2002 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A study of the development of theatrical devices for the nineteenth century British drama
| Project/Area Number |
12610487
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
英語・英米文学
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| Research Institution | NIIGATA UNIVERSITY |
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Principal Investigator |
KANAYAMA Ryota NIIGATA UNIVERSITY Faculty of Humanities, Associate Professor, 人文学部, 助教授 (70224590)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2000 – 2002
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| Keywords | Victorian Literature / Popular Entertainment / Theatrical Devices |
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| Research Abstract |
"A Study of the development of theatrical devices for the nineteenth century British drama" has been done as a continuation of a similar study which was carried out in the years 1998 and 1999. In this study I have researched how the industrial revolution influenced theatre-building, auditorium-planning, and lighting the stage. So far I have pointed out the following three points : the use of steel for constructing a theatre made more capacity in it possible ; the structural change in a theatre led to a substantial change in its audience ; gas light and electric light made the audience prefer darkness to light during the performance, thus letting them concentrate only on the stage, not on the auditorium. After these major or minor alterations were completed, the taste of the audience proved to be quite different between classes and finally split them into three categories : the higher audience prefering "legitimate drama", the lower one prefering "melodrama and spectacle" and the middle prefering both and also "music hall".
I include three articles in my research paper and try to explain the steps by which the Victorian theatrical devices were developed and improved. In the first article I sum up the information I have acquired and show a general idea of victorian theatre business. In the second one the discussion is focused on the renovation of theatre-building and the new lighting devices. The last one deals with a play which was made a success by the introduction of electric light into its performance. I humbly admit that I may have left numerous mistakes or ambiguous descrption which I hope I could correct in the near future, when I am to publish a full-volume book on this theme.
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