Slide 5: Melodramas emerged due to two major revolutions: industrial

revolution + French revolution. Industrial revolution- put more money

Slide 3: The word Melodrama has been derived from in the hands of the people, resulting in them having more money to
spend on forms of entertainment. It marked the advent of the
two words. The Greek word Melos, meaning music and
upliftment of the middle classes. Before this form of theatre, the middle
the French word drama od the same name. According class was not allowed to attend any form of theatrical entertainment.
to Carolyn Williams in her book on Melodrama Theatre, However, Victorian melodramas were open to all sections of society and
“Audiences experience melodramatic rhythm as periods helped to break down the rigid class system. Secondly, it improved the
of suspenseful absorption pierced by intensified technology of set design, stage mechanisms and other production
moments of shock, terror, or sentiment.” elements. French revolution- reduced imp of church, no morality plays.
broader thinking was encouraged, resulting in acceptance of non-
religious plays as well.

Slide 4: Victorian Melodrama appeared in the late 18th century

in both Europe and America. Victorian Melodrama originated Slide 6: Melodrama was performed in a proscenium style
from medieval morality plays that were popular in the 15th and stage with extremely detailed sets. According to words-
16th century. These morality plays were used to teach lessons on-expressions, the practitioners made use of ropes, flats,
and used different characters to represent the good and the bridges, treadmills and revolves. They made chariots and
bad sides. According to Justin Cash’s article, Victorian moving backgrounds. Melodramas were usually set in
Melodramas started out as operettas using music and song to exotic locations, either particularly lush and beautiful or
get around the bans on serious theatre in England. The addition ugly and decrepit, never ordinary.`
of music to the plays relieved tension and made it funnier.
 Slide 12: Actors typically use presentational and authoritative
tone of voice. There were long speeches by both heroes and
villains and when a speech was particularly well received, it
was repeated a few times. The tone of voice changes for every
Slide 8: Stock characters basic explanation. character. The hero, for example, would have a lower pitched,
deeper voice with a strong tone. The damsel would have a high
Slide 10: My chosen performance convention is The Portrayal of
pitched, nervous tone. With concern or distress seeping
the Hero with respect to voice and gestures in Melodrama.
through. Another major feature of voice is asides. Asides were
used by characters to reveal their true intentions by speaking
directly to the audience. They used a conspiratorial or
conversational tone.

Slide 11: The hero is the principal character of the play, He is Slide 13: Large, sweeping gestures were used. Gestures were codified
and had different meanings. An Octeroon’s article, Actor Training in the
moral, just, and brave. He has a good sense of right and wrong
romantic era tells us that good characters showed curve, grace, and
and bests the villain at the end of every plot line. His public
beauty in their motions. Bad characters were sharp and angular. Serious
stance would always be bold- shoulders pushed back and head moments merited slow movements, comic ones fast. Outstretched
held high. However, in direct soliloquies (asides) to the arms and pointed fingers were used extremely often and movements
audience he may drop his shoulders and reveal his fears. His mostly originated at the shoulder instead of the elbow, as we can see in
voice behaves the same way, it will confident, strong, and this image. Another very important of melodramatic movements is the
directly projected in front of other characters. But in asides, he absence of a neutral stance. According to The Octeroon’s guide to Actor
may be uncertain. training in the romantic era, actors must always hold poses from their
previous action. The neutral stance is forbidden.
 Slide 20: Here I have two short clips to demonstrate the
Slide 14: In this picture we can see key poses held by all the gestures and voice in melodrama.
characters on stage.
Slide 21: My next stage was practicing. I started out by learning
Slide 15+16: We can see some basic stances and gesture poses the gestures for emotions. These pictures are from an initial
from the melodramas. stage. Here, we notice that the gestures look incomplete. I am
Slide 18: Brief overview of the steps I followed to mastering the standing in a neutral lower body stance, which is strictly not
tradition. allowed for melodrama actors.

Slide 19: My first step was reading and research. I read journals, Slide 22: Here, we can see my improvement. My feet are a
book excerpts, actor guides and so on to get a good theoretical part of the gesture too, causing the removal of the neutral
stance. These gestures are more complete and much more
understanding of my convention. I learnt the convention by
accurate.
reading up on melodrama theory and watching explanatory
videos. I used a few different sources for this. I read excerpts Slide 23: I started out not really knowing how to use my voice
the way that melodrama requires. I wasn’t completely sure on
from Kristen Leaver’s book, “Victorian Melodrama and the
how to work with gestures. I did a lot of background reading
Performance of Poverty.” I read extracts from Sara Hudston’s, and watched some performance videos before I decided I was
“Victorian Theatricals: From menageries to melodrama”. I also ready to try out my convention. Here is a video that I took in
watched a few videos and silent movies to fully understand the the initial phase of my practice. After showing this to my
movements, gestures and voice. mentor, here is the feedback I received.
Slide 24: Here is my final stage of learning: the Masterclass by
Kevin Tomlinson. Here, we learnt more about the movements,
voice and gestures of the hero and the villain in Melodrama.
Here are some screenshots from the session.
Slide 25: In these pictures you can see me attempting the
various heroic melodramatic gestures.

Slide 26: This is the script I have written for my moment

of theatre. This moment is where the hero is confronting
the Villain about kidnapping the heroine. It begins with a
short aside about the hero vowing to make things right
and then moves on to him threatening the villain. This is
the type of monologue that would be well received by
the audience. It would be greeted with applause and calls
for repetition. It is a moment of significance in the play
and one of the turning points where the hero has decided
to settle the score.