Shared Terminology

 For the first two weeks, we spent some time just dipping our toes into theater experiences and talking about some of what we already know. We are working on building up a shared vocabulary to use in the class and a way to get to a similar starting point. This post is my reflective notes on those sessions with a list of terms that we can begin to use in class and in our theater journals.

First, we discussed the concept of "Theater Moments" used by the Tectonic Theater Project (https://www.tectonictheaterproject.org/) in their book Moment Work. They stress how audiences remember and are impacted by so many small moments that go beyond the words or the plot. Yes, the story is important, but theater makers use more than words to craft the important moments, including technical elements, stage design, costuming, color, positioning of and relation to the audience, an actor's commitment to the character/scene, surprise, contrast, immersion, and more. 

That brought us to considering the four elements that the IB looks for in theater: TEAM -- tension, emotion, atmosphere, and meaning. These elements can be found in many moments, and they often work together or overlap in theater works. They are created by actors, directors, designers, and tech elements as well. Tension is created through a building of emotion, through suspense, through the rising action of the plot into its climax, through character relationships, and through conflict and change. Atmosphere is created through tension but also through set design and production elements; atmosphere can help audiences understand setting, and it can help create emotion. There are a few different kinds of emotion in theater: those that characters feel and express, those created in the story, and those felt by the audience. And finally, meaning is the overall interpretation of the elements, but can also be different for audiences than for actors than for directors, etc. Theater creates a shared experience between the makers and the audience, but that does not always need to require everyone to have the same feelings or meaning about a piece. 

This week we will experience how various elements can impact TEAM and how large meaning can be created through small moments. We will begin a unit using a technique based on Anne Bogart's Viewpoints theory, and add layers and layers onto a simple exercise. I will ask you to walk, think, feel, respond, watch, and notice -- and then reflect and record your ideas in your theater journal. 

Some terms covered in the first two weeks:

Moment work

Immersion or Immersive theater (also called audience immersion)

Lighting design

Sound design

Digital projection

Set design

Blocking

Plot: setting, rising action, climax, resolution

Off-stage

Tension

Emotion

Atmosphere

Meaning