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    Edward Gordon Craig

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    Jason Hogue
    Edward Gordon Craig was a British theatre theorist and director in the early 20th century who developed theories rejecting realistic theatrical styles. His theory advocated for symbolism, atmosphere, and emotion over realism, and gave the director total control over all artistic aspects of production including actors' movements. Craig wanted to train actors to be like his concept of the "Uber-marionette" that could sustain symbolic movements and expressions to create dramatic tension.

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    Edward Gordon Craig

    Uploaded by

    Jason Hogue
    69 views8 pages
    Edward Gordon Craig was a British theatre theorist and director in the early 20th century who developed theories rejecting realistic theatrical styles. His theory advocated for symbolism, atmosphere, and emotion over realism, and gave the director total control over all artistic aspects of production including actors' movements. Craig wanted to train actors to be like his concept of the "Uber-marionette" that could sustain symbolic movements and expressions to create dramatic tension.

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    Edward Gordon Craig was a British theatre theorist and director in the early 20th century who developed theories rejecting realistic theatrical styles. His theory advocated for symbolism, atmosphere, and emotion over realism, and gave the director total control over all artistic aspects of production including actors' movements. Craig wanted to train actors to be like his concept of the "Uber-marionette" that could sustain symbolic movements and expressions to create dramatic tension.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    69 views8 pages

    Edward Gordon Craig

    Uploaded by

    Jason Hogue
    Edward Gordon Craig was a British theatre theorist and director in the early 20th century who developed theories rejecting realistic theatrical styles. His theory advocated for symbolism, atmosphere, and emotion over realism, and gave the director total control over all artistic aspects of production including actors' movements. Craig wanted to train actors to be like his concept of the "Uber-marionette" that could sustain symbolic movements and expressions to create dramatic tension.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
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    Edward Gordon Craig

    Biography
    ● Born in 1872 in Britain
    ● His mother, Ellen Terry, was a famous actor
    ● He joined Henry Irving’s theatre company
    ● He quit acting when he was 25 to become a designer and
    theorist
    ● His first productions didn’t make a lot of money so he left
    Britain to do productions in Germany, Russia, and Italy
    ● He eventually founded the Gordon Craig School for the
    Art of the Theatre in Italy, which had to shut down at the
    start of WWI
    ● Died in 1966
    Developing the Theory
    ● Craig disliked the theatrical style of the time, which
    was an over-exaggerated imitation of real life
    ● He thought it didn’t capture the audience’s
    imagination
    ● He thought Henry Irving was the perfect actor
    ● One of the things he liked about Irving’s style was
    that he would boil down a character to their most
    essential traits and then expand those traits until they
    were larger than life.
    The Theory
    ● The main goal is to evoke the ‘spirit’ of something
    instead of just imitating it
    ● Symbolism, atmosphere, and emotion, and using
    movement to create each of these things
    ● The director is the ‘true artist’ and should have complete
    control over every aspect of the show, including all of the
    actor’s movements on stage
    ● Scenes should be built around 1 object to give it
    importance
    ● The object could be a piece of furniture, part of the set, or
    a symbol.
    The “Über-Marionette”
    ● Extension of the ‘mask’
    ● Able to hold facial expressions and sustain movements
    long enough to create dramatic tension
    ● The “Uber-marionette” is the perfect actor
    ● Movements informed by symbolism instead of
    motivation
    ● Different actors would portray a character the same way
    if they had the same direction.

    (Frantic Assembly’s production of Othello)


    Training the Actors
    These are the traits that Craig wanted to instill in actors at his acting school:

    ● Harmony ● Exploration
    ● Vitality ● Honesty
    ● Authenticity ● Modesty
    ● Passion ● Open mindedness

    It was very important that actors were always ‘present’ in the performance.
    Craig also wanted the actors to have a strong sense of imagination so that they
    could ‘believe’ the minimalistic set and then make the audience accept the set as
    well.
    Technical aspects
    ● Use of neutrally-colored flats, straight lines, contrast between light and dark, and 3D
    architecture (instead of painted backdrops)
    ● Everything (include floor and ceiling pieces) should move
    ● This movement should be a part of the performance and contribute to the
    atmosphere
    Performances that use Craig’s theory
    ● Productions directed by
    Robert Wilson
    ● Productions using Adolphe
    Appia’s set design
    ● Punchdrunk (immersive
    theatre)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cS-WFNLBVk

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