dramaturgy 9a

In this video, you can see how in your face these plays are meant to be performed. There should be as little as possible separation between the actors and the audience.

Fall of Man

Again this is on the ground where we will using the pagent wagon.

dramaturgy 8a

Performing the mystery/cycle plays is not a new thing
here we can see one company performing one of the entire cycles in one spot.

The English Mystery Plays 2009

Were as we are going to make a more traditional approach and perform in various spots. on wagons.

dramaturgy 7a

originally the cycle plays were performed on pageant wagons:

(http://department.monm.edu/theatre/Rankin/Classes/THEA171/Lectures/pageant%20wagon.jpg)

here we can see an artists rendering of one. These were basically small movable stages.

and here we can see the plans for one. Though these are not "true blueprints" we will be basing our wagon off of it

(http://www.luminarium.org/encyclopedia/mpwagonrec.jpg)

As you can see the wagon had two carts you could park next to one another giving a larger playing space, but it can split for travel, which is whats needed when moving down the narrow streets.

dramaturgy 6a

In Andrea Boboc's article, Lay Performances of Work and Salvation in the York Cycle, she discusses the use of work within some of the York plays. She also discusses the purpose of the guilds, and what they did with the performances.

The plays' emphasis on individual salvation and individual responseibility may explain their popularity at the vanguard of the Reformation. By highlighting work and salvation as core Christian values the plays avoid touching on controversial doctrinal points, to which a Protestant audience would have been resistant. In fact, focusing on individuals (as members of a community) and their ideals of work and salvation may well be one secret to the staying power of these plays (boboc, 266)

In this she is showing us that originally the plays were not meant to bring people into the catholic church, because the protestant sect was wide spread (and probably made up a good deal of the guilds) and pushing  full catholic values in the play would alienate a good size of the audience.

With our production we're not trying to "say this is the way it was" or push christian values on anyone, but we're simply trying to enjoy a piece of theatre history.




Andreea Boboc. "Lay Performances of Work and Salvation in the York Cycle." Comparative Drama 43.2 (2009): 247-71. Print.

Dramaturgy 5a

This script (along with all the other York plays) were written in Iambic Octameter, meaning eight beats or syllables per line. The more familiar Iambic meter we're used to is used by Shakespeare and that is Iambic Pentameter (ten syllables), which is what is considered to be the closest to normal speech patterns. With the Octameter you get a much more sing-songy or Poetic rhythm. Though the author will break the established rhythm to draw the audience's attention  

ADAM:   
Ah, lord, since we shall do nothing (8)
But love you for your great goodness, (8)
We always shall bow to your bidding, (9)
And fulfill each word, both more and less. (9)
The author is drawing attention to "We always shall bow to your bidding and fulfill each word both more
and less." Possibly to show mans faithfulness to God. A means of prayer in the show.

Dramaturgy 4a

The Creation of Man has been an influence of religious art for a long time.


http://frted.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/creationadameve.jpg

We can see God teaching Adam and Eve.

We can see in this image God introducing Eve to Adam as his partner.

http://www.all-art.org/early_renaissance/images/bosch/30.jpg


http://emergent-culture.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/adam-eve-garden-of-eden.jpg
and in this picture we can see Adam and Eve thanking God for the garden.

We can also gather from these images that nudity was not an accepted thing, people kept their bodies hidden for fear of sin. So in keeping with that our actors will appear in loincloths and similar clothes.

Dramaturgy 3a

In Genesis, Adam is created first then "Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name." This was God attempting to make a "Suitable Helper" for Adam. 

"...but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place.

The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man."

Though in the script Adam and Eve are created at the same time.

"For this reason and cause alone

I shall make man like unto me.
Rise up, you Earth, in blood and bone;
In the shape of man, I bid you be.

From your left rib, I make a mate
For you, and her to you I send,
So that alone you may not wait
Without a sister and a friend."

Genesis 2:19, 2:20, 2:21, 2:22

"Genesis 2." New American Standard Bible. Anaheim, CA: Foundation Publications, 2008. Print.

"York Pageant 3: The Cardmakers' Play." Records of Early English Drama (REED). Web. 06 Dec. 2010. <http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/yorkplays/York03.html>.

Dramaturgy 2a

http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/yorkplays/york.html#pag
http://www.reed.utoronto.ca/yorkplays/York03.html

the script we will be using.

The Title "The Cardmakers Play" comes from the fact that an individual guild would take responsibility for each play in the cycle. This one was handled by the Cardmakers (makers of playing cards).




