"Bait for Men", or the Appearance of Actresses on the Theater Stage. Plays for the entreprise
"What do you want, sir?
- Are you crazy?! What am I to you, sir?"
Quote from the movie "Hello, I'm your aunt!"
Men - actors often play women in the theater and cinema - for them it is an interesting creative task. If you know, this year's Oscar nomination British actor Eddie Redmayne for playing the role of an artist who underwent a sex change operation (T. Hooper's film "The Danish Girl"). Today I would like to mention a few others famous films – comedies, whose heroes were forced to change into a woman's dress and play the role of a lady. I looked on the Internet - this topic has been raised more than once, but no one writes about the process of creating an image, but I want to dwell on this.
It would probably be best to start not with a movie, but with a play English playwright Brandon Thomas "Aunt Charlie" (we also translate it as "Charley's Aunt", English. Charley's Aunt), written back in 1892. The play was extremely popular not only in England, but also abroad; here, in Russia, the comedy was first staged by the Korsh Theater in 1894. With the advent of cinema, the play was filmed more than once, starting in 1915. Our popular version is the TV movie "Hello, I'm your aunt!". But we will talk about Donna Rosa (in the play - Donna Lucia) later.
Frame from the film "Maniacs" 1936
Most famous comedian all times and peoples Charlie Chaplin dressed as a woman three times in his films ("Business Day" 1914, "Masquerade Mask" 1914 and "Woman" 1915). As critics write, such a reincarnation gave talented actor the opportunity to maximize their abilities as a mime.
A shot from the film "Masquerade Mask" (Charlie Chaplin in the center) and Chaplin in real life.
Watch the movie - Chaplin is very convincing in the role of a young lady, if you don’t know what a man is playing, then you won’t guess (and, by the way, touched the corset under the dress, a trifle, but nice)
But out of these three films, "Woman"- perhaps the most famous. Including the scandal that erupted around him.
This sweet, harmless picture was censored in England and Sweden. Critics attacked her with the words: “fuck!”, “rude!”, “insulting!”, “actor in underwear?!”, “man in a dress?!” Well, etc. England woke up earlier, in Sweden they were allowed to show the film only in 1931, 16 years later.
Julian Eltinge as a woman and in real life.
There is a version that Chaplin was inspired by the then popularity of the actor for this cinematic "sex change". Julian Eltinge (Julian Eltinge. In fact, male actors who play women on stage have been known for a long time (remember, for example, the times of Shakespeare). Here's Julian Eltinge
He became famous precisely for the performance of female roles on stage and in films. Moreover, he did not hide the fact that he was a man, and at the end of the performance he took off his wig. They say that this made a strong impression on the audience, because in the role of ladies he looked more than convincing. And in life, he emphasized his masculinity in every possible way: he appeared in public only in a man's dress, in every possible way rejected rumors in his unconventional sexuality (which does not prevent historians from suspecting him of this to this day), he was even seen in fights with stage workers who made jokes on this account.
Here is such a paradox: Julian playing women is normal, and Chaplin is vulgar ...
More photos of Eltinj.
Curiously, Chaplin's beloved half-brother Sydney in 1925 he also changed into a lady's dress to play the same Aunt Charlie, about whom I wrote above.
Charlie in Tramp makeup and Sydney as Donna Lucia. On the right in the photo is Sydney Chaplin in life.
The film is considered one of the most successful film adaptations of the play.
Frame from the film "Charlie's Aunt" (1925)
Maybe this is not God knows what event in the world of cinema, but I can’t help but write about it: another famous American actor(and my favorite) put on a female appearance in the film "Love Madness". It was handsome William Powell. It's funny that women most often turn out to be unsympathetic from even very attractive men (Chaplin and Redmayne are exceptions) and are always visually older than their physical years. At least that's how it turned out with Powell.
William Powell in "Love Madness" and in real life.
Powell, who adult life wore a mustache, even had to sacrifice them for this role.
Powell in the dressing room.
Compared with Tony Curtis And Jack Lemmon who played the musicians in the film "Only Girls in Jazz" Powell didn't suffer that much. That's who had to endure all the hardships of acting as a beautiful ladies! Here it was not the mustache that was shaved, but all the vegetation from the body that fell into the field of view of the camera. And Tony and Jack were forced to wear real heels.
Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in "Only Girls in Jazz" and in their natural form for a promotional photo of the film.
At first, they wanted to dress up the actors in authentic women's dresses of actresses Debbie Reynolds and Loretta Young. As Curtis said, “Their waist was the same size as my biceps. I went to Billy Wilder and said, "Billy, can Orry-Kelly make us our dresses?" To which he replied: "Okay, let him do it." I knew it was rare because Orry-Kelly doesn't men's suits so that was very nice...
