Realsim in Theatre

Historical: Realism as a form developed during the last part of the 19th century. It originated from Romanticism, which focused on feelings rather than a strict form. Politically, individuals were engaged in battles to win their freedom of expression. This focus on the democratic individual can be seen in the on individual in the form of realism.

Intellectual & Social Concerns: The focus on individuality went along with the sense of human equality and uniqueness. In early Greek theatre the character was seen as an individual at the mercy of the gods. With the advent of Realism the characters became a part of society and had the power to change and manipulate their destiny. Society was seen as having to conform to the individual and not the individual being restricted forever by society.

Form: The form of realism comes from the actor focusing on freedom of self expression and removing all restrictions. The importance of the concept of freedom has been seen in the use of “free” in the title of many early theatre companies. Early realistic plays tended to be written in a three-act, “well-made” form, which involved horizontal p

Language: Realistic language focuses on everyday speech rather than the elevated forms of speech that had characterized earlier theatre. The level of speech depended upon the particular circumstances of the individual character. There is no deliberate use of verbal music like Greek drama used, and there is no witty verbal structure like that of the Restoration period. Broken speech patterns, pauses, mannerisms, dialects, and inarticulate responses are used because they exhibit natural vocal manners.

Character Mask: Characters in Realism tend to have more dimension and personal detail than characters in other genres. As characters are created more closely to present time, so does the mask align more, verbally and physically, with a recognizable modern day manner. The character’s mask should be based on information given in the text and motivated by impulse indicated in the text. It is the actor’s responsibility to communicate this information in an understandable way so that the audience will respond appropriately. The character dimension that usually makes the biggest impact is the physical aspect because it is what the audience views first. Much of the physical information can also be found in the text. The text also contains a lot of information pertaining to environmental influences and how the character relates to them. All of the information found in the text leads the actor to “functional choices of character”, which are based on the text.

Space: The space in a realistic play is intimate and often shows a closed private space of the character. Many of the spaces were parlors, apartments, or kitchens. All of the spaces abide by the basic rule of realism that the stag

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