PLAYS

1. PLAYS A film shows images on a screen. . .

2. PLAYS A piece of music is a sequence of chosen sounds . . .

3. PLAYS A painting is an image usually in two dimensions . . .

4. PLAYS Compared to all these, theatre is not so easy to define and categorize.

5. PLAYS One dictionary says, “Actions imitating life are performed, usually by human beings, before an audience, usually on a stage. The performance is usually designed to be repeated.”

6. PLAYS One dictionary says, “Actions imitating life are performed, usually by human beings, before an audience, usually on a stage. The performance is usually designed to be repeated.” This comes close, but, in fact, many aspects of theatre are completely flexible and open for interpretation.

7. PLAYS The length of a performance is usually a few hours, but it does not have to be. Samuel Beckett’s play, Breath, is famous (or infamous depending on your opinion) for lasting only about 35 seconds.

8. PLAYS On the other hand, some plays in India can last over a period of two or three days. This play, AapHamareHainKaun, is part of a four day festival in Chandigarh.

9. PLAYS Most of the time, performers are human, but they don’t have to be.

10. PLAYS Most of the time, performers are human, but they don’t have to be. Plays have been written with parts for dogs or monkeys, and non-human components are not that rare.

11. PLAYS Most of the time, performers are human, but they don’t have to be. Plays have been written with parts for dogs or monkeys, and non-human components are not that rare.

12. PLAYS Most of the time, performers are human, but they don’t have to be. Plays have been written with parts for dogs or monkeys, and non-human components are not that rare.

13. PLAYS Most of the time, performers are human, but they don’t have to be. Plays have been written with parts for dogs or monkeys, and non-human components are not that rare. Some of you may remember the helicopter in the 1989 musical, Miss Saigon.

14. PLAYS With the rise in technology, modern plays have been able to mingle film with performance or have complicated sound scores, automated moving scenery and laser lighting.

15. PLAYS With the rise in technology, modern plays have been able to mingle film with performance or have complicated sound scores, automated moving scenery and laser lighting.

16. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Over 2,300 years ago, there was a Greek philosopher, Aristotle.

17. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Aristotle judged that there were two main kinds of drama:

18. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Aristotle judged that there were two main kinds of drama: Comedy

19. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Aristotle judged that there were two main kinds of drama: Comedy and Tragedy

20. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Now, no one would define plays into just these two, but it is important to touch on these two general categories.

21. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Generally, his idea of a tragedy was that it was a play that narrated the downfall of a noble or great person. This person usually had some kind of fault or weakness (“the tragic flaw”) that lead to his downfall. Lastly, the tragedy ended in death or a series of deaths.

22. PLAYS

23. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Generally, his idea of a comedy was that it was a play with a happy ending.

24. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Generally, his idea of a comedy was that it was a play with a happy ending. The concept that a comedy is full of laughs is a more modern concept.

25. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Generally, his idea of a comedy was that it was a play with a happy ending. The concept that a comedy is full of laughs is a more modern concept. Most comedies in Aristotle’s time only promised that the characters would be better off at the end.

26. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Old (Greek) Comedy – These plays showed contemporary people, gods, and things together with one or two singing, dancing and speaking choruses. Often these plays involved a fantastical situation, usually of a combative or ceremonious nature. The plays presented a topical or social issue through burlesque, parody, invective, wit, obscenity and argument.

27. PLAYS The Birds - Aristophanes Varieties of Plays – Old (Greek) Comedy –

28. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – New or (Later) Roman Comedy – In these comedies stock characters – such as the old father, the witty servant, the shrew, or the marriageable widow – are involved in a crisis that must be solved with dexterity or wit. The play usually ends happily with revelry.

29. PLAYS Varieties of Plays New or (Later) Roman Comedy –

30. PLAYS Varieties of Plays New or (Later) Roman Comedy –

31. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Comedy of Manners– A mixture of intrigue and romantic narratives provides occasions in these plays for showing examples of social behavior. It is often greatly exaggerated but verbally inventive.

32. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Comedy of Manners–

33. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Comedy of Manners– “Tartuffe”

34. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Romantic Comedy– A romantic narrative provides opportunities for lyrical speech, song or dance. There may be subplots with crude humor or specialty acts. Settings are frequently magical or exotic. The main characters are young, beautiful, but unfortunate in love.

35. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Romantic Comedy–

36. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Romantic Comedy –

37. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Farce – In these plays, the story (usually involving sexual encounters) develops toward violent and exaggerated activity, bringing increasingly complicated problems and misunderstandings. All of it is designed to make the audience laugh.

38. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Farce –

39. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Farce –

40. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Tragicomedy – A play with a story that arouses both pity and fear, yet ends happily or has many comical or lyrical episodes.

41. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Tragicomedy – Shakespeare’s Cymbeline

42. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Expressionist Plays – In this genre, a series of scenes express emotional states rather than everyday reality. These scenes represent the nature of human life, rather than a particular story.

43. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Expressionist Plays – Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones

44. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Epic Plays – The audience observes the epic play, rather than feeling a part of the story or sharing the feelings of the characters. Audience members are encouraged to think rather than feel.

45. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Epic Plays – Common production techniques in epic theatre include a simplified, non-realistic scenic design, as well as announcements or visual captions that interrupt and summarize the action.

46. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Epic Plays – Acting in epic theatre requires actors to play characters believably without convincing either the audience or themselves that they have "become" the characters. Actors frequently address the audience ("breaking the fourth wall") and play multiple roles.

47. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Epic Plays – Good Woman of Setzuan

48. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Absurdist Plays– The subject matter of absurdist plays is surreal or hallucinatory, violent, playful or even crazy. Many of these plays are short, and most are designed to puzzle or affront their audience.

49. PLAYS Varieties of Plays – Absurdist Plays – Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett