...Types of Drama Tragedy- a play written in a serious, sometimes impressive or elevated style, in which things go wrong and cannot be set right except at great cost or sacrifice. Aristotle said that tragedy should purge our emotions by evoking pity and fear (or compassion and awe) in us, the spectators. The tragic pattern: 1. a theme of fatal passion (excluding love) as a primary motive 2. an outstanding personality as center of conflict (classical tragedy demanded a “noble” character) 3. a vital weakness within the hero’s character (his tragic flaw which precipitates the tragedy) 4. the conflict within the hero is the source of tragedy. However, since Nietzsche, the tragic flaw is often found to be in the universe itself, or in man’s relationship to it, rather than in the hero himself. Comedy- a play written in a kindly or humorous, perhaps bitter or satiric vein, in which the problems or difficulties of the characters are resolved satisfactorily, if not for all characters, at least from the point of view of the audience. Low characters as opposed to noble; characters not always changed by the action of the play; based upon observation of life. Comedy and tragedy are concerned more with character, whereas farce and melodrama are concerned more with plot. Melodrama- a play in which the characters are types rather than individuals, the story and situations exaggerated to the point of improbability or sensationalism and...
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...Aspects of Theatre When I first walked into the Jones Playhouse Theater, I expected the lobby space to be a lot more spacious but instead it radiated a feeling of claustrophobia due to the hundreds of people attending the show. The lobby area was comprised of woody material such as the columns holding up the roof and the benches available for the audience to wait on till the show started. The floor in the lobby space had a glossy, smooth finish to it and the wood on the side of the staircases and windows gave the place a very modern look. I felt that the lobby space did not quite correlate with the play because The Illusion was set in the 17th century and the lobby space seemed very rich and modern. There was no aspect of the lobby space that translated onto the main stage of the theater. The only thing that was production-specific in the lobby was the biography of the actors involved in The Illusion. It gave the audience a sense of who the actors were (background and education) and also how they looked like without the make-up their roles required. This allows the audience to put a face to all the actors while watching the play; it sort of personalizes it since we know a little bit about them. I wish the crew of The Illusion decorated the lobby space so they can create the ambience of the 17th century before we even set foot in the theater. This helps bring the audience to the right frame of mind by reminding them that they are watching a historical play. The theater space...
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...Drama 2 - Semester 1 Study Guide and Review FORMAT OF TEST Section 1: Fundamentals & Acting (50 points) 20 questions (30 points) 3 short response (20 points) Section 2: Tragedy & Comedy (50 points) 20 questions (30 points) 3 short response (20 points) Section 3: Shakespeare (50 points) 20 questions (30 points) 3 short response (20 points) Section 4: Performance (50 points) Students will perform a monologue separately for Mr. Finley and be scored via the rubric below. 200 Points Total 90 points from 60 multiple choice / 60 points from 9 short response / 50 points from performance For each short response section, there are four questions offered, and you will choose three to answer, leaving one unanswered. You may choose to answer one additional question on the test for extra credit. FUNDAMENTALS & ACTING VIDEOS Personal Aesthetic Voice and Articulation Viewpoints for Movement Acting – Three Things NOTES Basic Voice Terminology Voice Terms Audible – able to be heard Articulate – to shape the sound in the mouth for clarity Inflection – variety of vocal pitch Pitch – the relative highness or lowness of the voice Project – to send the voice out to the audience Rate – speed at which one speaks Resonance – a rich, warm speaking quality Volume – the relative loudness of your voice Parts of the Instrument Articulators – the parts of the mouth which shape and define sound Diaphragm – the muscle below the...
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...Unit 1: Exploration of Drama and Theatre Characterisation – In week two, exercise two, I had to choose a character from the play and walk around the room using facial expressions and movement to portray the character. I chose to be Gregor because I felt that his posture changed continuously throughout the play, so there were many different ways that I could represent him. My posture was very laid back, almost like I was dragging myself along. I did this because I believed that while Gregor was transforming, he had to drag himself around him due to his tiredness and the pain he felt inside. Other members of the class were different characters and we all had to think about how our characters would interact with each other through facial expressions and physical contact. As Gregor, I decided that I wouldn’t make much eye contact with other characters apart fro Greta. Gregor and Greta had a strong relationship which means he would be more comfortable interacting with her through his change. However, he wasn’t close with other characters such as Mr.Samsa, Mrs.Samsa and Clerk. This helped my characterisation because it helped me put myself into Gregor’s state of mind and interpret his pain through my posture and facial expression. Vocal awareness - In week one, as a group, we was asked to pick a character and chose key lines in the plan which we thought best portrayed the character. We decided to use the idea of “Gregor! Cash! Gregor! Shoes! Gregor! Cigars!... (Pg. 81)”. Next...
