Summary of "Performance Movements and Styles - 3"

Key Performance Movements and Styles in Theater

The video lecture explores several influential theater movements, focusing on their artistic techniques, concepts, and historical contexts. The main movements discussed include Theater of Cruelty, Theater of the Absurd, Expressionism, Constructivism, and Futurism.

Theater of Cruelty

Originated in 1931 by Antonin Artaud.
Emphasizes “cruelty” as a core element to evoke deep emotions and reveal hidden dreams.
Uses dance, gesture, extreme emotions, and violence as expressive tools beyond words.
Aims to shock and deeply involve the audience, with no limits on theatrical expression.
Example: Artaud’s adaptation of Shelley’s The Cenci, a play about familial abuse, tyranny, and revenge.
Influenced artists such as Jerzy Grotowski, Peter Brook, and Romeo Castellucci.

Theater of the Absurd

Emerged post-World War II, gaining popularity in the late 1950s.
Focuses on existential themes: meaninglessness of life, breakdown of communication, and human alienation.
Term coined by Martin Esslin (1960).
Key playwrights include Samuel Beckett, Arthur Adamov, and Eugène Ionesco.
Influenced by Albert Camus’s essay The Myth of Sisyphus, symbolizing futile human existence and the embrace of absurdity.
Characteristics:
- Circular play structures with illogical, irrational dialogue.
- Use of silence as a thematic conclusion emphasizing existential absurdity.
- Language subverted to highlight communication failure.
Example: Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano, featuring absurd, disconnected conversations and interchangeable characters.

Expressionism

A cultural movement beginning in early 20th-century Germany, initially in poetry and painting.
Prioritizes emotional experience over physical reality.
Distorts reality to reveal eternal truths and spiritual awakenings.
Features heightened, fragmented speech and movement.
Explores struggles against societal norms and authority.
Example: Murderer, the Hope of Women by Oscar Kokoschka (written 1907, premiered 1999), exploring gender roles, power, and the human psyche through two characters.

Constructivism

Early 20th-century Russian art movement founded by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko (1915).
Emphasizes abstraction, austerity, and industrial materials, opposing decorative stylization.
Influenced theater through functional, geometric, and dynamic set designs.
Key figure: Vsevolod Meyerhold, who staged constructivist plays and developed biomechanics, a physical actor training system.
Techniques include montage, fragmentation, nonlinear narratives, and integration of circus/acrobatic elements.
Aim: Theater as a “machine for acting,” breaking traditional theatrical norms.

Futurism

Italian early 20th-century movement initiated by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1909).
Celebrates speed, machinery, energy, and the modern metropolis.
Theater features short scenes, nonsensical humor, improvisation, and breaking the fourth wall.
Rejects traditional values, emphasizing sensory assault on passive audiences.
Example: Marinetti’s pantomime The Cocktail (1930), an abstract, nonverbal, multimedia performance combining dance, music, and visual effects to depict chaotic modern life.
Embraces multidisciplinary integration: graphic design, music, set design, and performance.

Summary of Artistic Techniques and Concepts

Theater of Cruelty: Use of extreme emotions, dance, gesture, and layered violence to evoke the subconscious and shock audiences.
Theater of the Absurd: Circular narrative structures, illogical dialogue, silence, and language breakdown to depict existential futility.
Expressionism: Subjective distortion of reality, heightened speech and movement, and emotional truth over realism.
Constructivism: Geometric, abstract set designs, biomechanics actor training, montage, and nonlinear storytelling.
Futurism: Fast-paced, fragmented scenes, improvisation, multimedia elements, sensory overload, and rejection of tradition.

Creators and Contributors Mentioned

Antonin Artaud
Percy Bysshe Shelley (author of The Cenci)
Jerzy Grotowski
Peter Brook
Romeo Castellucci
Martin Esslin
Samuel Beckett
Arthur Adamov
Eugène Ionesco
Albert Camus
Oscar Kokoschka
Vladimir Tatlin
Alexander Rodchenko
Vsevolod Meyerhold
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti

The lecture provides a detailed exploration of how these movements expanded theatrical possibilities, influencing performance styles, stage design, actor training, and thematic content.