The Worshipful Company of Makers of Playingcards. Web. <http://www.makersofplayingcards.co.uk/>.
"York Mystery Plays." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Dec. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_Mystery_Plays>.

Dramaturgy 1a

I've decided to tackle one section of the York Cycle plays. The section I'll be working on is; The Cardmakers' Play: The Creation of Adam and Eve. This is the third play in the York Cycle. According to Oxford Reference Online, a Cycle (as referring to performing and other art) is A group of works that either share a common theme or subject, or are linked together as a sequence.the mystery plays of the Middle Ages that were performed as a sequence during the same festival at a particular place are referred to as the York Cycle, the Chester Cycle. The name of the cycle is from the city where they were originally based. 






"cycle"  The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Chris Baldick. Oxford University Press, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Central Washington University.  6 December 2010  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t56.e281>

THIS IS THE BREAK POINT

This is the post to separate the two blogs. Medieval Dramaturgy here I come!

Dramaturgy Ten

http://claudepensis.com/

This shows another way the production can be taken. Amping up the military aspect of the show, the ramps show the separation of classes while the color choices bring forward ideas of totalitarianism governments.

Dramaturgy Nine

Antigone itself has influenced other arts as well. There are several notable operas by Hasse (1743), Gluck (1756), Zingarelli (1790), Honegger (1927) and Orff (1949). (ORO, Antigone)
There was a one act Ballet with choreography by Cranko, this premiered in 1959 by the Royal Ballet in london. Other Antigone ballets; Gioia (Venice, 1790), G. Galzerani (Milan, 1825). (ORO, Antigone)

We can see the lasting influence of the story through out history and how it has affected other art forms. This again allows us to expand our view of the script and story and make the most effective show/story we can present.

Antigone"  The Oxford Dictionary of Dance. by Debra Craine and Judith Mackrell. Oxford University Press Inc. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Central Washington University.  1 November 2010  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t74.e118>

"Antigone"  The Oxford Companion to Music. Ed. Alison Latham. Oxford University Press, 2002. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Central Washington University.  1 November 2010  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t114.e319>

Dramaturgy Eight

Richard Claverhouse Jebb, was born 27th August 1841 in Dundee, Scotland. He received his education from Charterhouse School and at Trinity College, Cambridge. (Wikipedia)
In his professional life he was a Regius Professor of Greek and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, was one of the foremost classicists of the Victorian era.
His editions of Sophocles plays appeared in the last fifteen years of the nineteenth century. They are distinguished by the sensitivity of Jebb's literary and dramatic interpretations, and the neat translation facing the Greek text. They have had a profound influence on subsequent Sophoclean scholarship. (Book Christian)
He is considered the unsurpassed translator into or from classical languages.
A short list of his works (via Wikipedia):
-The Characters of Theophrastus (1870), (text, introduction, English translation and commentary)
-The Attic Orators from Antiphon to Isaeus (2nd ed., I893)
-Sophocles (3rd ed., 1893) (the seven plays, text, English translation and notes, future edition including the fragments was prevented by his death)
-Homer (3rd ed., 1888), (an introduction to the Iliad and Odyssey)




The reason we’re using Jebb’s translation is because he is considered to have the most complete translation. He also grasps the language in a way that reads better for actors and it communicates the ideas of the political struggle stronger then other editions/translations.

Jeb, Richard Claverhouse in Venn, J. & J. A., Alumni Cantabrigienses, Cambridge University Press, 10 vols, 1922–1958.



R. C. Jebb: R. C. Jebb Biography, Products, Reviews - BooksChristian.com." BooksChristian - Christian Books, Bibles, Bible Study, Christian Music, Hymnals, Christian Videos. Web. 31 Oct. 2010. <http://www.bookschristian.com/R-C-Jebb-s/54420.htm>.

Dramaturgy Seven

http://www.jameswmah.com/thematic-organization-of-work/greek-myth-and-drama

cursillo-canada.org

Both of these images show the bleakness and desperation that Antigone is suffering at the beginning of the show, just wanting a simple burial for her brother. Going so far as to break the respectful burial down to a few grains of sand on top of his body before the beasts get to him.

Dramaturgy Six

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XI85jPbcps


This video shows that the ideas in Antigone, standing up for what you believe in even if it is against family/the state/media, still hold true. It shows that the ideas are universal, they have passed through ages and various forms of art. From social and political commentary in greece, to angst ridden teens pushing the limits in music.




Please note there is some rough language used.

