Dramaturgy: The World of The Play
What is Dramaturgy?
Dramaturgy is an exploration of the world of the play. It combines the study of the text itself and how the text engages with the world in which we live. Understanding these concepts can help actors and designers to accurately portray the reality of the plot and characters.
Dramaturgy is an exploration of the world of the play. It combines the study of the text itself and how the text engages with the world in which we live. Understanding these concepts can help actors and designers to accurately portray the reality of the plot and characters.
The Setting of All Shook Up
The story takes place in a small rural American town (somewhere in "middle America") in the 1950's.The citizens have not yet been exposed to the new Elvis Presley-esque genre of rock and roll music and dancing.
The 1950's in general was a decade when the American family unit was established by people seeking normalcy after World War II. Popular things for an American small town in the 1950's:
|
1950's Fashion
Pop Culture in the 1950's
1950's Music
By the 1950s, rockabilly had developed into rock and roll. Rock and roll music celebrated themes such as young love and freedom from the oppression of middle-class society. It quickly grew in favor among American teens, thanks largely to the efforts of disc jockey Alan Freed, who named and popularized the music by playing it on the radio in Cleveland, where he also organized the first rock and roll concert, and later in New York.
While youth had found an outlet for their feelings and concerns, parents were much less enthused about rock and roll and the values it seemed to promote. Many regarded the music as a threat to American values. When Elvis Presley appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, a popular television variety program, the camera deliberately focused on his torso and did not show his swiveling hips or legs shaking in time to the music. Other popular artists during this time include Chuck Berry (Johnny B. Goode), Bill Haley and His Comets (Rock Around the Clock), Doris Day (When I Fall In Love), and Ella Fitzgerald (I Get a Kick Out of You). |