DRAMA

AND
THEATER

WHAT IS DRAMA?
DRAMAIS THE SPECIFICMODEOF
FICTIONREPRESENTEDIN
PERFORMANCE. THE TERM COMES
FROM AGREEKWORD MEANING "
ACTION" (CLASSICAL GREEK:DRAMA),
WHICH IS DERIVED FROM "TO DO" (
CLASSICAL GREEK:DRAO). THE TWO
MASKS ASSOCIATED WITH DRAMA
REPRESENT THE TRADITIONAL
GENERICDIVISION BETWEENCOMEDY
ANDTRAGEDY.

What is theater?
a building or outdoor area in which plays
and other dramatic performances are given.
More the activity or profession of acting in,
producing, directing, or writing plays.
noun:the theatre; noun:the theater
"what made you want to go into the
theater?"
a play or other activity or presentation
considered in terms of its dramatic quality.
"this is intense, moving, and inspiring
theater"

WHAT IS TRAGEDY?
a play dealing with tragic events and
having an unhappy ending, especially
one concerning the downfall of the
main character.

WHAT IS MELODRAMA?
a sensational dramatic piece with
exaggerated characters and exciting
events intended to appeal to the
emotions.
a play interspersed with songs and
orchestral music accompanying the
action.

WHAT IS ROMANTIC COMEDY?

a movie or play that deals with love in
a light, humorous way.
"the wit and charm of a classic
romantic comedy"
romantic comedies as a genre of film
or theater.
"romantic comedy is about the kind of
love that turns everything upside
down"

WHAT IS FARCE?
a comic dramatic work using
buffoonery and horseplay and
typically including crude
characterization and ludicrously
improbable situations.

WHAT IS COMEDY OF MANNERS?

Thecomedy of mannersis an
entertainment form which satirizes
the manners and affectations of a
social classor of multiple classes,
often represented by stereotypical
stock characters.

WHAT IS TRAGICOMEDY?
Tragicomedyis aliterary genrethat
blends aspects of bothtragicand
comicforms. Most often seen in
dramatic literature, the term can
variously describe either a tragic play
which contains enough comic
elements to lighten the overall mood
or a serious play with a happy ending.

WHAT IS MIRACLE AND MYSTERY

PLAYS?
Mystery plays(perhaps from the Latin
ministerium meaning occupation)
andmiracle plays(they are
distinguished as two different forms
although the terms are often used
interchangeably) are among the
earliest formally developedplaysin
medieval Europe.

WHAT IS MORALITY PLAYS?

a kind of drama with personified
abstract qualities as the main
characters and presenting a lesson
about good conduct and character,
popular in the 15th and early 16th
centuries.

WHAT IS CLOSET DRAMA?

Acloset dramais aplaythat is not
intended to be performed onstage,
but read by a solitary reader or,
sometimes, out loud in a small group.
The dichotomy between private
'closet' drama (designed for reading)
and public 'stage' drama (designed
for performance in a commercial
theater setting) dates from the late
eighteenth century.The practice of
circulating plays in written form
(printed or handwritten) for literary
audiences predates this period,

WHAT IS PIANO DRAMA?

An opera in which the text and action
are not interrupted by set arias,
duets, etc., the music being
determined throughout by dramatic
appropriateness; musical drama of
this character, in general. It involves
the use of a kind of melodious
declamation, the development of
leitmotif, great orchestral
elaboration, and a fusion of poetry,
music, action, and scene into an
organic whole.