Lesson Three.

Othello

First known performance, 1st November 1604 at Whitehall Palace in London. 

Couldn't be performed at the globe because it had burnt down and was in November so it couldn't be performed at the globe because it's an outside theatre.

Second performance was at The Globe.

English Renaissance theatre, also known as early modern English theatre (Elizabethan theatre), this refers to theatre of England between 1562 and 1642.

Although it is one of Shakespeare's Jacobean plays it is classified is Elizabethan Theatre.

The Jacobean era had only just begun and therefore wouldn't have had time to develop.

As the play was written in the Elizabethan era and therefore would have been influenced by styles of this time.

Themes

One of the main themes in Othello is jealousy.

Jealousy was a state greatly feared by Shakespeare's audiences, being jealous could let in evil and chaos.

It was viewed as a sudden infection against which there was no preventable cure.

Another theme is race.

There is no consensus over Othello's race.

The term 'moor' referred to dark-skinned people in general.

No race was ever specified for any of the characters.

The name of the play is the name of a character, therefore the audience of the time would've known that the named character would be singled out.

Facts

Although Shakespeare's plays are commonly used today, ownership of the plays provide for Lord Chamberlain's/King's men rested with the company. 

At the time that Othello was written, Queen Elizabeth had just died and James I had taken the throne. One of the first things he did was change the name of the Lord Chamberlain's men to the Kingsmen.

If any changes were made to the play this was generally done by Shakespeare and he would write how and when it would be performed.

However, not all decisions were his alone and there are often in discrepancies.

The plays that exist nowadays are constructions of the original manuscript.

Tragedies

In King James I's early reign Shakespeare concentrated on writing tragedies.

This time of writing was regarded as the final piece of his career.

His focus on tragedies was perhaps in response to his fathers death in 1601 or  Elizabeth's in 1603.

Another reason Shakespeare began focusing more on tragedies towards the end of his career was due to the acting abilities and artistic direction on The Kings Men.

These plays developed from a creative and collaborative process similar to the way in which Frantic Assembly work.

Whitehall Palace

It was the main London residence of the Monarch, during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.

Performances at Whitehall were held in the old Banqueting house. 

Temporary stages and degrees or tiers of seating were set up for the occasion, the court venue resembled hall playhouses rather than the amphitheatre.

Direct Comparisons

It's important when comparing frantic with OPC, where possible I should try and make direct comparisons to avoid generalisations.

For example, Cassio's drunken scene was very physical/manipulative not only by the actors and the set itself with the use of walls. OPC audiences would have loved the drunken spectacle and it would have been declamatory in style with exaggerated drunkenness/movement. The dialogue however would have still been the central way of communicating this as opposed to Frantic where the movement dictated the scene.

Othello (DVD)

Blackout, intense synthetic music.

Scene opens, lads are playing pool.

Pub setting, modern.

Girls come in, movement scene unfolds.

Flirting between men and women through movement.

Lighting darkens and music changes, foreshadowing danger. 

Fight breaks out during the movement scene involving Othello.

Modern day 'Chavy' clothing.
'Mosquito noise' used in the performance.

Lesson Two. (Original Performance Conditions)

Original Performance Conditions

The Globe Theatre was built to replicate the original Elizabethan Theatre.

The first Globe was circular structure made of wood and had a thatched roof covering the galleries where the wealthier spectators sat.

In the centre was a paved courtyard (pit) which had no roof and hosted the groundlings.

Groundlings were the poorer people who stood up with no shelter rather than sitting in shelter.

The stage was a large platform with an apron which was surrounded by the audience on three sides.

This type of staging is called Thrust staging.

The stage itself was partially covered by a roof/canopy which projected from a rear wall.

This canopy was known as "the heavens", it protected the actors in bad weather.

The only way onto the stage was a door at the back of the stage, this led to the dressing room.

A trapdoor led to a space below the stage which could be used to suggest a grave.

There was very little scenery as there was nowhere to store it.

Productions had to be transportable for performances at court or at noble house.

Minimal set meant the acting companies relied on the audiences imaginations.