Actor Tony Curtis and costume designer Orry-Kelly at a fitting.
... The dresses flowed beautifully down from the waist, but under them there was a very tough, dense fabric, and top part sewn from soft materials ... "
Actor Tony Curtis and costume designer (now the photo shows a costume designer! I hope you have already figured out the difference in these two professions "costume designer", i.e. following the costume, and "costume designer", i.e. inventing the costume)
Once again, actor Tony Curtis and costume designer Orry-Kelly at the fitting.
Curtis goes on to recall: "...We wore garter belts, bras, shoes, beautiful cloche hats and those high collars that Olivia de Havilland wore in her early films."
Costume design for "ladies" for the film "Only Girls in Jazz" by Orry-Kelly.
Actors in makeup and costume.
“The makeup took about 30 minutes.
Makeup artist Emile LaVigne gives Tony Curtis a beaut...
AND Jack Lemmon
After that we put on suits and wigs.
Tony Curtis and hair stylist.
In an hour and 15 minutes we were ready.”
Jack Lemmon in character.
Helped the actors to enter the female characters of the American actor-travesty Barbet (Barbette), former tightrope walker and aerial acrobat. From childhood, he dreamed of working in a circus, so when one of the duet sisters Alfaretta Sisters offered to replace dead sister, gladly agreed. But a condition was set: you need to perform in a woman's dress, they say, it is more pleasant for the viewer to admire fluttering young ladies than men. Later, Barbet began to work solo, but also in a woman's dress, however, at the end of the show, he, like Eltinge, tore off his wig.
Barbet's stage image and in life.
Barbet performed at the Moulin Rouge and the Folies Bergère, he was admired by all of Paris, he was friends with Diaghilev, Josephine Baker and Anton Dolin. Jean Cocteau admired Barbet immensely and even filmed him in his film The Poet's Blood. Cocteau "married" Barbet to the famous photographer Man Ray, who made a whole series of interesting photographs.
Barbet pictured by Man Ray.
But the age of tightrope walkers and aerial acrobats is short, Barbet began to be overcome by illness and he returned to America, where he directed circuses, staged interesting programs, acted as a consultant on circus issues in cinema and theater. And it was he who was invited to teach how to move Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon when they portray the ladies. Why did travesty work on acting plastic, and not some woman? It's simple, the director didn't want Tony and Jack to play seriously women he wanted them to portray men who pretend to be women.
However, for the sake of experiment, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon walked around the studio in female form. After they were kicked out of the men's room, they decided that the images were a success for them - a scene from our film "Gentlemen of Fortune" immediately comes to mind.
Tony Curtis with his daughter Kelly on the set of "Only Girls in Jazz". 1959
They say that when Orry-Kelly took measurements from all three stars, he half-jokingly said to Marilyn Monroe: “Tony Curtis will have a better ass than you,” to which Monroe opened her blouse and said: “But he does not have such breasts! » (About "Women's tricks. "Naked dresses" in the film "Only girls in jazz" I wrote)
And of course I can't help but think of another one popular movie –"Tootsie" which brought a lot of suffering to the performer leading role.
Even more than 30 years after the release of this wonderful comedy (which the actor, due to the torment that has befallen him, does not consider it a comedy), Dustin Hoffman, speaking on one of the TV shows, shed a tear, remembering how upset he was when I realized what an ugly lady he turns out to be. “Now I know how important it is for a woman to be confident in her attractiveness. I came home from the tests and cried. "But it told him how to play. "When I saw myself on the screen, I realized how uninteresting a woman I am - if I had met myself at a party, I would never have talked to myself."
Dustin Hoffman as Dorothy Michael. The costumes were tailored to hide the Adam's apple.
Ruth Morley, costume designer for Tootsie.
"I thought that if I was going to be a woman, I had to be a beauty." The epiphany came when the makeup artist told him that he couldn't make an actor more attractive than he was.
With director Sydney Pollack.
The blond wig was considered vulgar, so a chestnut one had to be worn. The skin was tightened with adhesive tape. "We shaved our legs, arms, back and fingers," Dustin recalled. But the bristles showed through after three to four hours and the whole procedure had to be started all over again. As a result, the actor did not suffer in vain, he received an Oscar nomination for this Oscar role, and this comedy is still loved by the people.
On the set of the film "Tootsie".
Well, I will end my story with a film "Hello I'm your aunt!".
I repeat that it was filmed based on the play by Brandon Thomas "Charlie's Aunt" (or "Charley's Aunt"). The film had a very modest budget, so it was filmed in a TV format, in a small Ostankino pavilion. The seeming sense of space was created due to the cameramanship of director Georgy Rerberg. Director Viktor Titov decided to shoot the film in the style of silent cinema, which, firstly, allowed the actors to improvise brilliantly, and secondly, allowed conventions in costumes and make-up.
