Theater Notes

Discussion Questions for 1/11

What is the social Function of Entertainment?

- What is entertainment: The action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment. A diversion.

• Contemporary “diversions” are vast.

- Can we separate “entertainments” into class: Business demographics use these calculations. EX: Facebook ads

Can “Entertainments” be categorized by Class/Status?

Societies with organized “entertainment” break down into 3 categories based on status or income.

1. Popular entertainments (Lower Income) – Circus, animal shows, carnivals, freak shows. More relevant in the 19th century.

1. More contemporary entertainments: Netflix, Movies, Rodeo, TV

1. Bourgeois (Middle class income) – Mainstream Narrative Theater

1. Modern Narrative Theater: Cinema (PG Rated), Disneyland

1. Elitist Theater (Upper Income) – Experimental/Challenging. Requires special knowledge or education.

1. Straight plays: Most people that attended these had graduate degrees and more money. Generally, more interested in things that force them to think outside of the box.
2. Elitist theater is meant to PROVOKE and RISK alienating audiences

Some theater attempts to bridge the categories by using experimental techniques in elitist performance.

        EX: War Horse

What were the views of our founding fathers on diversion?

They would not allow the actors to get off the ship since they believed that they would endanger the minds of the people.

Does showing immoral behavior on the stage encourage people to behave immorally?

Most pre-conquest ceremonies tied directly to cultural/religious function

Native Performance of the Americas – Starting with the earliest Colonies all native ceremonies were banned because the settlers did not have those types of performances.

        - This was true of Colonial settlements in all the Americas.

How to attract Indigenous population to Christianity? – Portray the religious figurehead as the same race as the people you are trying to convert.

Art and theater has always been a tool to proselytize and attract new members – Stained glass windows tell the story of the bible in churches. Made for people who did not know how to read the Bible.

What is the historical “long view” of Entertainment in the United States?

Does exposure to “deviant” entertainments teach people how to misbehave?

(Does playing violent video games make people more prone to violence?)

What is the connection between Art/Performance and Christianity?

Why is the history of Western Theatre one of common censorship?

Why did the Continental Congress ban Theatre?

In 1774, the Continental Congress bans all types of “entertainments”, including Christmas because it was an homage to pagan customs.

The Puritans ban any kind of celebration.

Laws passes are primarily about commerce with England to make money.

What is Classism/Paternalism and where do we see this today?

In times of turmoil, people seek diversions. – EX: Week after 9/11 was one of the biggest weeks on Broadway.

The Upper Class must protect Lower Classes from themselves.

Does this kind of Classism still exist? Where?

- In modern films, a lot of stories are seen as Rags to Riches.

- Going home to friends that did not go to college being politically correct.

- The $2 tax for tobacco products even though most tobacco users are in middle class.

Notes 1/18

First Black actor in the US (1825) - Ira Aldridge

Aldridge is forced to leave US because City Fathers won’t allow him to perform Shakespeare.