MWRealism

Realism in Theatre Plays and playwrights attempt to observe, analyze, and address a wide variety of subjects and time periods within a piece with an imaginative yet realistic attitude. Depending on the ideas and approach of the director and playwright, the resulting work can fall along a spectrum of realism that can range from melodramatic and abstract to formal and literal. These varying degrees of realism and overall believability within a play can be attributed to, among other things, the dialogue, the subject matter, and the staging of the performance. All of these aspects add a certain depth and virtuosity to their plays that can make or break the audience’s perception of the action. While realism can vary from play to play, over time the idea of realism has evolved to encompass a new idea of what is considered “real”. The dialogue of these “older” plays, as written by white men of a different era, usually has characters who explain whole predicaments to each other, following their idea through drawn-out phrases. Long monologues are frequent as well as major to the furthering of plots, although they are not, however, very realistic in terms of most conversations and interactions between people. In addition, the delivery of the precise and proper prose is often well-enunciated, free of accents as well as colloquialisms, except in the case of plays in foreign countries (i.e. Chekhov). Dialogue is often performed either melodramatically or straight-faced, and can sometimes border on Shakespearian in its phrasing—although it is lyrical and meaningful, the main message can get lost in the hierarchy and pacing of the scene. “Older” dialogue is realistic in the fact that it follows the traditional formality of past eras, yet it does not possess the same emotional realism as the more modern plays onstage. The dialogue of “newer” plays is less poised and instead takes on a more fragmented, fractured, and sporadic identity. The dialogue, such as that seen in the clip of __Glengarry Glen Ross__, can possess a sense of surrealism—the opposite of the formal and manner-driven dialogue of old. Abstract phrasing is full of incomplete thoughts or intentions and instead implies what the speaker is trying to get across. Although implying ideas is common in most all plays and written works, modern plays seem to exaggerate and manipulate that facet of language in performances onstage. The focus on the conversational scenario—two friends, a teacher and a student, or family talking together—aims for a more personal as well as colloquial feel. The variation in dialects seen in newer plays can be attributed to the influx of authors and playwrights of different racial and cultural backgrounds. Instead of the common British or Midwestern accent adopted by the American and European actors, respectively, there is the rise of the New York, Southern, and African-American dialects and slang as well as cursing. This “local color” injected into these “modern” plays gives more depth to the character created and in turn their dialogue appears more believable and realistic as a whole. Despite the differences in dialogue and speaking styles in “old” and “new” plays, all of the plays share the same sense of conflict in the matters they discuss. Their unifying subjects transcend time and remain consistent in recounting the human experience. Although each play takes a different attitude toward all of the subjects, they can be seen in a majority, if not all, works on the stage. These topics include money problems, whether it is from a lack of money  (as seen in __True West__ and __The Glass Menagerie__), the social role and importance of it __(The Cherry Orchard__, __Hedda Gabler__), or the struggles to earn or attain it (__Fences__). There is also the universal dysfunctional family and its struggles as seen in: __The Cherry Orchard__, __Hedda Gabler__, __Death of a Salesman__, __The Glass Menagerie__, __True West__, and __Fences__. These plays mainly explore the relationships between parents and children and the disappointment, resentment, or pity one or both feel for the other. The idea of failed relationships often coincides with that of the dysfunctional family. The loss of a spouse, partner, friend, or child to disease, death, marriage, or a third person is a recurring and strongly real emotional struggle that consumes many characters regardless of the time period they inhabit. The loss or confusion of one’s identity is also a deeply personal and sensational topic. In what happened to be a very common topic of focus, the loss of one’s identity, whether it be caused by disease (like Willy Loman) or an abrupt change in lifestyle or thought such as through death or absence of a loved one (the missing father in __The Glass Menagerie__ or the bickering characters in __Oleanna__). A confused character’s mind often ends up with great fears and acts wildly out of fear and altogether loses its sense of independence and usefulness. Plays that focus on a confused identity often explore the world in terms of their view of the action or other’s reactions to a “lost” person. Finally, there is the problem of self-fulfillment and the idea of living for happiness; the internal and external struggles of striving for that which one cannot have or attain is a main conflict in both the plots of __Fences__ and __The Glass Menagerie__. All of these conflicts are based in reality and still are extremely relevant today which lends to them a sense of urgency and realism within the staged “reality” of a play. The parts of staging a play that can provide a large dose of realism via visual appearance are the setting and physical props as well as the costuming. The setting and staging of “older” plays took place on a stage with a proscenium arch, presenting a sense of formality and distance between the audience and the play itself. In this particular selection of plays, there was a large focus on the set being that of a house. These homes often represent those of the wealthy and are created to be grand and luxurious to the point of being considered mansions. In these plays (especially in __The Cherry Orchard__ and __Hedda Gabler__), although the furniture and props do not seem to be an integral part of the action, their details serve to create a sense of time and atmosphere which contribute to the overall sense of realism. In the bourgeois homes the intricate details lie in the collections of plates that adorn the walls, the style of chairs and armoires, the always lovely flower arrangements, and the heavy drapery. Some sets are not merely painted walls but have the appearance of dated wallpaper. The smallest details give the overall appearance of a lived-in and well-kept home that in turn can make it easier for the audience to believe the action onstage in relation to the status of the characters. In contrast, quite a few of the newer plays use minimal props and backdrops to create the impression of a home or other location. There is not as much of a directly stated formal space as there is an implied setting. Stages of this caliber include that of __Oleanna__ with its cluttered desk and two chairs alone on a thrust stage, and __Fences__ which merely has the bare frame of a front porch. The thrust stage of __Oleanna__ is physically fundamentally different from the proscenium stage, yet it also creates a different atmosphere; that of an individual room for observation by the audience which is simultaneously realistic and surreal. The details of more modern plays can be more literal like as seen in older plays; __True West__ has a fully equipped and lived-in kitchen, and the atmosphere is set by way of a color palette and style of decorating that clearly is meant to depict the 1960s and 70s. Modern plays run the gamut of realism and can be more liberal in the use of the word “real” itself in terms of setting, while older plays often establish realism by creating a literal representation of the setting presented or implied in the text. Costuming in both types of plays is realistic in the fact that they all seem to capture the real essence and manner of dress for each play’s respective time period and set of characters. There is an obvious evolution of style from the more traditional cloaks, elaborate hats, voluminous dresses and vests to jeans, polo shirts, dirty tank tops, and flannel. Each character is dressed convincingly and appropriately within the context of the play, and the costuming provides a solid vision for the depth of the character as well as the overall feel of the play. Accurate and detailed costumes are a very effective way to convey realism in spite of the infinite number of locations, times, or cultures it is meant to represent. Realism in plays is a multi-faceted idea that can ground a play or can elevate it into an altogether new and abstract world. Older plays seem to place emphasis on the physical representation of a set and costuming to dictate realism, while more modern plays focus more heavily on the verbal and emotional realism of the characters themselves. While both are effectively realistic via their topics and subject matter, the idea of what is “real” in modern plays has come to embrace a more abstract and imaginative view of reality, while older plays revel in the concrete and more traditional aspects. Although both sets of plays manage to establish varying levels of realism, they do so in a variety of ways, which can only be subjected to the audience’s ideas of what constitutes “real”.