“... The most important thing in the work was the memory of the experience of Charlie Chaplin, who once made a short film “Woman”. I also wanted to experience: what is it like? What do these creatures feel and experience in skirts, stockings and other details of the toilet? Woman suit I settled in diligently, practically without taking pictures even at lunchtime. The fact is that these breaks were short, and there were queues at the buffet. If you completely change clothes: take off your stockings, cape, skirt, etc., you can stay hungry. I never allowed myself to do this! So I took off… only the wig. They looked at the aunt with a bald head, to put it mildly, in surprise.
Having played roles in various comedy films, I was firmly convinced that making comedies is not at all as fun as it seems from the outside. For the entire film "Hello, I'm your aunt!" the only real laughs were on the set of the cake fight scene.
The budget of the picture was small. Costumes - only one copy. Wash and wait until they dry, there was no time. We were warned that there would only be one take on stage. Filmed with two cameras. And now I’m throwing a cake at Dzhigarkhanyan, I see his face in cream ... and I can’t help but cry with laughter. I understand that it is impossible, but there is no way to resist ...
It must be said that at that time no one expected that this particular picture would be such a success that, to put it in a high calm, it would be inscribed in the fate of our country. But now the third generation has grown up, which knows me precisely by "Hello, I'm your aunt!"
Costume designer for the film "Hello, I'm your aunt!" Natalya Kataeva on the set of a program about the film.
The costumes for the film were made by the artist Natalya Kataeva, and I must say, they turned out wonderful!
There is a stylization of the era of early silent cinema - 1915.
The dress of the millionaire Dona Rosa and the costume of her pupil are very elegant. The rest of the costumes clearly reflect the character of the characters.
Kalyagin himself has a dress, as Natalya Kataeva recalled, deliberately ridiculous. “I dressed Donna Rosa, deviating from the fashion of those years. Her dress is voluminous, the outfit is made of silk, and decorated with ... fringe from the curtains.
If you believe the Ostankino website (where I took this photo from), then the costumes are from the movie "Hello, I'm your aunt!" available for rent to anyone
I sewed the gloves myself and the boa too: I bought feathers, dyed them in color and collected them into a scarf. "Thought for a long time women's dress for Alexander Kalyagin, - actress Galina Orlova, who played Betty, Jackie Chesney's lover, complements this story in another interview, - and in the end they sewed him out of a curtain. There was a feeling that his hero, having run into the house, hastily built himself an outfit from a curtain. As you can see, not only Scarlett O "Hare came up with this idea!)
Here you go. Of course, you can remember a lot of films in which the actors played women, but, you see, those films about which I wrote above have already passed the test of time, audience love, and have become classic comedy films! Although, I do not deny that my list is a bit subjective ;-)
Pieces for private projects
Plays for entreprise and private theaters should not differ in their artistic merit from plays played in repertory and any other theaters. However, the specifics of their rental requires that they also meet some wishes. technical order: limited number of characters, convenience and portability of scenery, attractiveness for a wide range viewers (usually a comedy or lyrical drama). Below is a list of plays that, in the author's opinion, are most suitable for performance in private projects. Annotations of these plays are also given. By clicking on the name of the play, you can see its full text on the Internet.
Two characters
Modern commedia dell'arte in the genre of a merry farce. Two clowns and a clown perform a play that is born right before the eyes of the public.Pantomime, acrobatics, circus tricks, music, singing, dance, words merge into a single action.Comedy implies the ability of actors to improvise, buffoonery and live contact with the public.2 men, 1 woman, interior.
. This work combines dramatic, melodramatic and comedic motifs.
The bride and groom, successful business people, are compelled by the will of circumstances to offer a random comer - no longer a young man of strange behavior - to be a witness at their wedding. To make fun of the man and have fun at the same time, a young couple asks him to talk about the women he loved. The result of the entertainment is quite unexpected. Relations between all three become strained. This meeting decisively changes the fate of each of the heroes. Purity of soul, intellect, sensitivity, the ability to deep feelings triumph over rationalism and dry practicality. 2 men, 1 woman.
Three friends - single women of the "golden age" - decide to change their fate and find their life partners. This warm comedy convinces the viewer that the years are not an obstacle to the search for love and happiness. 3 age female roles. Interior.
.There are 3 characters in the play: a man, a woman and ... a dog (which should be played by a child or an actress).
A lonely man, a railroad worker by profession, finds a puppy, and very quickly this little faithful dog becomes his only joy and consolation. She responds to this care with selfless love and fidelity.
