Drama

1
Drama

• IB English 11
• Brad Hutchinson
• 2006

2
What is a play?

• A play is not a piece meant to be read alone,
  but it is also an event It takes place in real
  time and occupies space.

3
What is a play?

• A difference between a play and a short story or
  novel is that the entire written part of a play
  is dialogue and some stage direction. The
  conflict has to be carried out in dialogue. The
  setting is completely represented on the stage.
  The director decides how to present the authors
  wordshow to design the set and the way that he
  or she wants the actors to give their lines.

4
Word Derivations
Where do those words come from?

• Theater is derived from the Greek word for to
  watch.
• Audience is derived from the Latin word for to
  hear.
• Tragedy is derived from the Greek word for goat
  song.
• Drama is derived from the Greek word for action
  or deed.
• These words show that the intention of drama is
  to be an action/a display presented to an
  audience.

5
Basic Genres

• Aristotle listed two basic genres for drama
• Comedy
• Tragedy

6
Contemporary Genres

• We now recognize ten basic genres of drama.

7
Contemporary Genres

• Tragedyserious play where characters confront
  human suffering, decline and often death. It
  should elicit both pity and terror in the members
  of the audience. Pity for the characters and
  terror that something of this sort might happen
  to them.

8
Contemporary Genres

• Comedyhumorous play where characters confront
  themselves and others with amusing results.
  Should elicit laughter more than shock. A comedy
  is a play about a system of social values in
  which a protagonist has a series of
  misadventures, and all is made right in the end.
  This protagonist is brought out of the mainstream
  and then returned to his or her rightful place in
  the world at the end. They have happy endings
  for the protagonist.

9
Contemporary Genres

• Melodramaserious play with a trivial theme.
  Melodramas usually present a struggle between
  obviously good and obviously evil. The audience
  usually has little reaction to the play other
  than being glad that the good guys won or sad
  that the bad guys won.

10
Contemporary Genres

• Farcehumorous play on a trivial theme.

11
Contemporary Genres

• Tragicomedytragedy that ends happily
• Types of tragicomedy
• Problem play treats a social issue
• Domestic tragedy is a tragedy where the
• protagonist lacks the insight or heroic stature
  
• expected of a tragic hero.
• Mixture play is one where major themes are
• dealt with in both comedic and tragic fashion.

12
Contemporary Genres

• Dark comedya comedy that ends tragically

13
Contemporary Genres

• Historytreats historical events

14
Contemporary Genres

• Documentarytreats recent historical events and
  uses pieces of documentation such as newspaper
  articles, trial transcripts and so forth.

15
Contemporary Genres

• Musicala play that relies on music

16
Contemporary Genres

• Operaplay that is entirely music

17
Drama Terms

• Protagonistmain character
• Antagonistperson or force blocking the desire of
  the protagonist
• Foilcharacter who is opposite in type to the
  protagonist and is used to highlight
  characteristics of the protagonist
• Soliloquya speech given by a character that is
  not directed at another character, gives the
  characters thoughts
• Monologuea long speech by one character, can be
  a soliloquy

18
Drama Terms

• Dramatic ironyaudience knows more than the
  characters on stage
• Asidecomments delivered by a character that are
  directed to the audience

19
Time Sequence of a Play

• The gathering of the audienceto exist, a play
  requires an audience. This means one needs
  publicity, tickets, seating and so forth.

20
Time Sequence of a Play

• The transitionafter the audience is gathered and
  seated, they must be brought together as a
  community focused on the play itself. This can
  be the program, music, lobby displays, lighting.
  The transition ends when the lights dim, and the
  curtain is raised.

21
Time Sequence of a Play

• The expositionthe scenes that give the
  background information that the audience must
  have to understand the conflict. The Greeks
  started their plays with a prologue speaking to
  the Muse that preceded the Choruss entrance.

22
Time Sequence of a Play

• The conflictconflict and confrontation are the
  ways that a play becomes dramatic. A conflict
  arises from the choices inherent in any
  situation. What will the characters choose? The
  conflict can also be brought about by a character
  (who incites conflict) or who does something that
  throws the other characters into conflict. After
  the conflict is introduced, the conflict is
  heightened until it can go no further (rising
  action).

23
Time Sequence of a Play

• The climaxthis is the point of no return. The
  conflict has gotten too intense, and the choices
  have been made. The characters must now live
  with the consequences of their actions.
  Aristotle described the climax as the catharsis
  (purification) when the protagonist recognizes
  a fundamental truth (anagnorsis) and then must
  act to reverse his or her former ignorance
  (peripetieia) of a horrific deed unknowingly
  performed (pathos). At the climax, the conflict
  is at its most extreme. Some sort of change must
  happen. The characters must make some kind of
  recognition.

24
Time Sequence of a Play

• The denouementliterally means the
  unknottingresolutionsignals to the audience
  that a new understanding of life, situation, self
  has been reached. This can be a tidy ending
  (all unknotted) or ambiguous and ironic.

25
Time Sequence of a Play

• The curtain callhere the audience sees the
  actors as normal people again (no longer the
  characters of the play) and the audience is
  dismissed from the theatera return to normal
  life.