Theatre serves to reflect society. From Shakespeare to Sophocles, a playwright’s work illustrates the different mechanics within a culture or time period or society. Theatre offers viewers the experience of taking a step back and looking in on themselves. In this way, theatre is a mirror for the world and the way it functions. In the time period from 1968 to 1983, the world was transitioning. The 1960’s had seen a political upheaval, being “years of protest and reform. Young Americans demonstrated against the Vietnam War. African Americans demonstrated for civil rights. Women demonstrated for equal treatment. For many, society's hero was the person who helped others.” (Watson) The country and its people were conflicted with politics that Pieces written and produced were created to shine a light on the social problems within America, as well as the growing concern about money and personal financial wellbeing as well. American theatre was already established during this time, thanks to the “two potent young dramatists: Arthur Miller, who turned the ordinary man into a figure of tragic stature in Death of a Salesman (1949) and drew a parallel between U.S. Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy’s anti-Communist ‘crusade’ of the 1950s and the Salem witch trials of 1692 in The Crucible (1953), and Tennessee Williams, who created a world festering with passion and sensuality in plays such as A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1954).” (Rea) America had had a history at this point in time with using theatre as a device to reflect society, something once again seen by the popularity of Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber who used their art to highlight the emphasis society had placed on the rich and classism. In the sixties and seventies, there was also an exaggerated emphasis on the development of African American, Asian, and Hispanic theatre companies in an attempt to further diversify a white-dominated field. Women’s companies and LGBT+ friendly companies also became popular during this time. Both of these things showed a transition in a field dominated by straight, white men to an artform that could better represent our culture and society by being In the seventies, we could do anything. It was the rainbow coalition, anti-Vietnam, all of those elements. And then we morphed over to where it became extremely straight-laced and non-risk taking. I think we are beginning to take risks again but within those societal norms.” Theatre only goes so far as society will allow it, as showcased by the Conservatory and it being influenced by the culture surrounding it. The mirror that is theatre reflects a culture and what it may want or not want to know, depending on how far it is allowed to
Biner, Pierre. The Living Theater. Takin' It To The Streets: A Sixties Reader, pp. 288-293. ed. Alexander Bloom and Wini Breines.
...War and the Civil Rights Movements in order to illustrate how the 1960s was a time of “tumult and change.” To Anderson, it is these events, which sparked the demand for recognition of social and economic fairness. He makes prominent the idea that the 1960s served as the origin of activism and the birth of the civil rights movement, forever changing ideals that embody America. The book overall is comprehensive and a definite attention grabber. It shows how the decade had the effect of drastically transforming life in America and challenging the unequal status quo that has characterized most of the nation's history. Despite the violence and conflict that was provoked by these changes, the activism and the liberation movements that took place have left a permanent imprint upon the country.
Broadway was immensely affected by the Great Depression and World War II. The economy of the depression banned lots of shows creating show decline in the 1940s. The number of Broadway people affected by the stock market crash was uncountable. Many different people, from ushers, whose theaters remained dark, and producers, such as Flo Ziegfeld, were affected by the crash. The previous seasons such as the 1929-1930 season produced 233 productions, which dropped down to only 95 productions in 1945. This was another reason many theater people lost their jobs. Many people also joined the communist party during the time of the Great Depression, they believed the American system was failing and the Soviet system seemed promising. The need of money was becoming greater and seemed more promising in Moscow where theater people were actually making a living. The mass shift to the communist party resulted in a change in dramas in many off-Broadway theaters, which now included social protest, using the slogan “Theater as a weapon”. Postwar, the cost of mounting all Broadway productions “spiraled out of control” faster then the cost of a ticket, which doubled in the following ten years. The new Theater League and the Theater Union produced passionate dramas in order to propagate the working class and left-wing productions became fashionable. Despite the negative impacts on Broadway, these po...
When my father and I first settled in the theater, I immediately scanned the crowd. On the way to the production I envisioned, as superficial as it may seem, an auditorium crammed with African Americans and college students. But to my surprise, the majority of the playhouse flooded with middle‑aged Caucasian people. With suits and dresses on, clearly they were financially well off. On the contrary, I only observed a few African American people. I expected that more African American families would attend a play that pertained so relevantly to their past. Nevertheless, the demographics still posed an interesting point about who goes to these plays.
Although the sixties were a decade in which the United States became a more open, more tolerant, and a freer country, in some ways it became less of these things. During the sixties, America intervened in other nations and efforts were made to stop the progress of the civil rights movement. Because of America’s foreign policy and Americans fight against the civil rights movement, it is clear that the sixties in America were not purely a decade of openness, tolerance, and freedom in the United States.
The Great Depression of the 1930s put many Americans out of work and left people searching for hope. After his election, Roosevelt's New Deal programs began to help better the lives of many jobless people. Unfortunately, many of these programs never reached their ultimate goals, and some failed without anything having been accomplished. The Federal Theatre Project (FTP) was one of many programs that could not fulfill what it had intended. The FTP was short-lived and plagued by severe censorship, all while being a major target of the House Committee to Investigate Un American Activities (HUAC).
