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Modernism
"Modernism influenced all of the arts. From the Renaissance to the twentieth century, the visual arts (including theatrical scenery) had depicted everything in relation to a fixed eyepoint" (Brockett). Modernism brings people together on stage and shows modernist theatre works such as naturalism, symbolism, surrealism, futurism, dadaism, expressionism, and more. Modernism allowed people to understand theatre more, which allowed people to understand what it meant to be human. -
Naturalism
"Naturalism was developed between the late 19th century and the early 20th century. It is a style of theatre which aims to create "reality" on the stage, making it believable for the audience. In terms of style, naturalism is an extreme or heightened form of realism. The key features which make naturalism are realistic situations and scenarios, developed and truthful characters and an actual timespan. Naturalism is the belief that human nature is formed by what they've inherited" (Beasdown97). -
Symbolism
"The symbol can bring about greater meaning than any literal suggestion and can usually be used to represent something different than what you will see at face value. Symbolic in terms of theatre can be done in colour, movement, characters, props and costumes. While in theatre, symbolism was looked at to be a reaction that went against plays that seemed to embody realism and naturalism while at the turn of the 20th century" (ICMT). -
Futurism
"Futurism started in 1909 by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. The futurists issued a number of manifestos demanding change. One of the manifestos was "The Variety Theatre." Marinetti argued that theatre of his day was devoted to historical drama or photographic reproductions of daily life. Marinetti suggested ways to disrupt theatre audiences. He would put glue on seats and sell the same seat to ten different people. These pranks were used to force the audience into active involvement" (Brockett). -
Expressionism
"Expressionism emerged around 1910. It sought to counter materialism and industrialism, which it saw as distorting the human spirit. Expressionism had an immediate impact on theatre. Most expressionist drama focuses on how the human spirit has been distorted by false values. Expressionism typically presents a nightmarish vision of the human situation. Lastly, expressionism wished to reshape the world in the human spirit so it could achieve "the regeneration of man" (Brockett). -
Materialism
"Materialism has always been part of the general world of theatrical performance, serving as props, sets, costumes, make up, lights and sound. Everything we see when we watch a play which isn't a human body is technically "material" of course. Yet, when we speak of "material theatre," we're talking about instances in which material is used in such a way that it steps out of these usual submissive roles, discontented with always playing second fiddle to the performances" (DSM). -
Dada
"When World War I broke out, many artists sought refuge in neutral Switzerland, where in 1916 Dada was born. It's principal spokesman was Tristan Tzara. Dadaists sought in their art to replace logic, reason, and unity with change and illogic. Music, short plays, and dances were performed. The challenges they posed aroused strong emotion and heated debate about such topics as how to define a work of art, the role of audience response, and art as an instrument of change" (Brockett). -
Surrealism
"Surrealism was an artistic movement and literary movement that utilized fantasy, myth, and dream imagery within artwork" (Karageorgi). "Emerging out of the Dada movement, surrealism was more prominent in the visual than performing arts. In the theatre, surrealist works contained elements of both symbolism and non-realism. Performed mainly on stages of Paris in the 1920s, surrealist dreams were often met with hostility that proved to be anything but mainstream entertainment" (Cash). -
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a type of theatre that featured comedians, jugglers, magicians, singers, acrobats, dancers, and even showed trained animals. Vaudeville was extremely popular in the early 1930s and late 1940s. "A typical vaudeville show offered the audience a little bit of everything in eight to fourteen acts or "turns." The average show had about ten turns and included magic segments, musical numbers, dance numbers, and a combination of song-and-dance acts" (Library of Congress). -
Realism
"Realism in theatre, was meant to be a direct observation of human behavior. It began as a way to make theatre more useful to society. Because of this thrust towards the "real" playwrights started using contemporary settings, backgrounds and characters" (Bilotti). "Realism is the portrayal of real-life - without any false ideals or opinions added in - and no beautification of the world during that point time. Realism shows life as it is - no filter" (Forestburgh Playhouse).