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=Modern European Theater=

History of the 1850's-1920's

 * 1) Socialism
 * 2) Anarchism
 * 3) Expressionism
 * 4) Naturalism

Terms and Definitions

 * 1) Naturalism
 * 2) Expressionism
 * 3) Modernism

Authors and Playwrights of this Period

 * 1) Anton Chekhov
 * 2) August Strindberg
 * 3) Henrik Ibsen
 * 4) J.M. Barrie

History of the 1850's-1920's
This period of time in Europe was a time of unrest and growth. The old system of government was being challenged and for the first time the world was at war. The environment during this period was full of challenge, something that is reflected in the writing of this time. But with change came the sentimentalism of the old order. During this time four major political and writing movements came to popularity: Socialism, Anarchism, Expressionism, and Naturalism.

Socialism
This movement is most evident in the writing of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. This movement was associated with the newly formed Bolshevik Government of Russia. In 1917, the Russian people revolted and got rid of the tzar and his family. The poverty and emmense wealth of the royalty caused the common people to revolt against the the Romanov regime. During this time the Bolshevik regime nationalized the debt of the nation and distributed the wealth equally between the people. Anton Chekhov's Cherry Orchard written before the revolt reflects the declining of the aristocracy and the sentimentalism of the past.

Anarchy
August Strindberg was not only a socialist but claimed to be anarchist. Coming from the fall of the Paris Commune in 1871; he began to see the conflict between the rich and the poor as the main problem with society. Anarchism is the belief that in having no compulsory government. Strindberg was most likely an anarchist socialism. The belief that socialism lent itself to anarchism because with everybody contributing to the common good the government would not be needed is made popular by Russian Peter Kropotkin.

Expressionism
In German theater expressionism became really popular as an art form. The first expressionist play is considered to be //Murderer, The Hope of Women.// An unnamed man and woman fight for dominance but at a deadly cost. The man slaughters everyone around him comparing them to mosquitoes. The heightened emotion and simplification to mythic characters becomes the standard for later expressionist plays. Spiritual awakenings of the main protagonist is a common theme in this type of theater and was made popular by August Strindberg's //To Damascus.//

Naturalism
Naturalism is the movement towards the natural world away from the mythic world. The movement away from the bourgeois to common protagonists parallels the movement of the social order from aristocracy to the common person. What is striking about this movement is the lack of the supernatural element in the plays. Unlike expressionism this movement does not sentimentalize but is commonly criticized for being to blunt. The common element in this type of theater is contemporary characters in real situations.

Naturalism
Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Naturalism was a European theatre movement that attempted to create illusions of reality through dramatic and theatrical strategies, including the use of three-dimentional settings.

Expressionism
An art form in which an artists distort reality for an emotional effect. The major expressionist movement in theatre occurred in early 20th century German theatre, one of it's most famous playwrights being August Strindberg.

Modernism
Western cultural movements that appeared during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It affirms the idea of people improving and reshaping their environment through knowledge and technology.

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Brief Bio: The third of six children, he was born to Pavel and Yevgeniya Chekhov in Taganrog, Russia. He attended the University of Moscow a M.D. in 1884. He was a dramatist, short story writer, and novelist. Early in his career, starting in 1884, he was a physician. He was the editor of the literary section of the //Russkaya mysl//. he founded two schools. He wrote in newspapers like the //Petersbergskaya gazeta// and short stories in magazines.He is well known for //The Ghost Sonata// (1907), a play in three acts. He received Pushkin Prize for //In the Twilight// (//V sumerkakh//, a collection of stories) in 1888, and Griboedov Prize for //The Three Sisters: A Drama in Four Acts// (//Tri syostry: Drama v chetyryokh deystviyakh// ). // He married Olga Leonardovna Knipper on May 25, 1901. He died of tuberculosis in Badenweiler, Germany. He was buried in Moscow, Russia. // =====


