The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
http://www.metmuseum.org/home.asp
This is an incredible site on art history. I was floored by its content, breadth, and ability to access the information.
http://www.vueweekly.com/article.php?id=3567
This may be a silly reason to include this website, but the costuming shown in the one photo on this website seems to almost be a farce interpretation or at least a more comedic.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Dramaturg's Statement
In discussing the Scenes from an Execution there are four main topics of discussion and discrepancy. They are characters, history, genre, and general staging. Below will be specific places in the script and ideas that will hopefully give a head start for making the transition between the script and the stage.
To start, let’s begin with the character known as “Sketchbook”. I read somewhere that the Sketchbook is meant to embody Galactia’s process and also act as a narrator. When cast, this character seems to be cast predominantly by a woman. But the Sketchbook is very ambiguous. The Sketchbook’s job is to discuss the Galactia’s painting. Then we move onto characters called Dimintia, Supporta and Urgentino. Each character’s name has a meaning or seems to be a play on words. The list of characters is in itself a sort of allegory. But then there is the discrepancy that they are not accurate. Galactia’s daughter is named Supporta, but not supportive of her mother. Is this sarcasm or an intentional play with words? Either way, the character’s names seem to be very intentional since they will clearly lend the audience to apply what their names sound like to the character.
This is a mix between history and characters, but what does it mean and what does it matter that Galactia is based on a real woman from Venice during the 1600’s? Her name is Artemisia Gentileschi. A woman who was able to paint the way that she was because her father owned an art school. She showed promise and an interest in painting at a time when women really were not allowed to go to school for art because they would have to paint nude portraits which was forbidden by the church. So what does it mean in this play that we have a woman doing all of that? Artemisia was raped by her tutor that her father had gotten for her. Does this play into the script? Does it effect the character of Galactia? I guess the whole subject that needs to be decided is, how much is Galactia like and based off of Artemisia and how does Artemisia’s life not play into the characterization of Galactia.
Next, the history behind the play. It is debated if this script is historically accurate, historical fiction, or another form. This will be discussed further in the next section, but the point is that if it is based on history at all, it might be important to know the facts surrounding the possible and obvious history. To start, Italy is on the decline of the Renaissance, but the influence is lasting. This is important because Italy has been brought out of the highlight of art and literature and it’s “awakening”, but the importance and lasting effect that the Renaissance had would make this time that the show could be set in, 1620, a great time for art and painting. It is also important to note the battle for which Galactia is painting: The Battle of Lepanto. It was Venice against the Ottoman Empire. The following is a brief, but important synopsis of the battle. “The greatest moment in the history of Venice occurred on the morning of October 7, 1570 at Lepanto. Both sides were evenly matched, and the Christians led by the Venetians immediately attacked the Turkish fleet. Finally, as the flagship of the Turkish fleet was taken and the admiral beheaded the battle drew to an end. On October, a Venetian galley entered the bay of San Marco trailing the Turkish banners in the water behind her stern, with her deck piled high with trophies. Within an hour the whole of Venice was celebrating the victory. Upon hearing the news, the Pope ordered the church bells of all the churches to ring at midday to celebrate the victory. As so today, at the stroke of midday, the chimes of the bells ring out still celebrating this famous Venetian victory.”
This battle is know as Venice’s most supreme victory and yet we have this painter named Galactia who feels the need to go against the government and paint it for what it really was. Maybe it’s important to formulate an opinion of the battle. Maybe it’s important just because of the history it created for Venice. But it certainly is important to the plot no matter what is done with it.
This certainly leads into the question of genre. The title alone seems to tell of a dramatic play. But then add a touch of history, a man’s open head that could be seemingly comical, a naked man, and a handful of incongruities and this play no longer seems to have a place to be set. Postmodern seems to be an option with the script’s mixing of ideas and places. Maybe it’s just a misunderstood dark comedy. We do have a female painter in the early 17th century, painting naked men, and has a sketchbook that talks to her. This has the potential to ooze comedy. I guess the point is that deciding a genre or a couple of genres may help place the acting style and design in a more consistent direction.
The last big piece is the staging of this script. The question here is how realistic or suggestive is necessary to get the point across? Yet again, go back to the character Sketchbook. Is this person dressed like one? Is she on an easel? Where do you put a sketchbook on a stage? Then there is the character who calls himself “Man with the Crossbow.” How graphic does this presentation need to be? Even the painting that Galactia is working on, in one review it was said that Howard Barker had no intentions of letting the audience see the work. How will this be handled?
