General Information Flashcards
Genre
a category of composition, characterized by form, style, or subject matter
Main Genres
Tragedy & Comedy
Tragedy
Genre in which the protagonist fails or dies, usually with a sad ending.
Comedy
Genre in which the protagonist wins/succeeds, usually with a happy ending.
Types of Performances
Musical, Opera, Dance, Puppetry, Pantomime, Mime
Steps to Analyze a Play
- Identify genre
- Find theme
- Analyze dramatic techniques
- Combine for final analysis
Soliloquy
Actor speaks their thoughts, alone on stage.
Aside
Character addresses the audience, revealing inner thoughts; other characters cannot hear them.
Drama
A piece of writing presented almost exclusively through dialog; uses script format.
Act
Major division of a play
Scene
Small divisions in an act; setting changes most of the time.
Elements of a Production
- script
- rehearsal
- performance
- audience
Script
A “blueprint” for a production, building on a central theme or artistic statement.
Commedia dell’arte
Renaissance era comedic improv using stock characters & pre-existing scenarios.
Modern Improv Companies
The Second City; The Groundlings
Dialog-driven Theatre
Script which leaves no room for improv; ex: Shakespeare
process
the steps taken to make a complete product for performance
Audience
the receivers of the “product” (the performance); without an audience there is no performance.
Product
the performance; must be presented to the receivers (the audience).
Performance
form of art using the body of the artist(s) to convey meaning.
Parts of a Narrative
Exposition, rising action, climax, denoument
Exposition
Introduces characters, setting, etc.
Rising Action
builds tension, presents roadblocks and character growth
Climax
The big battle or culmination of events
Denoument
what happens after, wrapping up lose ends
Primitive Theatre
Rituals; possible precursor to 1st performance.
Chorus
group of men & boys acting as performers and narrators
Greek Theatre Masks
Used to change characters, amplify voices, and represent muses.
Greek Playwrights
Sophocles, Aeschylus, & Euripides
Mystery Plays
Stories from the Bible
Miracle Plays
Stories about the saints.
Morality Plays
Allegorical plays meant to promote a godly life
Everyman
The hero of a morality play, representing mankind; overcomes evil through good deeds, reaching heaven.
Renaissance
A period of “rebirth” from 1400-1700, beginning in Italy.
Renaissance Developments in Theatre
Indoor theatre, arched stage, dropping a curtain between scenes, elaborate set design
Renaissance Transitions
From purely religious themes to secular entertainment
Renaissance Implementations
song, dance, music
Moliere
French playwright who satirized the powerful/important people of society.
Christopher Marlowe
English tragedian from Elizabethan time.
Ben Jonson
English comedian from Elizabethan time.
Shakespeare
prolific English playwright; wrote both tragedies and comedies.
Romanticism
Literary & artistic movement of the 1800s, focused on fighting injustice to preserve human rights.
Melodrama
Drama genre in which the hero always wins, good fights evil, and there’s lots of action & special effects.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Known for the Fauste.
Realism
Movement of the `1800s in rebuttal to Romanticism; developed with scientific & psychological discoveries. Had no happy endings, a reflection of the human condition.
A Doll’s House
Written by Henrik Ibsen; A woman leaves her family to find herself, controversial for suggesting women can’t find their purpose in (then) modern society.
Eugene O’Neill
America’s 1st playwright to achieve fame abroad; wrote Long Day’s Jouney into the Night.
Long Day’s Journey Into the Night
Play by Eugene O’Neill; semi-autobiographical depiction of a family’s struggle with addiction and loss.
Arthur Miller
Post-WWII playwright of The Crucible and Death of a Salesman.
Tennesee Williams
Post-WWII playwright of The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire.
Theatre of the Absurd
Drama movement based on the idea that existence is meaningless with no rhyme or reason for one’s actions.
Characteristics of Theatre of the Absurd
Illogical dialog, irrational actions, often ends in silence, not mainstream
Minority Theatre
Drama movement focused on minorities and their struggles.
Lorraine Hansberry
1st black female African American successful in US; wrote A Raisin in the Sun.
August Wilson
Author of the Pittsburgh Cycle, a 10 play exploration of the African American experience.
