4.
Elements of
the Theatre
1. What are the playwright's tasks?
1. Select the specific subject matter of the play,
2. Determine the focus and emphasis,
3. Establish the purpose,
4. Establish the point of view,
5. Develop the dramatic structure, and
6. Create the dramatic characters.
2. Generally, what is the subject matter of play?
Aristotle defined drama as "the imitation of men in action." There for, the subject matter of all drama is "man," the human being. It is the playwright's responsibility to select a specific human being, and to focus on this person's story and character.
3. What is the purpose of drama?
To entertain, to teach, to question, to excite, to move, to thrill, to frighten...
Answering the question: "What is theatre for?," Jeffrey Sweet, a playwright on the Theatre Mailing List, posted...
Theatre is for a lot of things. Entertainment, of course. It's also a social event at which groups of people jointly participate in creating / witnessing images of their culture and so see these images in a new way. It's also for play -- to provide an outlet for people to have a good time in a structured way. It can also be for education -- to make vivid, for instance, arguments and controversies which would look less vital summarized in historical, philosophical, sociological or anthropological texts. Jeffrey Sweet, 1999
4. What are Aristotle's Six Elements of Dramatic Structure?
1. Plot,
2. Character,
3. Dialogue (or diction),
4. Thought (or theme),
5. Rhythm (or music),
6. Spectacle (or the physical production).
Noted scholar Jon Berry has an interesting theory about Aristotle's Six elements of Drama. While Aristotle ranked them in a specific order, Dr. Berry claims that in our pluralistic society, different genres of plays tend to emphasize different elements
5. What plays did he use as his role model?
The classical Greek drama of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes.
6. What essential element must be present for a play to have dramatic action?
Conflict between balanced opposing forces. These forces create the obstacles and complications necessary to generate the action. A character comes upon an obstacle to his desire (super-objective) and attempts to overcome that obstacle by a dramatic action-- a moment. Sometimes he is successful; other times not. The play moves from moment-to-moment until it reaches the climax. This course of dramatic action, and the tension which it creates, does not necessicarily lead to an outburst of anger or violence. In great plays, such as Shaw's St.Joan, "the fullness of joy, exultation, grief," to borrow John Crowther's phrase, is often the result of overcoming, or failing to overcome, an impossible hurdle. A great deal, if not all, of the world's great dramatic literature is constructed in this manner. (il professore, 2000)
7. What are the three basic types of conflict found in western drama?
Conflict between ...
1. Man and the Universe (God, the elements),
2. Man and Man,
3. Man and Himself.
8. What is the difference between a play's story line, and its plot?
A play's story is what happens in the drama, the plot of the play is how the playwright presents that story to the audience.
9. What is the difference between a climactic plot and an episodic plot?
In a climactic plot, the plot begins near the end of the story. The action involves a limited number of characters, unfolds in one or two days, and typically occurs in one location. The climactic play evolved in ancient Greece (5th Century BC) and was popular during the French Rennaisance (1630 to 1700) and the early Realistic Period (1890 to 1940).
In an episodic plot, the plot begins near the beginning of the story. The action typically involves a large cast, unfolds over a number of months (or years) and is broken into many short scenes staged in numerous different locations. The episodic patten is primarily seen in the work of Shakespeare (1564 to 1616) and the early 19th century Romantic Playwrights
10. What is the climax?
The point of highest dramatic tension where the conflict of the play is resolved.
A Crisis?
A mini-climax which falls near the end of each act (except the last act) or scene.
11. Where does the climax normally fall in the structure of a play?
Near the end of the last act.
12. Why is there a mini-climax (crisis) at the end of each act?
To make sure the audience returns after the intermission.
13. What makes a character dramatic?
Dramatic characters are extraordinary, they are "larger than life." Historically, major characters in classical tragedy have been kings, queens, generals, or a member of a noble family. They have also represented either the best, or worst, of human behavior.
14. What are the four plains or levels of dramatic characterization?
1. Physical,
2. Social / economic,
3. Psychological,
4. Ethical / moral.
15. What is a character's spine, or major objective?
A character's spine, using Stanislavski's terminology, is the character's major goal or super-objective.
