Distinguishing Naturalism and Realism in Theatre Plays

In theatre and art, in general, there are quite a few differences to distinguish between naturalism and realism and in the play the cherry orchard we can see quite a few elements of that coming in to play. The Cherry Orchard explores how a family chose to deal with an economic problem (keeping their apartment) whilst, the beauty and health of the cherry orchard are just as posed against their worries. Firstly, the family doesn't seem to tackle their mortgage as essentially nothing is done which leads them to sell the apartment and, cut down the orchard. The atmosphere from the orchard is what reminds the Russian family of the significance of strength and unity as belief and change drove the performance. Also, the play reflects on the past, present, and future and how each character is dealing with the change and which time zone they chose to stay within for comfort. We notice some characters adapt to the social change of the serfs and become stronger and independent however, it isn't seen through everyone which emphasizes on the impact and power of the emancipation of the serfs. We acknowledge how easy it is to forget about out past due to our future being so bright; through the character Fris it highlights how the past will always be there but it is up to us to become stronger from it or let it fade away with 'Nothing left'.

Naturalistic plays are portrayed to create the illusion and impact of everyday reality. This theme is to show the audience how realistic and relatable theatre can be presented as not every play follows the same storyline and predictable ending. The realism of it gives the audience a deeper insight into what is actually occurring and how they can ultimately feel when dealt with the situation in person. We can notice through this the fourth wall coming into action through naturalism. The fourth wall is used to represent the reality within the acting on stage then, the reality of the effect and atmosphere of the audience. How both atmospheres can develop their emotions to suit the realism of the situation shows how theatre has grown throughout the ages in order to connect with its audience. Due to Stanislavsky's system, we are constantly being able to be taught how to portray a natural person on stage by focusing internally on the character. Before Stanislaky introduced his system melodrama is what drove theatre. Mainly, it would involve a hero, villain, damsel in distress, henchman and prince. These characters were extremely exaggerated which made the audience know it was evident they were witnessing a performance. Melodrama didn't allow purity nor naturalism as each emotion or scene would be expressed dramatically. Stanislavsky changed this all by introducing a method so actors could portray realistic characters without having to feel the need to exaggerate. Primarily, this would cause the audience to feel more involved with the scene as the acting is now more believable.

Stanislavsky System is well known all over the world as Method Acting. For thirty years the object of Stanislavsky's study was the creation of an artistically conceived image of life and of living, truthful human being on the stage. Stanislavsky System is a great contribution to the art of theatre. It was recognized as a revolutionary theatrical development of great importance. His system lives on today and broke the boundaries of 19th century Russian theatre by allowing realism on stage. Stanislavsky proves that an actor can transform into a character not only physically but mentally as they dedicate their pure emotions to feeling how that character would've felt 'emotion memory'. This can be explored through relating the situation to the actors or by placing yourself in the dilemmas.

During the 19th century in Russian theatre had a star system. This meant that the public would only go to see one actor and the performance would be based around them. Also, their acting was melodramatic which highlights the fact that it was a performance and not realistic. Stanislavsky broke this. Additionally, this method extends the actors ability to imagine as they use this technique to portray believable and skillful performance. However, it can be argued that Stanislavsky's system does become far too personal as some situations reenacted by actors could be hard to relive or deliver to the audience. Also, actors do not want to come off offensive or manipulative through personal scenes.