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...Type of Drama : MELOW DRAMA Mellow Drama - It is also a form of acting. The word "melodrama" comes from the Greek word for song "melody", combined with "drama". Music is used to increase the emotional response or to suggest characters. * The term originated from the early 19th-century French word mélodrame, which is derived from Greek melos, music, and French drame, drama * A melodrama is a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions, often with strongly stereotyped characters. Language, behaviour, or events which resemble melodramas are also called melodramatic. In scholarly and historical musical contexts melodramas are dramas of the 18th and 19th centuries in which orchestral music or song was used to accompany the action. * Typically, these films focused on sensational plots revolving around tragedy, loss, and unrequited love, and featured long-suffering protagonists, almost always female, trying in vain to overcoming impossible odds. Example: Wuthering Heights 1939 Also one of the great literary adaptationsof all time, Wuthering Heights was a sweeping romantic drama about class division and love doomed to tragedy. Directed by William Wyler from Emily Brontë’s classic novel, the film starredLaurence Olivier as Heathcliff, a former orphan who has been taken into a wealthy family and grows to love his foster sister, Cathy (Merle Oberon). Though she feels the same, Cathy doesn’t want to give up her well-to-do lifestyle...
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...through drama for oral skills development Laura Miccoli This paper presents the results of an investigation into the value of using drama in a Brazilian university classroom. Drawing on Di Pietro (1987) and Via (1976) on the advantages of using drama in language learning, from Mezirow (1990) and Schön (1991) on the importance of reflection for promoting meaningful learning, and from Donato and McCormick (1994) and Lukinsky (1990) on the e¤ectiveness of portfolios as a tool to promote reflection, the paper presents a case study of the use of drama in an oral skill class, describing the course structure and classroom procedures. It includes learners’ voices as taken from their portfolios, and evaluates results, presenting setbacks and possible solutions. Finally, it encourages the use of drama and portfolios for transformative and emancipatory learning. Introduction As teachers we are always looking for ways to improve our classes and motivate our students. Yet, teaching conditions may not be as ideal as we would like them to be. Sometimes we get too many students; often they have di¤erent proficiency levels; sometimes both problems arise in the same class. This was my situation: I had to teach a conversation class where the level of proficiency of the 37 students ranged from basic to advanced. Knowing that a traditional format would not work, the experiences of interactionists like Di Pietro (1987) and the actor/teacher Via (1976) helped me decide to bring drama and play...
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...How would you direct the actors playing Mrs Farley and Nell in act one scene two to fulfil your dramatic intentions for the audience? ‘Playhouse creatures’ by April De Angelis is a historicised tragicomedy exploring the lives of the first actresses attempts at survival on the Restoration stage. In the scene, set on a London street in 1669, both Nell and Mrs Farley are struggling to survive with inappropriate jobs. My dramatic intentions would be to create humour out of the clash between Nell’s foul- mouthed fury and Mrs Farley’s piety, affability towards Nell’s attempts to befriend her as they discuss their limited job opportunities, followed by comic tension for the audience as they realise that Mrs Farley is secretly interested in Nell’s dream job of being an actress. As we know, this play is set in the year 1669, which is near the beginning of the Restoration period when Charles II was restored to the throne after the end of the Commonwealth. Because Charles had been living in exile in France he had had the opportunity to see actresses on stage. During the Commonwealth, the theatres in England were closed and no plays were performed in public, but even before the Commonwealth only men and boys were allowed to perform on stage, as we see and hear about in Act one scene two. So the Restoration was the first time that women had the opportunity to become actresses in England. With this is mind, critically considering the period, the costume and dress are vital in conveying...
