A nihilistic art movement, which began during the First World War and thrived in France, Switzerland, Germany and The USA. The movement developed from disgust and despair over the war and was founded on theories of irrationality, anarchy and cynicism as well as a rejection of the cultural standards of art from the past. Dadaist theatre and art is often referred to as anti-art.
Appearing to be true or real.
Most viewers tend to respond to the content of media presentations as though they are very close approximations of real life situations or experiences. A high degree of verisimilitude means that the work is very believable and realistic. Verisimilitude relies on credibility, plausibility, probability, actuality and/ or truthfulness.
The willingness to suspend one’s disbelief. When the intensity of the story or interest in the characters overrides our need to believe that things are scientifically correct.
The three principles of dramatic structure.
Unity of time: action in drama takes place in “real” or actual elapsed time; in some traditions, unity of time means that dramatic action takes place within 24 hours.
Unity of place: action takes place in one location.
Unity of action: Drama is focused through one plot with no subsidiary plots or subplots.
In a film, the audience is positioned to view the narrative from the perspective of one or more of the characters. As events unfold, perspective may change several times. At any one time, we are seeing the story from one point of view. The audience is encouraged (positioned) to identify with that character at that time. We may not always approve of their actions or ideas, however, our value systems will almost always be reinforced by the outcome of the film.
Point of view is very dependent on the position of the camera, framing and focus. The camera can lead us to notice certain details in a scene.
If there is a narrator, the audience is told the story from the narrator’s point of view. Whether the narrator is a character or not, their narration may be very objective or just as easily very subjective.
Sometimes referred to as the social gest, gestus is a theatrical technique created by Brecht, which combines gesture and social meaning in one movement, stance or vocal display. It is the embodiment of an attitude or aspect of a character, it is never cliché but very specific and can only come out of a deep exploration of character, context and story. In performance it serves to alienate the audience in order to show them the bigger picture.
One Saturday recently I drove from home to WAAPA listening (as I do most Saturdays) to Andrew Ford’s Music Show on ABC Radio National.
The featured guest that day was Margaret Leng Tan, known for her work in championing the work of John Cage since the 1980s but also in more recent times, for her use of the toy piano as a serious musical instrument.
During the program Margaret Leng Tan spoke extensively about the toy piano as a musical instrument in its own right. She also performed pieces composed for the instrument by Jed Distler and Phyllis Chen.
You can catch the program on https://www.abc.net.au
As I listened, I mused on several things.
Firstly I have never thought of using a toy piano as an actual musical instrument. I thought of them as cheap, rather tinny and unattractive-sounding Christmas gifts for children from childless relatives – the family members who would also give a toy drum kit gift to a toddler.
A quick online search revealed a number of sources for buying better quality toy pianos, though it should be noted that Margaret Leng Tan considers that the toy pianos being manufactured today are not as good as those from the last century.
My second train of thought started when there was brief discussion about the toy piano being the perfect instrument for scoring the soundtrack for a horror movie. As I listened to performances on the instruments during the show I could definitely hear how the quality of the sound – very different from a full sized piano - could invoke tension and suspense.
As I reflected on the show I wondered - could a toy piano make a useful and versatile addition to a school performing arts department? The music department could certainly use it in improvisation and composition projects.
The media department could utilise it in sound effects. And no doubt the drama department would get in on the act as well.
Toy pianos – who would have thought!
A relatively new film genre which, as its name implies, has the central conflicts played out through spectacular action sequences such as high-speed car chases, explosions and gun fights. They are usually set in present day America and have a huge body count and massive destruction of property.
The typed characters are often one-dimensional: strong male heroes, feisty females with attitude, and a cold, ruthless villain wealthy enough to employ many expendable henchmen.
Examples are Die Hard (1988), Black Panther (2018).
The Feldenkrais Method, originated by Dr Moshé Feldenkrais (1904 - 1984) is an educational movement system designed to facilitate greater awareness of the body; particularly posture, movement, co-ordination and flexibility. It is used in actor training to build mindfulness of the body so that it can be accessed to create character.
Having the characteristics of an icon, a sign which represents the signified (photograph, portrait) and which has become instantly recognisable over a long period of time. This especially refers to film and popular culture where some actors, characters, objects and settings are connected to themes or meanings immediately identifiable in the minds of the viewer.”
Popular broad comedy focusing on sexually compromising situations, mistaken identités and bedrooms. As with all farce, authority, order; and morality are at risk and apparently ordinary people are caught up in extraordinary goings on. Involves much comic stage business. Originated in France though elements can be found in Roman comedies.
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