Expressionism was a movement in drama and theatre that principally developed in Germany in the early decades of the 20th century. It was then popularized in the United States, Spain, China, the U.K., and all around the world. Similar to the broader movement of Expressionism in the arts, Expressionist theatre utilized theatrical elements and scenery with exaggeration and distortion to deliver strong feelings and ideas to audiences.
The early Expressionist theatrical and dramatic movement in Germany had Dionysian, Hellenistic, and Nietzsche philosophy influences.[1] It was impacted by the likes of German poet August Stramm and Swedish playwright August Strindberg.[2]Murderer, the Hope of Women by Oskar Kokoschka, written in 1907 and first performed in Vienna in 1909, was the first fully expressionist drama.[2] Expressionism was then explored and evolved in Germany by a multitude of playwrights, the most famous of which being Georg Kaiser, whose first successful play, The Burghers of Calais, was written in 1913 and first performed in 1917.[2] Another highly influential German Expressionist playwright was Ernst Toller who had his first successful play, Transformation, premier in Berlin in 1919.[3] These German playwrights and many others explored and evolved expressionist theatre and drama until the movement faded in popularity throughout Germany by 1924.[2] In the 1920s theatrical expressionism became very popular in the United States among audiences and artists alike. Eugene O'Neill, although widely known for his realist dramas, was the first playwright in the United States to experience success with an expressionist piece. O'Neill's The Hairy Ape was the first fully expressionist play written by an American playwright, it premiered in 1922.[4]Elmer Rice gained notoriety shortly after with the premier of his expressionist play The Adding Machine in 1923.[3] These playwrights and many others within the United States went on to write quite successful expressionist plays including Lajos Egri'sRapid Transit (play), first premiering in 1927,[5] and Sophie Treadwell'sMachinal, first premiering in 1928.[6] Expressionism in theatre and drama has also experienced success in China and Spain. Notably, The Wilderness (play) by Cao Yu and Yama Zhao by Hong Shen were frequently produced in the 1920s and 1930s in China. Expressionism in Chinese theatre has recently experienced a resurgence in popularity since the 1980s.[7] In Spain Ramon Valle-lnclan'sEsperpento, which was first produced in 1925, was very similar to German expressionist plays of the same decade.[8]
Theatrical elementsedit
The most defining characteristics of Expressionism in the theatrical context were the emphasis on uncovering intense emotions and the failure of societal systems that have been overlooked. Commonly, Expressionist theatre critiqued the government, big business, the military, family structures, and sexism.[2] Expressionism shifted emphasis from the text of pieces to the physical performance and highlighted the director's role in creating a vehicle to deliver theirs and the playwright's thoughts and feelings to audiences.[9] This shift also reflected a greater faith in audiences' ability to receive a playwright's message on their own without complete textual guidance.[10] In early German expressionist theatre, the protagonists often represented variations on the New Man, one who was neither too meek or too headstrong, who was intelligent, and who was unafraid to act on their morals.[9] Structurally, Expressionism in theatre was often characterized by episodic scenes or station dramas (Stationendramen) which were modeled after the Stations of the Cross.[11]Machinal by Sophie Treadwell utilized nine episodes to tell the story of Helen Jones instead of scenes.[6] Expressionist theatre also commonly adopted very general or simple names for the characters in the plays, like A Man, Woman, or in The Adding Machine, "Mr. Zero" [5]
Design characteristicsedit
Expressionist theatre had very different scenic design compared to the theatrical movements that came before it like naturalism and romanticism.[4] Set pieces and props were typically used sparingly with much more emphasis on creating striking sound and light design.[9] When scenery was used, it was typically very symbolic and was a purposeful exaggeration or understatement of the setting.[10] Expressionist scenic design focus was more on aiding in the delivery of a scene's meaning versus a mere representation of setting.[10] Emil Pirchan, Ludwig Sievert, and Ernst Stern were very influential expressionist scenic designers.[9]
Famous works and playwrightsedit
Georg Kaiser: The Burghers of Calais (written in 1913, first premiered in 1917), From Morn to Midnight (written in 1912, first staged in 1917)[2]
Ernst Toller: Transformation (premiered in 1919), Man and the Masses (written in 1920, first performed in 1923) [2]
^ abSamuel, Richard H.; Thomas, R. Hinton (1971). Expressionism in German life, literature, and the theatre, 1910-1924; studies by Richard Samuel and R. Hinton Thomas (1st American ed.). Philadelphia: A. Saifer. p. 204.
