Eisenstein's Methods

 

Eisenstein's Methods of Montage Metric, Rythmatic, Tonal, Overtonal, and Intellectual are all relatively simple as an explanation and despight being geared toward the use of film in his explination can be adapted for use outside of this. This is easily seen other forms of new media this includes both performance and music.

Methods of Montage

seeing how shots in certain different directions are used help try to relay the effect that the director is trying to get out of the audience's possible reaction. like during a showdown in the old west switching every few seconds to each person involved in the main area of the scene. Zack Synder's use of montage  in "Man of Steel" confused me like crazy, because his method was erratic at times, where it was emotional on certain parts or it becoming metric at certain bits. but a better director at using montage was christopher nolan in his batman movies, where he established forms of montage at the right length without swinging from scene to scene like zack sender.

Theatre and Cruelty

I feel that the idea of theatre is still existent, but there are other forms of performance that seem to change what we think of as theatre. I found this article interesting in the fact that Artaud feels that we are too sensitive and theatre is that only thing we need to wake up from reality. It seems that this act of cruelty in theatre serves more of an eye opener. I feel that it's important to have something completely shocking and mind-blowing in order to gain attention to an idea. Theatre is something that is a display of a performance and it's important to fully think through on how do you want your audience to react. It's the same thing with any sort of performance and I agree that it's important to think about the emotion of your audience. I feel that Artaud wanted to make that an important point and used cruelty to enhance emotion.

Cruel Theatre of Cruelty

The Idea of a surreal, immersive experience in theatre is not exactly 'avant Garde' any more. Though today's theatre often has the more standard story, plot, and line, the idea of a 'Box Theater' is a theatre space which can be completely customized. Everything from the location of seating, to the walls and ceiling can be changed to make the theatre experience more immersive. As for Antonin's comments on the audience having subconscious responses to things like music, color, and lights, all of these things are normally seen as being subconscious and unnoticeable. The job of a theatre technician often goes unseen unless something goes wrong during a performance. Normally everything from lights to sound cues have to be 'perfectly unrealistic' to fit the space, and the play itself. 

 

Theatre of Cruelty

well this reading seemed interesting to read on how Artaud wanted to get in people's heads with his form of theatre he made. his attempt to pull out the emotions from a person's subconscious was interesting, he wanted to pull out a person's emotions that they don't normally show. i feel that his method is a good one cause it would bring "your" own emotions and not the kind you have that you show among others when they may have a very similar emotional response. expressing emotions without words may bring something out that words could never do seems like a good idea of artuad. he tried to get responses from the mind only instead of just all the senses. i would like to see something short that has this method applied to it and see a normal nonartisic audience respond to it.

Cruelty Theater Reply

This article seems a bit optimistic in the way of the masses turning away from cinema and other various forms of entertainment. from what I got from it he wants theater to instruct and inspire rather than be folly and to entertain. His idea of "total" theater is intriguing but I wonder its appeal range. He wants a universally understood and appealing form of theater, which seems a bit odd because rarely are things ever universal. A theme itself ( such as war) can be universal but when translated into something like scenes and acts and depicted visually there can never be a global understanding. Using gestures, words, and nonverbal mediums as a way to enhance the poetry of theater might make getting the message across a little harder but this is coming from a traditional theater student who hasn't really dabbled in the avant garde, so I might have some strong biases.