This document provides an overview of different play genres and theatrical terms: - Comedies are designed to be humorous and use elements like wit, unusual characters, and mistaken identities. Common genres include farces, satires, and restoration comedies. - Tragedies have darker themes like death and contain a tragic flaw that leads to the protagonist's downfall. - Other genres include historical plays, musical theatre, theatre of cruelty, and theatre of the absurd. - The document also defines key terms like "play" and discusses Shakespeare's plays which fall into categories of tragedies, comedies, histories, and romances.

1. Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of dialogue between characters, intended
for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from Broadway, Off-
Broadway, regional theater, to Community theatre, as well as University or school productions. There are rare dramatists,
notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed or read. The term "play"
can refer to both the written works of playwrights and to their complete theatrical performance.[1
Genres
Comedy[
Comedies are plays which are designed to be humorous. Comedies are often filled with witty remarks, unusual characters, and strange circumstances. Certain
comedies are geared toward different age groups. Comedies were one of the two original play types ofAncient Greece, along with tragedies. An example of a
comedy would be William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream," or for a more modern example the skits from "Saturday Night Live".
Farce
A generally nonsensical genre of play, farces are often overacted and often involveslapstick humor. An example of a farce includes William Shakespeare's play The
Comedy of Errors, or Mark Twain's play Is He Dead?.
Satirical
A satire play takes a comic look at current events people while at the same time attempting to make a political or social statement, for example pointing
out corruption. Anexample of a satire would be Nikolai Gogol's The Government Inspector and Aristophanes' Lysistrata. Satire plays are generally one of the most
popular forms of comedy, and often considered to be their own genre entirely.
Restoration Comedy
This is a genre that explored relationships between men and women, and was considered risqué in its time. Characters featured in restoration comedy included
stereotypes of all kinds, and these same stereotypes were found in most plays of this genre, so much so that most plays were very similar in message and content.
However, since restoration comedy dealt with unspoken aspects of relationships, it created a type of connection between audience and performance that was more
informal and private.
It is commonly agreed that restoration comedy has origins in Molière’s theories of comedy, but differs in intention and tone.[5] The inconsistency between restoration
comedy’s morals and the morals of the era is something that often arises during the study of this genre. This may give clues as to why, despite its original success,
restoration comedy did not last long in the seventeenth century. However, in recent years, it has become a topic of interest for theatre theorists, whohave been
looking into theatre styles that have their own conventions of performance.[6]
Tragedy
These plays contain darker themes such as death and disaster. Often the protagonist of the play has a tragic flaw, a trait which leads to their downfall. Tragic plays
convey all emotions, and have extremely dramatic conflicts. Tragedy was one of the two original play types of Ancient Greece. Some examples of tragedies include
William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and also John Webster's play The Duchess of Malfi.[2]
Historical
These plays focus on actual historical events. They can be tragedies or comedies, but are often neither of these. History as a separate genre was popularized
by William Shakespeare. Examples of historical plays include Friedrich Schiller's Demetrius and William Shakespeare's King John.[7]
Musical Theatre
Ballad opera, a popular theatre style at the time, was the first style of musical to be performed in the American colonies. The first musical of American origin was
premiered in Philadelphia in 1767, and was called “The Disappointment”, however, this play never made it to production. Around the 1920s, theatre styles were
beginning to be defined more clearly. For musical theatre, this meant that composers gained the right to create every song in the play, and these new plays wereheld
to more specific conventions, such as thirty-two-bar songs. When the Great Depression came, many people left Broadway for Hollywood, and the atmosphere of
Broadway musicals changed significantly. A similar situation occurred during the 1960s, when composers were scarce and musicals lacked vibrancy and
entertainment value.
By the 1990s, there were very few original Broadway musicals, as many were recreations of movies or novels.
Musical productions have songs to help explain the story and move the ideas of the play along. They are usually accompanied by dancing. Musicals can be very
elaborate in settings and actor performances. Examples of musical productions include Wicked and Fiddler on the Roof.
Theatre of Cruelty
This theatre style originated in the 1940s when Antonin Artaud hypothesized about the effects of expressing through the body as opposed to “by socially conditioned
thought.” In 1946, he wrote a preface to his works in which he explained how he came to write what and the way he did.
Above all, Artaud did not trust language as a means of communication. Plays within the genre of theatre of cruelty are abstract in convention and content. Artaud
wanted his plays to have an effect and accomplish something. His intention was to symbolize the subconscious through bodily performances, as he did not believe
language could be effective. Artaud considered his plays to be an enactment rather than a re-enactment, which meant he believed his actors were in reality, rather
than re-enacting reality.
His plays dealt with heavy issues such as patients in psychwards, and Nazi Germany. Through these performances, he wanted to “make the causes of suffering
audible”, however, audiences originally reacted poorly, as they were so taken aback by what they saw. Much of his work was banned in France at the time.
Artaud did not believe that conventional theatre of the time would allow the audience to have a cathartic experience and help heal the wounds of World War II. For
this reason, he moved towards radio-based theatre, in which the audience could use their imagination to connect the words they were hearing to their body. This
made his work much more personal and individualized, which he believed would increase the effectiveness of portraying suffering.[9]
Theatre of the Absurd
Theatre of the Absurd: This genre generally includes metaphysical representations of existential qualms and questions. Theatre of the absurd denies rationality, and
embraces the inevitability of falling into the abyss of the human condition. Instead of discussing these issues, however, theatre of the absurd is a demonstration of
them. This leaves the audience to discuss and question the content of the play for themselves.
One of the main aspects of theatre of the absurd is the physical contradiction to language. Oftentimes, the dialogue between characters will directly oppose their
actions.
Famous playwrights within this genre include Beckett, Sartre, Ionesco, Adamov, and Genet.

2. Terminology
The term "play" can be either a general term, or more specifically refer to a non-musical play. Sometimes the term "straight play" is used in contrast to "musical",
which refers to a play based on music, dance, and songs sung by the play's characters. For a short play, the term "playlet" is sometimes used.
Types of Play
Quick revise
Shakespeare wrote nearly 40 plays during his life. These plays can be divided into four types:
 Tragedies – these plays focus on a tragic hero (or couple, as in Romeo and Juliet) whose downfall is brought about through weakness or misfortune of
some kind. This kind of play ends with the death of the central character but also involves the death of a number of other characters.
 Comedies – this kind of play involves humour and often confusion, disguise,mistaken identity etc. Unlike our modern idea of comedy, some
ofShakespeare’s comedies can be quite ‘dark’ but the main thing is that they end happily and there are no deaths at the end.
 Histories – this kind of play is based on historical events and characters, often on kings or important figures from Roman history. These plays often have
tragic elements too.
 Romances – these are some of Shakespeare’s later plays (sometimes called ‘Last Plays), and often involvemagical worlds and happenings, mysterious
events and moral lessons contained within a ‘happy’ ending. A small number of his plays, however, do not fit easily into these categories. These are
plays that fall somewhere between tragedy and comedy and contain dark, unsettling elements but which end ‘happily’ in so far as no one dies. They
are knows as ‘Problem Comedies’ or ‘Dark Comedies’.
Plotand Structure
All plays, including those of Shakespeare, have a plot and some kind of structure.
Put simply, the plot of a play is the ‘story’ that the play tells and the structure is the way that the story is organised and put together.
Plotand structure are important because they make up the whole ‘storyline’ of the playand so, before you can really begin to study the other aspects of
the play, you really need to be familiar with these.
You cannot begin to study a play properly until youknow what happens in the play.
Decide which type of play you are studying and be aware of its particular characteristics
William ShakespeareBiography
Poet, Playwright (c. 1564–1616)
NAME
William Shakespeare
OCCUPATION
Poet, Playwright
BIRTH DATE
c. April 23, 1564
DEATH DATE
April 23, 1616
EDUCATION
King's New School
PLACE OF BIRTH
Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
PLACE OF DEATH
Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom
AKA
Shakspere
Will Shakespeare
NICKNAME
"Bard of Avon"
"Swanof Avon"
"The Bard"
William Shakespeare, often called the English national poet, is widely considered the greatest dramatist of all time.
QUOTES
“Thefool doth thinkhe is wise, butthe wise man knows himselfto bea fool.”