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...Meredith Masters 3/10/16 Block 7, LA4 Research Paper Word Count: 565 What is drama? Medieval drama was theater. Drama did not come about until the later part of the medieval time. It took the stage as one of the main forms of entertainment around 900 and fell through after the decline in the 1500’s. Plays did make a comeback, and are still popular to this day. There are no performances today that are associated with the plays from back then. After the fall of the Roman Empire, nomadic bands traveled whether or not there was an audience. They were a combination of jesters, jugglers, storytellers and other performers. Later, when festivals came about, other entertainers were given the chance to showcase their talents. Since the Catholic Church was so powerful, it overpowered such performances and the entertainers were then converted. Actors was their new title. Plays were performed in churches until around 1200, when they were also performed outside on occasion. At the end of the 14th century, churches had less and less control over plays. Towns took over and put on shows that the churches did not. Medieval Drama was very popular during this time, as it was, for a lack of better words, their form of entertainment. The types of plays that were performed during this time were morality, miracle, and mystery plays. Morality plays are didactic allegories often of a common man’s struggle for salvation. Miracle plays are about the lives of saints. They are also historical...
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...theater season: the National Theater of Greece’s Medea, Joanne Akalaitis’ The Iphigeneia Cycle (a double bill that combines Euripides’ two Iphigeneia plays), a revival of Andrei Serban’s famous Fragments of a Greek Trilogy, and a four-and-a-half-hour adaptation of the Oedipus Rex were announced at the start of the season. Off-off Broadway versions will inevitably follow. The Brooklyn Academy of Music even hosted a dance/theatre piece based on the Eleusinian Mysteries. 1 The Classic Stage Company, an off-Broadway theater group devoted to performance and adaptation of Western classics, currently receives more scripts that re-work Greek tragedy than any other category of drama. 2 From a global perspective, New York is simply reflecting a trend set by important modern playwrights and directors worldwide. Greek drama now occupies a regular place in the London theater season. In the past twenty years, acclaimed productions have been mounted not only in Europe but also in Japan, India, and Africa. Translations are even beginning to proliferate in China, occasionally with unexpected results. A recent Chinese translator of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex referred to all the Greek gods generically as Apollo, since he could count on his audience’s ability to recognize this name from the United States space program. 3 The Greek theater festival at Delphi has played host to many of these performances, with the result that, for example, the Greek National...
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...Section 1 Supporting Notes For our AS Level performance piece we chose to perform iconic playwright-director Steven Berkoff’s adaptation of the story of Agamemnon. Berkoff was born in Stepney, London in 1937 and studied drama in London until he moved to Paris to learn and train the art of mime and physical theatre at the École Jaques le Coq. As a result, many of Berkokff’s productions contain elements of mime and non-verbal acting; they are often very physical and use great exaggeration showing inspiration from the likes of Jaques le Coq. Previously, none of our ensemble had experienced acting that diverged from naturalism, so we wanted to attempt something completely new. This would allow us to learn the methods of our practitioner in their entirety; gaining a better understanding of them. Berkoff adopts European styles: mime, minimalism, characterisation etc. Berkoff says of mime- ‘It is a wonderful tool; it awakens the audiences imagination’. This is something myself and my group are aiming to do; to awaken the audiences imagination. We have found that in order to perform Agamemnon in the best and most suitable Berkovian style, we must use a fair amount of mime. We have practiced this by doing warm-ups that involve mime. For example, one warm-up that we do before each session is miming throwing a ball to one another. However, the ball size, weight, texture and the way it was thrown can change depending on the thrower. Therefore, if a large heavy metal ball was thrown then...
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...definitionS of Pragmatic, Pragmatism, and the Pragmatic Theory of Drama in Plato and Aristotle. A University of Lagos, M.A Seminar Work By Larayetan, Raphael Segun, (Mat. No.139013058) COURSE: Theory of Drama LECTURER: Dr. Patrick Oloko Introduction: This paper attempts an exploration of pragmatics, pragmatism and pragmatic theory as perceived by scholars from different intellectual tradition with focus on drama as a genre of literature. From the classic to the contemporary period, dramatic theorists and dramatists have been involved in the polemics on functions of drama, whether it is an instrument of communicating ideas or just a genre of literature that only entertains. Whether drama entertains or bears the ideological or moral burdens which the author through his art intends to pass to the readers, drama unequivocally has a function which, according to Philip Sidney, is to “teach and to delight”. With this in mind, it can be established that every piece of drama sets out to achieve a function though critics and dramatists have disagreed on what the ideal function of drama should be. It is this light that the current paper explores the pragmatic theory of drama in Plato and Aristotle, or, simply put; how Plato and Aristotle perceive the ideal function of drama. Definition of Terms: Pragmatism is a theory that emphasises the dual function of a work of art. It stipulates the heuristic function...