 * //The Three Sister//
 * //The Cherry Orchard: A Comedy in Four Acts// (//Vishnyovy Sad: Komediya v chetyryokh deystriyakh//)
 * //Uncle Vanya: A Comedy in Four Acts//

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Brief Bio:A swedish playwright and writer, he is known as one of the fathers of modern theatre. He was born in Riddarholm, Stockholm, Sweden to Carl and Ulriker Strindberg. He married Siri von Essen on December 30, 1877, but they divorced 1892. He married Maria Uhl in May 2, 1893, and they divorced in 1997. He married Harriet Bosse on May 6, 1901, and they divorced 1904. He had children through all three of his marriages. He was a writer. He started as an telegraph clerk. In 1872-74, he was a journalist. He was an assistant librarian at the Royal Library in 1874. He founded Scandinavian Experimental Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1888, and the Intimate Theatre in 1907. In 1867 and 1870-72, he attended University of Uppsala. He died from stomach cancer and was buried in New Church, Solna, Sweden. =====


 * //Den Fredloese// in 1871 (//The Outlaw// in 1881)
 * //I Rom// (//In Rome//) in 1870
 * //Miss Julie// in 1881
 * Ett droemspel (The Dream Play)

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A norwegian playwright, he is the founder of modernism in theatre.He was born in Skien, Norway, to Knud and Marichen Ibsen. He had one illegitimate son at age 18 named Sigurd. He attended the University of Christiania in the early 1850s. He married Susannah Thoresen in 1858. He was a norwegian poet, playwright, and essayists. He was apprenticed to a pharmacist in Grimstad. He worked at the Bergen National Theatre, Bergen, Norway, from 1851-57. He started as a theater adviser to resident dramatist and assistant stage director.He is well known for his plays, //The Pillars of Society// (1877), //Ghosts// (1881), and //Love's Comedy// (1862).In 1857-62, he was an artistic director and manager at Norwegian Theatre in Christiania (Oslo), Norway. In 1863, he was a literary adviser at Christiania Theatre. In 1864, he used a government grant to travel to Rome, Italy, on a self-imposed exile for 27 years after nearly having a nervous breakdown from overwork. He died in Oslo, Norway, from complications from a series of Strokes.=====

===Significance: Each author is noted for having influenced modern plays, especially in their own country. They all used their nation's culture in history, including folklore and mythology, within their works. Also, issues within in society were put into their work as themes, topics concerning gender and the working class.===
 * //Catiline// (//Catilina//) in 1850
 * //Peer Gynt// in 1867
 * //A Doll's House// (//Et Dukkehjem//) in 1879
 * //The Master Builder// (//Bygmester Solness//) in 1892
 * //When We Dead Awake// (//Naar vi dode vaagner//) in 1899

Barrie, James Matthew
Birth: May 9, 1860 Death: June 19, 1937 Nationality: British, Scottish Brief Bio: He was born in Kirriemuir, Forfarshire, Scotland, to David and Margaret Barrie. He married Mary Ansell in 1894, and they divorced in 1909. He received an M.A. from Edinburgh University in 1882. He was writer and reviewer for the //Nottingham Daily Journal// in Nottingham, England, from 1883-84. He was a freelance journalist in London in 1885. In 1919-22, he was a rector of St. Andrews University. In 1930-37, he was the chancellor of Edinburgh University. He died in London, England. Plays:
 * //The Little Minister// in 1897
 * //Peter Pan// (//The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up//) in 1904
 * //Peter Pan: An Afterthought// (//When Wendy Grew Up//) in 1908
 * //Mary Rose// in 1920