3. —William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare - Mini Biography (TV-14; 4:43) Though little is known about William Shakespeare's personal life, his works such as "Hamlet," "Romeo and
Juliet," and "King Lear," have influenced literature and theater for over 400 years.
Synopsis
William Shakespeare was baptized on April 26, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. From roughly 1594 onward he was an important member of the Lord
Chamberlain’s Men company of theatrical players. Written records givelittle indication of the way in which Shakespeare’s professional life molded his artistry. All that
can be deduced is that over the course of 20 years, Shakespeare wrote plays that capture the complete range of human emotion and conflict.
Mysterious Origins
Known throughout the world, the works of William Shakespeare have been performed in countless hamlets, villages, cities and metropolises for more than 400 years.
And yet, the personal history of William Shakespeare is somewhat a mystery. There are two primary sources that provide historians with a basic outline of his life.
One source is his work—the plays, poems and sonnets—and the other is official documentation such as church and court records. However, these only provide brief
sketches of specific events in his life and provide little on the person who experienced those events.
Early Life
Though no birth records exist, church records indicate that a William Shakespeare was baptized at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26, 1564.
From this, it is believed he was born on or near April 23, 1564, and this is the date scholars acknowledge as William Shakespeare's birthday.
Located 103 miles west of London, during Shakespeare's time Stratford-upon-Avon was a market town bisected with a country road and the River Avon. William was
the third child of John Shakespeare, a leather merchant, and Mary Arden, a local landed heiress. William had two older sisters, Joan and Judith, and three younger
brothers, Gilbert, Richard and Edmund. Before William's birth, his father became a successful merchant and held official positions as alderman and bailiff, an office
resembling a mayor. However, records indicate John's fortunes declined sometime in the late 1570s.
Scant records exist of William's childhood, and virtually none regarding his education. Scholars have surmised that he most likely attended the King's New School, in
Stratford, which taught reading, writing and the classics. Being a public official's child, William would have undoubtedly qualified for free tuition. But this uncertainty
regarding his education has led some to raise questions about the authorship of his work and even about whether or not William Shakespeare ever existed.
Married Life
William Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway on November 28, 1582, in Worcester, in Canterbury Province. Hathaway was from Shottery, a small village a mile
west of Stratford. William was 18 and Anne was 26, and, as it turns out, pregnant. Their first child, a daughter they named Susanna, was born on May 26, 1583. Two
years later, on February 2, 1585, twins Hamnet and Judith were born. Hamnet later died of unknown causes at age 11.
After the birth of the twins, there are seven years of William Shakespeare's life where no records exist. Scholars call this period the "lost years," and there is wide
speculation on what he was doing during this period. One theory is that he might have gone into hiding for poaching game from the local landlord, Sir Thomas Lucy.
Another possibility is that he might have been working as an assistant schoolmaster in Lancashire. It is generally believed he arrived in London in the mid- to late
1580s and may have found work as a horse attendant at some of London's finer theaters, a scenario updated centuries later by the countless aspiring actors and
playwrights in Hollywood and Broadway.
Theatrical Beginnings
By 1592, there is evidence William Shakespeare earned a living as an actor and a playwright in London and possibly had several plays produced. The September 20,
1592 edition of the Stationers' Register (a guild publication) includes an article by London playwright Robert Greene that takes a few jabs at William Shakespeare:
"...There is an upstart Crow, beautified with our feathers, that with his Tiger's heart wrapped in a Player's hide, supposes he is as well able to bombast out a blank
verse as the best of you: and being an absolute Johannes factotum, is in his own conceit the only Shake-scene in a country," Greene wrote of Shakespeare.
Scholars differ on the interpretation of this criticism, but most agree that it was Greene's way of saying Shakespeare was reaching above his rank, trying to match
better known and educated playwrights like Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Nashe or Greene himself.
By the early 1590s, documents show William Shakespeare was a managing partner in the Lord Chamberlain's Men, an acting company in London. After the crowning
of King James I, in 1603, the company changed its name to the King's Men. From all accounts, the King's Men company was very popular, and records show that
Shakespeare had works published and sold as popular literature. The theater culture in 16th century England was not highly admired by people of high rank.
However, many of the nobility were good patrons of the performing arts and friends of the actors. Early in his career, Shakespeare was able to attract the attention of
Henry Wriothesley, the Earl of Southampton, to whom he dedicated his first- and second-published poems: "Venus and Adonis" (1593) and "The Rape of Lucrece"
(1594).
Establishing Himself
By 1597, 15 of the 37 plays written by William Shakespeare were published. Civil records show that at this time he purchased the second largest house in Stratford,
called New House, for his family. It was a four-day ride by horse from Stratford to London, so it is believed that Shakespeare spent most of his time in the city writing
and acting and came home once a year during the 40-day Lenten period, when the theaters were closed.
By 1599, William Shakespeare and his business partners built their own theater on the south bank of the Thames River, which they called the Globe. In 1605,
Shakespeare purchased leases of real estate near Stratford for 440 pounds, which doubled in value and earned him 60 pounds a year. This made him an
entrepreneur as well as an artist, and scholars believe these investments gave him the time to write his plays uninterrupted.

4. Writing Style
William Shakespeare's early plays were written in the conventional style of the day, with elaborate metaphors and rhetorical phrases that didn't always align naturally
with the story's plot or characters. However, Shakespeare was very innovative, adapting the traditional style to his own purposes and creating a freer flow of words.
With only small degrees of variation, Shakespeare primarily used a metrical pattern consisting of lines of unrhymed iambic pentameter, or blank verse, to compose
his plays. At the same time, there are passages in all the plays that deviate from this and use forms of poetry or simple prose.
Early Works: Histories and Comedies
With the exception of Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare's first plays were mostly histories written in the early 1590s. Richard II, Henry VI (parts 1, 2 and 3)
and Henry V dramatize the destructive results of weak or corrupt rulers, and have been interpreted by drama historians as Shakespeare's way of justifying the origins
of the Tudor Dynasty.
Shakespeare also wrote several comedies during his early period: the witty romance A Midsummer Night's Dream, the romantic Merchant of Venice, the witand
wordplay of Much Ado About Nothing, the charming As You Like Itand Twelfth Night. Other plays, possibly written before 1600, include Titus Andronicus, The
Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.
Later Works: Tragedies and Tragicomedies
It was in William Shakespeare's later period, after 1600, that he wrote the tragedies Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Macbeth. In these, Shakespeare's characters
present vividimpressions of human temperament that are timeless and universal. Possibly the best known of these plays is Hamlet, which explores betrayal,
retribution, incest and moral failure. These moral failures often drive the twists and turns of Shakespeare's plots, destroying the hero and those he loves.
In William Shakespeare's final period, he wrote several tragicomedies. Among these are Cymbeline, The Winter's Tale and The Tempest. Though graver in tone than
the comedies, they are not the dark tragedies of King Learor Macbeth because they end with reconciliation and forgiveness.
William Shakespeare - 5 Little Known Facts James Shapiro, author of “The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606,” shares five discoveries about the famous Bard.
(Video Courtesy of Simon & Schuster)
Death
Tradition has it that William Shakespeare died on his birthday, April 23, 1616, though many scholars believe this is a myth. Church records show he was interred at
Trinity Church on April 25, 1616.
In his will, he left the bulk of his possessions to his eldest daughter, Susanna. Though entitled to a third of his estate, little seems to have gone to his wife, Anne,
whom he bequeathed his "second-best bed." This has drawn speculation that she had fallen out of favor, or that the couple was not close. However, there is v ery little
evidence the two had a difficult marriage. Other scholars note that the term "second-best bed" often refers to the bed belonging to the household's master and
mistres—the marital bed—and the "first-best bed" was reserved for guests.
Controversy and Literary Legacy
About 150 years after his death, questions arose about the authorship of William Shakespeare's plays. Scholars and literary critics began to float names like
Christopher Marlowe, Edward de Vere and Francis Bacon—men of more known backgrounds, literary accreditation, or inspiration—as the true authors of the plays.
Much of this stemmed from the sketchy details of Shakespeare's life and the dearth of contemporary primary sources. Official records from the Holy Trinity Church
and the Stratford government record the existence of a William Shakespeare, but none of these attest to him being an actor or playwright.
Skeptics also questioned how anyone of such modest education could write with the intellectual perceptiveness and poetic power that is displayed in Shakespeare's
works. Overthe centuries, several groups have emerged that question the authorship of Shakespeare's plays.
The most serious and intense skepticism began in the 19th century when adoration for Shakespeare was at its highest. The detractors believed that the only hard
evidence surrounding William Shakespeare from Stratford-upon-Avon described a man from modest beginnings who married young and became successful in real
estate. Members of the Shakespeare Oxford Society (founded in 1957) put forth arguments that English aristocrat Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford, was the
true author of the poems and plays of "William Shakespeare." The Oxfordians cite de Vere's extensive knowledge of aristocratic society, his education, and the
structural similarities between his poetry and that found in the works attributed to Shakespeare. They contend that William Shakespeare had neither the education
nor the literary training to write such eloquent prose and create such rich characters.
However, the vast majority of Shakespearean scholars contend that William Shakespeare wrote all his ownplays. They point out that other playwrights of the time
also had sketchy histories and came from modest backgrounds. They contend that Stratford's New Grammar School curriculum of Latin and the classics could have
provided a good foundation for literary writers. Supporters of Shakespeare's authorship argue that the lack of evidence about Shakespeare's life doesn't mean his life
didn't exist. They point to evidence that displays his name on the title pages of published poems and plays. Examples exist of authors and critics of the time
acknowledging William Shakespeare as author of plays such as The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors and King John. Royal records from 1601
show that William Shakespeare was recognized as a member of the King's Men theater company (formerly known as the Chamberlain's Men) and a Groom of the
Chamber by the court of King James I, where the company performed seven of Shakespeare's plays. There is also strong circumstantial evidence of personal
relationships by contemporaries who interacted with Shakespeare as an actor and a playwright.
What seems to be true is that William Shakespeare was a respected man of the dramatic arts who wrote plays and acted in some in the late 16th and early 17th
centuries. But his reputation as a dramatic genius wasn't recognized until the 19th century. Beginning with the Romantic period of the early 1800s and continuing
through the Victorian period, acclaim and reverence for William Shakespeare and his work reached its height. In the 20th century, new movements in scholarship and
performance have rediscovered and adopted his works.