Monday, August 4, 2008
Educator Packet
WELCOME TO YOUR EDUCATOR PACKET FOR SCENES FROM AN EXECUTION.
All of the information below is assuming that your class is college level. There are a few ideas to which your discretion will be necessary based on the type of class you teach.
Art Assignment: This doesn't necessarily have to be done with an art class. Pen and paper would probably suffice. Without explaining anything about the script give the class the following scenario:
"You are a painter in Italy. Italy has just won a battle against its most fierce opponent. The whole country is rejoicing in its victory. As one of the most recognized and talented painters in Venice you have been asked to paint this battle to show the power and strength of Venice and specifically its splendid victory. You have ten minutes. Go."
The objective: The students have been given a vague description for a painting by you, their authority figure. It is time to see who paints a glorious Italy and who understands that Italy just destroyed a people and are victorious in their death.
The point: Galactia, the Venice painter, didn't paint a victorious Italy, but instead showed the pain and death that occurred. She did it against opposition. She did it as a female painter around the early 1600's when it was usually looked down upon female painters. The basic fact is that it is usually an incredible feat to go against the grain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Art comparison project
If you have projector capabilities it will probably not be necessary to get copies of these paintings, but for this project it will be necessary, in some fashion, to have two paintings of the Battle of Lepanto. This is the battle for which Scene's protagonist is to paint. The battle can be painted either with disdain, as did Galactia, or with support and victory.
This website is for a victorious painting done in the 17th century.
http://www.starportraitstudio.com/5629th_oil_painting.htm
This website is for a modern, highly abstract painting done in modern times.
http://www.museodelprado.es/en/ingles/exposiciones/info/en-el-museo/lepanto-cy-twombly/la-exposicion/
The Point
Galactia in the play had a very different view of the Battle of Lepanto. What are the views of these artists? Which makes the most sense? Is one right and the other wrong?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author Biography: He is a British playwright named Howard Barker.
The son of Sydney Charles and Georgina Irene Carter Barker, was born in Dulwich, London. Between 1958 and 1964 he attended Battersea Grammar School, before going to Sussex University where he took an M.A. in history in 1968. Four years later he married Sandra Mary Law. Barker has coined the term 'Theatre of Catastrophe' to describe his work. His plays often explore violence, sexuality, the desire for power, and human motivation.Rejecting the widespread notion that an audience should share a single response to the events onstage, Barker works to fragment response, forcing each viewer to wrestle with the play alone. "We must overcome the urge to do things in unison" he writes. "To chant together, to hum banal tunes together, is not collectivity."
Where other playwrights might clarify a scene, Barker seeks to render it more complex, ambiguous, and unstable.Opposing the predominance of comedy in the contemporary culture, which unifies us through the banality of a shared response, he argues for the rebirth of a tragic theatre, which will force us to recognize our differences. Only through a tragic renaissance, Barker argues, will beauty and poetry return to the stage. "Tragedy liberates language from banality" he asserts. "It returns poetry to speech." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Barker
Reviews
The Past Through the Prism of the Present
June 5, 2007 - 10:48 — Mallory Jensen
"The characters’ tangled relationships and loyalties, portrayed with intensity by the leading actors, not only draw you into the individual struggles that shape them and their world, but demand your engagement from start to finish with the intellectual and moral issues from which those struggles are born."
Steve Hoppe
"Written by Howard Barker, Scenes from an Execution combines extremely dense text with profound visual imagery, which Director Jim Peck and the rest of the company execute with clarity and precision"
A Look Into the Characters
Galactia- Female, Venetian, Painter, 46 years old.
Carpeta- Male, Painter of "pity", Galactia's lover, appears to be around the same age as Sordo so possibly about 37 years old.
Urgentino- Male, politician, the Doge, Venetian.
Suffici- Male, Venetian Admiral, being painted by Glactia.
Rivera- Female, critic, poet, sensualist, brought to critique Galactia's work by Urgentino.
Ostensibile- Male, Cardinale, Secretary of State for Public Education.
Prodo- Male, "Man with the Crossbow Bolt in His Head", shows battle wounds for money to Galactia.
Sketchbook- Androgynous, sort of a narrator to Galactia's painting, no sense of age, race, etc.
Supporta- Female, Venetian, Galactia's daughter, in a professional relationship with her mother for 20 years.
Dimentia- Female, Venetian, Galactia's daughter.