There comes a day when Mikhail has to make a choice: either quit his job or get rid of the dog. After painful hesitation, Michael decides to kill his friend. A woman is engaged in the killing of animals at the veterinary station. She is trying to save the dog, and with it, the soul of its owner. The clash of two truths of the characters, their dissimilar views on true meaning life creates a spring of conflict. The character of a woman - prickly and at times aggressive, but disinterested, ready to love and help, gave the name to the play. The play has been translated into English language staged in New York.
Director Howard Fishman: The American Theater Company is proud to present itself in New York with Valentin Krasnogorov's The Dog, the first production of this unique and challenging play on the American stage.
What I admire most about her is her nobility of spirit, and the heart that pulsates so vulnerable in her. Without a doubt, this is a difficult piece - prickly and subtle, frightening and ambiguous. But she is courageous enough to admit it all and bring it to the stage, where we can all get to know the sides of ourselves that we try so hard to hide."
. An evening of three one-act comedies different genre, paradoxically interpreting the problems of modern marriage. These theatrical short stories can be presented both separately and together. 1. " " . The wife stubbornly challenges her husband to a frank conversation. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior.2.« ». " ". Ironic rendition of the version ideal family, consisting of a classical triangle. 2 female roles.
. (see above)
4 characters
. An exploration of modern marriage in the form of a brilliant comedy, bittersweet and very funny. Critics from Poland, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic noted "the deep meaning and wit of this cheerful, but wise and cautionary play", its "splendid structure and sparkling dialogue". A. Shirvindt concluded the preface to this play, published in "Modern Dramaturgy", with the following words: "If you are not afraid of a mirror, hurry to look into it. In Bulgaria, a performance based on this play received a prize" ». " Plot: A husband and wife invite two of their friends (a man and a woman) to a party. All four are interconnected by complex relationships, and each is waiting for the decision of his fate: today or never. 2 men and 2 women. Interior.
By the beginning of the performance based on the classical play of the 18th century, the performer of one of the main roles is not in the theater. He is urgently replaced by another actor, not role-playing which leads to numerous tragicomic situations. They are complicated by the difficult personal relationships of the participants in the performance. Love, hate, envy, jealousy, flirting bring additional colors to the comic plot. Each participant in the performance simultaneously plays both the character and the actor who performs it. 1 female, 3 male roles.
. (see above)
. Strange, funny and gloomy, a nightly rehearsal of an unusual performance with an unexpected denouement. 2 male roles, 2 female roles, interior.
. An evening of three one-act comedies of different genres, paradoxically interpreting the problems of modern marriage. These theatrical short stories can be presented both separately and together. 1. " " . The wife stubbornly challenges her husband to a frank conversation. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior.2.« ». The husband is looking for the best way to leave his wife. 2 male roles, 1 female. Interior " ". An ironic presentation of a version of the ideal family, consisting of a classic triangle. 2 female roles.
5 characters
. Comedy. A man suffering from memory loss comes to the doctor's office asking for help. The doctor tries to find out the symptoms and causes of the disease, but to no avail: the patient's answers are so contradictory that it is impossible to get something worthwhile from him. Fortunately, it is possible to call the patient's wife. She answers all questions clearly and confidently, but from her statements it follows that the doctor also suffers from memory loss. The situation becomes even more confusing when another woman unexpectedly arrives and also claims that she is the wife of the sick person. The situation becomes completely absurd. The Doctor goes almost insane. This dynamic and funny comedy develops rapidly and lively, ending with an unexpected denouement. 3 men, 2 women. Interior.
6 characters
. Farcical sitcom in the style of the French la piece bien fatale “a well-done play.” Intricate adultery situations are intertwined with the passionate desire of the characters to make a career. The play has big success. 3 men, 3 women, interior.
An excerpt from a review of the performance: "This is a wonderful gift to the audience - a balm of humor, smiles, laughter, an excellent remedy for bad mood, blues, pessimism."
(THIS WEAK GENTLE SEX. ) . An evening of two one-act comedies with music and dancing. These very dynamic farces take us back to the times of Lesage and Rabelais. The play has not left the theater repertoire for many years in a row. The music for the play was written by Victor Pleshak.
Plot: 1. "Little Night Serenade". The old doctor's wife falls in love with a young man. She finds a way to deceive her strict husband. 2. "Silent". The husband invites a doctor to cure his young and obedient wife of dumbness. In vain does the doctor try to dissuade her husband from this intention. In the end, the doctor returns the speech to his wife, and she begins to talk incessantly until she drives her husband crazy.2 male roles, 3 female roles, interior .
From the theater review: The events unfolding on the stage, although they take place as if in the 17th century, are very attractive today with their daring humor, wit, and unpredictability of plot twists.
XXI
7 characters
The characters of this paradoxical comedy - women who do not know each other, different in age and dissimilar in character, by chance find themselves in one place. In their conversations, disputes, conflicts, the influence of our critical era on the fates, views and moral values of the heroines of the play becomes obvious. 6 female, 1 male role. Interior.