5. Today, his plays are highly popular and constantly studied and reinterpreted in performances with diverse cultural and political contexts. The genius of Shakespeare's
characters and plots are that they present real human beings in a wide range of emotions and conflicts that transcend their origins in Elizabethan England.
Filipino dramatists and playwrights
1. Juan Abad
2. Aloy Adlawan
3. Julián Cruz Balmaceda
4. Jesús Balmori
5. Adrian Cristobal
6. Dode Cruz
7. Jose Dalisay Jr.
8. Suzette Doctolero
9. Paul Dumol
10. Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero
11. Hermogenes Ilagan
12. Malou Jacob
13. Jun Lana
14. Allan Lopez
15. Patricio Mariano
16. Chris Martinez (director)
17. Epifanio Matute
18. Severino Montano
19. Virginia R. Moreno
20. Denoy Navarro-Punio
21. Peter Solis Nery
22. R.J. Nuevas
23. Precioso Palma
24. Elena Patron
25. Don Michael Perez
26. Ma. Acy Ramos
27. Iñigo C. Regalado
28. Iñigo Ed. Regalado
29. Severino Reyes
30. Frank G. Rivera
31. Francisco Soc Rodrigo
32. Gina Marissa Tagasa-Gil
33. John Iremil Teodoro
34. Aurelio Tolentino
35. Rene Villanueva
Characteristics of Drama
Drama is a unique literary form because they are designed to be acted out on a stage before an audience. The word ‘drama’ comes from the Greek
word ‘dran’ meaning to act or to do. As “literature in action,” drama brings a story to life before our eyes. Unlike most works of fiction that rely heavily on narration,
the story of a play or drama is told through dialogue and action and is integrated with the setting that the audience observes-largely from scenery and props. Knowing
about these elements can help you appreciate and discuss plays that you see and read
Elements of Drama
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The major elements of a drama are as follows:
1. Characters:
Characters are the people in the play's plot. Most plays have a round, major characters and flat, minor characters. The main characters are more important to a work
and usually have a bigger part to play. Miranda from Shakespeare’s Tempest is an example of a main character. We learn much about her characteristics throughout
the play, and she plays a big role in the reconciliation of the characters toward the end of the play.
On the other hand, minor characters are less important. An example of a minor character is Marcellus from the play ‘Hamlet,' whose role is only to inform about
Hamlet’s father’s ghost. We do not know nor do we need to know anything about his character or what happens to him thereafter. He just departs in peace.
Let's take a look at the different characters.
Protagonist: The main character, usually the one who sets the action in motion.
Example: Hamlet is the protagonist in the play ‘Hamlet’.
Antagonist: The character that stands as rival to the protagonist is called the antagonist. He is the villain.
Example: Claudius is the major antagonist in the play ‘Hamlet’ as he contrasts sharply with the main character in the play.
Foil: A character whose traits contrast with those of another character. Writers use foil to emphasize differences between two characters. For example, a handsome
but dull character might be a foil for one who is unattractive but dynamic. By using foil, authors call attention to the strengths or weaknesses of a main character.
Example: In Hamlet, the passionate and quick to action Laertes is a foil for the reflective Hamlet.

6. Confidant: A character that lends an ear and gives his input to usually the protagonist is a confidant. This type of character is most commonly a closest friend or
trusted servant of the main character, who serves as a device for revealing the mind and intention of the main character. The confidant’s inputs are revealed only to
the audience and not to the other characters in the play.
Example: In Hamlet, Horatio is the confidant.
Stock characters: A stereotypical character who is not developed as an individual but as a collection of traits and mannerisms supposedly shared by all members of
a group. These characters are easily recognized by audience due to their recurrent appearance and familiar roles.
Example: A comic, a servant, a fool, a coward, a crooked stepmother, and wicked witch.
Each character is distinct from the other and must have their own peculiar personality, background, and beliefs. The mannerisms and use of language too may differ.
The way the characters in the play are treated by the playwright is important to the outworking of the play.
2. Dialogue:
The words uttered by characters in a play forms a dialogue. The dialogue reveals the plot and characters of the play. What is spoken must be suitable to the situation
and the role of the character.
Things that are said on stage may take on greater worth or typical qualities than the same things said in everyday speech. Good dramatic speech involves a proper
construction of words spoken in the appropriate context. It also involves saying what is not uninviting or what is obvious straight away.
Good dialogue sheds light on the character speaking and the one spoken about, and aids in the furtherance of the plot.
Dialogue may take various forms:-
 An exchange between two or more characters.
Titinius. These tidings will well comfort Cassius.
Messala. Where did you leave him?
Titinus. All disconsolate,
With Pindarus his bondman, on this hill.
Messala. Is not that he lies upon the ground?
 Soliloquy- A character that is typically alone on stage delivers a long speech which is called a soliloquy. Emotions and innermost thoughts of the
character are revealed in a soliloquy.
[They exit. ANTONY remains.]
ANTONY.
O, pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth,
That I am meek and gentle with these butchers!
Thou art the ruins of the noblest man
That ever lived in the tide of times.

7.  Aside- This is spoken by a character to another character or to the audience but is not heard by the other characters on stage. Asides reveal what a
character is thinking or feeling.
Caesar.
Good friends, go in and taste some wine with me,
And we (like friends) will straightway go together.
Brutus (aside) .
That every like is not the same, O Caesar,
The heart of Brutus earns to think upon. [Exeunt.]
3. Plot:
The plot is events that occur in a story sequentially. Normally the introduction of the characters in the beginning of the play gives the audience an idea about what the
plot maybe. This information will enlighten the audience as to why characters behave the way they do and an incident maybe expected to surface that will create a
problem for the main characters.
As the action heightens, the characters encounter the problem and find themselves in trouble. The conflict in a plot may vary but nevertheless it forms the basis for
the plot. The conflict leads the characters from one incident to another unfolding the plot and increasing the suspense and excitement of the reader or viewer.
The turning point of the plot is called the climax when the outcome of the conflict takes place. The climax takes several forms. It may be a revelation of information or
it may be a decision or an action. It is the point where suspense no longer exists.
The plot is crucial for the success of a play.
4. Setting:
The setting and time in a play tell us where the story happened and the time it occurred.
The setting is very important because what usually happens in the play is influenced by it. Visual components of a setting maybe limited to a painted tree, a bridge, or
a hut, or it could be more elaborate. Shifts in time and space are often indicated by the actors through their speech and mov ements.
In setting, the lighting plays an important role for it shows an illusion of time. Lighting also may be used to focus on an action or stress the importance of an event.
Costumes and props too are involved in setting. Costumes are used to portray a character’s profession, status, ethnicity, age and so on.
Props are items used by actors on stage to create an atmosphere of the play. These can be simple writing materials, chairs and tables, flowers, thrones, blood-
soaked clothes, blankets, and beds and so on.
The effect created by the setting creates the mood for a theatrical spectacle.
5. Stage directions:
An audience is prompted to react by the movements or positions of the actors in a play. It can build up tension, trigger laughter, or shift the focus of the audience to a
different part of the stage.

8. To achieve this purpose, the writer communicates to the actors, director, and the rest of the crew in the play by means of stage directions.
He does this by means of short phrases, usually printed in italics and enclosed in parentheses or brackets. These directions describe the appearance and actions of
characters as well as the sets, costumes, props, sound effects, and lighting effects.
Stage directions may also include the characters’ body language, facial expressions, and even the tone of voice. Comments or remarks about the surroundings and
when a character enters or exits are also made in stage directions. Thus stage directions help us understand the feelings of the character and the mood of the story.
For movies and teleplays, camera instructions are provided.
Example:
HUCK. [Picks up a hard little sphere.] What's this?
JIM. Must a been in there a long time to coat it over so.
[JIM cuts open the sphere and hands HUCK a coin.]
HUCK. It's gold.
JIM. What sort of writing is that on it?
HUCK. Spanish...I think. This is a Spanish d'bloon, Jim, it's priate gold!
Why I reckon this fish could be a hundred years old. Do you reckon so, Jim?
JIM. [Nodding.] He go along on the bottom. Eat the little ones. Get older and older and bigger and bigger. He here before people come maybe. Before this was a
country. When there was nothing here but that big river...
[He grabs HUCK's arm.]
6. Theme:
The theme actually tells what the play means. Rather stating what happens in the story, the theme deals with the main idea within the story. Theme has been
described as the soul of the drama. The theme can either be clearly stated through dialogue or action or can be inferred from the entire performance. We shall
conclude plot and theme in drama should compliment each other and should be synchronized to give a complete output.
General themes are:
i. conflict--between two individuals
ii. conflict between man and a supernatural power
iii. conflict between the man and himself
Structure of Drama
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Ancient Greek drama contained structural divisions and these gradually evolvedto a five part structure in drama. By the 16th century, Five Act plays were the order
of the day with any number of scenes in each act.
A traditional play thus came to be a FiveAct Play. What was the structure followed here?
 Exposition or introduction
 Rising Action
 Climax
 Falling Action
 Denouement or conclusion
Exposition: This is the introduction of the play which provides important background information about the characters, setting, and the conflict they face or are about
to face. It may reveal an incident in a character’s past that has a bearing on the plot. The exposition leads the audience to follow through the rest of the story.

