Topic. Theatre going. Theatres in Great Britain.

Exercise 292. Theatre related words.

director режиссер-постановщик

set designer сценограф

voice and speech coach педагог по сценической речи

costume designer художник по костюмам

make-up artist художник по гриму

assistant director ассистент режиссера

technical director технический директор

lighting director (designer) художник по свету

sound director звукорежиссер

stage manager менеджер спектакля

poster design полиграфия

wardrobe master ответственный по костюмам

sound engineer звукоинженер

lighting (board) operator светооператор

stage hands машинист(ы) сцены

Exercise 293. Translate into Russian.

Word From the Director

To assemble a production with apprentices actors is for me quite as gravitational as to work in a theatre with the professional or institutional structures. The step is characterized there by the passion (and even the naivety) in search and the discovery, as well as by a teaching concern. All of those are more important than all usual theatrical considerations – in particular the painful questions of ideal casting or absolute need for making packed houses. I therefore find myself in a privileged position to explore and reconsider my own trade as the man of theatre, as well as to discover and revisit old or new texts. Moreover I am naturally condemned to a kind of poor theatre. The most significant in our pursuit is the young actor himself, the play, the text, the fables which we tell and play. All my proposals are naturally confronted with the points of view and reactions of a younger generation.

Our Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard is unique, because it is closely related to a professional repertory company, American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.). Our students will sooner or later be performing with this company. What we produce at the Institute often ends up being the first study or the first workshop for a future endeavor. Thus “Summer Fever with Goldoni”* is the occasion for our students to confront the commedia** style, and at the same time it is also a first meeting with a particularly interesting material, which could become a production of one, two or three evenings on the professional stage of A.R.T.

* “Летняя лихорадка с Гольдони”

** комедия дель арте

Exercise 294. Read the text. Make up a summary of it.

Theatres in Britain.

Britain is one of the world’s major centres for theatre, and has a long and rich dramatic tradition. There are many companies based in London and in many other cities and towns; in addition, numerous touring companies visit theatres, festivals and other venues, including arts and sports centres and social clubs.

The musicals of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber have been highly successful both in Britain and overseas; his most famous works are The Phantom of the Opera and Sunset Boulevard.

Many British performers enjoy international reputations, among them Kenneth Branagh, Dame Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave.

Britain has about 300 theatres intended for professional use which can seat between 200 and 2,300 people. Some are privately owned, but most are owned either municipally or by non-profit-making organizations. Over 40 of these have resident theatre companies receiving subsidies from the Arts Councils and Regional Arts Boards. In summer there are also open air theatres, including one in London’s Regent’s Park and the Minack Theatre, which is on a clifftop near Land’s End in Cornwall.

Most theatres are commercially run and self-financing, relying on popular shows and musicals to be profitable. By contrast, companies founded by the Arts Councils tend to offer a variety of traditional and experimental productions. Experimental or innovative work is often staged in ‘fringe’ theatres in London and other cities; these are smaller theatres which use a variety of buildings, such as rooms in pubs.

London has about 100 theatres, 15 of them permanently occupied by subsidised companies. These include:

• the Royal National Theatre, which stages a wide range of modern and classical plays in its three auditoriums on the South Bank;

• the Royal Shakespeare Company, which presents plays mainly by Shakespeare and his contemporaries as well as some modern work, in Stratford-upon-Avon and in its two auditoriums in the City’s Barbican Centre

• the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square, which stages the work of many new playwrights

The largest concentration of London’s commercial theatres is around Shaftesbury Avenue.

In 1989 the partial remains of the Globe Theatre, where Shakespeare acted, and the Rose Theatre, where his plays were performed during his lifetime, were excavated on the south bank of the Thames. A modern reconstruction of the Globe Theatre is near its original site. The regular season was inaugurated in 1996. The new Globe is a part of a large complex of buildings known as the International Shakespeare Globe Centre.

Exercise 295. Read the note on the composition’s outline. Can you add some items? Follow the plan and write a composition “My New Experiences in English”.

Writing is not a talent reserved for a select few, it is a skill that can be learned. Planning and organization are its essentials. With the knowledge of these, the student can through effort and practice improve his writing ability. Suggested below is a guide to organized writing. Use this outline in writing class assignments, essay tests, and term papers.

1. Introduction – Opening Paragraph

Begin with a general statement. Narrow it down to the controlling idea (for thesis statement).

2) Body – Three Developing Paragraphs

In each paragraph:

1. Use transitions (repetition of key words and ideas) to connect paragraphs together.

2. Develop the topic sentence with details, definitions, illustrations, comparisons, and contrasts.

3. Conclude the paragraph with a summary of the main idea.

3) Conclusion – Finishing Paragraph

a) Restate the thesis.

b) End with a general statement finalizing the discussion.

Finally, make sure your composition:

1. contains the right message

2. is coherent

3. is easy to read

4. is positive

5. is concise

6. emphasizes important points

is double checked for correct grammar and spelling