Destiny McMahon
Theatre
Pickett, A
10 October 2017
Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt was a French actress during the late 1800’s. She was an international star at her time, and made way for many modern-day actresses. She was revolutionary and progressive, hidden behind a well-controlled façade that deceived her critics well. Much like her upbringing and lineage, she was controversial and unconventional. Bernhardt proved to be one of the most influential actresses in her time. Henriette Rosine Bernard, Bernhardt’s birthname, was born on October 22, 1844. Her true parentage is inconclusive. It is known that her mother was a courtesan of Dutch and Jewish decent (Source). Her father is speculated to be a naval officer. Their names vary according
She refused to act like many of women during her time, who followed the ‘Galatea-aesthetic’ form of acting. This form of acting embodies the characteristics of Galatea from the ancient Greek myth of Pygmalion and his statue turned woman(Source). This form of acting dedicates women as fragile, tender and pure (Pauk). Barbara Pauk explains this method best, stating that “While celebrating femininity, the Pygmalion aesthetic posits women as art works rather than artists” (Pauk). Bernhardt obviously opposed that form of acting, rather choosing to show that femininity can equal power as well. She often took on the Femme fatal role, and other roles of strong, passionate women, both heroines and villains alike. This contrast to most actresses of her time caused some of her critics to call her performances out of control and hysterical(Source). Her method of acting was labeled as everything from rebellious to unprofessional and low skilled. That same acting style cause critics to claim her fame was caused by her novelty, not her excellence in the performance(Source).
Sarah Bernhardt’s acting style, along with her exotic and alluring lifestyle led her to be slightly ostracized in the French Theatre. French styles of acting at the time were said to be “monotonous, rigid and too codified” and followed strict guidelines in accordance with the French acting academies (Pauk). In France,
First off, she could publicize herself as an individual more than in France. This gained her more fame, and even lead to product advertising. Her acting style was refreshing, fascinating. Bernhardt’s personal life was taken in mixed strides. The English standard for women was higher and more virtuous than French women, so the promiscuous, rebellious characteristic Bernhardt displayed was justified due to her nationality, and the English society was more lenient on her than the French counterparts. This lead the way to Sarah exploring her career more. Once in London, Bernhardt did an uncommon thing for actors at the time, she got herself a manager(Source). She also was one of the first women to play major male roles, and one of the first actors in motion pictures.
Throughout her career, Sarah Bernhardt paved the way for actors. She helped bring about more passionate, full bodied forms of acting. She also helped to break the conforming role of women on stage as the Galatea figure. She led as an example for women during the suffrage movement, and a Jewish icon during the rise of Anti-Semitism. She overcame her French counterparts restricting views of acting. Bernhardt showed that acting as a profession should be ever evolving. Even though she isn’t as popular during the 20th and 21st century, she will forever be thanked by thespians for her contributions to the art of
...t way, like Varley’s 1930 Vera, she remains a mystery, a forgotten artist, best known for he work as a muse, model, and wife. It is often wondered what kind of work she would have done if she had remained single mindedly focused on her art like the famous Emily Carr
The Importance of Posture and Gesture for the Performer in Relation to Greta Garbo From Camille
Butler, Judith. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal 40.4 (1988): 519-31. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 11 May 2011.
Joseph Mankiewicz 1950’s ‘film du theatre’ All About Eve, provides an insight into the qualities needed to succeed in the star-studded world of the theatre. In particular, the protagonists, Margo Channing and her “carbon copy”, Eve Harrington, are portrayed as flawed characters because of their single-minded pursuit of fame and fortune. Whilst Margo eventually recognizes the absurdity of her dreams in a 1950s socially-conservative chauvinistic world, Eve appears to emerge triumphantly but discredited due to her wily, manipulative streak.
She was aware of the situation of women in her times, especially being a puritan woman. They were restricted to certain modes of behavior, speech
It is difficult to imagine a play which is completely successful in portraying drama as Bertolt Brecht envisioned it to be. For many years before and since Brecht proposed his theory of “Epic Theatre”, writers, directors and actors have been focused on the vitality of entertaining the audience, and creating characters with which the spectator can empathize. ‘Epic Theatre’ believes that the actor-spectator relationship should be one of distinct separation, and that the spectator should learn from the actor rather than relate to him. Two contemporary plays that have been written in the last thirty years which examine and work with Brechtian ideals are ‘Fanshen’ by David Hare, and ‘The Laramie Project’ by Moises Kaufman. The question to be examined is whether either of these two plays are entirely successful in achieving what was later called, ‘The Alienation Effect”.
Butler, Judith. Ed. Case, Sue-Ellen. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution." Performing Feminisms: Feminist Critical Theory and Theatre. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.
Marilyn bleached her hair and grew highly independent. She started studying in the field of acting at the Actors’ Lab in Hollywood. Sh...
The 19th century changed people’s perspectives on theater. Theaters grew in size, plays became more professional, and costumes became more extravagant. Theater in the 19th century was influenced by the advanced changes, technology and society. Theater had a big impact on how people viewed things.
The fact that some of these performers were verging on genius is without dispute. This fact alone does not help us at all in training a contemporary performer. What can help us, though, is the wide variety of theories concerning the acting techniques, styles and training of these late entertainers. In a sense it is irrelevant where these theories come from and even how historically correct they are. As an actor (and a trainer of actors) one has a duty to choose what will work for an audience and to ignore the rest. The current historical theory as to how Isabella Andreini performed a particular
Susan Glaspell was an American playwright, novelist, journalist, and actress. She married in 1903 to a novelist, poet, and playwright George Cram Cook. In 1915 with other actors, writers, and artists they founded Provincetown Players a group that had six seasons in New York City between 1916-1923. She is known to have composed nine novels, fifteen plays, over fifty short stories, and one biography. She was a pioneering feminist writer and America’s first import and modern female playwright. She wrote the one act play “Trifles” for the Provincetown Players was later adapted into the short shorty “A Jury of Her Peers” in 1917. A comparison in Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles” and “A Jury of Her Peers” changes the titles, unfinished worked, and
According to Laura Mulvey, women function on two levels in Hollywood classical cinema: as an erotic object for the character in the diegesis, and as an erotic object for the spectators in the theater. Explain Mulvey’s argument and apply it to either Klute or Jeanne Dielman. (your answer should not be confined only to examples of men looking at women, but may also consider the possibility of women looking at women.) If Mulvey is correct, can women ever function as active participants in the narrative? How does the film support or negate tgis point?
[8] Brown, Frederick. Theater and Revolution: The Culture of the French Stage. New York: Viking, 1980. Print.
In today’s world, men and women are perceived equally by the society. In the past, authority and control define men while women are given the characteristic of helplessness. Men are able to get hold of high positions while women usually are subservient to them. In movies, we would usually see women portray roles that are degrading due to the stereotypical notions they associate with this gender group. Moulin Rouge, a movie set during the 1900s narrates the story of a courtesan woman, Satine, as she undergoes hardships to earn money, experiences love but unfortunately, due to her irrational choices, faces tragic consequences at the end. Satine is a symbol of how women are being treated by the society during the era before post-feminism, where men have superiority over women. As the plot develops, Satine transforms from a worthless prostitute to someone who is courageous and willing to face her fears in order to attain her aspirations. Psychoanalyst theory and feminist analysis are apparent throughout the film. The male gaze, fantasy and feminism are three topics that will be covered in depth in this essay through relating it to the movie.
pioneers for the feminist cause. She would inspire women during the 18th century as well as women of