Introduction to drama

I M P O R TA N T T E R M S ( Q U I Z O N F E B 1 0 - 1 1 )

INTRODUCTION TO DRAMA

WHAT IS A PLAY?

•Play: A story acted out live and onstage

•Major types of plays:•Comedy• Tragedy•Modern (mixture of comedy and tragedy,

usually)

COMEDY

• Comedy: a play that ends happily• Characters in Comedy: Central characters

can be from any class, including servants. They almost always have flaws, but they usually discover the error of their ways (unlike in tragedies).• Conflicts in Comedy: Conflicts in comedies

are almost always romantic in nature—obstacle is always overcome in comedies—obstacles are often ridiculous

TRAGEDY

• Tragedy: serious and important actions that end unhappily (topics like fate, life, and death)• Tragic Heroes: Central character usually a

noble figure who has a personal failing that leads to downfall• Tragic Flaw: Imperfections that lead

otherwise noble hero to make choices leading to tragic end (i.e. pride, ambition, passion, jealousy, etc.)

DRAMATIC ELEMENTS (CONTINUED)

• Script: The text of a play (includes spoken words and stage directions)

• Stage Directions: Describe the appearance of the stage, as well as how the characters move and speak on the stage—suggestions rather than demands

SCENE 1- DAY 6Sound of a bicycle bell: DING DING! DING DING![Lights up on a man and a woman, riding bicycles, side by side, facing the audience. The woman wears a knee brace and rides a road bike; the man rides a mountain bike. They are equipped for a long ride-- helmets, CamelBaks, water bottles, padded bicycle shorts. They've been on these bikes for a while and it shows. They pedal dutifully withoutinterruption. The woman sucks the life out of her water bottle. The man watches her adoringly.]

MAN: How’s your knee?WOMAN: I’m thinking it would hurt less if you just wailed on it with a sledgehammer.MAN: Next pit stop we’ll try that instead of ice.WOMAN: Sounds like a plan. Unless you can’t find a sledgehammer. In that case we’ll just go with the ice.MAN: Agreed. (beat) We’re almost there. It’s almost over. In thirty more miles we’ll be there and we’ll be...WOMAN: Done. The longest thirty miles of my life. I’m in misery. (she looks at him) Now would be a good time to make me laugh.MAN: (beat) Marry me.WOMAN: (beat) That’s not funny. Try again.

ELEMENTS OF STAGING

• Staging: Includes everything that is part of a play but is not part of the written script• Stage: Grand or small in size. In front of the audience or in the center.

•Set: Realistic or minimal—transforms stage into setting

On the set of Modern Family (TV)

STAGES Left: Thrust Stage

Right: Black Box

Left: Arena Stage

Right: Proscenium Stage

ELEMENTS OF STAGING

• Lighting: Shakespeare’s plays were in outdoor natural lighting—today, most plays are performed indoors and require artificial lighting (including colored lighting)• Costumes and Props: Elaborate or minimal—work

with sets and lights to support the action and create the appropriate mood.

PLAY PERFORMANCE

PERFORMANCE

• Plays are meant to be performed• Performance Process

Stage DirectionsPlaywright describes setting and actions

InterpretationActors, directors, and designers interpret these directions creatively

PerformanceAudience experiences the story through the actors’ speech and actions

SPEAKING

• Dialogue: Conversation between characters• Monologue: Long speech by one character to another character/ other characters• Soliloquy: Speech by one character alone onstage to himself/herself or to audience

"To Be or Not to Be“• Aside: A comment only the audience is supposed to hear

READING SHAKESPEARE ALOUD• End-stopped Line: Has

final punctuation at the end of the line

• Run-on Line: Has no final punctuation at the end of the line—NO PAUSE!

• Archaic: Used to describe words (or particular meanings of words) that have disappeared from common use (examples: “hap,” “anon,” “mark,” etc.).

APPLICATION QUESTIONS

Think of a play you have seen (The Odyssey if you went with us!)

1) Describe the stage/set. Was the setting realistic? How? Why or why not?

2) Describe the actors’ costumes. Why do you think they wore these costumes?

3) Evaluate the dialogue. Was it serious or humorous? Clear? Convincing?

ANALYSIS: What was the effect of #1-3 on the audience?

Paraphrase the words into your own words—to help with this, read No Fear Shakespeare to see how others paraphrase

MOVIES AND PLAYS

MOVIES VERSUS PLAYS• Plays—long time watching subtle development of conflicts

among small group of people in one setting • Movies—visual medium that whisks us from place to place• Delight the eye rather than the ear• Theater is more a medium of words

Luhrmann

Zeffi

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BACKGROUND TO ROMEO AND JULIET

·Written about 1595·Probably his 13th play· Idea taken from “The Tragical History of Romeo and Juliet,” a poem by Arthur Brooke (1562)

·Unlike his other tragedies, Shakespeare allows chance, or fate, to determine the destiny of the hero and heroine (Romeo and Juliet)—and not necessarily their tragic flaws.

PROLOGUE TRANSLATION ACTIVITY (PARAPHRASE)

• With a partner, you will paraphrase the prologue of Romeo and Juliet.

1. Read the prologue in Elizabethan English.2. Decide with your partner what each line

would read like in today’s language. Try your best to maintain the specific meaning!

3. Decide on the five most important details. Be prepared to share with the class