Plays

 * //Peter Pan or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up//**- Peter Pan goes to Kensington to listen to Wendy's mother tell stories. One of the nights he loses his shadow, and Wendy manages to return it to him. Then, he asks Wendy to go with him to Neverland to tell stories, but she only agrees to it if her two brothers can join. They go to Neverland and meet the lost boys. One almost kills Wendy upon arrival. Wendy falls into the Mother role, and Peter takes them on several adventures such as rescuing Tiger Lily or fighting Hook. However, in the end Wendy plans to return home, and brings all the lost boy with her to be adopted except Peter. Peter tries to lock the window of her home to make Wendy think her mother has forgotten her, but seeing Mrs. Darling's distress doesn't. Peter talks to Mrs. Darlings. Then, every few years, he would return for Wendy until she had grown up. Then, he came for her daughter, and a cycle was created.
 * //Miss Julie//**- Jean returns to his home, working for the Count, to find the Count's daughter, Julie, to be strange. Later, he falls (or lusts) for her however. Then, they attend a waltz, where they dance despite their difference in status. Jean confesses his youthful unrequited love to Julie, and they end up intimate. Worried they'll continue their relationship, Jean feels they should no longer live together, but they decide to run away together to start a hotel that Jean will run and Julie will provide money for. However, they lose their courage when the hear the Count is coming home. Then, Julie realizes she nothing but her parents' influence and wants a way out. So, Jean hands her a razor, and she walks into another room with it. It is assumed to commit suicide.
 * //Cherry Orchard//**- Returning to her country estate with her daughter and others, Madame Ranevskaya is reminded the estate needs to auctioned to pay for the estate's mortgage. Lopakhin, a local merchant and family friend, suggest destroying the cherry orchard to develop summer cottages. However, Ranevskaya can't part with the cherry, a part of her childhood and youth. The estate in jeopardy, love is in the air and a party is on the way. On the day of the auction, they throw a party, where romances are concluded and the estate is sold. Leaving it behind, the board up the mansion and cut down the cherry orchard.

Production and Design
Naturalism is characterized by the reality of the play. Natural situations happen in these plays; there is no sense of the mystical or the spiritual. The characters react in a way that would be natural in the given situation. To reflect this the sets would be very realistic. The set design would try to reflect the setting that the characters would live in. This style of play would not work with older eras of theater such as Shakespearean plays. In modern movie this style of theater is almost the standard. August Strindberg's //Miss Julie// reflects the naturalistic element of theater. The play reflects real situations appealing to the emerging working class. Expressionism is characterized by heightened speech. It reflects the struggle between the rich and the working class. The theater sets are realistic but exaggerated. Expressionism is considered more surrealistic than naturalism which is real world situations portrayed by fiction.

Peter Pan
//You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.//(Pg 24)  //The difference between him and the other boys at such a time was that they knew it was make-believe; while to him make-believe and true were exactly the same thing. This sometimes troubled them, as when they had to make-believe that they had had their dinners.//( Chap. 6)

Miss Julie
//Necessity knows no rules.//-August Strindberg //Miss Julie// //No matter how far we travel, the memories will follow in the baggage car//.- August Strindberg //Miss Julie// // When aristocrats pretend they're common people -- they get common! // - August Strindberg //Miss Julie// **  Cherry Orchard  ** //In all my life I never met anyone so frivolous as you two, so crazy and unbusinesslike. I tell you in plain Russian your property is going to be sold and you don't seem to understand what I say."// - Anton Chekhov, //The Cherry Orchard// "//All you ancestors were serf owners, owners of living souls. Do not human spirits look out at you from every leaf and stem?"// - Anton Chekhov, //The Cherry Orchard// "//A hungry dog believes in nothing but meat."//- Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard //"You look boldly ahead; isn't it only that you don't see or divine anything terrible in the future; because life is still hidden from your young eyes."//- Anton Chekhov, //The Cherry Orchard// //"My love is like a stone tied round my neck; it's dragging me down to the bottom; but I love my stone. I can't live without it."//- Anton Chekhov, //The Cherry Orchard// //"What's the use of talking? You can see for yourself that this is a barbarous country; the people have no morals; and the boredom!"//- Anton Chekhov, //The Cherry Orchard//

Liz Allie Katie Michael