Modernism - Futurism, Dada, Expressionism (1900-1960) timeline

Depicted is one of Max Reinhardt's first productions experimenting with lights and different scenery. The effect of Appia and Craig made Reinhardt reinforce the idea of directing. He treated each production as a new challenge. He tried to recreate the audience-performer spatial relationship. For example, he constructed a theatre to look like a cathedral. He began to realize that the eye of the audience is what mattered. Which began a new idea of theatre. (Brockett)

A Dream Play was created by August Strindberg. August conquered the restraint of space, time, logical sequence, and appearance. He achieved this by taking in the viewpoint of a dreamer. In this play, we see alienated human beings in a dream. Strindberg was able to make the appearance of the play seem like it was a real dream. In later days, the expressionist use his techniques in their productions of plays. (Loos)

In the period of the Futurist, Tommaso Marinetti believed in machienes. The futurists wanted to get rid of libraries and art museums to replace them with new art including collages, kinetic sculptures, and noise music (bruitisme). They also wanted to transform theatre, the Brockett text states, "To reform this theatre, he proposed as a model the variety theatre with its vaudeville acts, jugglers, dancers, gymnast, and the like because of its dynamic energy and audience." (Brockett)

Expressionists "sought to counter materialism and industrialism, which it saw as distorting the human spirit" (Brockett) In the expressionist theatre they would try to distort the human spirit into a false value. The main character was typically searching for something, whether it was their identity or even fulfillment. Although this was brought about 112 years ago, expressionist-style plays are still relevant in today's era.

The man for the era of Dada was Tristan Tzara. The Dadaists believed "their art should replace logic, reason, and unity with chance and illogic." (Brockett) When World War I ended, dadaists lost their energy. Their whole reason for creating a movement was to bring peace within art pieces, theatre, and music. People saw them as pranksters because of the art they created. For example, the Brockett text states that they had a dada event and you entered through a toilet seat.

The Emperor Jones was written by Eugene O'Neill. The play is about race and power. Theatre Mania states "Often decried as racist, culturally tone-deaf, and just flat-out offensive, Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones has nevertheless managed to maintain a presence on American stages for almost a hundred years" (Hempstead) This play is still being played today and still is relevant to today's current events.

The Adding Machine was written by Elmer Rice, a graduate of New York Law School. What a weird combination of law school to play write. The play is revolved around a man named Zero who experiences life, death, and after death. He is visited by Lieutenant Charles, who tells him he will be going to Earth with no memories of his time in his old life and his soul will be recycled. This is play is expressionistic because his human spirit is dismissed. ("Elmer Rice")

The Hairy Ape is written by Eugene O'Neill. The Hairy Ape is the effect of industrialism. In an era of technology and machinery, the play shows the struggle that workers have to go through because of industrialism. Yank, the antagonist, is trying to find his way through life within the new modernism of the world. He has difficulty thinking clearly in this new life. This play is a form of futurism. (Brockett)

Another play that was written by Eugene O'Neill, Mourning Becomes Electra, explains love affairs, betrayal, and murder. This is a modern play that has a message of persistence of fate. This play is a form of expressionism because the main character, Lavinia Mannon, has to take the place of her mother. After her mother died, Lavinia feels as if she has to become her mother. So reincarnating her in her own flesh. (Brockett)

A Moon for the Misbegotten was written by Eugene O'Neill. In this play, O'Neill shows that people are not who they really are at first glance. In the beginning, we see the father as a drunk farmer with no morals and his daughter who has his attitude and is labeled as a slut throughout town. As the play goes on we are shown how these people are not who they are shown to be at the beginning of the play. I feel like this play is very relevant because you do not know what people go through. (IMDb)

“A Moon for the Misbegotten.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 27 May 1975, https://www.imdb.com/title/.
Brockett, Oscar G., et al. The Essential Theatre. Cengage Learning, 2015.
Hempstead, Pete. “The Emperor Jones.” TheaterMania, 12 Mar. 2017, https://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/reviews/the-emperor-jones.
Loos, Adolf. “The Experimental Theater of Max Reinhardt: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.” Guggenheim Bilbao, https://www.guggenheim-bilbao.eus/en/did-you-know/the-experimental-theater.