"Black comedy. The theater has just played the long-awaited premiere - Shakespeare's "Othello". Actors - performers of the main roles remain after the performance in order to celebrate this event in a friendly circle. Unfortunately, the holiday is overshadowed by the mysterious death of one of the characters, and there is a suspicion that one of the participants in the performance may be involved in this. Either dark or cheerful humor, detective intrigue, sharp plot twists and an unexpected ending capture the viewer's attention until the very last line. 4 male roles, 3 female.
.Comedy with elements of the grotesque. Her characters different ages and character hope to find their personal happiness in a successful marriage, but the realities of a hasty life of business and practical XXI centuries make them say goodbye to the ideals of the past. As a result, they find something completely different from what they expected. The motor of action is central heroine is an energetic middle-aged business woman. Funny and, at times, sad, this by no means everyday intellectual comedy provides excellent material for performers of all roles. 2 men, 5 (3) women (three roles out of five can be played by one actress).
.This play is a 2017 “remake” of the comedy with the same name, first staged in the 1980s in Leningrad, where it ran for 400 performances, then in 40 more theaters in Russia, as well as in Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. At the festival in the Czech Republic, the play received three prizes, including the "Prize for the best dramaturgy” and “Audience Prize”. 4 male roles, 3 female roles, interior.
. Synthesis of melodrama and ironic paradoxical comedy. The play develops two lines of action. The protagonist of one of them is a director who is looking for a way out of creative crisis and recruiting actresses in a strange way for his new play. The lead character in another line of action is a well-known artist going through her own last love. The heroes of the play are in that period of life when it is time to take stock. Despite the sad ending, the play is funny. Lively dialogue, unusual construction and variety of colors make this comedy very theatrical. It contains a dozen "solo" roles for actresses of all ages and roles. 2 male roles, 10 female roles, interior.
The main characters of the play (2 men and 1 woman) are approximately 55-60 years old, female characters are 25 to 55 years old. If necessary, female roles can be played by fewer actresses.
Translation from French of three very unusual one-act comedies with elements of the grotesque and absurd.4-13 characters.
w_s /Contacts :
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email: valentine. krasnogorov @ gmail . com
Part 1For a long time, only men had the opportunity to play on stage. Until the 17th century, women were practically deprived of the opportunity to engage in theater. From the creation of the performance itself - writing the text, staging it and organizing the space - women were also excluded. Such a ban on the profession was due to "care" and the concept of morality.
As a rule, in the literature on the history of the theater, there is a statement that women as actresses appeared on the stage in the 17th-18th centuries. This is due primarily to the concept of Western European and Russian theater as a professional, as opposed to folk or church. Although, in fact, for the first time women as actresses appeared on the stage in the late Roman era: these were performances of a low genre (mimes), where they acted as dancers and acrobats. Actors of such genres were also "slaves, freedmen or free-born citizens of the Roman provinces, for example, Greeks, Egyptians, natives of Asia Minor" .
The first professional theater can be considered Italian comedy del arte (commedia dell "arte), in which three principles were formed, which subsequently reformed theatrical art, namely: the actor as the main person, the troupe is a non-random living organism, the action is the main moving task. female characters here they are mainly represented by two images - the Lover and the Servant - and are played without masks. It is also possible to have a dancer and a singer in the troupe. There were significantly more male characters, and, unlike female characters, they were active actors influencing the resolution of the stage conflict.
Hannah Hoch. untitled. 1930
Another example of the first professional groups is called English actors, which in the second half of the 16th century began to perform in Denmark, Holland and other countries of Western Europe. Over time, the touring troupes began to include local actors, and the performances changed the language from English to the corresponding national one. These practices influenced the performing arts of many countries, primarily Germany, where they "for a long time established a special repertoire on the German stage, which was sharply different from the German school drama both form and content of plays.
Despite the fact that with the emergence of professional theater troupes and the appearance of female actresses in them, their participation in performances was not widespread and was used extremely rarely in some genres, such as mystery and morality. It is worth paying attention to the permissible role range: women embodied only young characters (heroines and mistresses), while the roles of nurses, soubrettes, old women were given to male actors.
Hannah Hoch. Staatshäupter (Heads of State). 1918-20
In Spain, female actresses appeared in the middle of the 16th century. At this time there were many different types theater organizations. In the lower-level groups, women's roles were played by men, while the middle-level groups were played by women or boys. in associations superior type(for example, "TheFarandula", "Compania") all female roles were played exclusively by women. In addition, in 1586 an attempt was made to hold separate performances for men and women, but it failed.
