QCR520 Approaches

- Drama

Definition

• A drama tells a story, usually of human conflict, through dialogue and action.

• “A story in dramatic form, typically emphasising conflict in key characters and written to be performed by actors” (from Harris, et al. The Literacy Dictionary, IRA, 1995)

• “…three necessary elements in drama: (1) a story (2) told in action (3) by characters who impersonate the characters of the story” (Thrall and Hibbert, A Handbook to Literature, Odyssey Press,1960)

Quick History of Drama

• Started in 6th Cent BC (600-500 BC) Greece.• Drama - comes from the Greek word meaning

“action” or “to do.”• First actor was Thespis; thus, the term thespian

(theater actor/actress).• Wore big masks so their facial expression could be

seen from afar. (The amphitheater is big.)

Development of Drama

• Western Drama: Began in Greece (600 BC)– Greek tragedies– Roman liturgical plays

• Miracle plays• Passion plays

– Italian Renaissance Operas (1500)• Music plays an important role

– English Renaissance: Elizabethan Theater (1500)• Queen Elizabeth promoted drama.• William Shakespeare wrote and staged his plays.

Forms of Western Drama

1. Tragedy - a death of a hero or a simple downfall of the hero.

2. Comedy - All’s well and ends well.a) No particular hero.b) Ends happily ever after; ends with a festivity (e.g.

dancing, eating).c) Themes: ridicules social norms; basically, comedy tends

to be irreverent3. Offshoots of tragedy:

a) Melodrama - fight between good and evilb) Suspense - begins with someone’s death

Purpose

• To entertain• To provoke thought and emotion• To present a visual and aural experience for the

audience

Drama…

• Plays on your emotions.• Asks you to believe and be involved in it.• Makes you feel for the hero and the heroine.• Subject matter: reflection of the drama of everyday

life – concentrates life, focuses it and holds it up for examination.

Audience

• The fact of a live audience has an important impact on the way plays are created

• Essential feature of a play – involves fact that audience and actors have a common experience.– Drama plays before a live audience of real people who respond

directly and immediately to it.

• Drama usually conceived by playwright for a particular response.

Conventions

• Greek– Worked with familiar story material– Relied on messengers to report off-stage action– Relied on chorus for interpretation, echo of reactions

common to community– Written in metered verse arranged in elaborate stanzas

Conventions

• English Drama– Minor characters play an important role in providing info

& guiding interpretation.• Casually comment among themselves on major characters and

plot development

– Soliloquy• Enables major character to reveal his thoughts

– Asides• Remarks made to the audience but not heard by those on stage

Conventions

• Realism– Realistic depiction of everyday life– Characters may be unconventional & their thoughts

turbulent and fantasy-ridden

Conventions

• Contemporary– Key word – experimentation– Narrator replaces the messenger, chorus and the

confidante– Flashbacks often substitute for narration.

Dialogue• Provides substance of a play• Decorum what is said is appropriate to the role and

situation of the character• Exposition of play falls on dialogue of the characters– Establishes relationships, tensions, conflicts

Plot• Drama uses the resources of the theater to show

human actions in such a way that we gain a deeper understanding of the human experience.

• Structured story which develops the action of the play– More than a story – involves causes & results, interactions

of characters and a devt in time– Allows story to develop logically, presenting characters in

an unfolding situation

Plot

• Open Conflict plays– Rely on suspense of a struggle in which the hero, against all odds, is

not doomed• Dramatic thesis

– Foreshadowing, in the form of ominous hints or symbolic incidents, conditions the audience to expect certain logical developments

• Coincidence– Sudden reversal of fortune plays depict climatic ironies or

misunderstandings• Dramatic Irony

– Fulfilment of a plan, action or expectation in a surprising way, often opposite of what was intended

Dramatis Personae

• Some mystery should be left in the revelation of character in a play, just as a great deal of mystery is always left in the revelation of character in life, even in one’s own character to himself (Tennessee Williams)

Dramatis Personae

• There is usually at least one antagonist and one There is usually at least one antagonist and one protagonist. protagonist.

• Characters’ names are listed at the beginning of the Characters’ names are listed at the beginning of the drama/play, usually in the order of their appearance. drama/play, usually in the order of their appearance. This listing often includes brief information This listing often includes brief information including: age, appearance, role in the play, and/or including: age, appearance, role in the play, and/or relationship to other characters in the play.relationship to other characters in the play.

Character

• Studying Character– Costumes– Appearance– What they say– What others say about them– Interaction between characters– Times of silence– Motivation – what makes a character tick?

Things to look out for• How is character revealed?• Does the language of the play demand a particular style of

acting or direction?• How significant are sound effects, on stage and off? Is music

necessary?• How important are stage effects & the use of such aspects as:

a revolving stage, different acting levels etc• How impt is costume in giving life to the play & in reinforcing

the ideas and intention of the playwright?• How important is the audience to the success of the play?

Setting

• The place(s) where the action occurs; created through the manipulation of sets, lights, scenery, and references.– Often revealed through stage directions. – Ranges from bare minimum to very elaborate, realistic or

left to the imagination

Stage Directions

• Stage directions describe setting, lighting, movement of characters and props, intonation of dialogue, costumes

• Setting for each scene is usually given in italics at the beginning of the text for that scene.

Activity

• In your prose/drama package groups, work out a scene that begins:– “Ma’am, it is done.”

Reflection

• What do you think are the challenges faced by a tutor in the teaching of drama and how can these be overcome?

• Are there differences in management of a mixed gender class and a single gender class? If yes, what are the differences and how can they be managed?