-
"A Dream Play" by Strindberg adopted a viewpoint of a dreamer. The scenes in this play flow without logical transitions and ultimately do not make much sense when put together. Characters were suddenly transformed into different ones, the timeline is not organized, and the overall story focuses on tortured and alienated humans. "A Dream Play" was a great representation of a real dream. This play is a great foundation piece for expressionism theatre.(The Essential Theatre) -
In 1908, Fillipo Tommaso Marinetti swerved his vehicle to avoid hitting a cyclist and crashed into a ditch. This event made Marinetti compare the old bicycle to the new and modern vehicle. This crash was the inspiration for Marinetti to write his manifesto on futurism. This event brought him to a realization that the old should be left behind and people should focus on the new and modern concepts being brought into the world. (Art Movement: Futurism - Artland) -
Fillipo Tommaso Marinetti was the leader for the futurist movement. Marinetti thought that dwelling over the past blocked any chance of future progress. Marinetti wrote a manifesto declaring to destroy libraries and museums for a fresh start. He and a group of futurist wanted to completely replace old forms of art with new ones. A concept that Marinetti and other futurists were widely known for was pulling pranks and agitating the audience, forcing them to become involved.(The Essential Theatre) -
Expressionism emerged around 1910 after Edvard Munch and a group of German students claimed that the industrial age had turned humans into machines with conditioned responses. This movement wished to reshape the world and make it better for the human spirit. Most expressionist drama focuses on how much the human spirit has been changed by false, materialistic values. It also presents a nightmarish version of human life by presenting leaning walls and machine like people. (The Essential Theatre) -
This manifesto was published by David Davidovich Burlyuk and a group of other Russian futurists in 1912. This manifesto was originally referred to as "Poshchochina obshchestvennomu vkusu." This manifesto was very similar to Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's, in this piece he stated a rejection of old literature and a desire for new and unexpected art. Burlyuk was described to have an "obsession with Futurism." (David Davidovich Burlyuk - Britannica) -
The concept of dada was grounded in rejection of all the values which provoked World War I. During the war, many artists found refuge in neutral Switzerland. Here, Tristan Tzara became their spokesman. The dadaists sought to through out old concepts of art such as logic, reason and unity and replace them with chance and illogic. Since the world was in a chaotic place, the dadaists created a chaotic art form. Most programs from dadaist has multiple, random focuses. (The Essential Theatre) -
Tristan Tzara founded the Galerie Dada in Switerland. Tzara and his group were determined to spread Dada ideas. The group held Dada evenings and art exhibits, they also published a review titled "Dada" to spread the word. In 1918, when the war ended the artists returned to their home countries and further spread the movement. In 1919 Dada came to an end after an event. The event attracted a crowd of 1000 people and was intended to anger them, a riot eventually broke out. (Dada-The Art Story) -
In Germany, 1920, Max Ernst and others staged a data event held in a courtyard which was glassed in. The yard was entered through a men's toilet. This event consisted of many unrelated events such as a young, well dressed woman reciting obscene poems, a pool of liquid which resembled blood and projected a hand and a skull, and a random wooden sculpture with a hatched attached so that anyone could attack it. This event lived up to the chaotic expectations of dada. (The Essential Theatre) -
"The Emperor Jones" was an expressionist play representing a complex state of mind. It was also the first American play with a racially inclusive cast, having the leading role played by a black actor. The play shows a conceded black man oppressing the land of natives in ways similar to how the British and American people previously have. This piece by O'Neill was a huge step towards the expansion of expressionism as well as racial equality in the arts. (Encyclopedia- The Emperor Jones.) -
Eugene O'Neill's "The Hairy Ape" is an expressionist piece exploring humanity's search for identity in a hostile and materialistic environment. Few characters have names in this play, a majority of them represent types of people and groups. He suggests that modern humans have been distorted, the lower class is portrayed as animals while the rich become puppets. The main character is the only person who sees the need for a relationship with himself and his environment. (The Essential Theatre)