The balcony, trapdoor and the pillars were used to full effect, to distinguish between different places and settings in the play.
Props were all real, real swords were used but severed hands were not real.
The more difficult props to move would be left on stage, smaller props were often left on stage too.
Often costume was lavish and elaborate which were bought from noble mens servants or donated by noble men as a sign of appreciation.
Elaborate costumes often entertained the uneducated groundlings.
Symbolic costume colours were often used:
-Brown/Grey - Associated with poor.
-Red - Honest and homely.
-Blue - Servants.
-Yellow - Mourning.
-Green - Archers.
-Black - Expensive, highly fashionable.
Music signifies change of place/setting/mood.
Sound effects could only be created using musical instruments. (No artificial sound)
Music was live and could only be played on stage, behind stage or on the gallery.
Lighting was provided by daylight - this could be supplemented by candles and burning torches.
Special effects could include fireworks of the time.
Performances were often quite long.
Theatres were built outside the city limits so the restricting laws didn't apply.
Basic entrance fee was 1d (one old penny) which was about the cost of a loaf of bread.
Acting style was believed to be deliberate rather than realistic.
Naturalistic acting as we know it was unknown.
Movement had to be lively and physical.
Women were not allowed to perform in the theatre, women were often played by young boys.
As the actors and audience shared the same light and both were visible to each other the, the performances were like a shared event.
Actors had to be aware that they could lose the audience at the time, they had to keep them engaged.
Acted without pause to to sustain illusion of reality or continuity.
There was no director, they had a book keeper who was an important member.
There had to be lots of action.
Shakespeare filled his plays with a huge amount of varied movement.
Actors were constantly mobile using whole stage to draw in spectators on each of the three sides.

Lesson One. (Jacobean Theatre) // Lesson Two. (Acting Styles and Conventions)

Unit 4.

-Externally Assessed.
-2 Hours 30 Mins.
-Sections A B C.

Section C will be focused on through the study of 16th and 17th century theatre, we will be comparing this to modern day theatre.

Lesson One - Jacobean Theatre.

Jacobean Theatre. (Indoor)
Everything done by candlelight.
During the Jacobean era more and more performances were beginning to take place inside. (Making performances available all year round rather than just a summer thing when the weather was good).
In 1608, thanks to the growing popularity with James I and the corresponding disgrace of the boy players whose satirical performances had outraged the king.
The Globe was used during the summer and the Blackfriars was used during the winter.
At the Blackfriars the audience was small but capable of paying the sixpenny fee for a decent seat.
The Globe however had a much larger crowd of potentially 3000, the required fee was a minimum of a penny.
Some scholars believe there was a special Blackfriars repertory, with playwrights devising their plays specifically for the indoor space, but others disagree.
Professional theatres were a recent innovation in Jacobean London and plays had to be versatile, fit for performance anywhere.
Duchess of Malfi was put on at the Blackfriars.
Webster might have expected a more attentive and discerning audience.
Critics of the time regarded a trip to the Blackfriars as an excuse to admire women in their finery and to show off his own cloak and suit.
Most expensive seats at the Blackfriars were on the stage itself.
TDoM is full of "ridiculous small props including a severed hand and a poisoned book."
The most expensive seats at the Blackfriars (right and left of the stage and on the stage itself) might have given members of the audience sat in these seats glimpses of whispered conspiracies and underhand dealings that others couldn't see.
Candles were used in the first indoor theatres.
The name Blackfriars refers to two successive theatres, the 1st was established on the grounds of what was the Blackfriars Dominican monastery in 1576.
In 1596 James Burbage bought the lease to a different part of the Blackfriars priory with the intention of building an indoor playhouse.
Even King Charles I's Queen Henrietta Maria attended performances at this new, classy establishment.

Lesson Two - Acting Styles and Conventions.

Towards the end of Elizabeth's reign the plays were becoming more edgy and human situations were becoming more exaggerated.
Extreme violence was being portrayed on the stage.
Actors began to focus on the use of hand gestures to signify and communicate meaning to an audience, this style of acting was called 'gestic'.
One of the main focuses when preparing for the performance is the physical environment, the major task of the performance was to activate the whole playhouse (bring it to life).
There became more of a focus on presenting characters to the audience rather than telling the story.
This technique was called 'personate' and is perhaps an early form of Stanislavski's ideas.
The aim now was to try and engage with the audience and the character you were playing.
Soliloquy - The speaking of inner thoughts out loud. (Thought track)