Introduction to drama, theater, and culture

• 1. Analiza Perez-AmuraoHumanities and Languages DivisionMUIC

2. Ofthe many kinds of literature, DRAMA is perhaps the most immediately involved in the life of its community. 3. Of the many kinds of literature, DRAMA isperhaps the most immediately involved inthe life of its community. But unlike most literature, drama has beencomposed for performance, confronting theaudience in the public, social confines of atheater. 4. Ofthe many kinds of literature, DRAMA isperhaps the most immediately involved inthe life of its community. But unlike most literature, drama has beencomposed for performance, confronting theaudience in the public, social confines of atheater. To understand drama, we need tounderstand THEATER, because the theaterforges the active interplay between drama &its community. 5. Not surprisingly, the place of the theater in a citys social and physical geography symbolizes dramas place in the culture at large. 6. ClassicalAthens: theater adjoined a sacred precinct, plays were part of extensive religious and civic festival 7. Greekdrama: engages questions of moral, political, &religious authority. 8. In17th C. Paris: the close affiliation betweenthe theater and the court of Louis XIV isembodied in dramas concern withpower, authority, and the regulation ofrebellious passions. 9. In the US: most live theater are found eitherin the privileged setting of colleges &universities, or in the theater districts ofmajor cities competing for an audiencealongside movie theaters, clubs, etc. 10. Staging a play puts it immediately into a dynamic social exchange: the interaction between dramatic characters, between characters and the actors who play them, between the performers and the audience, between the drama onstage and the drama of life outside the theater. 11. Theatron : Greek word for theater = seeing place = plays engage audiences largely through visual means 12. Theatron: Greek word for theater =seeing place = plays engage audienceslargely through visual means Less than a century ago, live plays could beseen only on the stage; today, most of us seedrama in a variety of media: TV, film, &theater; past 500 years or so, drama wasaccessed in a nontheatrical venue: readingbooks 13. In the theater: dramatic text is fashionedinto an event, existing in space & time 14. In the theater: dramatic text is fashionedinto an event, existing in space & time Space of the stage: becomes the place of thedrama 15. In the theater: dramatic text is fashionedinto an event, existing in space & time Space of the stage: becomes the place of thedrama The characters: embodied by specificindividuals 16. In the theater: dramatic text is fashionedinto an event, existing in space & time Space of the stage: becomes the place of thedrama The characters: embodied by specificindividuals; how an actor interprets a roletends to shape the audiences sense of thatdramatic character 17. THEDRAMA ONSTAGE is bound by the temporal exigencies of performance. 18. THEDRAMA ONSTAGE is bound by thetemporal exigencies of performance. THE PROCESS OF PERFORMANCE isirreversible. 19. THEDRAMA ONSTAGE is bound by thetemporal exigencies of performance. THE PROCESS OF PERFORMANCE isirreversible. EACH MOMENT becomes significant yetunrecoverable. 20. THEDRAMA ONSTAGE is bound by thetemporal exigencies of performance. THE PROCESS OF PERFORMANCE isirreversible. EACH MOMENT becomes significant yetunrecoverable. A THEATER COMPANY inevitably confrontsmaterial facts of the theater: a specific castof actors 21. THEDRAMA ONSTAGE is bound by thetemporal exigencies of performance. THE PROCESS OF PERFORMANCE isirreversible. EACH MOMENT becomes significant yetunrecoverable. A THEATER COMPANY inevitably confrontsmaterial facts of the theater: a specific castof actors, a given theatrical space, 22. THEDRAMA ONSTAGE is bound by thetemporal exigencies of performance. THE PROCESS OF PERFORMANCE isirreversible. EACH MOMENT becomes significant yetunrecoverable. A THEATER COMPANY inevitably confrontsmaterial facts of the theater: a specific castof actors, a given theatrical space, a certainamount of money, 23. THEDRAMA ONSTAGE is bound by thetemporal exigencies of performance. THE PROCESS OF PERFORMANCE isirreversible. EACH MOMENT becomes significant yetunrecoverable. A THEATER COMPANY inevitably confrontsmaterial facts of the theater: a specific castof actors, a given theatrical space, a certainamount of money, & the necessity totransform the rich possibilities offered by theplay into a clear & meaningful performance. 