9. Rising action: This is the second characteristic in the structure of a drama. The plot moves forward with further twists and complications in the conflict and many
sub-plots. The actions lead the audience toward high intensity, anticipation, and suspense.
Climax: The highest point of dramatic intensity and the most intense moment in the plot is the climax. The questions and mysteries are unraveled at this point. It is a
turning point in the play for the protagonist where things from then on will either turn out better or worse for him depending on the kind of play it is.
Falling Action: This is the part where conflicts are more or less resolved and the play moves on to its end.
Denouement: This is the conclusion of the play where everything is better off than when it started, as in a comedy, or things are worse than when the play began, as
in the case of a tragedy. Conflicts are resolved. Motives are clear. Final details are straightened up.
Let us examine Shakespeare’s ‘The Merchant of Venice’ and look at the characteristics that determine the structure of the play.
In the exposition or the introduction what do we learn?
We are introduced to the plot. Here wesee at least two conflicts:
1) Between Shylock and Antonio (Scenes I and III)
2) Portia’s Marriage (Scene II)
These events give us an insight to the purpose of the events.
We are introduced to the main characters of the play in the exposition. Some of them are,
 Antonio
 Bassanio
 Gratiano
 Shylock
 Portia
 Nerissa
There are two settings weare introduced to
1) Belmont's sitting a very fancy and fairy ‘tailish’ place ideal for a comedy.
2) Venice that represents real life with traders and merchants ideal setting for a tragedy.
Rising Action: There are many obstacles that a protagonist must face when reaching his goal. In this play, wesee that Antonio’s ships which are the only means by
which he can pay Shylock’s debt, is reported lost in the sea.
Climax: This is a turning point in the play where changes may take place for better or worse. In this play, Portia comes to Antonio’s rescue to plead in his behalf by
disguising herself as a man of law.
Falling Action: Shylock is given orders to give up all his possessions and convert to be a Christian. Portia and Nerissa convince their husbands to hand over their
rings.
Denouement: The conclusion of the play shows that everything is in harmony. All return to Belmont and the couples are reconciled.
Elements of Drama
by: Christina Sheryl L. Sianghio
Character
Most simply a character is one of the persons who appears in the play, one of the dramatis personae (literally, the persons of the play). In another sense of the term,
the treatment of the character is the basic part of the playwright's work. Conventions of the period and the author's personal vision will affect the treatment of
character.
Most plays contain major characters and minor characters. The delineation and development of major characters is essential to the play; the conflict between Hamlet
and Claudius depends upon the character of each. A minor character like Marcellus serves a specific function, to inform Hamlet of the appearance of his father's
ghost. Once, that is done, he can depart in peace, for weneed not know what sort of person he is or what happens to him. The distinction between major and minor
characters is one of degree, as the character of Horatio might illustrate.
The distinction between heroes (or heroines) and villains, between good guys and bad guys, between virtue and vice is useful in dealing with certain types of plays,
but in many modern plays (and some not so modern) it is difficult to make. Is Gregers Werle in The Wild Duck, for example, a hero or a villain?
Another common term in drama is protagonist. Etymologically, it means the first contestant. Inthe Greek drama, where the term arose, all the parts were played by
one, two, or three actors (the more actors, the later the play), and the best actor, who got the principal part(s), was the protagonist. The second best actor was called
the euteragonist. Ideally, the term "protagonist" should be used only for the principal character. Several other characters can be defined by their relation to the
protagonist. The antagonist is his principal rival in the conflict set forth in the play. A foil is a character who defines certain characteristics in the protagonist by
exhibiting opposite traits or the same traits in a greater or lesser degree. A confidant(e) provides a ready ear to which the protagonist can address certain remarks
which should be heard by the audience but not by the other characters. In Hamlet, for example, Hamlet is the protagonist, Claudius the antagonist, Laertes and
Fortinbras foils (observe the way inwhich each goes about avenging the death or loss of property of his father), and Horatio the confidant.

10. Certain writers-- for example, Moliere and Pirandello--use a character type called the raisonneur, whose comments express the voice of reason and also,
presumably, of the author. Philinte and the Father are examples of the raisonneur.
Another type of character is the stereotype or stock character, a character who reappears in various forms in many plays. Comedy is particularly a fruitful source of
such figures, including the miles gloriosus or boastful soldier (a man who claims great valor but proves to be a coward when tested), the irascible old man (the source
of elements in the character of Polonius), the witty servant, the coquette, the prude, the fop, and others. A stock character from another genre is the revenger of
Renaissance tragedy. The role of Hamlet demonstrates how such a stereotype is modified by an author to create a great role, combining the stock elements with
individual ones.
Sometimes group of actors work together over a long period in relatively stable companies. In such a situation, individual members of the group develop expertise in
roles of a certain type, such as leading man and leading lady (those who play the principal parts), juveniles or ingénues of both sexes (those who specialize as young
people), character actors (those who perform mature or eccentric types), and heavies or villains.
The commedia dell'arte, a popular form of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, employed actors who had standard lines of business and improvised the
particular action in terms of their established characters and a sketchy outline of a plot. Frequently, Pantalone, an older man, generally a physician, was married to a
young woman named Columbine. Her lover, Harlequin, was not only younger and more handsome than her husband but also more vigorous sexually. Pantalone's
servants, Brighella, Truffaldino, and others, were employed in frustrating or assisting either the lovers in their meetings or the husband in discovering them.
A group of actors who function as a unit, called a chorus, was a characteristic feature of the Greek tragedy. The members of the chorus shared a common identity,
such as Asian Bacchantes or old men of Thebes. The choragos (leader of the chorus) sometimes spoke and acted separately. In some of the plays, the chorus
participated directly in the action; in others they were restricted in observing the action and commenting on it. The chorus also separated the individual sins by singing
and dancing choral odes, though just what the singing and dancing were like is uncertain. The odes were in strict metrical patterns; sometimes they were direct
comments on the action and characters, and at other times they were more general statements and judgments. A chorus in Greek fashion is not common in later
plays, although there are instances such as T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral, in which the Women of Canterbury serve as a chorus.
On occasion a single actor may perform the function of a chorus, as do the aptly named Chorus in Shakespeare's Henry V and the Stage Manager in Thornton
Wilder's Our Town. Alfieri in the View from the Bridge functions both as a chorus and a minor character in the action of the play.
Reference:
The Norton Introduction to Literature (Combined Shorter Edition) Edited by Carl E. Bain, Jerome Beaty & J. Paul Hunter Copyright 1973 by W. W. Norton &
Company, Inc. and published simultaneously in Canada by Goerge J. McLeod Limited, Toronto
Back to Top
Plot
by: Eduardo M. Tajonera Jr.
The interest generated by the plot varies for different kinds of plays. (See fiction elements on plot for more information regarding plot.) The plot is usually structured
with acts and scenes.
Open conflict plays: rely on the suspense of a struggle in which the hero, through perhaps fight against all odds, is not doomed. Dramatic thesis: foreshadowing, in
the form of ominous hints or symbolic incidents, conditions the audience to expect certain logical developments. Coincidence: sudden reversal of fortune plays depict
climatic ironies or misunderstandings. Dramatic irony: the fulfillment of a plan, action, or expectation in a surprising way, often opposite of what was intended.
Theme
The plot has been called the body of a play and the theme has been called its soul. Most plays have a conflict of some kind between individuals, between man and
society, man and some superior force or man and h imself. The events that this conflict provokes make up the plot. One of the first items of interest is the
playwrightrquote s treatment of the plot and what them he would draw from it. The same plots have been and will be used many times; it is the treatment that
supplies each effort with originality or artistic worth. Shakespeare is said to have borrowed all but one of his stories, but he presented them so much better than any
of the previous authors that he is not seriously criticized for the borrowing. Th e treatment of theme is equally varied.
The same theme or story may be given a very serious or a very light touch. It may be a severe indictment or a tongue-in- cheek attack. It could point up a great
lesson or show the same situation as a handicap to progress. The personality, background an d social or artistic temperament of the playwright are responsible for
the treatment that he gives to his story or theme. We must, therefore, both understand and evaluate these factors.
To endure, a play should have a theme. It is sometimes suggested in the title as in Loyalties, Justice, or Strife, You can't Take It With You, or The Physicianin Spite
of Himself. At other times it is found in the play itself, as in Craig's Wife when the aunt says to Mrs. Craig, "People who live to themselves are often left to
themselves." Sometimes theme is less obvious, necessitating closer study.
If a play has a theme, weshould be able to state it in general terms and in a single sentence, even at the risk of oversimplification. The theme of Hamlet is usually
stated as the failure of a youth of poetic temperament to cope with circumstances that demand action. The theme of Macbeth is that too much ambition leads to
destruction; a Streetcar Named Desire, that he who strives hardes t to find happiness oftentimes finds the least; and of Green pastures, that even God must change
with the universe.
Of course the theme, no matter how fully stated, is not the equivalent of the play. The play is a complex experience, and one must remain open to its manifold
suggestions.
As indicated above, the statement of the play in specific terms is the plot presented. Plot and theme should go hand in hand. If the theme is one of nobility, or dignity,
the plot must concern events and characters that measure up to that theme. As wea nalyze many plays, we find that some posses an excellent theme, but are
supported by an inconsequential plot. One famous play of this nature, Abie's Irish Rose, held the stage for many years. The theme said: Difference of r eligion need

