DRAM 115 Chapter Notes - Chapter pg. 361-369: Proscenium, Melodrama, Fourth Wall
Document Summary
Theatres changed more during the period between 1800 and 1900 than in any comparable earlier period. Gas allowed for lights to be dimmed and controlled more easily. This allowed for greater emotional range in lighting and for the apron of the stage to be gradually shrunk since the actors could now stand in the proscenium and still be seen. This reinforced the 19th century practice of treating the proscenium as a fourth wall. Numerous technical innovations were introduced, such as: machinery to lift actors from below the stage, fly galleries to move props and change sceneries. Music was usually a part pf the theatric experience, with dances and music in between acts. English actors employed a more contained, less overdone, and more realistic style of acting. American actors employed the more exaggerated gestures that in earlier times had thrilled the english.
