Intertextuality and

Staging Modalities
 Learning Objectives:
At the end of the lesson the students are able to:
 Understand intertextuality as a technique of
drama;
 Explore different staging modalities vis-à-vis
envisioning the script; and
 Draw an appropriate staging modality that is
appropriate to the play.
INTERTEXTUALITY
 What is Intertextuality?
 What is the importance of
Intertextuality?
 What Are the Types of Intertextuality?
 What are the Examples of
Intertextuality?
 What is Intertextuality?
 refers to references to another text or
the literary themes in that text, or it
may build on what the reader already
knows from the original text.
 a work of literature refers to another
important work in subtle or direct
ways
 What is the importance of
Intertextuality?
 Intertextuality is important because it is
another form of communication between
the reader and the author.
 When an author and the reader have a
common understanding of a text, this
allows the author to communicate to the
reader in terms of that original text.
 What Are the Types of
Intertextuality?
 Allusion - This literary device involves directly
referring to something else, often another literary
text. Examples of allusion may be as simple as
referring to a character or quoting a line.
 What Are the Types of
Intertextuality?
 Parody - When one piece of writing uses many of
the same elements of another but does it in a new
and funny way, this is an example of parody. The
parody may copy the setting, plot, characters, or
other parts of the original work.
 What are the Types of
Intertextuality?
 Pastiche - A pastiche borrows elements from one
or more works and reconfigures them to create
something new. It is generally a respectful type of
borrowing that gives credit to the original and is
not plagiarism.
 What are the Examples of
Intertextuality?
 James Joyce’s Ulysses was a deliberate retelling
of Homer’s Odyssey but transplanted out of
ancient Greece into modern-day Dublin. The
various chapters in Joyce’s novel correspond to
the adventures of Odysseus in Homer’s epic
poem.
 What are the Examples of
Intertextuality?
 Steven Pressfield’s novel The Legend of Bagger
Vance, which was adapted into a movie starring
Will Smith, was originally written as a re-telling
of the Hindu epic Bhagavad Gita – the name
“Bagger Vance” is supposed to sound like
“Bhagavad.”
 What are the Examples of
Intertextuality?
 The actor Christopher Guest appeared in countless
comedic movies in the 1980s, including such classics as
The Princess Bride (1987) and This Is Spinal Tap (1984).
In the earlier film, he plays a heavy metal guitarist whose
amplifier, in one scene, can be turned up to 11 instead of
the usual 10. Three years later, he appeared on screen again
playing a man with 6 fingers on his right hand – the
character had 11 fingers instead of 10.
 What are the Examples of
Intertextuality?
 Fan fiction is a great example of deliberate
intertextuality. In fan fiction, authors enter the
fictional worlds of other authors and create their
own stories. For example, a Lord of the Rings fan
fiction might tell the story of minor characters or
add new characters to the world of Middle Earth.
 What are the Examples of
Intertextuality?
 Martin Luther King’s writing was heavily
influenced by the work of Mohandas Gandhi,
especially in the area of nonviolent resistance.
Much of this intertextuality was deliberate, with
King explicitly crediting Gandhi as one of his
influences.
 What are the Examples of
Intertextuality?
 Martin Luther King’s writing was heavily
influenced by the work of Mohandas Gandhi,
especially in the area of nonviolent resistance.
Much of this intertextuality was deliberate, with
King explicitly crediting Gandhi as one of his
influences.
STAGING MODALITIES

 What is Staging?
 What Are the Types of Theater
Stages?
 What is Staging?

 Staging is the process of selecting, designing,

adapting to, or modifying the performance space
for a play or film.
 What Are the Types
of Theater Stages ?

1. PROSCENIUM
 Possesses an architectural frame, known as the
proscenium arch, although not always arch in
shape. The stage is gently sloped rising away from
the audience.
 What Are the Types
of Theater Stages ?

2. THRUST
 As the name suggests, these projects or ‘thrust’
into the auditorium with the audience sitting on
three sides. The thrust stage area itself is not
always square but may be semi-circular or half a
polygon with any number of sides.
 What Are the Types
of Theater Stages ?

3. THEATRES IN-THE-ROUND
These have a central performance area enclosed by
the audience on all sides. The arrangement is rarely
‘round’: more usually the seating is in a square or
polygonal formation. The actors enter through aisles
or vomitories between the seating.
What Are the Types
of Theater Stages ?

4. BLACK-BOX OR STUDIO THEATRES

These are flexible performance spaces which when
stripped to their basics are a single room painted
black, the floor of the stage at the same level as the
first audience row.
What Are the Types
of Theater Stages ?
5. PLATFORM
These usually consist of a raised rectangular platform at
one end of a room. They can either have a level or raked
sloping floor. The audience sit in rows facing the stage.
The stage is open and without curtains, they are
sometimes known as end stages or open stages.
What Are the Types
of Theater Stages ?

6. HIPPODROMES
Similar to circuses and have a central arena
surrounded by concentric tiered seating. Deep pits
or low screens often separate the audience from the
arena.
What Are the Types
of Theater Stages ?

7. OPEN AIR THEATRES

These outdoor theatres that do not have a roof
although sometimes parts of the stage or audience
seating will be covered. These stages may make use
of the neutral light as it changes during the day,
particularly sunset.
What Are the Types
of Theater Stages ?
8. PROMENADE
A promenade theatre is when people move around
from stage to stage. It makes people feel like they
are more of a part of the performance and is more of
an experience than a play. It is used most of the time
for plays that are set in the medieval era.