The first female actresses appeared on the English stage in the 17th century. However, it was a very unstable time: from the heyday of theaters at the beginning of the century to their complete closure and the recognition of this activity as illegal. The situation changed only in 1660, when Charles II returned to England. In France, where he was in exile, women had already performed on stage - from now on, this rule takes root in England. In the 18th century, in addition to acting, women took the position of playwrights.
Hannah Hoch. Fur ein Fest gemacht (Made for a Party), 1936
The partial inclusion of women as actresses is worth considering along with the socio-cultural aspects of their exclusion from the public sphere and the stage itself. These were questions of morality and morality, and the ban on performing on stage for women was explained by concern for them. So, already after the appearance of women on the Spanish stage, the church reconsidered the theatrical issue, banned such practices and generally tightened moral control up to the persecution and closing of theaters. In 1644, a law was passed, according to which only married women, and given the reputation and status of this profession in society, we can assume a small number of such cases in that period.
An interesting fact is the exclusion of women in Japanese theater. Thus, the art of Kabuki was started by the famous and successful at that time (beginning of the 17th century) dancer O-Kuni, whose performances were assigned the corresponding name, meaning “strange”, “outlandish”. Subsequently, she founded a women's troupe, which was soon disbanded due to moral prejudice, and the actresses were replaced by pretty young men, which caused a "blooming of homosexuality." In 1653, young men were also forbidden to play on the stage. At this time, the beginning of the onnagata tradition was laid, i.e. performance of female roles by mature male actors.
Hannah Hoch. untitled. 1929
The mention of actresses of the 18th and 19th centuries, as a rule, goes in conjunction with the name of the director or playwright. For example, first the information is given that "the most outstanding actress of Pitoev's theater was his wife Lyudmila Pitoeva", and only after that her education, received first in Russia and then in France, is mentioned. Such marking and reference to a man is typical. Literary sources provide information about professional activity actresses, invariably accompanying the text with epithets in the direction of appearance and / or the history of personal relationships with the director (playwright).
Worth mentioning is the way in which the image of famous actresses is formed in the history of the theater. For example, " famous actresses of that time - Nell Gwin, Moll Davis, Barry, Bracegirdel, Oldfield and others - were famous not so much for their acting as for their feminine charms, and their position in the theater was determined high position their patrons." Judging by such statements, it can be concluded that personal relationships obviously affect career through the possibility / impossibility of getting a role.
The path of getting into professional troupes is also interesting, given the reputation that actors and actresses in particular had. Indicative is the first known contract between French actress Marie Feret and actor-entrepreneur L "Eperonier. The document read as follows: "To help him, L" Eperonier, perform every day for the specified time and as many times as he pleases, Roman antiquities or other stories, farces and jumps, in the presence of the public and wherever L "Eperonière" wishes... Despite this wording, the theater researcher S. Mokulsky finds this contract very diverse.
Hannah Hoch. Little Sun, 1969
Regarding the issue of the reputation of actresses, it is worth noting that the uncritical approach of theater historians completely loses sight of the causes and prerequisites for this phenomenon. Initially, the actresses were of humble origin and decided on the profession of an actress for two reasons. First, acting was a promising job opportunity as such, since the question women's education at the proper level at that time (XVII-XVIII centuries) was not solved. In view of various circumstances(heavy physical work, domestic violence) for the girl it was a chance to leave the house. The second point, as theater historians tell us, was the prospect of becoming a kept woman from the stage to a rich man - and this move is fixed as a “self-evident” autonomous choice. Here you can see a clear gap between a woman's desire to work (anywhere) and a real opportunity this. Actresses were brought up by some men for others: teachers of dance, diction and music making handed over their pupils to the director of the troupe, and he, in turn, decided their fate. It just wasn't possible to work. In the 19th century, significant changes took place, acting systems appeared, the theater became directorial: now it is the director (this position is practically monopolized by men) who determines the composition of the troupe. The educational principle is also changing: now men are not looking for promising applicants, they themselves come.
Hannah Hoch. 1946
Summing up, we can say that in addition to a long ban on the profession as such, we are also dealing with a further restriction of female acting. This is due to the closure within the narrow framework of certain roles (as, for example, in the case of the theater dell'arte) and / or gender rationing, which further affects the nature of the representation of the characters and the role range of the performers. It also seems important how the actress is written in the history of the theater, namely, focusing on physicality and patronage on the part of a man. Among other things, the ban on stage activity certainly affected the interpretation female images and their role in the effective line of production.
On this moment, it would seem that there are no official prohibitions and restrictions that would be barriers to acting. However, in practice, various barriers based on gender are present at the level of both theater institutes, and professional theaters. More current situation will be presented in .