^ abcdefgGarten, H. F. (1 June 1971). "The Theatre of Expressionism". Screen. 12 (2): 29–37. doi:10.1093/screen/12.2.29
^ abcO'Connor, John; Styan, J. L. (May 1983). "Modern Drama in Theory and Practice, Volume III: Expressionism and Epic Theatre". Theatre Journal. 35 (2): 267. doi:10.2307/3207165
^ abcThe Oxford Companion to American Theatre (3rd ed.). [New York, N.Y.]: Oxford University Press. 2004. ISBN9780195169867
^ abcBeil, Ralf; Dillmann, Claudia (2011). The total artwork in expressionism: arts, film, literature, theatre, dance, and architecture, 1905-25 / edited by Ralf Beil and Claudia Dillmann. Ostfildern, Germany: Hatje Cantz. p. 512. ISBN9783775727136.
^ abcWalker, Julia A. (2005). Expressionism and modernism in the American theatre : bodies, voices, words. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 300. ISBN0521847478.
^Hsiung, Yuwen (2007). Expressionism and its deformation in contemporary Chinese theatre. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing. ISBN9780549358022.
^Zatlin-Boring, Phyllis (December 1983). "Expressionism in the Contemporary Spanish Theatre". Modern Drama. 26 (4): 555–569. doi:10.1353/mdr.1983.0063
^ abcdGordon, Mel (2017). The Routledge companion to scenography. London: Routledge. pp. 402–410.
^ abc"The Theatre: Expressionism" (Vol. 1 Issue 1). Time, Inc. 1923.
^Styan, J.L., (1981) “Expressionism and Epic Theatre”: Modern Drama in Theory and Practice, vol. 3, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
^ abWilliams, Simon; Hamburger, Michael (2008). A history of German theatre / edited by Simon Williams and Maik Hamburger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 445. ISBN9780521833691.
^Rorrison (1998, 475) and Schürer (1997b, ix, xiv).
January 01, 1970
expressionism, theatre, expressionism, movement, drama, theatre, that, principally, developed, germany, early, decades, 20th, century, then, popularized, united, states, spain, china, around, world, similar, broader, movement, expressionism, arts, expressionis. Expressionism was a movement in drama and theatre that principally developed in Germany in the early decades of the 20th century It was then popularized in the United States Spain China the U K and all around the world Similar to the broader movement of Expressionism in the arts Expressionist theatre utilized theatrical elements and scenery with exaggeration and distortion to deliver strong feelings and ideas to audiences Expressionism on the American stage Paul Green and Kurt Weill s Johnny Johnson 1936 Contents 1 History 2 Theatrical elements 3 Design characteristics 4 Famous works and playwrights 5 See also 6 ReferencesHistory editThe early Expressionist theatrical and dramatic movement in Germany had Dionysian Hellenistic and Nietzsche philosophy influences 1 It was impacted by the likes of German poet August Stramm and Swedish playwright August Strindberg 2 Murderer the Hope of Women by Oskar Kokoschka written in 1907 and first performed in Vienna in 1909 was the first fully expressionist drama 2 Expressionism was then explored and evolved in Germany by a multitude of playwrights the most famous of which being Georg Kaiser whose first successful play The Burghers of Calais was written in 1913 and first performed in 1917 2 Another highly influential German Expressionist playwright was Ernst Toller who had his first successful play Transformation premier in Berlin in 1919 3 These German playwrights and many others explored and evolved expressionist theatre and drama until the movement faded in popularity throughout Germany by 1924 2 In the 1920s theatrical expressionism became very popular in the United States among audiences and artists alike Eugene O Neill although widely known for his realist dramas was the first playwright in the United States to experience success with an expressionist piece O Neill s The Hairy Ape was the first fully expressionist play written by an American playwright it premiered in 1922 4 Elmer Rice gained notoriety shortly after with the premier of his expressionist play The Adding Machine in 1923 3 These playwrights and many others within the United States went on to write quite successful expressionist plays including Lajos Egri s Rapid Transit play first premiering in 1927 5 and Sophie Treadwell s Machinal first premiering in 1928 6 Expressionism in theatre and drama has also experienced success in China and Spain Notably The Wilderness play by Cao Yu and Yama Zhao by Hong Shen were frequently produced in the 1920s and 1930s in China Expressionism in Chinese theatre has recently experienced a resurgence in popularity since the 1980s 7 In Spain Ramon Valle lnclan s Esperpento which was first produced in 1925 was very similar to German expressionist plays of the same decade 8 Theatrical elements editThe most defining characteristics of Expressionism in the theatrical