CATS DRAMA Blitz

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CATS DRAMABlitz 4.1
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PURPOSES OF DRAMA Reasons for creating dramatic
works.
1. Sharing the human experience To communicate
or express emotion, feelings, ideas, and
information through dramatic works.
2. Passing on tradition and culture To express
or communicate feelings, ideas, information
through storytelling, folktales, religious
rituals and ceremonies.
3. Recreational Drama as recreation and for
recreational events (for entertainment,
festivals, etc.)
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GREEK THEATRE
Began in the religious festivals that honored
Dionysus, Greek god of wine and harvest.
Plays were stories told by a group of men and
boys called a CHORUS
THESPIS was the first known actor. This is why
actors are called Thespians today.
Actors portrayed different roles by using MASKS
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GREEK THEATRE
TYPES OF GREEK PLAYS
TRAGEDIES
Dramas in which the main character suffers a
disastrous end.
COMEDIES
Light, humorous dramas with a happy ending.
SATYRS (SATIRES)
Made fun of Greek legends and people.
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GREEK THEATRE
Built theatres on hillsides.
SKENE
Front part of building used for scenes.
Back part used to change masks.
THEATRON
Seating area for audience.
Orchestra
Where the CHORUS moved and said their lines
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ROMAN THEATRE
Loved comedies.
Use of stock characters.
Got rid of the chorus.
Expected realism in plays (bloody violence and
real deaths)
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MEDIEVAL THEATRE
The church was the only stable government.
Almost all Medieval Music, Art and Drama was
centered on religious subjects.
Morality plays taught moral lessons to the
common people. Characters were personifications
of good and evil in a struggle for mans soul.
MAIN THEME FOR PLAYS Good rewarded Evil
Punished.
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BUNRAKU
A Japanese puppet theatre, founded in the 17th
century.
Each puppet requires THREE puppeteers to bring it
to life.
You can see the puppeteers as they are doing the
show.
The puppets are LARGE half life sized.
Theme of most plays history or conflicts with
emotions
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PLOT STRUCTURES
Plot
Storyline
Tells what has gone on in the story before sets
up relationships of the characters sets the
theme (It exposes all of these things.)
Exposition
Rising Action
Events leading to the climax.
Turning Point
The climax. The event that changes the character.
Falling Action
Events after the climax
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LITERARY ELEMENTS
DIALOGUE
Conversation between two people
MONOLOGUE
A long speech made by one character
THEME
What the underlying point to the story is what
the author is trying to say
The written dialogue the actors will speak.
SCRIPT
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Anticipation of an approaching climax.
SUSPENSE
SETTING
Where the story takes place.
LANGUAGE
Word choice/style used to create a character
dialect point-of-view.
Entering and understanding another persons
feelings (put yourself into someone elses shoes).
EMPATHY
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TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
PROPS
A prop is any object held, manipulated, or
carried by a performer during a theatrical
performance
SOUND
Sound means artificially produced sound effects
and music as well as the amplification of voices
so that they can be heard.
MAKE-UP
Any cosmetic effect that enhances or changes an
actors appearance. It can also include such
things as beards, wigs, prosthetic noses and
ears, etc.
DESIGN
Refers to the process of combining the technical
elements (sound, lights, costumes, scenes, props
and make-up).
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TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
SCENE (SET)
The painted structures of a stage that are
intended to suggest a particular location.
LIGHTS
Making the actors visible on the stage.
COSTUMES
The clothes that actors wear while on stage.
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ELEMENTS OF PERFORMANCE
I. ACTING
a. Character Motivation
Gives the character a reason to do something!
Example thrill seeker, upholding the good,
vengeance, wanderer, love, psychopath, greed,
glory
b. Character Analysis
Breaking a character down and see what makes
him/her tick.
Example strengths/weaknesses, motivation,
history/background, physical traits.
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ELEMENTS OF PERFORMANCE
II. SPEAKING
a. Breath Control
Affects quality of sound, volume and pitch.
b. Projection
Making sure your voice is heard by everyone,
from front row to back row.
c. Vocal Expression
Being able to create a distinctive voice that
represents a character and their feelings and
emotions.
d. Diction
How an actor pronounces his words.
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ELEMENTS OF PERFORMANCE
III. NON-VERBAL EXPRESSION
a. Gestures
Communication made with a part of the body.
b. Body Alignment
The angle of the actors body onstage in
relationship to the audience.
c. Facial Expression
Tells the emotional state of the character to
the audience members.
d. Character Blocking and Movement
Blocking is planning the movement of the actor
for the play.
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Body Alignments
¾ Turn (to right or left)
Full Front
¼ Turn (left of right
½ Turn (left or right)
Full Back
To deliver important lines
Two actors share a scene
For arguments or comic effects
To give a scene to another actor
Rarely used Special Cases
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STAGE GRID (FROM THE ACTORS PERSPECTIVE)
Up Center
Up Right
Up Left
Right Center
Center Stage
Left Center
Down Center
Down Left
Down Right
AUDIENCE
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TYPES OF STAGES
PROSCENIUM STAGE
Dressing Rooms
Costume Shop
STAGE
Scene Shop
Proscenium Opening
Apron
Orchestra Pit
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TYPES OF STAGES
THRUST STAGE
Back Stage
Scene Shop
Costume Shop
STAGE
STAGE
Audience
Audience
Audience
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TYPES OF STAGES
ARENA STAGE
Audience
STAGE
Audience
Audience
Audience
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EARLY AMERICAN DRAMA
Starting in the 1700s, entertainers from England
performed in U.S. large cities.
During the Revolutionary War, many colonies
banned theatrical performances to focus on the
war.
In the 1800s, actors toured across America.
The most popular form of drama in the 1800s was
MELODRAMA!!
Melodrama music drama.music was used set moods
and to portray characters.
Stock characters were used over and over (good
guys, bad guys, damsels in distress).
The most popular melodrama of the 1800s was
UNCLE TOMS CABIN.
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Native American Influence
Native Americans enhanced their stories with
gestures and dance.
Subjects of Native American stories usually were
about hunting, wars, and the creation of all
things.
Native Americans used plants and animals for
characters in their stories.
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African American Influence
African American slaves enhanced their stories by
gestures (non-verbal communication) and by giving
the characters different voices (Vocal
expression).
Subjects of African slave stories usually
involved outsmarting the master, hope for a
better life, and the creation of things in the
world.
African slaves used animals as characters in
their stories.