THE Seagull BOOK OF Plays PDF

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Gissel Rodriguez ENGL 101 THE SEAGULL BOOK OF PLAYS What is drama? Dramatic conventions- Devices, phrases, or actions that have, over time, become common than their meaning is immediately apparent. Chorus- A group of singers and dancers who participate in or comment on the action - Contemporary dramas don't use chorises (unless they are self-consciously, perhaps ironically, borrowing the ancient device). Cultural context- A play is written not primarily for reading, but instead as the guiding text for performing a story onstage. - A portformance helps you see that the very act of putting a play into action involves interpretation and analysis on the part of the director, the actors and every other artist that is involved in the production. The Parts of a Play Analysis- breaking down into parts Plot- the sequence of events that happen in a play 1. Equilibrium 2. Conflict 3. Rising action 4. Climax 5. Falling action 6. Resolution In media res- “In the mindset of things” Exposition- Background information in the opening scene to give viewers an understanding of the early stages of the plot. - The rising action depicts the escalating struggle of the conflict. Character- Is a person on the stage, a personage being acted for the audience. Genre- Westerns, crime films, horror, superhero movies etc Sympathetic characters- to wish them well and feel sorry for them when they suffer. Unsympathetic characters- not meant to sympathize Identify- to imagine yourself in the characters place Diction- The costumes, the actors boyd language, the way the character talks Protagonist- The character that the play focuses on Antagonist- The character the protagonist struggles against Dynamic character- any character who changes through the course of the play Static character- a character who does not change Stock character- Character may be so two-dimensional, even one-dimensional

Gissel Rodriguez ENGL 101 THE SEAGULL BOOK OF PLAYS Spectacle- Aristotle's term for what the audience sees- the play as a physical reality. Atmosphere- your attitude and mood Symbol- a thing that represents something else Universal symbol- Having such broad applicability Conventional symbol- The symbol has a meaning that is agreed on by a particular group of people Literary symbol- a thing that represents something else only within a particular work of literature. - Tragedy always begins with the protagonist in a state of prosperity - The conflict in a tragedy usually occurs between the protagonist and some larger force Reversal- the heroes original prosperity turns into poverty. Recognition- The falling action of tragedy typically reveals that the protagonist has gained some self- understanding. Hubris- a tragic flaw Comedy- A play that makes people laugh a lot - Comedy is much more difficult to describe and define than tragedy - The cimedic plot is generally the reverse of the tragic plot: the protagonist begins in a state of relative poverty and ends in a state of prosperity. - While tragedies often end in death, romantic comedies usually end in betrothal or marriage, a symbol of human renewal and fecundity. Major Moments in the History of Theater Greek Theater- Invented drama. - Drama grew out of religious festivals devoted to the worship of Dionysus, the god of wine. - Spoken dialogue became possible after a man named Thespis, from whose name comes the word thespian, added an actor to these charcoal dances and songs. - Drama as the playing out of a story really began with Aeschylus Elizabethan Theater- The term refers to the first Queen Elizaneth of Englsand who ruled from 1558 to 1603. - Entertainers performed modest scenes from wagons at fairs or, sometimes, in the banquet halls of the rich. - Shakespeare's Globe teacher was built on the southside of the River Thames in 1599.

Gissel Rodriguez ENGL 101 THE SEAGULL BOOK OF PLAYS - The theater was shaped like a doughnut. - The Elizabethan performed plays only during the daytime. Nineteenth- century Middle- Class Theater - The nineteenth century theater also sharply divided audiences according to economic status. - In general, nineteenth century theater demanded a much higher degree of realism than had been present. The Provincetown Players - They set about writing and staging plays they were interested in seeing: theater that would examine and interpret the national character and present to audience intelligent plays regardless of commercial concerns. Contemporary American Theater - h Regional Theaters - Tend to customize their repertories to the needs and interests of their local populations, and they usually cut against the economic grain- bringing theater to groups excluded by the highbrow nature of most contemporary theater. - Because they are incommerical, regional theaters do not often produce theatrical spectaculars - Typically, their plays take place in single settings, so that only me set has to be built for each production....