By Annabel, Craig, and Anita

Stock characters are a set of identifiable stereotypical character types. E.g. hero villain. The audience was able to recognise them easily. Usually the basic role of the character and traits of their personality stayed the same creating a sense of familiarity even if their backgrounds and relationships slightly differed from the usual.

Melodrama featured a limited number of stock characters usually they included the hero, villain, heroine, sidekick, other minor characters such as an old man, an old women, a comic man and women, a faithful servant and maid servant. Some defining characteristics of the main characters are… Hero - brave, reliable, strong, dashing and depended upon to save the day. Always on good side to defeat evil. From middle to upper class. Heroine – Not usually heroic, often damsel in distress, innocent, pretty but also has elements of bravery, courage and determination. Is also from middle to upper class. Villain – Cruel, mean and evil. Cold-blooded, scheming, feared, hated and on the bad side. They fall short of societal norms. Good always triumphs over evil. Sidekick – Usually comical. Can aid or hinder a situation depending on which sidekick

The audience was very participant in the plays usually reacting in verbal forms to characters and their actions. It was easy for the audience to identify which character was good or bad due to themed character music, costumes, the exaggerated nature of melodrama. The audience responded depending on weather these aspects showed they were good or bad Hero – Audience admired the hero and cheered when he entered the stage. Villain – The audience hated the villain and booed when he entered. Heroine – was admired also and was awed at when entered.

Books Experiencing drama by Bronwyn Mason and Kris Plummer Drama to go by Caroline Wallis Centre stage by Mathew Clausen Internet