RAMADTHAT’‘S

A B R I E F I N T R O D U C T I O N T O D R A M A T I C A N A L Y S I S

SO

1L E C T U R E

Can we

NowStart

T H E S I G N S O F D R A M A

?ALL MY DESIRES2T01

L I G H T S

P E R F O R M E R S

C U R T A I N S

A U D I E N C E

A!TherWorldE N T E R

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG AT NIGHTTIMESimon Stephens

T H E A U D I E N C EA G R E E S T O T H E R U L E S W I T H I N I T

A N D B E L I E V ESee

THE LION KINGIrene Mecchi & Roger Allers

HearI N A D R E A M

THE BROKEN TOWER2T18/19

ThINK‘ T O B E O R N O T T O B E

T H A T I S T H E

Q U E S T I O N ’

HAMLETShakespeare

FourWalls

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG AT NIGHTTIMESimon Stephens

The

A N D T H E I L L U S I O N W I T H I N

EffectsInternal

External

THE GREAT DREAM2T06

H O W T H E A U D I E N C E F E E L S

H O W C H A R A C T E R S F E E L

ActsandScenes

CHICAGOEbb / Bob Fosse

B A S E D O N P L O T & E V E N T S

E A C H H A V I N G D I S T I N C T E F F E C T S

D R A M A T I C S T R U C T U R E

MiseenScene

ARCADIATom Stoppard

A L L V I S U A L E L E M E N T S I N A P R O D U C T I O N

StageDirecti#s

P A Y A T T E N T I O N T O

Imaginati# I S N E C E S S A R YS O M E

SettingM I N I M A L I S T I C

ENDGAMESamuel Beckett

Bare interior. Grey light. Left and right back, high up, two small windows, curtains drawn.

Setting

THE GLASS MENAGERIETennessee Williams

‘ P O E T I C ’

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERAAndrew Lloyd Webber

SettingG R A N D I O S E

DistanceS A Y S A L O T A B O U T

A R E L A T I O N S H I P

O N S T A G E

CONSTELLATIONSNick Payne

GestureE X P R E S S I O N A N D

A DOLL’S HOUSEHenrik Ibsen

MovementActi#&

OLEANNADavid Mamet

(Carol starts to leave the room. John grabs her and begins to beat her.) JOHN. You vicious little bitch. You think you can come in here with your political correctness and destroy my life? (He knocks her to the floor… He picks up a chair, raises it above his head, and advances on her.)

SilenceInActi#&

WAITING FOR GODOTSamuel Beckett

J U S T A S S I G N I F I C A N T

Relati#ships

CONFLICT

C H A R A C T E R

CONCERND R I V E N B Y C E N T R E D O N

SO$loQuyA D R A M A T I C D E V I C E

W H E R E A C H A R A C T E R S P E A K S T O H I M S E L F A N D S O R E L A T E S H I S T H O U G H T S A N D F E E L I N G S T O T H E T H E A U D I E N C E

MACBETHShakespeare

TO BE, OR NOT TO BE? THAT IS THE QUESTION— WHETHER ’TIS NOBLER IN THE MIND TO SUFFER THE SLINGS AND ARROWS OF OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE, OR TO TAKE ARMS AGAINST A SEA OF TROUBLES, AND, BY OPPOSING, END THEM? TO DIE, TO SLEEP—

Dilemma

HAMLETShakespeare

T#eDialogue&

THE COAST OF UTOPIATom Stoppard

S T Y L E O F S P E E C H S T R I K I N G W O R D S W O R D P A T T E R N S S E N T E N C E P A T T E R N S

A N A L Y S I N G

RIPYouPiecesto

I ’ll

WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLFEdward Albee

L A N G U A G E I S I T S E L F A N A C T I O N

MartinStevie

C#f$ctW H A T I S T H E S O U R C E O F T E N S I O N ?

S E E I N G A N D H E A R I N G

Only OneNOT THEI ’mSILENTLYRead the text

P A U S E S S E N T E N C E P A T T E R N SP R O M I N E N T W O R D S

W O R D P A T T E R N S

H I G H L I G H T …

I N T E R R U P T I O N S A C T I O N S

F R O M A P L A Y B Y E D W A R D A L B E E

STEVIE. (Rage; sweeps the bookcase of whatever is on it, or overturns a piece of furniture. Silence; then starting quietly, building) LINE 1

STEVIE. I’ll bring you down with me! (Brief pause; she turns on her heel, exits. We hear the front down slam.) MARTIN. (After she leaves; after he hears the door; little boy) Stevie? (Pause) Stevie? LINES 39-40

Mood Violent action

Then escalates into threat.

Mood shifts…

Ominous actionMood - unease or pity?

Command Questions

Dominance?

Exclamation - forcefulness

STEVIE. I said, shut up. Do you know how you’ve done it? How you’ve screwed up? MARTIN (Mumbled). Because I was at the vegetable stand one day, and I looked over to my right and I saw… STEVIE (Hard and slow). Because you’ve broken something and it can’t be fixed! MARTIN. Stevie… LINES 15-19

DividedH U S B A N D A N D W I F E

T W O S E C T I O N S O F L T 1 A N A L Y S E T W O S E C T I O N S

MARTIN. Stevie, I… LINE 14 Stevie… LINE 19 (Deep sadness) Oh, Stevie… LINE 28 Stevie, I… I promise you, I’ll stop; I’ll… LINE 34

W H A T I S M A R T I N T R Y I N G T O D O ? W H A T I S T H E E F F E C T O F U S I N G S T E V I E ’ S N A M E ? H O W W O U L D Y O U D E S C R I B E T H E R H Y T H M O F M A R T I N ’ S L I N E S ?

MARTIN. Stevie, I… Stevie… (Deep sadness) Oh, Stevie… Stevie, I… I promise you, I’ll stop; I’ll…

Interruptions Meekness? Pleading?

‘I’ - remorse?

Not just repetition: increasing desperation?

STEVIE. We’re both too bright for most of the shit. We see the deep and awful humor of things go over the heads of most people; we see what’s hideously wrong in what most people accept as normal; we have both the joys and the sorrows of all that. We have a straight line through life, right all the way to dying, but that’s OK because it’s a good line… so long as we don’t screw up. | (Don’t interrupt me!) Shut up! So long as we don’t screw up. (Points at him) And you’ve screwed up! | I said, shut up. Do you know how you’ve done it? How you’ve screwed up?H O W D O E S S T E V I E F E E L A B O U T M A R T I N A N D T H E I R R E L A T I O N S H I P ?

We’re both too bright for most of the shit. We see the deep and awful humor of things go over the heads of most people; we see what’s hideously wrong in what most people accept as normal; we have both the joys and the sorrows of all that. We have a straight line through life, right all the way to dying, but that’s OK because it’s a good line… so long as we don’t screw up. | (Don’t interrupt me!) Shut up! So long as we don’t screw up. (Points at him) And you’ve screwed up! | I said, shut up. Do you know how you’ve done it? How you’ve screwed up?

Love and unity Optimism, pride in relationship

Shift to ‘you’ - accusatory, seething anger, discord

STEVIE. Fall out of love with me? Fine! No, not fine, but that can be fixed… time… whatever! But tell me you love me and her—both of us!—equally? The same way? That you go from my bed—our bed… (aside-ish) it’s amazing, you know, how good we are, still, how we please each other and ourselves so… fully, so… fresh each time… (aside over)… you go from our bed, wash your dick, get in your car and go to her, and do with her what I cannot imagine myself imagining? Or—worse!… that you’ve come from her, to my bed!? To our bed!?… and you do with me what I can imagine… love… want you for!? LINES 20-28

Fall out of love with me? Fine! No, not fine, but that can be fixed… time… whatever! But tell me you love me and her—both of us!—equally? The same way? That you go from my bed—our bed… (aside-ish) it’s amazing, you know, how good we are, still, how we please each other and ourselves so… fully, so… fresh each time… (aside over)… you go from our bed, wash your dick, get in your car and go to her, and do with her what I cannot imagine myself imagining? Or—worse!… that you’ve come from her, to my bed!? To our bed!?… and you do with me what I can imagine… love… want you for!?

Fragmented speech - Distraught? Distressed?

Italics for emphasis - bitterness?Shift to exclamations - uncontrolled fury?

Questions - Confusion? At a loss?

STEVIE. (Not listening) That you can do these two things… and not understand how it… SHATTERS THE GLASS!!?? How it cannot be dealt with—how stop and forgiveness have nothing to do with it? […] How stopping has nothing to do with having started?! How nothing has anything to do with anything!? (Tears—if there—stop) You have brought me down; you love of my life! You have brought me down to nothing! (Accusatory finger right at him) You have brought me down, and, Christ! I’ll bring you down with me! (Brief pause; she turns on her heel, exits. We hear the front down slam.) LINES 29-39

TragedyN E X T L E C T U R E

ReadyBeWeek 3For

R E A D A L L M Y S O N S …

REVERIE NOIR2T35

O R E L S E …