11. not hinder a happy marriage. The plot was so thin and both characters and situation so stereotyped, that justice was not done to the theme. This weakness was most
obvious in the play's revival after twenty years.
Examples of the frequent fault of superior plot and little or no theme come to us in much of the work of our current playwrights. Known for their cleverness in phrasing
and timing, and their original extremely witty conceptions, these plays are often ver y successful. More often than not, however, they are utterly lacking in a theme or
truth that will withstand more than momentary analysis. They are delightful but ephemeral. Anaudience believes them only while watching in the theatre.
Consequently, the author, although now among ou r most popular, will not endure as artists, nor are their plays likely to be reviveda hundred years hence. They but
emphasize more strongly the axiom that a good plot or conflict is needed for transitory success, but a great theme is more likely to assu re a play a long life
Dialogue
Dialogue provides the substance of a play. Each word uttered by the character furthers the business of the play, contributes to its effect as a whole. Therefore, a
sense of DECORUM mustbe established by the characters, ie., what is said is appropriate to the role and situation of a character. Also the exposition of the play
often falls on the dialogue of the characters. Remember exposition establishes the relationships, tensions or conflicts from which later plot developments derive.
Any artificial picture of life must start from the detail of actuality. An audience must be able to recognize it; however changed; wewant to check it against experience.
Death for exampl e, is something wecannot know. In every man it is represented as an embodying some of our feelings about it. So Death is partly humanized,
enough, anyway, for us to be able to explore what the dramatist thinks about it.
Conversely, the detail of actuality in realistic drama can be chosen and presented in such a way as to suggest that it stands for more on the stage than it would in life.
The Cherry Orchard family, in the excitement of their departure, overlook s their old servant Firs. Placed with striking force at the end of the play, this trivial accident
becomes an incisive and major comment on everything the family has done.
So it is dramatic speech. A snatch of phase caught in everyday conversation may mean little, Used by an actor on a stage, it can assume general and typical
qualities. The context into which it is put can make it pull more than its conversation al weight, no matter how simple words. Consider Othellorquote s bare repetition:
'Put out the light, end then put out the light.' In its context the repetition prefigures precisely the comparison Shakespeare is about to make between the lam Othello is
holding and Desdemona's life and being. Its heavy rhythm suggests the strained tone and obsessed mood of the man, and an almost priestlike attitude behind the
twin motions. We begin to see the murder of Desdemona in the larger general terms of a ritualistic sacrifice. Poetry is made of words, which can be in use in more
prosaic ways; dramatic speech, with its basis in ordinary co nversation, is speech that has had a specific pressure put on it.
Why do words begin to assume general qualities, and why do they become dramatic? Here are two problems on either side of the same coin. The words in both
cases depend upon the kind of attention we givethem. The artist using them, whether aut hor or actors, force them upon us, and in a variety of ways try to fix the
quality of our attention.
If dialogue carefully follows the way wespeak in life, as it is likely to go i n a naturalistic play, the first step towards understanding how it departs from actuality can be
awkward. It is helpful to cease to submit the pretence for the moment. An apparent reproduction of ordinary conversation will be, in good drama, a constructio n of
word setup to do many jobs that are not immediately obvious. Professor Erick Bently has written of Ibsen's 'opaque, uninviting sentences' :
An ibsenite sentence often performs four or five function at once. It shed light on the character spo ken about, it furthers the plot; it functions ironically is conveying to
the audience a meaning different from that conveyed to the characters.
It is true that conversation itself can sometimes be taken to do this thing. 'Whatever you think. I'm going to tell him what you said.' is a remark which in its context can
shed light on the speaker, the person spoken to and the spoken about. For a fourth person listening, as spectator witnesses a play, there may also be an element of
that mean something only to himself as observer. In the play the difference lies first in an insistence that the words go somewhere, move towards a predetermined
end. It lies in a charge of meaning that will advance the action.
This is argued in a statement in Strindberg's manifesto for the naturalistic theatre. Hesays of his characters that he has 'permitted he minds to work irregularly as
they do in reality, where, during conversation, the cogs of mind seem more or less haphazardly to engage those of another one, an where no topic is fully exhausted.'
But he adds that. While the dialogue seems to stray a good deal in the opening scenes, lquote it acquires a material that later on is worked over, picked up again
repeated, expounded, and built up the theme in a musical composition.'
It is a question of economy. The desultory and clumsy talk of real life, with its interruptions, overlapping, in decisions and repetitions, talk without direction, wastes our
interestemdash unless, like the chatter given to Jane Austenrquote s Miss Bates, it hides relevance in irrelevance. It follows the dialogue which the wit and vitality in
Shaw's dialogue yet ignore the question of its relevance to the action.
When the actor examines the text to prepare his part, he looks for what makes the words different from conversation, that is he looks for the structural elements of
the building, for links of characteristic thought in the character, and so on . Hepersists till he has shaped in his mind a firm and workable pattern of his part. Now the
clues sought by the actor hidden beneath the surface of the dialogue are the playgoer's guides too. The actor and producer Stanislavsky have called these clues the
'subtext' of a play.
The subtext is a web of innumerable, varied inner patterns inside a play and a part, woven from 'magic ifs' , given circumstances, all sorts of figments of the
imagination, inner movements, objects of attention, smaller and greater truths and a belief in them, adaptations, adjustmen ts and other similar elements. It is subtext
that makes us say the words wedo in a play.
And in another place he says that 'the whole text of the play will be accompanied by a sub textual stream of images, like a moving picture constantly thrown on the
screen of our inner vision, to guide us as wespeak and act on the stage.' Once weadmit that the words must propose and substantiate the playrquote s meaning,
weshall find in them more and more of the author's wishes.
For dramat ic dialogue has other work to do before it provides a table of words to be spoken. In the absence of the author it must provide a set of unwritten working
directives to the actor on how to speak its speeches. And before that, it has to teach him how to think and feel them: the particularly of a play requires this if is not to
be animated by a series of cardboard stereotypes.
Dramatic dialogue works by a number of instinctively agreed codes. Some tell the producer how to arrange the figures on the stage. Others tell him what he should
hear as the pattern of sound echoing and contradicting, changing tone, rising and falling. These are directives strongly compelling him to hear the key in whicha
scene should be played, and the tone and temp of the melody. Others oblige him to start particular rhythmic movements of emotion flowing between the stage and
the audience. Heis th en left to marry the colour and shape of the stage picture with the music he finds recorded in the tex t.