As said in Wicked, “I don’t know if I’ve been changed for the better, but because I knew you I have been changed for good.” This quote is true for me and many other people who have discovered comfort in Broadway Theatre. I polled a facebook group what their favorite Broadway show was out of Wicked, Phanton of the Opera, Hamilton, and Dear Evan Hansen to see what the two most popular shows are. A total of fifty people answered and Wicked came out on top with nineteen votes and Phantom of the Opera came in second with fourteen votes. Broadway is a popular genre that many people enjoy and Broadway has opened many musicals and plays. In my speech, I will be discussing a short history of Broadway and then the shows Wicked and Phantom of the Opera. Now as the show begins, please turn off cell-phones, thank you and enjoy the show!
The 1960s of America was a period of reform and revolution. The idealism of youth would be set precedent and become catalyst to how the decade unfolds; signifying a extraneous change in political culture, civil order, and the general direction of the nation. The 1960s began with the election of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—a symbol of hope and spirit in the nation. Unfortunately, with his assassination in 1963, it also symbolized the death of hope in some of Americans—minority groups especially. (American History: The 1960s, a Decade That Changed a Nation). That being, it left vice president Lyndon Johnson to take on the reins as president and direct the nation—during which was undergoing its own revolutionary metamorphosis instigated by the built
Musical theatre originated from something called an Operetta. An Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.
As the beginning of the new decade approached, a spark for change was brewing. However, unbeknownst to American society, this flicker would emerge into an immense flame that ignited passion, controversy, and most of all, change. These three words could be described as the ultimate mantra for the decade of the nineteen sixties. From nineteen sixty to the end of the decade, America witnessed tremendous economic, social, and political development. The conflicts in this turbulent stage included ones between races, sexes, social classes, and generations. Six decades later, America still feels the shock waves from the nineteen sixties. We see legacies of the sixties play out in the struggle for civil rights, government issues, the Vietnam war, and the
Our play highlighted the exploitation of concentration camp prisoners by the Nazis for propaganda during World War II. Inspired by the way the message resonated with our audience, I swore to myself that from that point on I would use theatre to make a statement and elicit positive change in the world. To say I aspire to be an actor would be diminutive. Rather, I want to be a theatre artist. I dream of starting my own theatre company, where I can be not only a performer, but also a creative leader and activist. Theatre is special because it holds a mirror up to the audience and calls attention to the topics that society prefers to ignore. I hope to use theatre as a platform to comment on issues such as gender inequality and racism in America and encourage my audience to get involved in the
The prolonged Cold War and the controversial Vietnam War were only two of the many developments that would rattle the United States during the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. The continuing protests on the Vietnam War and growing student protests in the United States helped verify that revolution was possible. The new perspectives of the post World War II generation sought to modify a system that had become static. However, the United States was not the only country shaping new social and ideological understandings, other countries around the world also challenged the status quo. The black power protest movements, feminist movements, and gay rights movements protesting inequality in the global society defined 1968 as a revolution watershed. Therefore, ending the social customs of discrimination, and pursuing that separatism is no longer justifiable.
Having only been exposed to the performance side of things in high school, learning about the amount of work that goes into production offered me a refreshing look into theatre and all it entails. The hands on experiences of LX2 and SX were eye openers for me in terms of looking at what happens backstage while actors are rehearsing, which is the part of theatre I am most familiar with.
Throughout the late nineteen twenties and early nineteen thirties a significant development in the world of theater began. This movement was called The Workers' Theatre and it was partially shaped by the agitprop theatre of communist Russia. Agitprop theatre contained brief bits and were performed on transportable entities of theater. Agitprop Theater performers frequently performed songs which strained to enrage listeners to resist entrepreneurship and acknowledge the ways of communism. They wanted their audience to consent to the notion that the working-class would arise. The Russian Communist agitprop theatre correspondingly utilized presentations, presentational performing, lack of plot, and montages to promote their philosophies. Ultimately, The Worker’s Theatre weakened in significance during the mid-nineteen thirties and one of the developments assisting the deterioration of the Workers' Theatre Movement through use of various approaches and dramaturgical tools originated by The Worker’s Theatre was the establishment of the Federal Theatre Project. As soon as the government acquired the role of positioning individuals to produce theatre, the government had the capability to incorporate the advance. The Federal Theatre Project tried to give jobless theater personal work because trendy radio shows and films with sound had nearly substituted vaudeville as America's preferred practices of performing, and many of even the best vaudevillians lost their jobs. The Federal Theatre Project also attempted to perform theatre which was pertinent within society and politics, was local, and had an affordable price range. A majority of The Federal Theatre Project’s well known work was produced in New York City. The New York Branch containe...
For thousands of years, people have been arguing that theatre is a dying art form. Many people think theatre is all just cheesy singing and dancing or just boring old Shakespeare, but there is much more to theatre than those two extremes. Theatre is important to our society because it teaches us more about real life than recorded media. Theatre has been around for thousands of years and began as a religious ceremony that evolved into an art form that teaches about the true essence of life. Theatre can incorporate profound, and provocative, observations of the human condition that can transcend time; lessons found in Greek plays can still be relevant to the modern world. People argue that the very essence of theatre is being snuffed out by modern