Fundamentals of Theatre Arts 121

1
Fundamentals of Theatre Arts 121

• What is a Play?

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What is a Play?

• Elements of a play
• written work
• time
• genres
• structure

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What is a Play? Elements

• Written work
• created to be witnessed by an audience
• created to be performed by actors
• created to be performed in a theatrical space
• created by playwright to share an idea or theme

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What is a Play? Elements

• Time 2 meanings
• Length the run time of the play itself
• 2 hours, for dramas
• 3 hours, for musicals
• 1 hour or 1.5 hours for childrens drama
• ten minute plays one minute plays
• Historical placement in time
• Ancient History / Medieval / Elizabethan
• Neoclassicism / Modern

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What is a Play? Elements

• Genres is the categorizing of plays.
• -Tragedy - a play focuses on the downfall of a
  main character showing the decline of the human
  condition.
• - Comedy - a play that involves amusement with
  witty dialogue, verbal and sexual playfulness,
  pursuit of loved, and involves conflict in some
  format.

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What is a Play? Elements

• Genres continued
• Melodramas - plays that are serious but are
  trivial entertainments. They cannot accept
  unpleasant endings or generate a catharsis but
  can evoke a deep emotional audience sentiment.
• Farces - a wildly hilarious treatment of a
  trivial theme with mistaken identity,
  infatuation, physical comedy, etc.

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What is a Play? Elements

• Genres - continued
• Documentary - an authentic retelling of a
  historical event.
• Musical - a play with songs and dance.
• Documentary - an authentic retelling of a
  historical event.
• Childrens Drama a play developed specifically
  with children in mind.

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What is a Play? Elements

• Genres continued
• Interlude - usually comedic presentations of
  juggling or tumbling or dancing at state banquets
  during the Middle Ages.
• Cycle plays - presented as Biblical plays
  performed in a series and often included a
  procession through town during the Middle Ages.
• History plays - plays about people and events
  in history. Many times these plays laced the
  cathartic elements of tragedy and comedies.
• Tragicomedy - plays that combine tragedy and
  comedy and may be characterized by a tragedy
  that ends happily. Something About Mary
• Dark Comedy - is a play that is comic in delivery
  but is disturbing and ends ironically. Fargo

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What is a Play? Elements

• Structure
• Conflict
• Plot
• Character
• Theme
• Diction / music
• Spectacle

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What is a Play? Elements

• Conflict
• Root conflict - the main conflict of the play.
  The two opposing forces.
• Protagonist usually the main character who
  wants something
• Antagonist usually the person who prevents
  protagonist from getting what they want,
  intentionally or unintentionally.

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What is a Play? Elements

• Conflict
• Root Conflict Sentence
• Protagonist, in an effort to get what he/she
  wants, does this, however, the antagonist
  prevents it by doing this, but it ends up like
  this and this is the lesson learned.

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What is a Play? Elements

• Plot
• Inciting incident - the moment in a play that
  starts the conflict in motion.
• Crisis - the moment in the play that sets the
  opposing forces on a collision course. It is
  usually at the end of first act in a two act
  play, or right before intermission.
• Catastrophe - the moment in the play where the
  two opposing forces are head to head and
  something has to change.
• Climax - the moment in the play where the
  opposing forces are resolved.
• Denouement - the epilogue of the play where loose
  ends are pulled together.

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What is a Play?

• Character - the people in the play. The actors
  impersonate a character. Characters can be
  complex with motivations and objectives. They
  can symbolize ideas or not be fully developed at
  all. It is the actors challenge to make full,
  well-rounded characters.
• Theme - the meaning of the play. It may be never
  mentioned within the script or it may pound you
  over the head. Authors write to say something
  and the audience must figure it out. Many times
  a play means something different to everyone.
  There may be no right and wrong answers to this.

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What is a Play? Elements

• Diction - the spoken dialogue which includes
  cadence, imagery, articulation, verse, rhyme,
  etc. Is very strong to identify the style of the
  play.
• Music - vocal or instrumental.
• Spectacle - encompasses the visual aspects of a
  production with sets, costumes, lighting, makeup,
  props. Can be the most memorable element in a
  production.
• Conventions - asides, freezes, permits a
  communication with the audience without
  disrupting action on stage.