12. Good dialogue works like this and throws out a 'substextual stream of images'; Evenif the limits within which these effects work are narrow, even if the effect lies in
the barest or simplest of speeches, we may expect to hear the text humming the tune as it cannot in real life. Dialogue should be read and heard as a dramatic score.
Convention
The means the playwright employs are determined at least in part by dramatic convention. Greek: Playwrights of this era often worked with familiar story material,
legend about gods and famous families that the audience was familiar with. Since the audience was familiar with certain aspects of these, the playwrights used
allusion rather than explicit exposition. In representing action, they often relied on messengers to report off-stage action. For interpretation the Greeks relied on the
CHORUS,abody of onlookers, usually citizens or elders, whose comments on the play reflected reactions common to the community. These plays were written in
metered verse arranged in elaborate stanzas. This required intense attention from the audience. English Drama: Minor chara cters play an important role in providing
information and guiding interpretation. The confidant, a friend or servant, listens to the complaints, plans and reminiscences of a major character. Minor characters
casually comment among themselves on major characters and plot development. Extended SOLILOQUY enables a major character to reveal his thoughts in much
greater detail than in natural dialogue. ASIDES, remarks made to the audience but not heard by those on the stage, are common. Realism: Toward the end of the
nineteenth century, realistic depiction of everyday life entered the genre of drama, whereas the characters may be unconventional and their thoughts turbulent and
fantasy-ridden. Contemporary: Experimentation seems to be the key word here. A NARRATOR replaces the messenger, the chorus and the confidant.
FLASHBACKSoften substitute for narration. Many contemporary playwrights have abandoned recognizable setting, chronological sequence and characterization
through dialogue.
Genre
Emil Sylianteng
Genre is a term that describes works of literature according to their shared thematic or structural characteristics. The attempt to classify literature in this way was
initiated by Aristotle in the Poetics, where he distinguishes tragedy, epic, and comedy and recognizes even more fundamental distinctions between drama, epic, and
lyric poetry. Classical genre theory, established by Aristotle and reinforced by Horace, is regulative and prescriptive, attempting to maintain rigid boundaries that
correspond to social differences. Thus, tragedy and epic are concerned exclusively with the affairs of the nobility, comedy with the middle or lower classes.
Modern literary criticism, on the other hand, does not regard genres as dogmatic categories, but rather as aesthetic conventions that guide, but are also led by,
writers. The unstable nature of genres does not reduce their effectiveness as tools of critical inquiry, which attempts to discover universal attributes among individual
works, and has, since classical times, evolved theories of the novel, ode, elegy, pastoral, satire, and many other kinds of w riting.
Manuel L. Ortiz
It is the act or chance of hearing; a reception by a great person; the person to hear.
Playhouse, script, actors, mise en scene, audience are inseparable parts of the theatre. The concept of drama put forward in this book insists that the audience have
an indispensable role to play. While Stanislavsky is right in saying that 'spectator come to the theatre to hear the subtext. They can read the text at home; he is
speaking as a man of the nineteenth century. We do not go to the play merely to have the text interpreted and explained by the skills of the director and his actor. We
do not go as in a learning situation, but to share in a partnership without which the players cannot work. In his Reflaxions sur l; art, valery believed that a creator is
one who makes other create': in art both the artist and the spectator actively cooperate, and the value of the work is dependent on this reciprocity. If in the theatre
there is no interaction between stage and audience, the play is dead, bad or non-existent: the audience, like the customer, is always right.
Every man, women, or child who has expressed an opinion concerning a dramatic performance has, in a sense, proclaim himself to be a critic. Whether his reaction
has been good or bad, his opinion will have some effect on the thinking of those who have heard or read his comment, and what have been said will become a part of
the production's history. The statement may have been inadvertent, biased, unfair, without thought or foundation, but once spoken or repeated, it cease to be just an
opinion and is accepted as a fact. Who has not heard, accepted, repeated, and been affected by such generalization as: "They say its terrible!" or " They say its
terrific!"
Another type of critic is the more powerful and frequently only slightly more qualified, individual who is-often for strange and irrelevant reasons-assigned to cover an
opening for the school or community paper. Hemay be completely lacking in the knowledge required of even a beginner in dramatic criticisms, but, again, "Anyone
can write up a play." Yet the power of the written words takes over, and what this novice write becomes the accepted authority for many. The hundreds of hour of
work by the many persons involved in the production, their personal sacrifices, and their pride in their work-to say nothing of the financial outlay involved-far too often
are condemned or praised for the wrong reasons or for logical reason at all. As a further injustice, what the critic has written, although it is just a single opinion,
becomes the only record of the production and so catalogs the event of the future.
It is doubtful if any other business or art is so much a victim of inept, untrained, illogical, and undeserved criticism as is a dramatic performance. Whether the remarks
have grown out of prejudice, meager knowledge of the theatre, lack of understanding or sensitivity, momentary admiration or dislike foe some individual participant, a
poor dinner or disposition, an auditorium too hot or too cold, or any of a hundred incidents that could occurred during the production itself does not matter. Those
whose effort are being discussed can console themselves only with the fact that criticism-good or bad-is much easier than creation or craftsmanship for the same
reason that the work is harder than talk.
Havingbeen a part of the theatre-professional, community, and educational-for more than four decades, we are well aware that criticism of the critics is frequently
heard, and that this criticism includes those who write the drama section for the national magazine or the large daily newspaper report on the opening night. This is
inevitable, for total agreement on any phase of the theatre is impossible. We live in a world with out laws of logic or mathematical formulas to guide us. There are no
yardsticks that will give us all the same answer, but there are yardsticks that should be familiar to all of us. In this paper we propose to present and to discuss some
of these criteria. If the amateur critics just referred to had been familiar with some basic dramatic principles and had used them honestly, there would be a greater
feeling that justice had been done. Any intelligent theatre person knows that each member of the audience views what is before him with different eyes and so sees
something different from his neighbor. How each member reacts will be determined by education, age, experience, nationality, maturity, background, temperament,
heredity, environment, the rest of the audience, the weather, what he has done or eaten in the past few hours, or his plans for after the performance. This list of
imponderable could go indefinitely. Furthermore, if agreement on any one aspect of a given performance is impossible, then agreement is even more hopeless if
different performances of the same play, in the same theatre, and with the same cast, are under discussion; for a different audience makes for a different production.

13. Stagecraft
Eduardo M. Tajonera Jr
The stage creates its effects in spite of, and in part because of, definite physical limitations. Setting and action tend to be suggestive rather than panoramic or
colossal. Both setting and action may be little more than hints for the spectator to fill out.
Design
Francis Calangi
Theater Space
Theater can also be discussed in terms of the type of space in which it is produced. Stages and auditoriums have had distinctive forms in every era and in different
cultures. New theaters today tend to be flexible and eclectic in design, incorporating elements of several styles; they are known as multiple-use or multiple-form
theaters.
A performance, however, need not occur in an architectural structure designed as a theater, or even in a building. The English director Peter Brook talks of creating
theater in an "empty space." Many earlier forms of theater were performed in the streets, open spaces, market squares, churches, or rooms or buildings not intended
for use as theaters. Much contemporary experimental theater rejects the formal constraints of available theaters and seeks more unusual spaces. In all these "found"
theaters, the sense of stage and auditorium is created by the actions of the performers and the natural features of the space. Throughout history, however, most
theaters have employed one of three types of stage: end, thrust, and arena. An end stage is a raised platform facing the assembled audience. Frequently, it is placed
at one end of a rectangular space. The simplest version of the end stage is the booth or trestle stage, a raised stage with a curtained backdrop and perhaps an
awning. This was the stage of the Greek and Roman mimes, the mountebanks and wandering entertainers of the Middle Ages, commedia dell'arte, and popular
entertainers into the 20th century. It probably formed the basis of Greek tragic theater and Elizabethan theater as well.
TheProscenium Theater
Since the Renaissance, Western theater has been dominated by an end stage variant called the proscenium theater. The proscenium is the wall separating the stage
from the auditorium. The proscenium arch, which may take several shapes, is the opening in that wall through which the audience views the performance. A curtain
that either rises or opens to the sides may hang in this space. The proscenium developed in response to the desire to mask scenery, hide scene-changing
machinery, and create an offstage space for performers' exits and entrances. The result is to enhance illusion by eliminating all that is not part of the scene and to
encourage the audience to imagine that what they cannot see is a continuation of what they can see. Because the proscenium is (or appears to be) an architectural
barrier, it creates a sense of distance or separation between the stage and the spectators. The proscenium arch also frames the stage and consequently is often
called a peep-show or picture-frame stage.
TheThrust Stage
A thrust stage, sometimes known as three-quarter round, is a platform surrounded on three sides by the audience. This form was used for ancient Greek theater,
Elizabethan theater, classical Spanish theater, English Restoration theater, Japanese and Chinese classical theater, and much of Western theater in the 20th
century. A thrust may be backed by a wall or be appended to some sort of end stage. The upstage end (back of the stage, farthest from the audience) may have
scenery and provisions for entrances and exits, but the thrust itself is usually bare except for a few scenic elements and props. Because no barrier exists between
performers and spectators, the thrust stage generally creates a sense of greater intimacy, as if the performance were occurring in the midst of the auditorium, while
still allowing for illusionistic effects through the use of the upstage end and adjacent offstage space.
TheArena Stage
The arena stage, or theater-in-the-round, is a performing space totally surrounded by the auditorium. This arrangement has been tried several times in the 20th
century, but its historical precedents are largely in nondramatic forms such as the circus, and it has limited popularity. The necessity of providing equal sight lines for
all spectators puts special constraints on the type of scenery used and on the movements of the actors, because at any given time part of the audience will inevitably
be viewinga performer's back. Illusion is more difficult to sustain in arena, since in most setups, entrances and exits must be made in full view of the audience,
eliminating surprise, if nothing else. Nonetheless, arena, when properly used, can create a sense of intimacy not often possible with other stage arrangements, and,
as noted, it is well suited to many nondramatic forms. Furthermore, because of the different scenic demands of arena theater, the large backstage areas associated
with prosceniums can be eliminated, thus allowing a more economical use of space.
Variant Forms
One variant form of staging is environmental theater, which has precedents in medieval and folk theater and has been widely used in 20th-century avant-garde
theater. It eliminates the single or central stage in favor of surrounding the spectators or sharing the space with them. Stage space and spectator space become
indistinguishable. Another popular alternative is the free, or flexible, space, sometimes called a black-box theater because of its most common shape and color. This
is an empty space with movable seating units and stage platforms that can be arranged in any configuration for each performance.
TheFixed Architectural Stage
Most stages are raw spaces that the designer can mold to create any desired effect or location; in contrast, the architectural stage has permanent features that create
a more formal scenic effect. Typically, ramps, stairs, platforms, archways, and pillars are permanently built into the stage space. Variety in individual settings may be
achieved by adding scenic elements. The Stratford Festival Theater in Stratford, Ontario, for example, has a permanent "inner stage"-a platform roughly 3.6 m (12 ft)
high-jutting onto the multilevel thrust stage from the upstage wall. Most permanent theaters through the Renaissance, such as the Teatro Olimpico (1580) in Vicenza,
Italy, did not use painted or built scenery but relied on similar permanent architectural features that could provide the necessary scenic elements. The Noand kabuki
stages in Japan are other examples.
Auditoriums
Auditoriums in the 20th century are mostly variants on the fan-shaped auditorium built (1876) by the composer Richard Wagner at his famous opera house in
Bayreuth, Germany. These auditoriums are shaped like a hand-held fan and are usually raked (inclined upward from front to back), with staggered seats to provide
unobstructed sight lines. Such auditoriums may be designed with balconies, and some theaters, such as opera houses, have boxes-seats in open or partitioned
sections along the sidewalls of the auditorium-a carry-over from baroque theater architecture.
Set Design
In Europe, one person, frequently called a scenographer, designs sets, costumes, and lights; in the U.S. these functions are usually handled by three separate
professionals. Set design is the arrangement of theatrical space; the set, or setting, is the visual environment in which a play is performed. Its purpose is to suggest
time and place and to create the proper mood or atmosphere. Settings can generally be classified as realistic, abstract, suggestive, or functional.
Stage Facilities
The use and movement of scenery are determined by stage facilities. Relatively standard elements include trapdoors in the stage floor, elevators that can raise or
lower stage sections, wagons (rolling platforms) on which scenes may be mounted, and cycloramas-curved canvas or plaster backdrops used as a projection surface

