson, one of the greatest playwrights of the last 100 years. |
The text tells us that the playwright is " the most central, yet the most peripheral figure in the theatrical event". We START with the playwright's words- it is our "point of origin", yet most playwrights are not involved with individual productions. Thus, the playwright is essentially an independent artist, whose work is primarily done in isolation.
* The correct spelling of the word is PLAYWRIGHT. Some spell the word playwrite- this means "one who writes plays". The correct PLAYWRIGHT spelling means "one who MAKE plays".
* The core of ever play is ACTION! The structure is not a series of abstract observations, but an "ordering of observable, dramatizable events."
* The playwright works with two tools:
a) dialogue
b) physical action
* Events in a play can be either "linear" (they take place in chronological order) or "non-linear" (random ordering).
THE QUALITIES OF A FINE PLAY
These are some of the qualities that make up a good play.
* Credibility and Intrigue- Credibility has to do with internal consistency and intrigue is the quality that makes us curious to see "what happens next"
* Speakability, stageability and flow- Speakability refers to dialogue that resembles real or ordinary speech. Stageability requires that dialogue be written so that it can be spoken effectively on the stage, and flow requires a continual stream of information- a play that is continually MOVING toward some kind of ending.
* Richness- Depth, subtlety, quality, wholeness, etc...we want our plays to have depth and quality.
*Depth of characterization- Some playwrights write all their characters speaking in the "same voice". We want a variety of characters, with their own independent identities and manner of expression.
* Gravity and Pertinence- Gravity refers to the central theme being serious and of lasting significance. Pertinence refers to a plays ability to be relevant to the times.
* Compression, economy and intensity- Compression refers to the playwright's ability to condense the story, economy refers to the author's skill in consolidating characters and events, and intensity refers to the quality of making the audience feel that they are witnessing something unique and important.
*Celebration- A play should celebrate life, not merely depict it or criticize.
* Make sure and look over CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN PLAYWRIGHTS section (starting on 100) and pay close attention to Miller, Simon, Albee,L. Wilson, Shepard, A.Wilson, Mamet, Vogel and Parks.
Discussion Question-
What characteristics do YOU look for in a play as an audience member? Focus on the script more than performance aspects (acting, scenery, etc) If you haven't attended many plays, you can discuss the same thing in reference to film
22 comments:
As an audience member, I look for good actors, who use speakability, stageability, and flow, and for actors who enjoy what they do and do it well. I look for expressive scenery that portrays what I would picture in my head if I were to close my eyes and listen to the actors and music. I also look for richness. I don't want to attend a performance if there is no profundity or completeness. I want to be interested and intrigued by what I'm seeing.
As an audience member I look for a few characteristics in a play. The first is likeability of the characters, sure you have villains and heroes but are they convincing? I also look for the props used in the play. If we are watching a fight or love scene that is taking place in a dimly lit alley, it is more realistic if the backdrop is not of a brightly lit grocery store showing a cash register with a line of customers waiting to be checked out. Music is also a big characteristic I look for, the music is much a part of a play as the actors and the script are. You can’t have a happy go lucky tune while someone is crying their eyes out due to a crisis that is currently taking place in their lives.
I look for actors who have a good stage presence. I want them to be able to pull me (the audience) into the "play world." I like it when an actor puts his/her own personal spin on how the character should be portrayed. I also feel the props and scenery have a big affect on how the audience will respond to the play, at least that's how it is for me. It doesn't have to be elaborate, just something that adds visual substance to the play.
When watching a play things that I tend to look for or notice are the depth of characterization and speakability. If the acting in a play is not convincing then it's hard for me personally to enjoy a show. I also like to have some background on the character instead of them just being a random person on stage.
As an audience member, I look for many characteristics in a play. One of the main qualities in a play that I look for is intrigue. I am a huge fan of action and horror movies. The suspense in movies and plays is, in my opinion, one of the main characteristics. If there isn't a part of the performance that makes me wonder what will happen next or what it means, I can very easily lose interest in the show.
I have not attended many plays but i have watched several movies. When I am going to watch a movie one of the first things I look at is the duration of the movie. If it is anything over 2 hours I usually am discouraged from watching it. This is because I feel like movies that are that long tend to drag out and I end up losing interest in the movie. Also, I tend to stay away from movies that speak with dialogue used in a different time period. Movies that use this dialogue are hard for me to follow which leads to me getting confused during the movie and distracts me.
As some one watches movies more than plays, when I go to watch a movie, I look for several characteristics, but mainly I look for "Depth of Characterization." I want to see different characters and personalities. My best character is the one that appeared as natural as possible, didn't feel the Camera or the audience.
The bottom line is I want to see real street life on stage.
Sallah Abubacarr As Anonymous by mistake. Posted Sept.23 2013 @9: 54 PM
I haven’t attended many plays so I’m going to give my opinion on what I look for towards a movie! When I’m watching a movie I look for intensity more than anything else. I want to be pulled into the film and to feel like I am there and witnessing something awesome more so than a boring film that I can’t really keep interest in! I also look for richness, I like for the films I am watching to have depth and quality which somewhat relates back to it being intensifying! I feel like I would want a play to be just the same as a movie no one wants to watch a boring play or movie!!! It needs to be catchy and very well played by all the characters and there parts!
Since I haven't been to very many plays at all I expect a movie to catch my attention based on what I like, such as a comedy. I hope to see bright colors and for it to actually make me laugh. As an audience member, I look for very good actors. Someone that full-fills that characters part. Someone that I can understand and watch with excitement. For an example as a bad movie would be Movie 43, it was awful. It was supposed to be a comedy and it wasn't funny and while it had a lot of famous characters they didn't really I feel show the true character. I also expect to see some richness in my romance films I want something to catch my attention and not bore me to death with too much music.