Sordo- painter, acquaintance of Carpeta, 37 years old.
Basic Plot
Glenda Jackson starred in this brilliant drama about a sixteenth century Venetian painter commissioned by the Doge to do a mural commemorating the naval victory at Lepanto. She is a woman, a realist, a rebel and a free spirit, so the government does not get the jingoistic celebration of political and military might it expects. Galactia reveals war in all its horror, cruelty and suffering and chooses prison over changing the mural. This fascinating parable raises issues of contemporary resonance. As the play unfolds, the paradoxical mystery of art is espoused: that works exist independently of their creators.
http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/2229
Question and Answer Session
After seeing the production of Scenes there will be a time for Q & A with the actors and director and possibly others will be present. This is really a time to delve into what you have seen. There are typical questions to ask the actors such as, "How did you learn all of those lines?" These questions are valid, but the director and cast and others would be more enticed by the following questions.
1. What was your overall concept? (both design and acting)
2. How did you decide what time period to put this in?
3. Who made the decision on how to approach the character of the "Sketchbook?"
4. Was the nudity a concern when choosing this show?
5. Why do you think the show is called Scenes from an Execution?
All of the information below is assuming that your class is college level. There are a few ideas to which your discretion will be necessary based on the type of class you teach.
Art Assignment: This doesn't necessarily have to be done with an art class. Pen and paper would probably suffice. Without explaining anything about the script give the class the following scenario:
"You are a painter in Italy. Italy has just won a battle against its most fierce opponent. The whole country is rejoicing in its victory. As one of the most recognized and talented painters in Venice you have been asked to paint this battle to show the power and strength of Venice and specifically its splendid victory. You have ten minutes. Go."
The objective: The students have been given a vague description for a painting by you, their authority figure. It is time to see who paints a glorious Italy and who understands that Italy just destroyed a people and are victorious in their death.
The point: Galactia, the Venice painter, didn't paint a victorious Italy, but instead showed the pain and death that occurred. She did it against opposition. She did it as a female painter around the early 1600's when it was usually looked down upon female painters. The basic fact is that it is usually an incredible feat to go against the grain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Art comparison project
If you have projector capabilities it will probably not be necessary to get copies of these paintings, but for this project it will be necessary, in some fashion, to have two paintings of the Battle of Lepanto. This is the battle for which Scene's protagonist is to paint. The battle can be painted either with disdain, as did Galactia, or with support and victory.
This website is for a victorious painting done in the 17th century.
http://www.starportraitstudio.com/5629th_oil_painting.htm
This website is for a modern, highly abstract painting done in modern times.
http://www.museodelprado.es/en/ingles/exposiciones/info/en-el-museo/lepanto-cy-twombly/la-exposicion/
The Point
Galactia in the play had a very different view of the Battle of Lepanto. What are the views of these artists? Which makes the most sense? Is one right and the other wrong?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Author Biography: He is a British playwright named Howard Barker.
The son of Sydney Charles and Georgina Irene Carter Barker, was born in Dulwich, London. Between 1958 and 1964 he attended Battersea Grammar School, before going to Sussex University where he took an M.A. in history in 1968. Four years later he married Sandra Mary Law. Barker has coined the term 'Theatre of Catastrophe' to describe his work. His plays often explore violence, sexuality, the desire for power, and human motivation.Rejecting the widespread notion that an audience should share a single response to the events onstage, Barker works to fragment response, forcing each viewer to wrestle with the play alone. "We must overcome the urge to do things in unison" he writes. "To chant together, to hum banal tunes together, is not collectivity."
Where other playwrights might clarify a scene, Barker seeks to render it more complex, ambiguous, and unstable.Opposing the predominance of comedy in the contemporary culture, which unifies us through the banality of a shared response, he argues for the rebirth of a tragic theatre, which will force us to recognize our differences. Only through a tragic renaissance, Barker argues, will beauty and poetry return to the stage. "Tragedy liberates language from banality" he asserts. "It returns poetry to speech." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Barker
Reviews
The Past Through the Prism of the Present
June 5, 2007 - 10:48 — Mallory Jensen
"The characters’ tangled relationships and loyalties, portrayed with intensity by the leading actors, not only draw you into the individual struggles that shape them and their world, but demand your engagement from start to finish with the intellectual and moral issues from which those struggles are born."
Steve Hoppe
"Written by Howard Barker, Scenes from an Execution combines extremely dense text with profound visual imagery, which Director Jim Peck and the rest of the company execute with clarity and precision"
A Look Into the Characters
Galactia- Female, Venetian, Painter, 46 years old.