24. Throughout its development, dramatic art has changed as the theaters place in the society has changed. 25. Throughoutits development, dramatic arthas changed as the theaters place in thesociety has changed. Much as drama & theater today emerge inrelation to other media of dramaticperformance like film & TV, so in earlier erasthe theater defined itself in relation to otherartistic, social, & religious institutions. 26. Inancient Egypt: religious rituals involvedthe imitation of events in a gods orgoddesss life. 27. In ancient Egypt: religious rituals involvedthe imitation of events in a gods orgoddesss life. In Greece: drama may have had similarorigins; by the 6th C. BCE, plays had becomepart of a massive religious festivalcelebrating the god Dionysus. 28. In ancient Egypt: religious rituals involved theimitation of events in a gods or goddesss life. In Greece: drama may have had similar origins;by the 6th C. BCE, plays had become part of amassive religious festival celebrating the godDionysus. In Europe: theater waned with the decline of theRoman Empire & the systematic efforts of theCatholic church to prevent theatricalperformance. Yet, emerged with the churchsupport when revived in the late Middle Ages. 29. In feudal Japan: the Buddhists developed aform of theater to illustrate the centralconcepts of their faith(12th through 13thcenturies). 30. In feudal Japan: the Buddhists developed aform of theater to illustrate the centralconcepts of their faith(12th through 13thcenturies). By the 14th C. in Japan: theater becameconventional for the great samurai lords- orSHOGUNS- to patronize a theatricalcompany, giving rise to the classical era ofthe NOH theater. 31. Bythe 14th C. in Japan: the aristocratic NOH theater was rivaled by the popular- often quite contemporary- KABUKI theater. 32. Inclassical & medieval Europe: secularperformance also took place. 33. In classical & medieval Europe: secularperformance also took place. Many plays were performed only on religiousoccasions, though, and their performers wereusually itinerant, lacking the social andinstitutional support that would providethem with lasting & continuous existence. 34. In classical & medieval Europe: secularperformance also took place. Many plays were performed only on religiousoccasions, though, and their performers wereusually itinerant, lacking the social andinstitutional support that would providethem with lasting & continuous existence. In the Renaissance of the 15th & 16th C.: theWestern theater became a fullysecular, profit-making, & commercialenterprise. 35. In the 16th C.: the European theater was partof a secular entertainmentmarket, competing with bear-baiting, animalshows, athletic contests, publicexecutions, royal & civic pageants, publicpreaching, & many other attractions to drawa paying public. 36. In the 16th C.: the European theater was partof a secular entertainmentmarket, competing with bear-baiting, animalshows, athletic contests, publicexecutions, royal & civic pageants, publicpreaching, & many other attractions to drawa paying public. Also, the theater in this period emerged as adistinct institution, supported by its ownincome; 37. In the 16th C.: the European theater was partof a secular entertainment market,competing with bear-baiting, animal shows,athletic contests, public executions, royal &civic pageants, public preaching, & manyother attractions to draw a paying public. Also, the theater in this period emerged as adistinct institution, supported by its ownincome; the theater became a trade, aprofession, a business, rather than anecessary function of the state or religiousworship. 38. Inother words, plays were not consideredserious, permanent literature. 39. In other words, plays were not consideredserious, permanent literature. HOWEVER, there was also the desire totransform drama from ephemeral theatricalentertainment into permanent literaryart and it began to be registered in theRenaissance. 40. In other words, plays were not consideredserious, permanent literature. HOWEVER, there was also the desire totransform drama from ephemeral theatricalentertainment into permanent literaryart and it began to be registered in theRenaissance. 41. HOWEVER, there was also the desire to transform dramafrom ephemeral theatrical entertainment intopermanent literary art and it began to be registered inthe Renaissance. In the 1616: edition of Works by the poet &playwright Ben Jonson, he insisted onpublishing the importance of the volume bypublishing it in the large, FOLIO formatgenerally reserved for classical authors. 