BIS3043

CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF DR
AMA
 What is drama?
• Specific mode of fiction represented in
performance
• a composition in verse or prose through action
and dialogue and typically designed for
theatrical performance
• A unique tool to explore and express human
feelings.
 What is drama?
• Imitation of reality
• Impersonation of somebody
• Re-presentation of actions
• Re-enactment- a closer staging of reality
 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
DRAMA AND MOVIE
• SIMILARITIES • DIFFERENCES
– Audience-oriented – In movie audience watch the same
– Interpretation by au actions/dialogues (In drama, each
dience performance is different)
– In drama, closer interaction
between audience/actors (none in
movie)
– In movie, audience follow camera
lens (drama- static perspective)
– Technical support more
sophisticated in movie
 Drama you will study
• Greek tragedy- Oedipus Rex by Sophocles
• Shakespearean Drama- Macbeth
• Modern Drama (Realist)-A Doll’s House by
Henrik Ibsen
• Modern Tragedy- Death of a Salesman by
Arthur Miller
Concerning the Drama, the Theatre, and the
Play
• What is drama?
• Theatre?
• Play ?
– Interchangeable meaning
• Drama:
– Written form
– Private rather than social experience
– Greek word “dran”- “to do”
– Aristotle: an imitation of an action as opposed to
represent an action in prose- poetics
– Only partially concluded
• Theatre:
– The performance of drama (actors)
– Greek word “theatron”- “to watch” or “a place for seeing”
– Theatre not only a setting for “seeing”. Also pretending,
make-believe games.
– Human arena for understanding human condition
revealing human truths.
Physical feature of theatre has important effect on
audience, Ex: representational or unrepresentational
setting
• Play:
– The production of drama + theatre
– Involving efforts other than the dramatist. Ex:
director, creative artists, lighting technicians etc
– A social experience rather than private matter
 theatr play
drama e
Representational theatre
Non representational theatre
 THINK
• There are many dramas that have been
performed on stage. Have you read and watch
the same drama/play? Are there differences in
your experiences between reading a drama
and watching it performed? What are the
differences?
 TYPES OF DRAMA
Tragedy