1. Regarding English theater- Wells S. Shakespeare Encyclopedia. Ed. Stanley Wells with James Shaw. M.: Raduga, 2002.
Regarding the German theater - History of the Western European theater: In 8 volumes / Ed. S. S. Mokulsky and others. M .: Art, 1956-1989. T. 2. S. 437
2. Mokulsky, S. S. History of the Western European theater // M.: Art, 1956. T.1. S. 16.
3. Dzhivelegov, A. K. The history of the Western European theater from its origin to 1789. M: Art, 1941.
4. Dzhivelegov, A. K. Selected articles on literature and art. Er.: "Lingua", 2008. S. 146-189.
5. Brockhaus, F.A., Efron, I. A. Encyclopedic Dictionary.
6. History of the Western European theater: In 8 volumes / Ed. S. S. Mokulsky and others. M .: Art, 1956-1989. T.5. S. 574.
7. Modjeska, H. Women and the stage. The world's Congress of Representative Women. Ed. May Wright Sewall. New York: Rand, McNally & Co, 1894.
8. 17th Century Women of Theatre. An Encyclopedia of Women of Theatre.
9. 18th Century Women of Theatre. An Encyclopedia of Women of Theatre.
10. History of the Western European theater: In 8 volumes / Ed. S. S. Mokulsky and others. M .: Art, 1956-1989. T. 7. S. 185.
11. Ibid. T.1. S. 524.
12. Ibid. T. 1. S.556
13. Smirnova, L. N., Galperina, G. A., Dyatleva, G. V. Theater of the Renaissance.
English theatre. Popular history theater. Access mode: http://svr-lit.niv.ru/svr-lit/populyarnaya-istoriya-teatra/anglijskij-teatr.htm. Hello! Could you help me? Advise a play or prose where there would be 4 or more female roles, maybe one man. I reviewed everything and found nothing. Thank you in advance)
Category: Topic queries
Status: Ready
Answer:
Good afternoon, Vika!Exists a large number of plays that fit your criteria. Here is a small list of publications from the RSBI funds. The plays were selected on a formal basis (the number of roles), we did not evaluate their content in any way.
- Plays on female composition:
- Dobreva Ya. Sandmen: a play without intermission / Yana Dobreva; per. from Bulgarian Eleonora Makarova. - [M. : Club-96], 1998. - 46 p.
Roles: 4 female.
Subject: Women; Psychological conflict; Generation conflict; vices; Loneliness. - Cunningham L. Bachelorette party: a play in 2 acts / Laura Cunningham; per. from English. S. Task // Modern dramaturgy. - 2003. - No. 4. - S. 121-145.
Roles: 6 female. Place and time of action: New York, today.
Subject: Women; Moral and ethical problems; New York City (USA), 2000s - Levanov V. N. One hundred pounds of love [letters to idols]: oratorio for the choir: [play] / Vadim Levanov // Documentary Theatre. Plays: [theatre.doc] / [ed.-comp.: Elena Gremina]. - Moscow: Three squares, 2004. - S. 102-111.
Roles: 5 female.
Subject: Fanaticism. - Mishima Y. Marquise de Sade: drama in 3 days / transl. G. Chkhartishvili // Mishima Yu. Philosophical diary of a murderous maniac who lived in the Middle Ages: dramas, stories / Yukio Mishima; [per. from Japanese G. Chkhartishvili, Yu. Kovalenina]. - St. Petersburg: ABC Classics, 2007. - S. 5-84.
Roles: 6 female. Place and time of action: Paris, 1772-1790.
Subject: Garden, Donatien Alphonse François de; vices; Sex; Women; Paris, city (France), 18th century - Seppälä A. My Dear Man: a 2-d play / Arto Seppälä; per. from Finnish Aili Kukkonen // Baltic Seasons: [ characters Petersburg stage: almanac / editorial board: E. Alekseeva and others]. - [St. Petersburg: b. and.], 2006. - No. 14. - S. 38-52.
Roles: 5 female. Location and time of action: small Finnish town, 1970s.
Ed. also under the heading: Five women in the chapel.
Subject: Women; Psychological conflict; Love; Death; Finland, 1970s - Tom R. Eight loving women: satirical comedy in 2 days / Robert Thomas; per. from fr. M. Alexandrova. - M., 1965. - 74, p.
Roles: 8 female.
Subject: Women; Family. - Tulchinskaya M. E. Passion on the couch: a play in 2 days / Maya Tulchinskaya // Modern dramaturgy. - 2010. - No. 2. - S. 113-130.
Roles: 4 female.
Subject: Women; Parents and children; Generation conflict. - Churchill K. Top girls: [play in 3 d.] / Caryl Churchill; per. Tatyana Oskolkova // Anthology of modern British drama / [ed.-comp. A. Genina, O. Romina; per. from English. : T. Oskolkova and others]. - Moscow: New Literary Review, 2008. - S. 19-116.