16. What are the three dramatic techniques a playwright can use to reveal his characters to the audience?
1. By what the character says,
2. By what he does, and
3. By what other character's say about him.
17. What additional techniques can be used by a screen or radio playwright?
Both film and television writers can, through subjective camera angles and voice overs, go into the mind of a character, and relate his thoughts directly to the audience.
18. What is a playwright's major means of expression?
Dialogue.
19. What are the six functions of dramatic dialogue?
1. Give information,
2. Reveal character,
3. Direct attention (foreshadow),
4. Reveal theme or ideas,
5. Establish the level of reality, and
6. Establish the tempo and rhythm of the play.
20. How can a playwright reveal his drama's theme to the audience?
There are two techniques.
1. By literally becoming a character in the play, and directly relating his ideas to the audience, or
2. By implying these ideas through the plot and the dramatic characters he creates.
The playwright normally builds his theme around "universal issues," such as love, family, power, greed, betrayal, friendship.
21. What will happen if the pace of a performance is too slow?
The audience will become restless and lose interest in the production.
Too fast?
The audience will empathize with the actor, not the character, and will become exhausted. The pace of a show is more likely to drag (be too slow) than to be too fast.
22. What does a break in the rhythm of a show indicate to the audience?
That there has been a missed cue, or a dropped line.
23. How does a playwright determine a play's spectacle value?
By his choice of characters, settings, action, and time of day.
1. What is genre ?
Genre is a French word meaning "category" or "type." The choice of genre reflect's the writer's point of view towards his subject. The two oldest genres, dating back to the fifth century BC, are tragedy and comedy.
2. Using the classical definition, what is the difference between a tragedy and a comedy?
In a tragedy, the protagonist goes down in defeat, in a comedy he overcomes the dramatic obstacle and attains his major objective.
3. What is the difference between the protagonist and the antagonist?
The protagonist is the principal character in a play; the antagonist is his primary opponent: the dramatic obstacle.
4. What is the major objective?
The major objective, also known as the spine, is the major character's primary desire or goal. If the character reaches that goal, the play (by definition) is a comedy. If he doesn't, it's a tragedy.
5. What is the popular definition of a drama?
A serious, but not tragic, play dealing with middle, or lower class characters. A bourgeois drama.
A comedy?
A light amusing play with a happy ending. Often a farce.
6. What is the difference between high comedy and low comedy?
The subject of high comedy is usually serious and provokes "thoughtful laughter". The action is both possible and probable and the comedy grows out of the character, not the situation. It is usually a realistic portrayal of life.
The objective of low comedy is "riotous laughter." The action is possible, but not very probable and the play is dominated by situation (plot), not character. It calls for little or no thought, and is only believable for the moment.
7. List the rungs on the Ladder of Comedy.
· Comedy of ideas (satire).
· Comedy of character,
· Comedy of wit,
· Comedy of situation,
· Comedy of pain (slapstick),
The bottom three rungs -- the comedy of pain, situation, and wit -- are generally considered low comedy. The top two rungs, the comedy of character and idea, are high comedy.
8. What is a farce?
A wildly humorous play which emphasizes situation (or plot) over character or idea. A farce is low comedy.
A melodrama?
A serious drama with a trivial theme. The conflict is usually between the forces of good and evil. The excitement comes through physical action: chases, fist fights, and shoot outs. Many of the melodramas of the nineteenth century included a musical (hence melodrama) score.
A bourgeois drama?
A serious play which deals with the domestic problems of the middle and lower class. It is today, the most popular form of serious drama.
A docu-drama?
A docu-drama dramatizes an actual event often using real names, dates, and places and generally drawing its text from court room transcripts or committee hearing reports. The 1925 John Scopes "Monkey Trial" in Dayton, inspired Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee's Inherit the Wind (1955).
Musical theatre?
· Opera: A dramatic work which is entirely sung.
· Musical: A dramatic work which includes both dialogue and song.
· Dance: A dramatic work which tells a story (or creates a mood) through music and movement.