Dramaturgy Five

A monograph, according to Presnell is; a book on a focused subject and more often then not by one author. The book I found was on the every day life of Ancient Greece. I used this book as a basis for looking at the political state of Greece during the time Sophocles wrote and staged Antigone (about 442 BCE).

During the original writing and performances of Sophocles’ Antigone Greece (especially Athens) was in an odd place politically. Twelve years before they had become the Athenian Empire, but hadn’t fully realized its potential (that wouldn’t happen for another eleven years or so. Four years after the original writing of Antigone the Parthenon was completed (Robison, 6), which is widely considered one of the greatest achievements of the ancient world. So the restlessness of the politics that happens in Antigone was a reflection of what Sophocles may have been viewing politically mixed  with the rejuvenated religious fervor at the time.

Robinson, Cyril E. Everyday Life in Ancient Greece,. Oxford: Clarendon, 1933. Print.

Dramaturgy Four

In the article “Another Antigone”, Saxonhouse looks at Eudipides exploration/use of the character Antigone in a form we’re not used to seeing. We see a unsettling alternative to the familiar, one that rubs harshly against Sophocles’ influential story. Antigone in Euripides “Phoenician Women” goes through the exploration of “…troubling epistemological disruptions that allow Antigone to become a political actor…” (Saxonhouse, 475)

Euripides play though a more psychological exploration of Antigone, he does explore the political stand of Thebes after Oedipus’ discovery of his incestual relationship with his mother. With both of Antigone’s brothers going to war, Polyneices showing up with an Argive host to demand the throne from his brother Eteocles. Antigone has been kept hidden in her maiden room, till she eventually casts off any shame or respect for the hierarchy that has kept her hidden. And she eventually gains the strength to rise above gender restrictions that kept her repressed throughout her life. (Saxonhouse 479-480)

Seeing a different side to Antigone allows us to approach our production with a wider view, allowing us to find a more dimensional world. We can look back and find where Antigone came from. Also Euripides gives us a better view of the political turmoil that Thebes was going through.

Saxonhouse, Arlene W. "Another Antigone: The Emergence of the Female Political Actor in Euripides' "Phoenician Women"" JSTOR: Political Theory 33.4 (2005): 472-94. Print.

Dramaturgy Three

Clarence Brown Theatre (Univ. Tenn.) -  Modern dress. (via :http://www.adamheffernan.com/)

http://www.clarencebrowntheatre.com/

Qued Productions – set in 1940’s

http://www.qedproductions.org/

Both of these give the modern aesthetic we're striving for with this production. you can also see the variety that former productions have played with in the relationship between Antigone and Creon. The Intensity of him being close and watching her versus the space and distance that causes her to disobey him. Both of these pictures also show the bleakness (through the set/ color choices) that the characters are going through. 

Dramaturgy Two

Some background about the play.

Third play in Sophocles’ Oedipus trilogy following Oedipus the King and Oedipus at Colonus (ORO, 5^th entry).

Antigone along with her sister Ismene and her brothers Eteocles and Polynices, is the offspring of the incestuous relationship of her father Oedipus and his mother-wife Jocasta. Antigone accompanied her father to Colonus, where he dies, to meet with her uncle Creon. When Antigone returns she finds her brothers fighting over the thrown, neither are successful in that they both kill one another. Creon takes over the Crown in the absence of a proper ruler and declares that Polynices will not receive a burial, while giving full military honors to Eteocles. When Antigone disobeys his order, he feels that to keep public order he must punish his niece by confining her to a subterranean place till death. What he had not realized was that his son, Haemon, had so loved his cousin that he would follow her to his own demise. (ORO, 5^th entry)

"Antigone"  The Oxford Companion to World mythology. David Leeming. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.  Central Washington University.  28 October 2010  <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t208.e100>

Dramaturgy One

The play selected is Antigone by Sophocles. We will be using the R.C. Jebb translation. A link to the text can be found below. 
The original text was written about 442 B.C.E. and the translation being used was published in 1893. 




According to Oxford Reference Online Antigone is "A beautiful woman; a woman who defies authority" which is something that is still relevant to todays society. 






Text.
http://classics.mit.edu/Sophocles/antigone.html


"Richard Claverhouse Jebb." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Tues. 27 Oct. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Claverhouse_Jebb>.


"Antigone." Oxford Reference Online. Oxford UP. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. <http://www.oxfordreference.com.ezp.lib.cwu.edu>.

Test Post

This is just my first test posting for my theatre history blog.