Roles: 7 female.
Subject: Women. - Kolyada N. V. Baba Chanel: a comedy in 2 days / Nikolai Kolyada // Modern dramaturgy. - 2011. - No. 1. - S. 3-23.
Roles: 1 male, 6 female. Place and time of action: assembly hall of the House of Culture, today.
Subject: Women; Old men; Social problems; Psychological conflict; Artistic activity. - Kolyada N.V. Box: a play in 2 cards. based on the works of Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol // Kolyada N.V. "Box": plays different years/ Nikolai Kolyada. - Yekaterinburg: Journal "Ural", 2009. - S. 109-147.
Roles: 1 male, 5 female. - Razumovskaya L. N. A dowry: a comedy in 2 days / Lyudmila Razumovskaya // Modern dramaturgy. - 2001. - No. 2. - S. 25-47.
Roles: 1 male, 5 female.
Subject: Women; Social problems. - Simon N. Jake's Women: [2-d play] / Neil Simon; per. from English. Valentina Khitrovo-Shmyrova. - [M. : Club-96, 1996?]. - 94 p.
Roles: 1 male, 7 female.
Subject: Writers; Women; Creation; vices; Love.
Plays for 5-7 actresses and 1 actor:
- for plays designed only for female cast (SH "4 female") NOT (SH male*)
- for plays designed for a certain number of actresses and 1 actor (SH "1 male") AND (SH "4 female").
After that, click the "Search" button. To view information about a piece, it is best to use the output format “Bib. description” (you can select the format to the left of the search results). Change the numbers depending on the desired number of actors.
In the library, the selection of plays can be continued by looking through the editions of the Yearbook of Plays and the Yearbook dramatic works". These editions include details of plays published from 1973 to 1995.
When visiting the library, please contact the Reference and Information Service Room (room No. 9).
Sincerely,
bibliographer Olga Nikolaevna Pochatkina.
In the last two decades, the profession of an actor has become less popular, today, for example, in Russia there is no such fantastic excitement when entering theater schools as it was in Soviet times. Nevertheless, many young men and women continue to dream about the theater, and especially about cinema, wanting to become famous in this role, at least throughout the country. (website)
Modern theater and film actors are respected people, and celebrities, especially in the USA and Western Europe, - certainly millionaires, the fame of them and their roles played lives for decades, or even more. But in the time of Shakespeare, and much later, theatrical actors were not even buried in a common churchyard, because they believed that these people serve the devil and therefore are not worthy of lying in the ground with the rest of the citizens.
But that's not all. In the theater itself, say, in the XVI - XVII centuries, actresses were not recognized, so women's roles had to be played by men. It may seem to us that this made the productions not entirely believable. But not everything is so simple. The fact is that the female roles were certainly played by very pretty young men or boys. Moreover, no one even invited these unfortunates to the theater troupes at that time, they were simply kidnapped - right on the street.
For example, as Oxford historians have found out, during the reign of Elizabeth I, who was a big fan of the theater, even the profession of catchers of boys for the theater appeared in England. Such "professional workers" wandered around London and looked for the most promising boys. And woe to that child, who was slender and good-looking, to meet with these theatrical bandits. And after all, there was no justice for them, since Elizabeth I issued a decree that allowed “for the sake of art” to steal children, taking them away from their families. Moreover, to smack mercilessly those of them who did not show in theatrical activities due zeal. That is, stolen children practically became juvenile slaves of the owners of theater troupes.
Child actors - slaves of theaters in England
Historians have even found a documented case when, in 1600, a thirteen-year-old resident of London, Thomas Clifton, a very handsome fellow, was caught, put on his shoulders and carried away. His parents, heartbroken, wherever they went, even to the court and with a petition to the queen herself - all to no avail. There was only one answer: their son must study diligently and be obedient, otherwise he will be mercilessly whipped. In those days, the owners of London theaters even boasted to each other who “collected the bigger and better live goods from the boys on the street”. Moreover, they were allowed to steal not only the child of a commoner, but also a boy from a noble family.
Formally, in England it was believed that such stolen children were in the service of the Royal Chapel, but in reality they played in ordinary theaters. The queen was well aware of this, but not only did not interfere, but even encouraged this practice. Historians have found several scathing remarks by the great Shakespeare about theater productions where stolen children played.
It is difficult to say what fate awaited these stolen teenagers when they matured. Perhaps one of them became, but most, judging by the documents found, simply served the theater as a slave force, until fate smiled at someone with an accidental release from this bondage. But what awaited in the will of such a person who, thanks to his theater profession become a social outcast?
At this time, only the Shakespearean theater was an exception. young men and boys also played in it, but these were voluntary students, not slaves.