When I am watching a performance, I look for certain things as an audience member. The first characteristic I look for is the believability of the actor portraying the character. Do they look like they know what they're doing, do they have that certain connection with the character? I also look for the use of body gestures and facials. I want to look at the performer and be wrapped up in what they are doing, I want to be drawn in to the performance and be interested in what I am watching as well, not fall asleep. Annunciation is a major thing I look for as well. I want to be able to understand what is being said, not have to listen to someone mumble their way through a performance.
As an audience member I look for a play to have speakability. I like for the dialogue to be easy to understand. Depth of characterization is very important to me. I like for the actors or actresses to be relatable. I like to be able to tell that the actors or actresses are enjoying what they are doing. I also like there to be very elaborate scenery so that its easier to picture the play in you head.
When watching a performance I look for a few things that make my experience memorable. I love great actors who take their role serious and make the audience believe they are actually in that position. I also like to for the performance to have good props that make the situation that much more real such as when they're holding a "baby". Lastly i like for the actors to flow from one scene to the next in a manner that isnt noticeable.
There are many things that go into making a play a great one. Some characteristics that I look for as an audience member are intrigue, flow, and richness. Intrigue is an important characteristic to have in a play. Without intrigue I would lose interest in something quickly. I like to be curious about what will occur next. Flow is also an important characteristic because without flow in a script I feel like it isn’t going anywhere or not moving toward the end. These scripts seem to drag on and on. Lastly, richness is a biggie when watching a play. Scripts have to be rich in quality or I will quickly become bored. I want to be interested in the characters as well as what is going on throughout the whole play. If the characters or plot are boring it is hard to pay attention.
Characteristics that I look for in a play as an audience member are quality and elements
Quality of the play has a broad range in my eyes, as I've said in past entries I've seen alot of plays in my time and I will be honest, some of the shows I've seen multiple times by different companies. For example I've seen "The Wizard of Oz" twice by two different companies, I've seen it produced by a professional company and a volunteer company, as an audience member I felt the quality of the volunteer company was stronger then that of the professional company. The professional company granted had bigger luxury sets but the actors didn't "fit" or "connect" with the characters as well as the volunteer company. It was a good show but a push or leap of faith into the actors and their characters would have made this a great show.
Another characteristic I pay attention to is elements. What are they doing to get my attention is the set a flat set that just changes from wall to wall to represent a different room or does the set have levels to keep your eyes moving from place to place. Does the set give you a vivid image so that you can relate to the scene or do you have to put your own twist on it? As a photographer I must not only take pretty pictures but I must make my work stand out. By adding detail and elements into my work. For example I can have a senior and photograph her on a white backdrop or I can take that same senior and backdrop and add elements into the set, a chair, a chandelier, a class jacket..anything I want but adding elements helps increase the quality of the work I'm trying to show.
There are many things that I look for as a viewer of a performance. But I think one of the most important is, the ability to immerse me into the performance. Which involves two important things the chemistry of the actors together and the consistency of the rules for the story. For example if we have characters with no magic or mystery powers. If all of a sudden a character suddenly develops super powers out of now where and destroys all of his enemies and the play abruptly ends, even in a world of fantasy this is not believable. So its very important to me that the script sets up the protocol or rules and adheres to it throughout the play to keep me believing in the fantasy world that I’m following. It also wouldn’t seem fitting to have a solider from an 1700 century castle pull out a rocket launcher to kill a dragon either. The most important aspect to me as a viewer is keeping the story believable within the context of that fantasy world because the realer you make the world the more immersing that story becomes.
For actors team chemistry if you have actors that have a great team chemistry. They are able to flow together to make the story more believable. For example if you have a family that really functions as a family the story is way more believable than if the group is unble to jointly react to each other’s actions. I believe this is beyond just one’s single able to just act, but more of a reaction. They have to react to each other’s actions accordingly. The movie “Ultra violet” it had everything in it a huge movie budget. Cool gadgets great effects perfect scenes a great story line awesome detail put into ever scence ever article of clothing and prop was perfect, perfect lighting, even beautiful women. But the actors team chemistry was off. Individually they may have been good actors together they could not create a believable story to save their life they had all the props, tools, and story they needed but in the end the product just didn’t come together. I watched it numerous times to make sure I wasn’t overlooking the brilliance of a the movie, but it made me have an appreciation for good movies after that. I realized that just because they made it look easy doesn’t mean its easy at all.
As an audience member I look for great acting, awesome stage props and a good speak ability. I love to watch plays and it is good to see the actors have good chemistry, whenever you can tell that the actors do not have that, I feel that the whole play does not seem real or believable. I like to go to a play and feel like I am in real life.
As a member of the audience I look for things such as speakability, characterization depth, and chemistry to truly make a great play.
Speakability is very important because the audience should clearly understand all the dialogue or else the entire plot will be lost.
Characterization is important because if an audience relates to the characters than we become more involved in the play.
Chemistry is important because if the character really seem to click than the play really seems to come to life instead of it seeming like acting.
Brianne Ayres-
As a audience member, I look for details. I love when there is a lot of thought put behind details like music for example. Music can help express more feeling to any situation like a woman hiding from a abusive husband. Also I always look for a good actor that shows emotion and can become relatable even in a experience that is not relatable.
Sheila, you don't turn up on my roll. Are you in another class, or just here for fun?
When going to a production, I look for the performances of the actors; did they make their character believeable? If the have a strong stage presence? Completeness, the last thing I want to see in a show is a lack of a story line or what some people say a cop-out story line.
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