History of European Drama and Theatre by Fischer-Lichte Erika; Riley Jo ;

Author:Fischer-Lichte, Erika; Riley, Jo ;
Language: nld
Format: epub
Publisher: Routledge

Middle-class Bildungstheater

In January 1791, Goethe was made director of the Weimar theatre. He used his position to encourage a style of acting which would complement the intentions of his own classical drama. As the Weimar actor, Anton Genast, reports, Goethe turned ‘his greatest attention to the art of performance and noble pathos’. In so doing, he was opposing not only the ‘affected beings and the bombastic tone’ which the old actors ‘followed from the French tragedy’, but also the psychological-realistic acting style developed by Conrad Ekhof and his successor, Friedrich Ludwig Schröder. As Genast notes, Schröder restricted ‘rhetoric and performance art … to everyday life. His ensemble succeeded best in conversation plays and middle-class dramas; their tragedy was devoid of power and poesy … Goethe in contrast, strove towards the rhetoric, the plastic and mimic arts of ancient times and this drove him, unlike Schröder, towards idealism.’44

Goethe wrote ‘Rules for Actors’45 in order to discuss the art of declamation – principally the speaking of verse – and the bodily pose, gesture and movements of the actor. In it, he adopted many of the concepts formulated by Franciscus Lang. Thus, Goethe impressed upon the actors: ‘The actor ought also to take particular care never to speak upstage, but always toward the audience’ (Section 40, p. 219). And with regard to dialogue, he imposed the following basic rule:

When two actors are engaged in dialogue, it is very important that the one speaking lean back slightly while delivering his lines, and when finished, lean forward. If the actor uses this technique prudently and practices it until it becomes natural, he will achieve the best results both in regard to the visual effect of his delivery and intelligibility. Actors who have become masters in this will produce gratifying results and enjoy a great advantage over those who have not.

(Section 41, p. 219)

Goethe also noted that, ‘It is highly incorrect to place one hand on top of the other, or to rest them on the stomach or stick one or both into the vest’ (Section 46, p. 219). Instead, he suggested,

The hand itself must neither be clenched in a fist nor held flat against the thigh, like a soldier standing at attention. Rather, some fingers must be half bent, the others kept straight, but they must never appear cramped.

(Section 48, p. 219)

Goethe's adoption of the rules of the baroque art of acting in a slightly modified form were intended to restrict the sense of illusion on stage. Diderot's theoretical work, On Dramatic Poetry, set out the basic rule of the middle-class theatre of illusion: ‘One should imagine a great wall right at the very edge of the stage, which separates it from the auditorium. One should play as if the curtain has not yet been drawn’ (Chapter XI, ‘On Interest’). But Goethe had no interest in such a ‘fourth wall’, ‘For the actor must always remember that he is there for the sake of his spectators’ (Section 38, p. 218). Since Goethe tried to prevent

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.