A.
NATURE
OF DRAMA
Definition
and Nature of Drama
Based on etymonology (the origin of word forms), the
word drama comes from greek dram which mean motion (Asul Wijayanto). According
to Moulton, drama is a life story depicted in the form of motion (presented
directly in action). Balthazar Vallhagen states that drama is art describing
the nature and nature of human beings with motion. According to Anne Civardi,
drama is a story that is told and described through words and movements.
Drama that is literary work intended to be presented
on a stage or in contemporary times. In a film by actors to an audience and
that has characters who are in some sort of conflict that involves some sort of
action. The conflict may be physical action, as in Shakespeare’s Henry the IV,
or mental action, as in John Osborne’s Look Back in anger, where they
essentially debated philosophical and more issues.The nature of drama that is
literary form presented by actors, actors who stage the story for the audience
to see in company with alarger group of people.
Another essensial part to distinguish drama from
other literary forms is that characters personal and dialogue and actions must
provide the sole information about drama. Therefore, the essential nature of
drama is to present the action, conflict, crisis and resolution of a story
through character actors before a group comprising the audience in a public
forum where mental and emotional reactions are a collective experience.
B.
THE
ART OF DRAMA
Drama is the word we use when we want to indicate
that we are studying something, like plays or screenplays, in the witten form
when it is really intended for performance. The written form of the play or
film will give important instructions to the director or others involved with the
production yhat may not be apparent to the audience during the performance.
The dramatic arts are a form of narrative performed
on a stage in front of an audience. These stories and the way they are
portrayed manifiest in a wide variety of styles, also known as genres. The two
oldest genres are tragedy and comedy, but both had slightly different meanings
than how they are used today. In simple terms, tragedy involves a story where
the protagonist fails or dies. A comedy has a happy ending and protagonist win.
Sometimes these are funny stories, but in classical theater, terms just related
to the positive or negative outcomes of the story.
C. THE
HISTORY OF DRAMA
Drama in Greece began wit h the observation of
religious ceremonies. Think of a chorus of worshippers standing or moving in a
circle round the altar of a god, chanting in unison and indulging in
unrehearsed dance. The first movement towards the dramatic came.when one member of the chorus
separated himself from the rest, speaking lines to which the chorus collectively replied.
Once this single actor established the situation, it would be followed with the
appearance of the other actors. These actors would begin a formal dialogue and
the attention of the spectators would be focused on them. Tragedy emerged out
of a religious observance, and to the end it remained integrally related to the
service of the gods.
Audiences appreciated these works not just for
entertainment but also for the feelings of devotion and awe these plays
aroused. Not surprisingly, only a formal tone was used in the description of
plot and dialogue. The stories told in these tragic dramas were for the most
restricted to a set of legendary themes. We must also note that essentially
these tragedies were religious exercises, and were presented on special days of
festivals when all the inhabitants of the city state eagerly visited the
theatres. The word ‘tragedy’ can trace its
etymology to the Greek tragoidia, a derivative of tragoidos singer in a tragic
chorus, performer in tragedy. The origins of the tragic form are Greek, meaning
“goat-song”, and possibly refer to the sacrifice of a goat for fertility to the
god Dionysus, in whose honour tragedies were performed. History of drama come from a Greek
word meaning “action” (classical Greek: drama), which is derived from the verb
meaning “ to do” or “to act” (classical Greek).
D. KINDS
OF DRAMA
1. Tragedy
According to
Aristoteles tragedy is an imititation of an action that is serious, complete
and of a certain magnitude, in a language embellished with each kind of
artistic ornaments, the several kinds being found in separate parts of the play
in the form of action not of narrative, through pity and fear effecting a
proper purgation of these emotions.
2. Comedy
Comedy is
lighter drama in which the leading characters overcome the difficulties which
temporarily beset them, there are several kinds of comedy
a. Burleques
Lampooning
other works of art, including thatre pieces.
b. Comedy
of manners
Comedy
which wittiliy portrays fashionable life.
c. Comedy
of situation
Character and
ideas are minor hiden identities, discoveries, revesals, etc. Similar to farce
but less unrealistic
3. Melodrama
Melodrama is
coined from melo (music) and dran (drama). It is therefore, a play that
utilizes music extensively. But the utilization of music is not only factor in
melodrama, what really makes it melodrama is its portrayal of the protagonist
and antagonist. The protagonist suffers a lot but triumphs in the end while the
antagonist. So, melodrama can be defined as a play that has serious action
caused by a villain and a destruction.
4.
Tragi-Comedy
You have seen that tragedy is a serious play that ends
on a sad note, while comedy ends happily. In traditional tragedy, playwrights
are not allowed to bring in any comic action. If you read Oedipus Rex, for
instance, you will observe that the atmosphere is tense from the beginning to
the end. As time went on, even from the Elizabethan period, comic characters
were included in tragic plays. This is called comic relief. Tragi-comedy is a
play that mixes both comic and tragic elements in equal proportion of
each. It therefore elicits both tragic
and comic emotions.
5.
Drame
Dame is a term of the modern period given to a
category of dramatic literature which deals with man in common place and
contemporary circumstance. The genre is presumed to have evolved from the
French drama. The French regarded it as a play of serious intent dealing with
contemporary issues and lives..
6.