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...A ‘Unit of Measurement' is important, whether in math, science or in acting. Plays are divided into acts, scenes and units. In theatre, a unit is the smallest actable portion in a script. A unit is the building block of conflict, and conflict is essential in drama. Scoring a script helps actors to clarify motivations, organize dramatic structure, and get specific with the nuances of the characters and the story. If scene partners score a script together, it can help get everyone on the same page. It is a tool to help actors focus their performances. There are many ways to score a script. Most modern American acting courses use a method that breaks scripts into "beats and units" and describes a character's arc in terms of "objectives, tactics and...
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...Drama is Simply Drama By chelsea_is_a_penguin | Studymode.com Humanities Drama is Simply Drama Drama is simply drama. Drama is not about the spectacle nor the actors as well as the place where they present it. It’s not all about theatre, it’s more than that. As I have read Nicanor G. Tiongson’s “What is Philippine Drama” and have watched his documentary “Dulaan”, we could see that drama is more than what we know. Drama may come in various packages. It may be simple or extravagant, unpopular or popular, big or small in production but they all have the common denominator which is Mimesis or the imitation that it presents that happens in real life. In our simple imitation of our friend who is weird and to If there’s European Drama, American Drama, Spanish Drama, and other dramas that existed in other countries, of course there is Philippine Drama. But what makes Philippine Drama different from the other dramas that existed? It differs with the involvement of what we call “Philippine-ness”. This “Philippine-ness” involves three things: our culture and heritage, the essence it gives to our people and the solution it may present in our people at a certain time of need. It involves our people, our culture and tradition, as well as Philippines itself; all in all our identity. Philippine Drama existed way before the Spanish colonization. I really appreciate this period of drama: The Indigenous Period. Compared to other periods of drama, Indigenous period reflect the true “Philippine-ness”...
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...Introduction to Masterpieces of the Drama (by Alexander W. Allison, Arthur J. Carr and Arthur M. Eastman) 1. “The implications of such natural playacting are vast, for good and for ill – for good, because individual and social happiness depends on right acting; for ill, because misrepresentations, deceit, mischief, and falsehood can also be learned by imitation.” "Much of what we know we learn by imitation, by acting parts, by practicing what we shall say or do." Language, for example, is taught by making the learner repeat what has been said. Filipino children exposed to English cartoon shows tend to become fluent in the language used. Those who are exposed to violent shows like wrestling become aggressive, as a result of idolizing the characters involved. People tend to "copy" what they observe in their environment. What makes drama vast is the fact that "the essentials of drama not only inhere in social experience; in basic ways they determine it." Materials of drama were used, including music, dancing, and the reenactment of important deeds and occasions. There are five epochs in which drama flourished, namely The Greek Classics, The Middle Ages, The Elizabethan Drama, The Neo-Classical French Drama and The Modern Drama. Looking back at the history of drama, it can be seen that each of these epochs has its own contributions to the modern drama. The Greek Classics was the epoch in which drama has begun. The most influential playwrights were Aeschylus, Euripides...
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...Mages (2008), drama is something that inherently possesses the characteristics and play in the television station. While for the drama practitioners, according to the Fox (1987), Heathcote (1984) McCaslin (1996) and O'Neill & Lambert(1982) its contend that drama promotes development and note that drama is particularly beneficial for fostering language development. Davis and Behm (1987) explain that the spectrum of activities involving children and the drama/theatre is established on the classic definitions of drama (a thing done) and theatre (to gaze on). The natural dramatic propensities of children, located at the far left on the continuum, are seen to be the bases of, and to infuse, all the forms of drama and theatre. Jyoti thottam says that, a typical telenovela which is an example of drama is that runs daily for months could require more than 100 episodes, in contrast to two dozen weekly episodes for a season of a prime-time network drama. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Television Drama Television dramas will force networks and viewers to change their habits. Love, betrayal and cleavage all have starring roles in the plot of a typical of television drama which make people love to watch it. Jyoti Thottam(2006). Telenevola An Example Of Drama A typical telenovela that runs daily for months could require more than 100 episodes, in contrast to two dozen weekly episodes for a season of a prime-time network drama. Jyoti Thottam(2006)...
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