AmericanCulture.pptVIP

5.1 Early History The birth of professional theater in America may have begun with the Lewis Hallam troupe that arrived in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1752. The Hallams were the first to organize a complete company of actors in Europe and bring them to the colonies. In the 18th century, laws forbidding the performance of plays were passed In 1794, president of Yale College, Timothy Dwight IV, in his “Essay on the Stage”, declared that “to indulge a taste for playgoing means nothing more or less than the loss of that most valuable treasure: the immortal soul.” 5.2 The 19th Century “The Walnut” is the oldest theater in America. The Walnuts first theatrical production, The Rivals, was staged in 1812. William Shakespeares works were commonly performed. American plays of the period were mostly melodramas. A popular form of theater during this time was the minstrel show, which featured white actors dressed in “blackface . Throughout the 19th century, theater culture was associated with hedonism and even violence, and actors (especially women), were looked upon as little better than prostitutes. Burlesque—a form of farce in which females in male roles mocked the politics and culture of the day—became a popular form of entertainment by the middle of the 19th century. Criticized for its sexuality and outspokenness, this form of entertainment was hounded off the “legitimate stage” and found itself relegated to saloons and barrooms. 5.3 The 20th Century Vaudeville was common in the late 19th and early 20th century, and is notable for heavily influencing early film, radio, and television productions in the country. By the beginning of the 20th century, legitimate (non-vaudville) theater had become decidedly more sophisticated in the United States. More complex and sophisticated dramas bloomed in this time period, and acting styles became more subdued. While revues consisting of mostly unconnected songs, sketches, comedy routines, and scantily-clad dancing girls domina