14. or to simulate the sky. Abovethe stage, especially in a proscenium theater, is the area known as the fly gallery, where lines for flying-that is, raising-unused scenery
from the stage are manipulated, and which contains counterweight or hydraulic pipes and lengths of wood, or battens, from which lights and pieces of scenery may
be suspended. Other special devices and units can be built as necessary. Although scene painting seems to be a dying art, modern scene shops are well equipped
to work with plastics, metals, synthetic fabrics, paper, and other new and industrial products that until recently were not in the realm of theater.
Lighting Design
Lighting design, a more ephemeral art, has two functions: to illuminate the stage and the performers and to create mood and control the focus of the spectators.
Stage lighting may be from a direct source such as the sun or a lamp, or it may be indirect, employing reflected light or general illumination. It has four controllable
properties: intensity, color, placement on the stage, and movement-the visible changing of the first three properties. These properties are used to achieve visibility,
mood, composition (the overall arrangement of light, shadow, and color), and the revelation of form-the appearance of shape and dimensionality of a performer or
object as determined by light.
Until the Renaissance, almost all performance was outdoors and therefore lit by the sun, but with indoor performance came the need for lighting instruments. Lighting
was first achieved with candles and oil lamps and, in the 19th century, with gas lamps. Although colored filters, reflectors, and mechanical dimming devices were
used for effects, lighting served primarily to illuminate the stage. By current standards the stage was fairly dim, which allowed greater illusionism in scenic painting.
Gas lighting facilitated greater control, but only the advent of electric lighting in the late 19th century permitted the brightness and control presently available. It also
allowed the dimming of the house-lights, plunging the auditorium into darkness for the first time.
Lighting design, however, is not simply aiming the lighting instruments at the stage or bathing the stage in a general wash of light. Audiences usually expect actors to
be easily visible at all times and to appear to be three-dimensional. This involves the proper angling of instruments, provision of back and side lighting as well as
frontal, and a proper balance of colors. Two basic types of stage-lighting instruments are employed: floodlights, which illuminate a broad area, and spotlights, which
focus light more intensely on a smaller area. Instruments consist of a light source and a series of lenses and shutters in some sort of housing. These generally have a
power of 500 to 5000 watts. The instruments are hung from battens and stanchions in front of, over, and at the sides of the stage. In realistic settings, lights may be
focused to simulate the direction of the ostensible source, but even in these instances, performers would appear two-dimensional without back and side lighting.
Because so-called white light is normally too harsh for most theater purposes, colored filters called gels are used to soften the light and create a more pleasing effect.
White light can be simulated by mixing red, blue, and green light. Most designers attempt to balance "warm" and "cool" colors to create proper shadows and textures.
Except for special effects, lighting design generally strives to be unobtrusive; just as in set design, however, the skillful use of color, intensity, and distribution can
have a subliminal effect on the spectators' perceptions.
The lighting designer is often responsible for projections. These include still or moving images that substitute for or enhance painted and constructed scenery, create
special effects such as stars or moonlight, or provide written legends for the identification of scenes. Images can be projected from the audience side of the stage
onto opaque surfaces, or from the rear of the stage onto specially designed rear-projection screens. Similar projections are often used on scrims, semitransparent
curtains stretched across the stage. Film and still projection, sometimes referred to as mixed media, was first used extensively by the German director ErwinPiscator
in the 1920s and became very popular in the 1960s.
The lights are controlled by a skilled technician called the electrician, who operates a control or dimmer board, so called because a series of "dimmers" controls the
intensity of each instrument or group of instruments. The most recent development in lighting technology is the memory board, a computerized control system that
stores the information of each light cue or change of lights. The electrician need no longer operate each dimmer individually; by pushing one button, all the lights will
change automatically to the preprogrammed intensity and at the desired speed.
Costume Design
A costume is whatever is worn on the performer's body. Costume designers are concerned primarily with clothing and accessories, but are also often responsible for
wigs, masks, and makeup. Costumes convey information about the character and aid in setting the tone or mood of the production. Because most acting involves
impersonation, most costuming is actual or re-created historical or contemporary dress; as with scenery, however, costumes may also be suggestive or abstract.
Until the 19th century, little attention was paid to period or regional accuracy; variations on contemporary dress sufficed. Since then, however, costume designers
have paid great attention to authentic period style.
As with the other forms of design, subtle effects can be achieved through choice of color, fabric, cut, texture, and weight or material. Because costume can indicate
such things as social class and personality traits, and can even simulate such physical attributes as obesity or a deformity, an actor's work can be significantly eased
by its skillful design. Costume can also function as character signature, notably for such comic characters as Harlequin or the other characters of the commedia
dell'arte, Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp, or circus clowns.
In much Oriental theater, as in classical Greek theater, costume elements are formalized. Based originally on everyday dress, the costumes became standardized
and were appropriated for the stage. Colors, designs, and ornamentation all convey meaningful information.
Mask
A special element of costume is the mask. Although rarely used in contemporary Western theater, masks were essential in Greek and Roman drama and the
commedia dell'arte and are used in most African and Oriental theater. The masks of tragedy and of comedy, as used in ancient Greek drama, are in fact the universal
symbols of the theater. Masks obviate the use of the face for expression and communication and thus render the performer more puppetlike; expression depends
solely on voiceand gesture. Because the mask's expression is unchanging, the character's fate or final expression is known from the beginning, thereby removing
one aspect of suspense. The mask shifts focus from the actor to the character and can thus clarify aspects of theme and plot and give a character a greater
universality. Like costumes, the colors and features of the mask, especially in the Orient, indicate symbolically significant aspects of the character. In large theaters
masks can also aid in visibility.
Makeup
Makeup may also function as a mask, especially in Oriental theater, where faces may be painted with elaborate colors and images that exaggerate and distort facial
features. In Western theater, makeup is used for two purposes: to emphasize and reinforce facial features that might otherwise be lost under bright lights or at a
distance and to alter signs of age, skin tone, or nose shape.
Technical Production
The technical aspects of production may be divided into preproduction and run of production. Preproduction technical work is supervised by the technical director in
conjunction with the designers. Sets, properties (props), and costumes are made during this phase by crews in the theater shops or, in the case of most commercial
theater, in professional studios.
Props are the objects handled by actors or used in dressing the stage-all objects placed or carried on the set that are not costumes or scenery. Whereas real
furniture and hand props can be used in many productions, props for period shows, nonrealistic productions, and theatrical shows such as circuses must be built.
Like sets, props can be illusionistic-they may be created from papier-mâché or plastic for lightness, exaggerated in size, irregularly shaped, or designed to appear
level on a raked stage; they may also be capable of being rolled, collapsed, or folded. The person in charge of props is called the props master or mistress.
Sound and Sound Effects