Social Comedy

Musical Melo-drama

DRAMA

Docu-drama Farce

History Tragi-comedy

Dark
Comedy
A tragedy
• deals with serious human issues such as suffering,
downfall and more often than not, death.
• normally involves the fall from grace of the main
protagonist who, in classical tragedy, must be of
noble birth.
• brings out pity and fear as it shows how weak we
are as mere mortals in the face of a greater power.
• Oedipus Rex by Sophocles is acclaimed by Aristotle
as the perfect tragedy.
A comedy
• is the opposite of tragedy.
• tragedy begins with elevation of protagonist to higher
social or moral status and ends with downfall.
• comedy begins with confusions and conflicts and ends
happily with resolution of confusions and conflicts.
• usually followed with marriage or marriages.
• less emotive and intense in theme since comedy does
not attempt to evoke a deep sense of pity and terror
but more to elicit laughter than shock.
 A melodrama
• serious play with unimportant theme.
• Characterised by exaggerated emotions, stereotypical
characters and interpersonal conflicts
• Protagonists more likeable than heroic and villains too
obvious in wickedness.
• presents to audience a simplified version of life of good
versus evil and good against bad.
• seldom delves into the more complex human issues as in a
tragedy and a play normally ends pleasantly.
• Intellectually empty but compensated by pleasurable and
amusing endings.
 A farce
•  farce is a comedy that aims at entertaining the audience through
situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, and thus
improbable.
• comical and humorous play on trivial theme.
• The most common plots-
– mistaken identity,
– illicit romance and
– elaborate misunderstandings.
• Identical twins, lovers in closets, full stage chases, switched potions,
switched costumes (often involving man and woman), and misheard
instructions are the often used methods to produce outrageous
situations and uproarious response from audience.
• The Bear by Anton Chekov is an example of farce.
 Tragicomedy
• Tragicomedy blends aspects of both tragic
 and comic forms.
• contains enough comic elements to lighten
the overall mood or, often, a serious play with
a happy ending.
• often called a tragedy that ends happily.
• Ex: The Merchant of Venice, Waiting for Godot
 Dark comedy
• A black comedy (dark comedy) work that employs
black humor that makes light of otherwise serious
subject matter.
• Topics:
• Murder, violence, death
• Poverty, disease, famine
• Racial or sexual stereotypes
• War and terrorism
• Example movies: Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fictions
• Example plays: Taming of the Shrew, Measure for
Measure
The history play
• deals with dramatisation of historical personalities
and the events that surround their lives.
• established by Shakespeare.
• normally deal with English kings especially from
1377 to 1547 such as kings Richard II, Henry IV,
Henry V, Henry IV, Richard III, and Henry VIII.
• maintain a serious tone but with sprinklings of
humour thrown in.
 The docudrama
• recent subgenre.
• Sometimes called documentary theatre
• dealing with historical events especially of a recent
and controversial nature.
• Strives to adhere to known historical facts
• Plots taken from trial transcripts, news reports,
personal and official records.
• These materials are then brought on stage to
highlight particular issues and points of view.
• Example: Talking to Terrorists
The musical play
• relies on extensive use of music and songs.
• Usually the musical aspect is combined with
another genre to create musical comedy, a
musical documentary or a musical history.
• Examples: The Phantom of the Opera, The Lion
King, Les Miserables, Cats.
Social dramas
• sometimes called problem plays,
• evolved in nineteenth century and dominated the
stage through the early part of the twentieth century.
• explores social problems and the individual’s place in
society.
• can be tragic, comic or mixed.
• Examples: Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, Arthur Miller’s
Death of a Salesman and Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s
House.
THINK AND RECALL

DRAMA
 PERFORMANCE SPACES
Ampitheatre

proscenium
open stage
arch theatre

theatre in-the-
thrust stage
round/arenas

promenade corridor/terrace
theatre theatre
 Amphitheatre
• of Greek origin and were slightly modified by
the Romans.
• normally accommodate a large number of
audiences for large scale productions.
• Plays that are full of ceremony and movement
are suitable for these theatres.
 Proscenium arch theatre
• the most recognisable form of dramatic performance
space.
• is a space in front of the back scenery.
• The word proscenium now means the front opening of
the stage and the area around it.
• The arch is the frame surrounding the front of the stage.
• normally constructed as a permanent structure.
• As if audience is watching the play through a picture
frame.
Proscenium arch theatre
 Open stage

• has the audience facing the stage whereby the

stage is at one end of the building.
• Modern and school theatres are open or a mix
between this and proscenium.
• Advantage-suits many kinds of production
with their simplicity in conceptual framework.
 Thrust stage

• This type of stage has a raised platform that

thrusts out into the audience, who sits on all
three sides.
• This theatrical set-up allows for excellent
actor-audience contact and which draws in the
audience into the action.
Thrust stage
 Theatre in-the-round/arenas
• no stage curtain, little scenery and allows the
audience to sit on all sides of the stage
• round, diamond, or triangular, with actors
entering and exiting through the audience from
different directions or from below the stage
• problems since actors at all times have their
back facing some members of the audience
• allows for interesting and realistic staging
Theatre in-the-round/arenas
 Corridor/Traverse Stage
• performance space is between two parallel
groups of audience.
• Normally, does not have a permanent
structure
• constructed to suit particular plays
 Promenade Stage
• there is no formal stage, both the audience and the
actors are placed in the same space
• The performance starts when one of the actors
draws attention to himself or light is pointed in such
manner that draws attention to a particular person.
• During the performance actors will stimulate the
audience to move around.
 CONCLUSION
• Performance stage depends on the type of
play presented