EMTHEATRICALISM

Question 1. Imagine you were sitting in a small hall watching a production of the play you heard read in class. Then consider the filmed production found below. In what ways has the film maker revised Beckett's instructions given in the text to suit the medium of film and how does that change your reception of the play? In the play, Beckett gave very specific instructions on what was supposed to be done by each actor and person on set. He told the lighting guy exactly how long to make the blackout and exactly how long to spot light each character. This approach was not taken in the film version. In the film version the director chose to not use black lights to focus on who was talking but rather to use close ups of each actor’s face. It was only totally zoomed out once and this was in the very end of the play. The director used suddenly frame changes to signify the speed of the dialogue as Beckett wanted. The film version had to make these adaptions in order to make more of an impact because each shot was more dramatic. The last full shot, where the camera zooms out and there are many urns was something that was added to the film version. This addition would not have been possible in a theatre version but it was a very meaningful addition. This larger shot gave the viewer the idea that they were in a bigger place full of conversations like the one that was witnessed.

List of Theatricalism Characteristics : Theatricalism moves away from realism. It is much more abstract and can sometimes make little sense. It is meant to make the audience feel rather than think. It can use unrealistic settings as well as confusing speech and dialogue between characters. In theatricalism, the audience is sometimes referenced because, unlike realism, the goal of the play is not to convince the viewers that they are in a real life situation. Many times the play seems like fantasy and can make little sense until one looks at the larger picture.