Farce
Farce which is referred to as comedy of situation, is
a humorous play on a trivial theme usually one that is familiar to the
audience. The themes that are treated in farce include mistaken identity, elaborate
misunderstanding, switched costume (men in women’s clothes) heroes forced under
tables. The main objective is to entertain by evoking laughter.
E. SOME
TERMS OF DRAMA
a.
Anagnorisis/recognition: point in
the play during which the tragic hero experiences a kind of self-understanding.
b.
Antagonist: the character who opposes the
protagonist.
c.
Catharsis: a
purgation of emotions.
d.
Foil: any character in a play who
through contrast underscores the distinctive characteristics of another,
particularly the protagonist.
e.
Hamartia: tragic flaw
f.
Hubris: overweening pride or insolence
that results in the misfortune of the protagonist of a tragedy.
g.
Peripeteia/reversal: reversal of fortune for the
protagonist--from failure to success or success to failure.
h.
Proscenium or proscenium stage: an arch
that frames a box set and holds the curtain, thus creating the invisible fourth
wall through which the audience sees the action of the play.
i.
Protagonist: the chief character in a work
j.
Stock character: conventional character types whom
the audience recognizes immediately. Examples: the country bumpkin, the shrewish
wife, the braggart soldie
F.
ELEMENTS
OF DRAMA
·
TEXT
1. Dialogue
The
story of a play is taken forward by means of dialogs. The story is narrated to
the audiences through the interaction between the play's characters, which is
in the form of dialogs. The contents of the dialogs and the quality of their
delivery have a major role to play in the impact that the play has on the
audiences. The words used, the accent, tone, pattern of speech, and even the
pauses in speech.
2. Monologue
Monologue,
in literature and drama, an extended speech by one person. The term has several
closely related meanings. A dramatic monologue (q.v.) is any speech of some
duration addressed by a character to a second person. In fictional literature,
an interior monologue (q.v.) is a type of monologue that exhibits the thoughts,
feelings, and associations passing through a character’s mind.
3. Plot
The
order of events occurring in a play make its plot. Essentially, the plot is the
story that the play narrates. The entertainment value of a play depends largely
on the sequence of events in the story. The connection between the events and
the characters in them form an integral part of the plot. What the characters
do, how they interact, the course of their lives as narrated by the story, and
what happens to them in the end, constitutes the plot. A struggle between two
individuals, the relation between them, a struggle with self, a dilemma, or any
form of conflict of one character with himself or another character in the
play, goes into forming the story's plot
4. Setting
The
time and place where a story is set is one of its important parts. The time
setting may affect the central theme of the play, the issues raised (if any),
the conflict, and the interactions between the characters. The time period and
the location in which the story is set, affect the play's staging. Costumes and
makeup, the backgrounds and the furniture used, the visuals (colors and kind of
lighting), and the sound are among the important elements of a play that
dictate how the story is translated into a stage performance.
5. Stage
directions
Stage
directions perform a variety of different functions. On one hand, a
playwright's stage directions allow the actors to know who should enter the
stage and from where they should enter or exit the acting area. For example
,should they enter from the left, from the right, or from some other direction
if the play is being done in a theater with a different configuration (e.g.,
semi-circular; circular).
·
TRANSFORMATION
1.
Directing
Directing, the art of leading dramatic performances
on the stage or in films. The modern theatrical director is in complete charge
of all the artistic aspects of a dramatic presentation, the director helps plan the
lighting, scenery, sound effects, and musical accompaniment for the production.
All the director's efforts are aimed at creating a fully unified aesthetic
experience.
2. Stage
In theatre and performing arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance of
productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal
point (the screen in cinema theaters) for the members of the audience.
3.
Props
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property is
an object used on stage or on screen by actors during a performance or screen
production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or
portable on a stage or a set, distinct from the actors, scenery, costumes, and
electrical equipment. Consumable food items appearing in the production are
also considered props.
4.
Lighting
Stage lighting is the craft of lighting as it
applies to the production of theater, dance, opera, and other performance
arts.[1] Several different types of stage lighting instruments are used in this
discipline.[2] In addition to basic lighting, modern stage lighting can also
include special effects, such as lasers and fog machines.
·
PERFORMANCE
1. Actore
An actor is a person who portrays a character in a
performance (also actress; see below).The actor performs "in the
flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as
film, radio, and television. The actor's interpretation of their role the art
of acting pertains to the role played.
2. Methods
There are two basic theoretical approaches to modern
acting: the external or technical method and the internal or realistic method.
In the external method, the actor is supposed to be able to imitate the moods
required in his part by using certain techniques, but without actually feeling
these moods. The internal method, however, builds on individual identification
of the actor with his part. The external method relies on impersonation and
simulation.
3. facial
expression
A facial expression conveys an emotion that tells us
about the character and the way they react to the situation. It may also tell
us something about that situation, eg if the character is very shocked when
something happens. A facial expression can also convey the character’s true
feelings.
4. Gestures
A gesture is a defined movement which clearly
communicates meaning. Shaking a fist communicates anger, a curled finger
beckoning means ‘come here’ and blowing a kiss is an affectionate gesture.
Gestures are usually made with the arms and hands, but not always.
5.
language
The use of language in performance can be verbal,
vocal or non-verbal. Language is the spoken text. It is the written script
realised in performance. While normally spoken by the actor, language can also
be chanted or sung. It can also be deliberately nonsensical (gibberish) for
dramatic effect. The choice of language in performance is crucial, as it is
forms a major means of communicating the story of the drama to the audience.
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