JHRealism

Overall, the old style of realism features in //The Cherry Orchard, Hedda Gabler, Miss Julie, The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Death of A Salesman,// and //The Glass Menagerie// is acomplished largely through settings and character relationships. No longer is the subject distant monarchies from years ago, but "ordinary" families and their struggles. In Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard featuring Dame Judy Dench, the author focused on small details of life carefully selected to represent real life. The realistic aspect in this particular production is highlighted by the ultra-realistic sets and costumes that leave nothing to the imagination. The struggles of the family in their relationships with each other and the effort to save the orchard are very realistic situations. These aspects are further enhanced by the medium of film, which is inherently realistic. In Ibsen's //Hedda Gabler//, title character portrayed by Inge Bergman, realism is achieved greatly through the text and character relationships, which are sometimes strained and quite idiosyncratic, as it is in the real world. The relationships she has with her husband and "Aunt" Julie highlight her disdain for them, and the introduction of Thea's character shed light on Hedda's past. Realism is also achieved through the set, set dressings, and costumes. The melodramatic music in this piece sometimes heightens the sense of realism by making the piece more dramatic, but can at times, diminish it. Bergman's acting is much more natural and her performance more real than that of her fellow players. In Strindberg's //Miss Julie//, the set looks very real, like an actual functioning kitchen and the costumes also help to give that sense. The characters' relationship is the most important factor in this clip. One can see that there has been a slight evolution in the preferred acting style, a step towards becoming more naturalistic, possibly due to the adoption of method acting as opposed to a technical approach. The texts of these plays mirror real life situations and struggles more so than previous literary periods and the simplicity of the language helps to convince the audience that the action is real. These pieces likely seemed real to audiences of their time, what with the strict attention to detail. On to American realism: Hickey's monologue from O'Niell's //The Iceman Cometh// is a bit more theatrical, though still very realistic. He delivers the monologue in what appears to be a bar, but the patrons pay him no attention even though he seems to be giving a speech to them. The design aspects are all very realistic though, from the set to the costumes. The actor's delivery of the monologue is very much more natural than the previous clips. In //Long Day's Journey Into Night//, Edmund speaks about the sea. The character dynamic between him and his father really stand out. It feels like a real moment captured on film. Again the setting and costumes accentuate this. Miller talks about his play //Death of a Salesman//. Regarding the work, he says that realism is created through images, delivery, and the situation in which the characters are placed. The realistic elements are presented more through the actors and character's themselves than through sets or costumes. In the clip from Tennessee Williams's //The Glass Menagerie// Katherine Hepburn plays the mother of Laura, the cripple and Tom, played by Sam Waterston. The setting is very realistic and the characters and their dynamic must be. The relationships between Amanda and Laura, Amanda and Tom ,and Laura and Tom are all realistic. It seems that realism is achieved mostly through character relationships and design aspects, though all these clips were from productions made to be filmed; therefore, if these same pieces were produced for modern theater, design and sets would probably have less of a role in creating this sense of realism, unless box sets were employed. Overall I think for the earlier pieces, the text was essentially very realistic but the acting style diminishes its value when put into performance. Not to say they were bad. I quite like realistic plays based on their texts. I thought the clip from //Long Day's Journey Into Night// was the standout. Contemporary American Realism: //Oleanna, Glengarry Glen Ross, True West,// and //Fences// In the production of //Oleanna//, the setting is mainly representational, but what is present is true to life in form and detail, such as the desk cluttered. The costumes also reflect contemporary dress and status. Realism is mostly shown through the dynamic between the student and the professor and the text of the play. The scene from //Glengarry Glen Ross// takes place in a seedy looking bar, and the dynamic between him and the other man as they struggle for dominance in the conversation lends to the realism. //True West// was pretty disturbing. The scene showcased what looked like very different housemates conversing in their kitchen in a house from the '70s, with nice avocado green and gold details. The set looked like a set to me, but it was detailed. Props were also used, such as the spray bottle and a smoking cigarette. //Fences// was done with a representational set, thought everything else was very realistic, The costumes and dialogue between the father and son are believable. The speech of the father seems like something that a person who had been through what the character had been through and grew up in those circumstances would say. The acting was very good in this scene and was naturalistic. Overall, contemporary realism draws more on the acting and delivery and older realism comes more from the text, with both eras emphasizing costume and setting to varying degrees.