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Drama

Introduction to drama studies

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21 views4 pages

Drama

Introduction to drama studies

Uploaded by

josephmsonthi71
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Drama

Drama is a type of literature usually written to be performed. The term


originates from a Greek term which means to do.
Traditional Drama
Masquerades
Masquerade tradition is an ageless practise in most African countries. It
enjoys durability and continuity over time made possible by family and
communal inheritance of the art, craft and magic of Masquerade through
generations.
They have continued to be identified with communities in relation to
ceremonies, festivals that relate to marriage, procreation death, sacrifice,
continuity, survival and many other cultural events
In Europe the Masque is a festival or entertainment in which disguised
participants offer gifts to their hosts and join together in a ceremonial
dance.
It is also a form of drama where participants wear masks. The theme of
the drama is usually mythological, allegorical, or symbolic.
Myths, Ritual and Ceremonies
Theatre emerged from myth, ritual and ceremony.
It usually started as a habit, then led to a tradition, and then on to a
ceremony or ritual. The formulation of these actions, and the consequent
repetitions and rehearsal, broke ground for theatre.
Mythologist Joseph Campbell says rituals related to three basic concerns;
pleasure, power, and duty. Rituals that were practiced as duty to gods
also brought entertainment and pleasure.
Rituals are accompanied by Myths.
The myths enter the tradition of storytelling (stories about gods). This
allowed myths to move towards entertainment and the aesthetic.
Through these Rituals, leaders or actors of sorts emerged (played by
priests). In addition, the beginning of acting spaces and auditoriums
developed as a result of more elaborate rituals.
Dance
This refers to the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to
music and within a given space, for the purpose of expressing an idea or
emotion, releasing energy.
In ancient Greek theatre dance played a central role where the dance
portrayed the themes of the drama during lyric interludes. In Morden
theatre, characters are able to tell a story through dancing in what is
called dance Theatre.

The Play
This is a structured event performed before an audience.
Structure of a Play
This is how a play is organised or shaped.
Naturalistic Structure
It gives the illusion of real life presented on stage. There is unity of time
and place in this structure. The action revolves through the situations and
personalities of characters.
Classical Structure
Usually associated with the plays of Shakespeare. This usually takes the
shape of three acts.
Act One: Introduces the protagonist and an incident to be solved.
Act Two: Deals with character and plot development.
Act Three: Resolves the action
An act is further divided into scenes
Surreal Structure
The play is not set in recognisable place or time. The task is to take the
audience on a journey in to the subconscious world or dream world.
Episodic Structure
Lots of relatively short scenes are linked together by the same character,
place or theme. Scenes could be shuffles around and placed in different
order because there is no overall beginning, middle and the end.
Elements of a play
Plot
These are the events of a play
Music
Music can encompass the rhythm of dialogue and speeches of a play.
Music creates patterns and establishes tempo in a theatre. It can also
create a mood in a scene or play.
Character
These are agents of a plot
Types of Characters
Flat Character
A flat character does not grow with the development of the plot. They
remain static or unchanged from the beginning of the play to the end.
Round Character
These grow with the action of the play
Stock Characters
These are characters that reappear again with the same attributes each
time. Such types are called stereotypes.
Theme
Central idea that holds together various events of the plot. If a play has a
good plot but a poor theme, it will have a temporal success.

Elements of drama
Spectacle
Spectacle means the visual elements of the production of a play.
This include, the stage, furniture, scenery, costumes and curtains.
Audience
These are a group of individuals gathered at a certain time or place to
watch a performance.
These are the most important elements of drama.
Dialogue
These are the words that are exchanged on stage. Dialogue can be
effective with the right diction.
Diction or word choice
These are the choice of words made by the playwright and enunciation of
the actors delivering these words. It means a king should speak like a king
and a clown like a clown.
Mime
This is when actors perform their actions without using words. The
audience is supposed to interpret and create meanings from the actions of
the actors.
Stage
This is where actors perform their play. A stage can be manipulated to fit
the setting of the particular play. For example, a village play will require
props such as fake thatched houses and trees for bushes.
Impersonation
This is when an actor imitates the personality of a character and act as
though he/she is that character. For example, one does not have to be
Romeo to play a Character of Romeo in Shakespeare’s Romeo and
Juliet.
Costume
This are the clothes that actors wear on stage
Props
This is short form for property. These include everything that you see on
stage that is not worn by the actors.
Movement
This is the technique that actors employ to show gestures or locomote
from one place to the other. The manner of movement reveals the
emotional condition of the actor.
Types of Drama
Tragedy
The modern tragedy is usually considered as a play with an unhappy
ending. A tragedy in Greek theatre ended on a happy note. The functions
of a tragedy are to delight and please.
Comedy
Comedy is a representation of ridiculous characters with an aim to amuse
or induce laughter.
Masque
It is a form of drama where participants wear masks. The theme of the
drama is usually mythological, allegorical, or symbolic. A masque makes
use of music, dance, costly costumes and elaborate scenery.
Tragicomedy
It is a combination of both the comedy and tragedy. It ends on a sad note
for some characters and on a happy note for some characters

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