Naturalism (theatre)

Naturalism is a movement in European drama and theatre that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It refers to theatre that attempts to create an illusion of reality through a range of dramatic and theatrical strategies.

Interest in naturalism especially flourished with the French playwrights of the time, but the most successful example is Strindberg’s play, Miss Julie, which was written with the intention to abide by the theories both his own particular version of naturalism, and also the version described by the French novelist and literary theoretician, Émile Zola.

Zola’s term for naturalism is la nouvelle formule. The three primary principles of naturalism (faire vrai, faire grand and faire simple) are first, that the play should be realistic, and the result of a careful study of human behavior and psychology. The characters should be flesh and blood; their motivations and actions should be grounded in their heredity and environment. The presentation of a naturalistic play, in terms of the setting and performances, should be realistic and not flamboyant or theatrical. The single setting of Miss Julie, for example, is a kitchen. Second, the conflicts in the play should be issues of meaningful, life-altering significance — not small or petty. And third, the play should be simple — not cluttered with complicated sub-plots or lengthy expositions.

Theatre

Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music, and dance. Elements of art and stagecraft are used to enhance the physicality, presence and immediacy of the experience. The specific place of the performance is also named by the word "theatre" as derived from the Ancient Greek θέατρον (théatron, "a place for viewing"), itself from θεάομαι (theáomai, "to see", "to watch", "to observe").

Modern Western theatre comes, in large measure, from ancient Greek drama, from which it borrows technical terminology, classification into genres, and many of its themes, stock characters, and plot elements. Theatre artist Patrice Pavis defines theatricality, theatrical language, stage writing, and the specificity of theatre as synonymous expressions that differentiate theatre from the other performing arts, literature, and the arts in general.

Theatre (band)

Theatre was an experimental mathcore outfit formed in the lower suburbs of Somerset West, South Africa in 2008. They bring genre-smashing music to the foreground that is both unique in construction and chaotic in design, which is brought forth by means of a notably destructive yet emotive performance, with "live shows that truly defy the norm".

History

Theatre started out, as any new project would, as a simple concept which came about when brothers, Tarquin and Byron Jones of the late Eve Of My Collapse began collaborating with JJ van Rooyen, former frontman of Era Of The Hero. After welcoming members Schalk Venter and Duke Negus, the band was set to begin writing. The writing process was difficult and intricate, as the band was yet to find its true sound. In early 2009, Schalk stepped down from his position as bassist, but remained a part of the band as art director and occasional percussionist. Theatre, quickly filled the position with former-Era bassist, Jacques Jordaan. The band was complete and ready to hit the stage.

Theater (building)

A theater, theatre or playhouse, is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance (as in environmental theater or street theater), a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces. The facility is traditionally organized to provide support areas for performers, the technical crew and the audience members.

There are as many types of theaters as there are types of performance. Theaters may be built specifically for a certain types of productions, they may serve for more general performance needs or they may be adapted or converted for use as a theater. They may range from open-air amphitheaters to ornate, cathedral-like structures to simple, undecorated rooms or black box theaters. Some theaters may have a fixed acting area (in most theaters this is known as the stage), while some theaters such as black box theaters, may not, allowing the director and designers to construct an acting area suitable for the production.

Naturalism (horse)

Naturalism (foaled 1988) was a New Zealand-bred Australian-trained Thoroughbred racehorse.

Background

Naturalism was a bay gelding sired by Palace Music, a Kentucky-bred, French-trained racehorse who won the Champion Stakes in 1984. At stud, he was best known as the sire of the American champion Cigar. Naturalism was purchased as a yearling for A$35,000 by Anthony Freedman.

Racing career

Naturalism's wins included three Group One races.

According to the Freedman brothers website, Lee Freedman rated Naturalism was one of the five best horses he ever trained. The website also says that "Probably his greatest performance was his second in the Japan Cup, as he wasn't really a 2400m horse."

References

Naturalism (literature)

Naturalism was a mainly unorganized literary movement that sought to depict believable everyday reality, as opposed to such movements as Romanticism or Surrealism, in which subjects may receive highly symbolic, idealistic or even supernatural treatment.

Background

Naturalism was an outgrowth of literary realism, a prominent literary movement in mid-19th-century France and elsewhere. Naturalistic writers were influenced by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. They often believed that one's heredity and social environment largely determine one's character. Whereas realism seeks only to describe subjects as they really are, naturalism also attempts to determine "scientifically" the underlying forces (e.g. the environment or heredity) influencing the actions of its subjects. Naturalistic works often include uncouth or sordid subject matter; for example, Émile Zola's works had a frankness about sexuality along with a pervasive pessimism. Thomas Hardy can also be grouped under the umbrella of naturalism, because of his realistic outlook on life evidenced in novels such as Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Naturalistic works exposed the dark harshness of life, including poverty, racism, violence, prejudice, disease, corruption, prostitution, and filth. As a result, naturalistic writers were frequently criticized for focusing too much on human vice and misery.

Naturalism (philosophy)

In philosophy, naturalism is the "idea or belief that only natural (as opposed to supernatural or spiritual) laws and forces operate in the world." Adherents of naturalism (i.e., naturalists) assert that natural laws are the rules that govern the structure and behavior of the natural universe, that the changing universe at every stage is a product of these laws.

"Naturalism can intuitively be separated into an ontological and a methodological component." "Ontological" refers to the philosophical study of the nature of reality. Some philosophers equate naturalism with materialism. For example, philosopher Paul Kurtz argues that nature is best accounted for by reference to material principles. These principles include mass, energy, and other physical and chemical properties accepted by the scientific community. Further, this sense of naturalism holds that spirits, deities, and ghosts are not real and that there is no "purpose" in nature. Such an absolute belief in naturalism is commonly referred to as metaphysical naturalism.