context were the emphasis on uncovering intense emotions and the failure of societal systems that have been overlooked Commonly Expressionist theatre critiqued the government big business the military family structures and sexism 2 Expressionism shifted emphasis from the text of pieces to the physical performance and highlighted the director s role in creating a vehicle to deliver theirs and the playwright s thoughts and feelings to audiences 9 This shift also reflected a greater faith in audiences ability to receive a playwright s message on their own without complete textual guidance 10 In early German expressionist theatre the protagonists often represented variations on the New Man one who was neither too meek or too headstrong who was intelligent and who was unafraid to act on their morals 9 Structurally Expressionism in theatre was often characterized by episodic scenes or station dramas Stationendramen which were modeled after the Stations of the Cross 11 Machinal by Sophie Treadwell utilized nine episodes to tell the story of Helen Jones instead of scenes 6 Expressionist theatre also commonly adopted very general or simple names for the characters in the plays like A Man Woman or in The Adding Machine Mr Zero 5 Design characteristics editExpressionist theatre had very different scenic design compared to the theatrical movements that came before it like naturalism and romanticism 4 Set pieces and props were typically used sparingly with much more emphasis on creating striking sound and light design 9 When scenery was used it was typically very symbolic and was a purposeful exaggeration or understatement of the setting 10 Expressionist scenic design focus was more on aiding in the delivery of a scene s meaning versus a mere representation of setting 10 Emil Pirchan Ludwig Sievert and Ernst Stern were very influential expressionist scenic designers 9 Famous works and playwrights editGeorg Kaiser The Burghers of Calais written in 1913 first premiered in 1917 From Morn to Midnight written in 1912 first staged in 1917 2 Ernst Toller Transformation premiered in 1919 Man and the Masses written in 1920 first performed in 1923 2 Reinhard Sorge The Beggar first performed in 1912 12 Walter Hasenclever The Son premiered in 1914 13 Hans Henny Jahnn Pastor Ephraim Magnus first staged in 1917 Coronation of Richard III first premiered in 1922 12 Arnolt Bronnen Parricide first performance in 1922 Bird of Youth premiered in 1922 1 Eugene O Neill The Hairy Ape first performed in 1922 The Emperor Jones first staged in 1920 The Great God Brown premiered in 1922 4 Sophie Treadwell Machinal first premiered in 1928 O Nightingale first performed in 1925 6 Elmer Rice The Adding Machine premiered in 1927 Street Scene first opened in 1929 3 Lajos Egri Rapid Transit first premiered in 1923 Believe Me or Not first staged in 1933 5 See also editExpressionist plays Neue Sachlichkeit Epic theatre Theatre of CrueltyReferences edit a b Samuel Richard H Thomas R Hinton 1971 Expressionism in German life literature and the theatre 1910 1924 studies by Richard Samuel and R Hinton Thomas 1st American ed Philadelphia A Saifer p 204 a b c d e f g Garten H F 1 June 1971 The Theatre of Expressionism Screen 12 2 29 37 doi 10 1093 screen 12 2 29 a b c O Connor John Styan J L May 1983 Modern Drama in Theory and Practice Volume III Expressionism and Epic Theatre Theatre Journal 35 2 267 doi 10 2307 3207165 a b c The Oxford Companion to American Theatre 3rd ed New York N Y Oxford University Press 2004 ISBN 9780195169867 a b c Beil Ralf Dillmann Claudia 2011 The total artwork in expressionism arts film literature theatre dance and architecture 1905 25 edited by Ralf Beil and Claudia Dillmann Ostfildern Germany Hatje Cantz p 512 ISBN 9783775727136 a b c Walker Julia A 2005 Expressionism and modernism in the American theatre bodies voices words Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 300 ISBN 0521847478 Hsiung Yuwen 2007 Expressionism and its deformation in contemporary Chinese theatre ProQuest Dissertations Publishing ISBN 9780549358022 Zatlin Boring Phyllis December 1983 Expressionism in the Contemporary Spanish Theatre Modern Drama 26 4 555 569 doi 10 1353 mdr 1983 0063 a b c d Gordon Mel 2017 The Routledge companion to scenography London Routledge pp 402 410 a b c The Theatre Expressionism Vol 1 Issue 1 Time Inc 1923 Styan J L 1981 Expressionism and Epic Theatre Modern Drama in Theory and Practice vol 3 Cambridge Cambridge University Press a b Williams Simon Hamburger Michael 2008 A history of German theatre edited by Simon Williams and Maik Hamburger Cambridge Cambridge University Press p 445 ISBN 9780521833691 Rorrison 1998 475 and Schurer 1997b ix xiv Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Expressionism theatre amp oldid 1216661138, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