Carpeta- Male, Painter of "pity", Galactia's lover, appears to be around the same age as Sordo so possibly about 37 years old.
Urgentino- Male, politician, the Doge, Venetian.
Suffici- Male, Venetian Admiral, being painted by Glactia.
Rivera- Female, critic, poet, sensualist, brought to critique Galactia's work by Urgentino.
Ostensibile- Male, Cardinale, Secretary of State for Public Education.
Prodo- Male, "Man with the Crossbow Bolt in His Head", shows battle wounds for money to Galactia.
Sketchbook- Androgynous, sort of a narrator to Galactia's painting, no sense of age, race, etc.
Supporta- Female, Venetian, Galactia's daughter, in a professional relationship with her mother for 20 years.
Dimentia- Female, Venetian, Galactia's daughter.
Sordo- painter, acquaintance of Carpeta, 37 years old.
Basic Plot
Glenda Jackson starred in this brilliant drama about a sixteenth century Venetian painter commissioned by the Doge to do a mural commemorating the naval victory at Lepanto. She is a woman, a realist, a rebel and a free spirit, so the government does not get the jingoistic celebration of political and military might it expects. Galactia reveals war in all its horror, cruelty and suffering and chooses prison over changing the mural. This fascinating parable raises issues of contemporary resonance. As the play unfolds, the paradoxical mystery of art is espoused: that works exist independently of their creators.
http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/product_info.php/products_id/2229
Question and Answer Session
After seeing the production of Scenes there will be a time for Q & A with the actors and director and possibly others will be present. This is really a time to delve into what you have seen. There are typical questions to ask the actors such as, "How did you learn all of those lines?" These questions are valid, but the director and cast and others would be more enticed by the following questions.
1. What was your overall concept? (both design and acting)
2. How did you decide what time period to put this in?
3. Who made the decision on how to approach the character of the "Sketchbook?"
4. Was the nudity a concern when choosing this show?
5. Why do you think the show is called Scenes from an Execution?
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Artemisia Gentileschi
Scenes is historical fiction. Understanding the historical pieces of the play can be exponentially helpful. On my first read of Scenes I had no idea that this show was based upon the work of an artist named Artemisia Gentileschi. To understand the impact that a female artist had post-renaissance and during the Baroque period of Italy is wonderous. These links will hopefully set the history behind the play in a light that previously was dim. Many of the links below cover her life and her art, but simply that is what Artemisia was really about: her art in her life.
The Life and Art of Artemisia
http://www.artemisia-gentileschi.com/index.shtml
This website does almost a slide show of Artemsia's paintings, when they were painted and what was going on in Artemesia's life when she did the painting.
Obligatory Wikipedia website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_Gentileschi
As with most Wikipedia sites, it is more of an overall projection of Galactia. It has a very in depth biography of her life. It also has an interesting section about her and her relationship with popular culture that might be beneficial.
Painting Gallery of her work
http://www.svreeland.com/image-gal.html
This is simply a gallery of her work.
Bio, gallery, about the movie, rape.
http://www.webwinds.com/artemisia/artemisia.htm
This has a biography on her, other websites about her painting, an explanation of her paintings, and interestingly has the first information that I have found about a possible rape of Artemisia. It lastly goes into an explanation of the movie about her.
More in-depth biography
http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/baroque/Artemisia-Gentileschi.html
A very in-depth biography supplemented with her work.
The Life and Art of Artemisia
http://www.artemisia-gentileschi.com/index.shtml
This website does almost a slide show of Artemsia's paintings, when they were painted and what was going on in Artemesia's life when she did the painting.
Obligatory Wikipedia website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_Gentileschi
As with most Wikipedia sites, it is more of an overall projection of Galactia. It has a very in depth biography of her life. It also has an interesting section about her and her relationship with popular culture that might be beneficial.
Painting Gallery of her work
http://www.svreeland.com/image-gal.html
This is simply a gallery of her work.
Bio, gallery, about the movie, rape.
http://www.webwinds.com/artemisia/artemisia.htm
This has a biography on her, other websites about her painting, an explanation of her paintings, and interestingly has the first information that I have found about a possible rape of Artemisia. It lastly goes into an explanation of the movie about her.
More in-depth biography
http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/baroque/Artemisia-Gentileschi.html
A very in-depth biography supplemented with her work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)