Practice 3.

1. Analysis and comprehension check:

1. Comment on the comparative importance of the notions “catharsis” and “empathy” for different theatrical movements.

Note: Catharsis – Aristotelian concept of tragedy’s function as a purgation by pity and terror. it is a way of getting rid of strong emotions, fears, tension, or unhappy memories that you have, especially by expressing them in some way (e.g. talking about them openly).

EMPATHY: the ability to share another person’s feelings and emotions as it they were your own. You empathize with someone because you understand their situation, problems and feelings, perhaps because the situation that they are in is one which you have been in yourself.

Were they of equal importance for Stanislavsky’s method, in the Epic theatre, the Theatre of Absurd, etc?

2. Why is Stanislavsky’s Method best adapted to the productions of Chekhov’s plays?

3. What is the role of the actor in Meyerhold’s Bio-mechanics?

4. What is the essence of the art of acting as developed by the leading figures of different theatrical schools?

5. Explain the principal ideas in Brecht’s theory of drama; the Theatre of the Absurd, Method.

2. Write a summary of Shakespeare’s life and work. No household in the English-speaking world is property furnished unless it contains a copy of the Holy Bible and one of the Works of William Shakespeare. It is not always though necessary that these books should be read in maturer years, but they must be present as symbols of religion and English Culture.

Shakespeare has not always been so symbolic figure. He was an actor and a playwright, when neither actors nor the stage were regarded as respectable or of any importance. The notion that he was the supreme genius of the English Race did not begin until he had been dead more than a century; but since then it has become so firmly accepted that no schoolboy can avoid a detailed study of at least one of his plays.

THE FACTS.

26 April 1564: Baptised, Stratford. Son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden.

27 November 1582: Obtained a marriage licence, with Anne Hathaway.

1583: Daughter, Susanna, born.

1585: Twins. Hammet and Judith, born.

1592: First mentioned as an actor and playwright, living on London.

1593/1594: Published two narrative poems, “Venus and Adonis” and “Rape of Lucrece”.

1594: A founder member of “The Chamberlain’s Men”, a group of actors.

1594/1595: Performed in front of Queen Elizabeth I.

1597: Bought a large house in Stratford.

1603: His acting company became “The King’s Men”, under the patronage of James I.

1611: probably retired to Stratford.

23 April 1616: Died. Stratford.

25 April 1616: Buried, Stratford.

Shakespeare wrote at least thirty seven plays, although few were published in his lifetime and the first eight didn’t even carry his name. Eighteen plays were published in his lifetime. The first collection (The First Folio) wasn’t published until 1623, seven years after his death, and contains thirty six plays.

He was a working actor, as well as a shareholder in London’s most important theatre, The Globe. He usually wrote for a specific group of actors, and as they grew older he wrote plays with older characters to suit them. There were no female actors, and boys took all the female parts in the plays.

1588- 1593 A Comedy of Errors

1593. Richard III

1596. Romeo and Juliet

1596. A midsummer Night’s Dream.

1599. Henry V

1598. Julius Caesar

1601. Hamlet

1604. Othello

1606. King Lear

1606. Macbeth

1607. Anthony and Cleopatra

1611. The Tempest

3. QUOTATIONS

There are many expression in modern English which have come from Shakespeare’s plays. They have often been changed a little, modernized and used in a different way that Shakespeare intended. Here are some examples. Read through the modern sayings and match them with the original.

Source	Shakespeare’s original	Modern saying
Henry IV Part 2	1. He hath eaten me out of house and home.	a) Love’s blind
Hamlet	2. I must be cruel, only to be kind.	b) All the world’s a stage.
Cymbeline	3. I have not slept one wink.	c) He’s eaten me out of house and home!
Hamlet	4. A countenance more in sorrow than in anger.	d) That’s cold comfort.
As You Like It	5. All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women merely players: They have their exits and their entrances.	e) Discretion is the better part of valour.
All’s well that ends well.	6. All’s well that ends well.	f) You’ve got to be cruel to be kind.
Hamlet	7. Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.	g) A rose by any other name … (would smell as sweet)
Romeo and Juliet.	8. What’s in a name? That which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.	h) In my/the mind’s eye.
The Merchant of Venice	9. But love is blind, and lovers cannot see.	i) I haven’t slept a wink.
King Lear	10. The wheel is come full circle.	j) Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
Hamlet	11. The lady doth protest too much, methinks.	k) Methinks the lady doth protest too much.
King Lear	12. I am a man more sinned against than sinning.	l) (I did it) more in sorrow than in anger.
Henry IV Part I	13. The better part of valour is discretion.	m) Brevity is the soul of wit.
Hamlet	14. It is a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance.	n) Tell the truth and shame the devil.
Hamlet	15. Brevity is the soul of wit.	o) There’s method in his madness.
Hamlet	16. Neither a borrower nor a lender be.	p) A custom more honoured in the breach than the observance.
Hamlet	17. In my mind’s eye, Horatio.	q) The wheel has come full circle.
Henry IV Part I	18. O! While you live, tell truth, and shame the devil.	r) All’s well that ends well.
King John	19. I beg cold comfort.	s) (He’s) more sinned against than sinning.

4. The theatre is one of the oldest of the arts. It goes back right into the time of the Ancient Greeks. Both the Greek and the Romans had theatrical performances that were very similar to ours. Choose any aspect of theatrical history and make a study of it. Here are some aspects of the subject that you could research:

1. Theatrical costume.

2. Greek or Roman theatre.

3. Old-time Music Hall.

4. The design of theatres.

5. Theatre in Shakespeare’s time.

6. Training for the theatre.

Make notes on what you read and write a report based on your notes.