15. Sound, if required, is now generally recorded during the preproduction period. From earliest times, most theatrical performances were accompanied by music that,
until recently, was produced by livemusicians. Since the 1930s, however, use of recorded sound has been a possibility in the theater. Although music is still the most
common sound effect, wind, rain, thunder, and animal noises have been essential since the earliest Greek tragedies. Any sound that cannot be created by a
performer may be considered a sound effect. Such sounds are most often used for realistic effect (for example, a train rushing by or city sounds outside a window),
but they can also assist in the creation of mood or rhythm. Although many sounds can be recorded from actual sources, certain sounds do not record well and seem
false when played through electronic equipment on a stage. Elaborate mechanical devices are therefore constructed to simulate these sounds, such as rain or
thunder.
Technicians also create special aural and visual effects simulating explosions, fire, lightning, and apparitions and giving the illusion of moving objects or of flying.
Reference:
Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia copyright 1993-1997 Microsoft Corporation.
Conversions
Ma. Criselda De Leon
Conversions, closely examined, will be found to fall into two classes: changes of volition, and changes of sentiment. It was the former class that Dryden had in mind;
and, with reference to this class, the principle he indicates remains a sound one. A change of resolve should never be due to mere lapse of time---to the necessity for
bringing the curtain down and letting the audience go home. It must always be rendered plausible by some new fact or new motive; some hitherto untried appeal to
reason or emotion. This rule, however, is too obvious to require enforcement. It was not quite superfluous so long as the old convention of comedy endured. For a
century and a half after Dryden's time, hard-hearted parents were apt to withdraw their opposition to their children's "felicity" for no better reason than that the fifth act
was drawing to a close. But this formula is practically obsolete. Changes of will, on the modern stage, are not always adequately motived; but that is because of
individual inexpertness, not because of any failure to recognize theoretically the necessity for adequate motivation.
Changes of sentiment are much more important and more difficult to handle. A change of will can always manifest itself in action; but it is very difficult to externalize
convincingly a mere change of heart. When the conclusion of a play hinges (as it frequently does) on a conversion of this nature, it becomes a matter of the first
moment that it should not merely be asserted but proved. Many a promising play has gone wrong because of the author's neglect, or inability, to comply with this
condition.
It has often been observed that of all Ibsen's thoroughly mature works, from A Doll's House to John Gabriel Borkman, The Lady from the Sea is the loosest in texture,
the least masterly in construcion. The fact that it leaves this impression on the mind is largely due, I think, to a single fault. The conclusion of the play---Ellida's
clinging to Wangel and rejection of the Stranger---depends entirely on a change in Wangel's mental attitude, of whichwe have no proof whatever beyond his bare
assertion. Ellida, in her overwrought mood, is evidently inclining to yield to the uncanny allurement of the Stranger's claim upon her, when Wangel, realizing that her
sanityis threatened, says:
WANGEL: Itshall not come to that. There is no other way of deliverance for you---at least I see none. And therefore---therefore I---cancel our bargain on the spot.
Now youcan choose your own path, in full---full freedom.
ELLIDA: (Gazes at him awhile, as if speechless): Is this true---true---what you say?Do youmean it---from your inmost heart?
WANGEL: Yes---from the inmost depths of my tortured heart, I mean it.... Now yourown true life can return to its---its right groove again. For now youcan choose in
freedom; and on your own responsibility, Ellida.
ELLIDA: In freedom---and on my own responsibility? Responsibility? This---this transforms everything.
---and she promptly gives the Stranger his dismissal. Now this is inevitably felt to be a weak conclusion, because it turns entirely on a condition of Wangel's mind of
which he gives no positive and convincing evidence. Nothing material is changed by his change of heart. Hecould not in any case have restrained Ellida by force; or,
if the law gave him the abstract right to do so, he certainly never had the slightest intention of exercising it. Psychologically, indeed, the incident is acceptable
enough. The saner part of Ellida's will was always on Wangel's side; and a merely verbal undoing of the "bargain" with which she reproached herself might quite
naturally suffice to turn the scale decisively in his favour. But what may suffice for Ellida is not enough for the audience. Too much is made to hang upon a verbally
announced conversion. The poet ought to have invented some material---or, at the very least, some impressively symbolic---proof of Wangel's change of heart. Had
he done so, The Lady from the Sea would assuredly have taken a higher rank among his works.
Let me further illustrate my point by comparing a very small thing with a very great.
The late Captain Marshall wrote a "farcical romance" named The Duke of Killiecrankie, in whichthat nobleman, having been again and again rejected by the Lady
Henrietta Addison, kidnapped the obdurate fair one, and imprisoned her in a crag-castle in the Highlands. Havingkept her for a week in deferential durance, and
shown her that he was not the inefficient nincompoop she had taken him for, he threw open the prison gate, and said to her: "Go! I set youfree!" The moment she
saw the gate unlocked, and realized that she could indeed go when and where she pleased, she also realized that had the least wish to go, and flung herself into her
captor's arms. Here we have Ibsen's situation transposed into the key of fantasy, and provided with the material "guarantee of good faith" which is lacking in The
Lady from the Sea. The Duke's change of mind, his will to set the Lady Henrietta free, is visibly demonstrated by the actual opening of the prison gate, so that we
believe in it, and believe that she believes in it. The play was a trivial affair, and is deservedly forgotten; but the situation was effective because it obeyed the law that
a change of will or of feeling, occurring at a crucial point in a dramatic action, must be certified by some external evidence, on pain of leaving the audience
unimpressed.
This is a more important matter than it may at first sight appear. How to bring home to the audience a decisive change of heart is one of the ever-recurring problems
of the playwright's craft. In The Lady from the Sea, Ibsen failed to solveit: in Rosmersholm he solved it by heroic measures. The whole catastrophe is determined by
Rosmer's inability to accept without proof Rebecca's declaration that Rosmersholm has "ennobled' her, and that she is no longer the same woman whose relentless
egoism drove Beata into the mill-race. Rebecca herself puts it to him: "How can youbelieve me on my bare word after to-day?" There is only one proof she can give--
-that of "going the way Beata went." She gives it: and Rosmer, who cannot believe her if she lives, and will not surviveher if she dies, goes with her to her end. But
the cases are not very frequent, fortunately, in which such drastic methods of proof are appropriate or possible. The dramatist must, as a rule, attain his end by less
violent means; and often he fails to attain it at all.
A play by Mr. Haddon Chambers, The Awakening, turned on a sudden conversion---the "awakening," in fact, referred to in the title. A professional lady-killer, a noted
Don Juan, has been idly making love to a country maiden, whose heart is full of innocent idealisms. She discovers his true character, or, at any rate, his reputation,

16. and is horror-stricken, while practically at the same moment, he "awakens" to the error of his ways, and is seized with a passion for her as single-minded and
idealistic as hers for him. But how are the heroine and the audience to be assured of the fact? That is just the difficulty; and the author takes no effectual measures to
overcome it. The heroine, of course, is ultimately convinced; but the audience remains skeptical, to the detriment of the desired effect. "Sceptical," perhaps is not
quite the right word. The state of mind of a fictitious character is not a subject for actual belief or disbelief. We are bound to accept theoretically what the author tells
us; but in this case he has failed to make us intimately feel and know that it is true.
In Mr. Alfred Sutro's play The Builder of Bridges, Dorothy Faringay, in her devotion to her forger brother, has conceived the rather disgraceful scheme of making one
of his official superiors fall in love with her, in order to induce him to become practically an accomplice in her brother's crime. She succeeds beyond her hopes.
Edward Thursfield does fall in love with her, and, at a great sacrifice, replaces the money the brother has stolen. But, in a very powerful peripety-scene in the third
act, Thursfield learns that Dorothy has been deliberately beguiling him, while in fact she was engaged to another man. The truth is, however, that she has really come
to love Thursfield passionately, and has broken her engagement with the other, for whom she never truly cared. So the author tells us, and so we are willing enough
to believe---if he can devise any adequate method of making Thursfield believe it. Mr. Sutro's handling of the difficulty seems to me fairly, but not conspicuously,
successful. I cite the case as a typical instance of the problem, a part from the merits or demerits of the solution.
It may be said that the difficulty of bringing home to us the reality of a revulsion of feeling, or radical change of mental attitude, is only a particular case of the
playwright's general problem of convincingly externalizing inward conditions and processes. That is true: but the special importance of a conversion which unties the
knot and brings the curtain down seemed to render it worthy of special consideration.
Reference:
Play-making A Manual of Craftsmanship by William Archer