42. HOWEVER, there was also the desire to transform dramafrom ephemeral theatrical entertainment intopermanent literary art and it began to be registered inthe Renaissance. In the 1616: edition of Works by the poet & playwright BenJonson, he insisted on publishing the importance of thevolume by publishing it in the large, FOLIO formatgenerally reserved for classical authors. In 1623: seven years after W. Shakespearesdeath, his friends & colleagues published asimilar, folio-sized collection of his plays. 43. Bythe 1660s & 1670s: writers at the court of Louis XIV in Paris achieved both literary & social distinction as dramatists. 44. Bythe 1660s & 1670s: writers at the court ofLouis XIV in Paris achieved both literary &social distinction as dramatists. Yet, despite many notable exceptions, thetheatrical origins of drama preventedcontemporary plays from being regarded asliterature- although plays from earlier eraswere increasingly republished & graduallyseen to have achieved literary merit. 45. Bythe 1660s & 1670s: writers at the court ofLouis XIV in Paris achieved both literary &social distinction as dramatists. Yet, despite many notable exceptions, thetheatrical origins of drama preventedcontemporary plays from being regarded asliterature- although plays from earlier eraswere increasingly republished & graduallyseen to have achieved literary merit. By the 19th C.: contemporary plays achievedliterary recognition by avoiding thetheater altogether. 46. In the late 19th C.: great playwrights carved aspace for themselves as dramatists by writingplays that were unstageable. 47. In the late 19th C.: great playwrights carved aspace for themselves as dramatists by writingplays that were unstageable. 20th-century drama & theater: there was asplit between literary drama & thepopular theater. 48. In the late 19th C.: great playwrights carved aspace for themselves as dramatists by writingplays that were unstageable. 20th-century drama & theater: there was asplit between literary drama & thepopular theater. Plays of the artistic AVANT-GARDE were morereadily absorbed into the CANON ofliterature, while more conventionalentertainments-TV screenplays, for instance-remained outside of it. 49. Dramatic GENRES are kinds of drama, each with its own identifying formal structure & typical themes. 50. DramaticGENRES are kinds of drama, eachwith its own identifying formal structure &typical themes. TRAGEDY: usually considered to concern thefate of an individual hero, singled out fromthe community through circumstances andthrough his or her own actions. 51. DramaticGENRES are kinds of drama, eachwith its own identifying formal structure &typical themes. TRAGEDY: usually considered to concern thefate of an individual hero, singled out fromthe community through circumstances andthrough his or her own actions. TRAGEDY: the heros course of actionentwines with events & circumstancesbeyond his or her own control. 52. TRAGEDY:as a result, the heros final downfall-usually, but not always involving death-seems at once both chosen and inevitable. 53. TRAGEDY: as a result, the heros finaldownfall-usually, but not always involvingdeath-seems at once both chosen andinevitable. COMEDY: focuses on the fortunes of thecommunity itself. 54. TRAGEDY:as a result, the heros finaldownfall-usually, but not always involvingdeath-seems at once both chosen andinevitable. COMEDY: focuses on the fortunes of thecommunity itself. COMEDY: while the hero of tragedy is usuallyunique, the heroes of comedy often come inpairs: the lovers who triumph over theirparents in romantic comedies, the dupe &the trickster at the center of more ironic orsatirical comic modes. 55. Points toward the Points toward someheros downfall or kind of broaderdeathreform or remaking of society, usually signaled by a wedding or other celebration at the end of the play.TRAGEDYCOMEDY 56. OTHERGENRES: Melodrama Tragicomedy Farce Neoclassical drama Theater of the absurd Revenge tragedy 57. Inabout 335 BCE: Aristotles Poetics setdown the formal elements of drama throughMUSIC & SPECTACLE 58. Inabout 335 BCE: Aristotles Poetics setdown the formal elements of drama throughMUSIC & SPECTACLE Modern elements: plot, characters, dialogue,theme, convention, genre, & audience 59. Reference:Worthen, W. B. (2000). The Harcourt Brace anthology ofdrama, 3rd edition. USA: Thomson Heinle.