T HEATRE An event in which the performers are in the presence of the audience. Personal Contact Does the audience affect the performance?

W HAT ARE THE NAMES OF THE C OMEDY AND T RAGEDY M ASKS ? The Comedy Mask is named Thalia The Tragedy Mask is named Melpomene

H OW DO THE ACTORS AFFECT US ? Observe Movement Hear Words See costumes, lights, scenery Sense the presence of the other audience members Illusion Imagination

R EALISTIC T HEATRE Not make-believe People dress and behave as we expect them to Resembles life closely Real furniture, real clothes Normal conversation NonRealistic Theatre Poetry, Music, Dance, Pantomime Abstract use of shape, color, lighting Dreams, Ghosts, Make-Believe

T YPES OF T HEATRE P ERFORMANCE IN O UR A REA Broadway Off – Broadway Off – Off – Broadway Resident Professional College and University Community Theater High School

T RAGEDY Does someone have to die in a tragedy? NO! It can happen, but not necessary. The hero or heroine confronts adversity, Can lose, but in losing they win. Common tenets of a tragedy: The world is cruel No one cares about human concerns Innocents suffer while evil prospers

T RADITIONAL T RAGEDY Hero/Heroine maintains a form of status Symbols of society or culture King, Prince, Duke, General, Wealthy Central figures caught in a series of tragic circumstances Oedipus, Othello, Romeo and Juliet No Turning back, no way out Accepts responsibility for own actions and has immense capacity to suffer. Written in Verse, or poetry

M ODERN T RAGEDY Written in the last 100 years Individual human beings as helpless victims of society. Society is to blame. Characters ready to lay down their life if need be, in order to secure personal dignity. Everyday man, no noble status Written in prose, or the common language

O THER FORMS OF T RAGEDY Heroic Drama Characters go through trials but are victorious in the end. Mostly happy ending for the hero Hero may die, but everything is alright. Melodrama Battle of good versus evil Exaggerated acting style Domestic Drama Deals with home or ‘family’ affairs of lower class or middle class people

C OMEDY Pure Comedy: One gets seriously hurt Only funny when people realize there’s no real threat Same concerns as Tragedy But looks at the world with a comic view

T RADITIONAL C OMEDY Used only lower classes in comedy No one would make fun of royalty or the nobles Laws of society are not wrong, But the people who defy them are. Man is absurd Slapstick: Loud comedy, exaggeration

M ODERN C OMEDY Society is absurd Not the individual Makes fun of ordinary man And people in power Still use of slapstick and physical

W AYS THAT C OMEDY W ORKS Verbal Humor Puns Malaprops Comedy of Character Plot Complications Incongruities Surprise Exaggeration Repetition Wisecrack

F ORMS OF C OMEDY Farce Comedy of Manners Satire Burlesque

Protagonist Mover of the action Antagonist Opposing Force Confidante Friend, Someone that listens Confessor

A RISTOTLE ’ S S IX E LEMENTS OF D RAMA Plot An organization of all elements in a meaningful pattern The Beginning: establish place, occasion, characters, mood, theme Exposition: information Inciting Incident: sets the main action in motion Major Dramatic Question

PLOT CONTINUED The Middle The Discovery, where we can find: plot complications, new characters new information Leads to the Climax or the Crisis Point The End Resolution Dénouement (unraveling) Answers all questions

C HARACTER Playwright’s means of separating one person from another. Four Levels of Characterization Physical – gender, age, size, color, clothes, hair Social – economic status, profession, religion, family relationships, married/single, environment Psychological – Inner workings of the mind, desires, habits, likes, motivations Moral – shows what a character does when facing or making a difficult choice.

 T HOUGHT Themes Arguments Meaning of the action May use: Soliloquies Asides Breaking the fourth wall and speaking directly to the audience

 D ICTION Speech, language Sound – includes language, music effects, sound effects Diction: Tells information Characterize Directs attention to important elements Reveals themes and ideas Establishes tone and mood

 M USIC All patterned sound Pitch, stress, volume, tempo, duration Example: You say HE told her? You say he told HER? Actors may interpret a passage different than the playwright intended by playing with the music

 SPECTACLE All elements combined: Movement Spatial relationships Lighting Setting and props Costumes Dialogue

L IST ALL S IX E LEMENTS  Plot  Character  Thought  Diction  Music  Spectacle