DESCRIBES THE CHANGES OF FORMS AND

WORLD VIEW PER PERIOD

LESSON 1: Theaters of the Avant-Garde Symbolism
What does AVANT-GARDE mean?
New and unusual or experimental ideas,
especially in the arts, or the people introducing
them. favoring or introducing experimental or
unusual ideas. It may be characterized by
nontraditional, aesthetic innovation and initial
unacceptability, and it may offer a critique of the
relationship between producer and consumer.
Expressionism developed as an avant-garde style
before the First World War. It is a style of painting,
music, or drama in which the artist or writer seeks to
express emotional experience rather than
impressions of the external world. The goal of this is
to use “extreme distortion to express an inner
emotional reality rather than surface
appearances.” Expressionism most typically
presents a nightmarish vision of the human
situation.
 dreamlike and surreal (early stages of the
period)

 nightmarish, eerie

 appeal to the audience’s emotions

 closely linked to play’s theme or message

 lighting was often stark, illuminating key areas of the stage
space
 deliberate use of shadow
 stages were bare with few props
 only those settings essential to the play’s theme were used
 sets were deliberately distorted, shapes and lines were unusual,
sharp and angular
 scenery did not define a location (abstract)
 sets were often decorated with sensational and garish colours
 props were normally symbolic
 use of masks
 content concerned with industrialization, war,
dreams of the subconscious
 message at the center of the plot (often
involving a search for the truth)
 the message was often told from the viewpoint
of the dreamer or hero (protagonist)
 taboo topics such as incest and patricide
became the subject of several expressionist plays
 stereotypes
 caricatures (often grotesque)
 mostly lacked individuality eg. The Woman,
Nameless One, The Worker
 represented a social group
 characters as symbols
inner psychological reality of characters was
revealed (often by external means, such as through
scenic design)
 stylized

 rhythmical

 mechanical

 energetic
 appearance of over-acting
 ‘ecstatic’ style of acting
 intense
 violent
 expressing tormented emotions
 mixture of presentational and representational