1. Chapter 9: Creating the World of the play

2. Creating the World of the play
Playwright
Creates the script and purpose of the work
Will it be to move people?
Entertain?
To be challenged?
To be inspired?
To be amused?
To satirize?
A combination?
Will it be based on history?
Will it be biographical?
Will it be based out of the playwright’s life?
Will it be imaginary, fantasy?

3. Creating the World of the play
The playwright chooses the order of the events of the play.
Can have an affect on the action
Chooses the degree of seriousness to take toward the subject.
Comic, tragic, sympathetic, satiric, cynical, celebratory

4. Creating the World of the play
The subject and verb of drama
The subject is always people
The verb is the action of the play
Can be test or challenge
Fight for a person, fight for kingdom
Intellectual or moral test

5. Creating the World of the play
Rules for action
Limited space- Stage space and setting of the play
Limited Time
Time it takes for the performance to be completed
Generally with some exceptions is 2 to 3 hours
Time limit in the play itself
Elapsed time in the play can be a few hours to a few days
Strongly opposed forces
Protagonist vs. Antagonist
People who are bound to clash
Family members have built in rivalries

6. Creating the World of the play
A Balance of Forces
Hard fought and relatively equal contest between forces
Incentive and Motivation
What will be “won” by winning the contest?

7. Creating the World of the play
Plot – arrangement of events
The selection or order of scenes in a play
Based on a story
A selection and arrangement of scenes taken from a story for a presentation onstage.
Story – narrative account of what people do
Full account of an event, or series of events, usually told in chronological order.
Oedipus story includes the Sphinx, death of Laius, Oedipus childhood etc.

8. Creating the World of the play
Dramatic Characters
Playwright emphasizes some personality traits and eliminates others.
Dynamic and interesting
Dramatic Structure
The opening scene
Sets tone and style
Clue to what lies ahead
Sets the wheels of action in motion.
Poses an initial problem
Establishes an imbalance of forces

9. Creating the World of the play
Obstacles and Complications
Obstacles – impediments put in a character’s way.
Complications – outside forces or new twists in the plot introduced at an opportune moment.
Crises and Climax
Crisis -a crucial stage or turning point in the course of something, esp in a sequence of events or a disease
Climax – Final and most significant Crisis.

10. Creating the World of the play
Point of View
Is the bottle half-full or half-empty?
Tells us how to interpret the words and actions of the characters we see onstage; it provides a key to understanding the entire experience.
Playwright has the initial point of view – tragic, comic, satire, etc.
The director and performers then transmit to the audience.

11. Creating the World of the play
Society’s Point of View
Close relationship between Theatre and Society
Tragedy – Greece and Renaissance
Both societies incorporated 2 ideas
Human beings as capable of extraordinary accomplishments
The world is potentially cruel and unjust.
Human beings are exalted above everything else – can achieve anything
Golden age – science, commerce, politics, art
In contrast – life can be cruel, unjust, and meaningless

12. Creating the World of the play
Eighteenth century – the Age of Enlightenment
Nineteenth century – the Century of progress
Men and women (groups) can analyze any problem and, by applying intelligence solve it.
An age of unbounding optimism in which no problem is thought insurmountable, and a sense of moral justice runs strong, is no one in which tragedy can easily emerge.

13. Creating the World of the play
Genre – Plays that share a particular point of view are frequently considered as forming a group.
French – category or type
Comedy, tragedy, melodrama, etc.
Many plays do not fit into one category neatly.
It is important to study the types but keep in mind that a play can have elements of several different genres.

14. Creating the World of the play
Summary
Play has a purpose – entertain, inform, etc
Playwright creates the initial point of view
Action is created by a test or conflict
Obstacles and complications produce tension.
Structure to play
View point of society influences the genre of the play.