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STREET & CIRCUS
by Alex ONeill, Amber - Lily Foxon
and Julia Johnson
GREEK CHARACTERISTICS
Actors changed in a hut called a Skene which when pained because the first part of the
scenery.
Comedies were used to poke fun at the rulers of the time (not dissimilar to Shakespeare)
Tragedies are usually sad and serious and have a moral at the end.
Actors wore masks with wholes cut out in the eyes and mouth and also wore wigs. They
wore padding in their shoes to look taller and padding in their costumes to make them
appear fatter or stronger. (not dissimilar to Bouffon)
Killing and murders even though they occurred a lot in Greek tragedies took part offstage.
Women were portrayed as strong characters by the playwrights of the time which was
safe to do on stage as it was considered fictional.
CIRCUS
amber - lily foxon
The modern circus was created in England by Philip Astley (1742-1814) He was a Cavalry sergeant major turned
showman.
In 1768 Astley opened a riding school in London where he taught and performed his feats of horsemanship.
Astleys building featured a circular arena that he called the circle or circus, which would later be known as the ring.
The circus ring was designed to allow the audience to keep sight of the riders during their performances and it also
made it possible through the generation of centrifugal force, for riders to keep their balance while standing on the
back of galloping horses.
From his success as a performer he needed some novelty to add to his performances so he hired acrobats, rope
dancers, jugglers and clowns to show their acts in between his equestrian displays.
- Philip Astley
- It Combined several exhibitions, such as Cavalry horsemanship, clowning derived from the Commedia dellarte,
vaulting that developed into a highly skilled art.
- This form of performance spread worldwide and became known as Circus
- Nowadays, Circus is an international form of art that is performed across the world including various countries
such as Canada, Russia, China, France, Belgium and Australia which all have national circus schools.
- Belgium, Portugal and Sweden have independent schools
- Cirque du Soleil was founded by the Quebec government in 1985, which now has shows across four different
countries.
Travelling Circus (in America) - Joshua Brown replaced the usual wooden construction with a full canvas tent
- He added exotic animals like the African elephant
Evolution of the circus performance - Combined acrobatics on horseback
- During the 17th and 18th centuries, tightrope dancers were the circus start then adapted to the trapeze
- At the end of the 19th century equestrian displays were loosing their supremacy to exotic animals like big cats
because railways and automobiles had been intended and replaced the horses
CHARACTERISTICS OF CIRCUS
- Performance has a story or theme
- Traditional circus have a more character driven
approach
- Contemporary circus focus more on the overall impact
(character, story, lights, music and costume)
- Contemporary circus tends to be more staged in
theatres rather than a tent
Cirque du Soleil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMZiBVJ3rIM
STREET THEATRE
Alex Oneill
PRACTIONIERS
Street theatre History in India
- An explosion of street theatre in 80's and 90's
- There are about 7000 street theatre groups in different parts of the country
- The main groups in this type of popular are social activists
- It emerged from Indian adaptations of western proscenium theatre
- It was driven to the streets because theatres would not stage such political plays
- Bijon Bhattacharya was a founder of Indian People's Theatre Association and staged the first street play
- Badal Sircar is the most influential proponent who has been influenced by Grotowski's Poor Theatre
- They use local songs and dance that make it cultural specific
- A woman's group have used street theatre to raise awareness on issues like sex discrimination
Modern interpretations of Greek chorus:
- the national theatre is built similarly to a Greek / Roman amphitheatre and they put on some greek tragedies such as Medea, Antigone and Women of Troy which have
adapted the traditional chorus and modernised it.
- in greek times there was little set and little costume change its was just the people, stage and the audience which is not dissimilar to Grotowskis poor theatre
believing in just the actor and little set.
- in the Nationals adaptation of Antigone they made the chorus a group of individuals, unlike the traditional Greek chorus where they were all the same person and the
masks looked the same.
- groups of chorus have come along way from Greek to modern day because women are now very much involved in acting as the male, however back in Greek times the
plays and chorus consisted of only males.
- the argument that audiences did not understand Greek choruss and for this reason in some adaptations of the Greeks tragedies the chorus are given individual
identities so that the audience can relate more.
- Greek plays along with the chorus have been adapted to Todays society so that the audiences can relate more and its a fresh interpretation, however the story is still
the same. Back in Ancient Greece they would have just performed traditionally with masks and ensemble like chorus.
- when translating the language and analysing what the chorus say there are augments inside the text which suggest conflict between the chorus which has resulted in
adaptations giving the chorus more individual identities.
Pina Bausch and Rudolf von Laban Influenced the development of circus:
- Oneof the major influential people that inspired Pina Bausch was Rudolf von Laban.
- He was the creator of the performance style dance theatre and all of Pina Bauschs work is based off of this performance idea.
- These people were the major influences that help guide Pina Bausch to understand what movement and performance represented to her and gave her the tools that she
need to execute the intentions of her choreography.
- I think Pina Bausch has inspired people to test the social boundaries and to get involved in the emotions and opinions of the spectators.
-This has lead me to believe that the techniques such as the Laban efforts have influenced movements within Circus.
CONCLUSION
Conclusion on street theatre
- Street theatre is the most easily accessible modes of communication
- Has a long traditional and cultural background, beginning from Greece
- Involves the actors on stage and audience off stage in a centric form of media
Conclusion of Greek Theatre
- Greek theatre is where theatre first began so is a major influence on the performing arts industry from writing and poetry to art and theatre.
- Greek theatre was a big source of entertainment and is where storytelling originated for the start of theatre
- Masks and the Greek chorus have heavily influence the way ensembles are represented in theatre today.
Conclusion of Circus
- The circus is over 2000 years old
- The word CIRCUS comes from the Latin and Greek words meaning a circle or ring.
- A traditional circus is a trained company of acrobats, animals and clowns that work in unison.
- In Ancient Rome and Greek , the circus was not a travelling troop but a building where horses and other animals weredisplayed and also the most beautiful chariot races
were held.
Interpretive Dance