What every good techie needs to know

 Those who create theatre adopt different points of view toward events and toward life in general; all of us do. Depending on our perspective, we can see the same subjects as funny or sad, take it seriously or laugh at it, make it an object of pity or ridicule. Introduction

 In theatre, this question of viewpoint---looking at people or events from a particular perspective--- becomes crucial. Viewpoint is not taken for granted, as it is in everyday life; rather, it is a conscious act on the part of whoever creates the text. To take for example, in most cases death is considered a somber matter; but in his play Arsenic and Old Lace, the dramatist Joseph Kesserling makes it clear that we are to regard death as comic. Intro Continued

 In theatre, viewpoint is incorporated in what is known as genre- a French word meaning category or type. We should note that often a play does not fit nearly into a single category. Those who create a text to do not write categories or types of plays; write individual, unique works. What Is Genre?

 The oldest and best known genres in theatre are tragedy and comedy. The Greeks, who first made it clear distinction between the two approaches, created a mask for a tragedy and a mask for comedy, and these masks have become a symbol for theatre. What is Genre? Con’t

 Tragedy is serious drama involving important personages caught in calamitous circumstances; it evokes in the audience fear and apprehension for the characters who bare suffering, and admiration for the courage they display

 Tragedy probes very basic questions about human existence. Why are people sometimes extremely cruel? Why is the world so unjust? Why are men and women called on to endure suffering? What are the limits of human suffering and endurance? In the midst of cruelty and despair, what are the possibilities of human achievement? To what heights of courage, strength, generosity, and integrity can human beings rise?

 When we study theater history, we recognize that theatre, like any art form, does not occur in a vacuum. It is created by artists who live in a given culture at a given time. They are shaped by their culture, even though they may question it or rebel against it.

 Periods of western civilization were characterized by a point of view receptive to tragedy. The outlook of these societies created what might be called the conditions or climate for tragedy.  In general, there seem to be two conditions—which at first appear mutually contradictory but are actually two sides of the same coin.  One side of this tragic coin is the idea that human beings are capable of extraordinary accomplishments, the other is the idea that the world is potentially cruel and unjust.

 Tragedy can be divided into two basic kinds: traditional and modern.  Tragic heroes and heroines. Generally, the hero or heroines of a traditional tragedy is an extraordinary person: a king, a queen, a general, a member of the nobility—in other words, a person of stature.  Because these heroes and heroines are important, they stand not only as individuals but as a symbols of an entire culture or society.  Also, the central figure of a traditional tragedy is caught in a set of tragic circumstances.  In traditional tragedy, the universe seems to trap the hero or heroine in a fateful web.

 The tragic situation becomes irretrievable: there is no turning back, no way out.  Tragic heroes and heroines suffer a cumulative series of reversals.  The figures of traditional tragedy find themselves in situations from which there is no honorable avenue of escape; they must go forward to meet their tragic fate. Tragic Irretrievability

 The language of traditional tragedy is verse.  Because it deals with lofty and profound ideas, tragedy soars to the heights and descends to the depths of the human experience; and many people feel that such thoughts and emotions can be best expressed in poetry.

 When the elements of traditional tragedy are combined, they appear to produce two contradictory reactions simultaneously.  One reaction is pessimistic; the heroes or heroines are; damned if they do and dammed if they don’t and the world is cruel, uncompromising place.  Traditional tragic playwrights, although telling us that the world is chaos, at the same time strike a note of affirmation by the very act of creating such carefully shaped and brilliant works of art.

 Tragedies of the modern period- that is, beginning in the last 19 th century-do not have queens or kings as central figures, and they are written in prose rather than poetry.  For these reasons, as well as more philosophical reasons, there are those who argue that modern tragedies are not true tragedies.

 On the other side, those who argue in favor of modern tragedy point out those modern dramatists probe the same depths and ask the same questions as their predecessors:  Why do men and women suffer?  Why is there violence and injustice in the world?  And perhaps most fundamentals of all: What is the meaning of life?

 Comedy is humorous drama whose characters, actions, and events are intended to provoke amusement and laughter.  People who create comedy are not necessarily frivolous or unconcerned with important matters; they may be extremely serious in their own way. –  They saw the world differently from someone whose outlook is somber; they made their points with a smile, and arched eyebrow, a deep laugh.

 As they observed human follies and excesses, they developed a keen sense of the ridiculous, showing us things that make us laugh.  Laughter is one of the most elusive of human reactions ;no one – has provided a fully satisfactory explanation of why we laugh.  Other creatures express pain and sorrow –emotions we associate with tragedies – but apparently only human beings laugh.

 It should also be noted that there are many kinds of laughter, ranging all the way from mild amusement at a witty saying or a humorous situation to a belly laugh at wild physical comedy, to cruel derisive laughter at someone who is different.

 One feature of most comedy is temporary suspension of the natural laws of probability and logic.  Actions in a comic play do not have the same consequences as actions in real life.

 In comedy, when a haughty man walking down a street steps on a child’s skateboard and goes sprawling on the sidewalk, we do not fear for his safety or wonder if he has been hurt.  In comedy, the focus is on the man’s being tripped up and getting his comeuppance.  We have in some sense suspended our belief in injury.

 Comedy develops when two elements – a play – cut against each other like the blades of a pair of scissors.  In most instances, comic writers accept the notion of a clear social and moral order in their society; it is not the social order that is at fault when something goes wrong but the defiance of that order by individuals. Contrast between Individuals & The Social Order

 Suspension of natural law makes possible the development of a comic premise.  A comic premise is an idea or concept that turns the accepted notion of things upside down. This idea becomes the basis of a play.  The comic premise –along with the suspension of natural laws –leads to exaggeration and incongruity in several areas of comedy: verbal humor, characterization, and comic situation.

 Depending on the dramatist’s intent and comic techniques, comedy takes various forms, including farce, burlesque, satire, domestic comedy, comedy of manners, and comedy of ideas Forms of Comedy

 Farce thrives on all forms of exaggeration –broad physical humor, plot complications, stereotyped characters.  It has no intellectual pretensions but aims simply at entertainment and laughter.  Complications and its humor usually results from ridiculous situations as well as pratfalls and horseplay. Farce

. Burlesque also relies on the knockabout physical humor, gross exaggerations and occasional vulgarity. (The Austin Powers and Scary Movie films are contemporary examples.) Burlesque

 Satire uses wit – especially sophisticated language – irony, and exaggeration to expose or attack evil and foolishness.  Satire can attack one specific figure, or it can be more inclusive. Satire

 Domestic Comedy usually deals with family situations and is found most frequently today in television situation comedies –sitcoms- that feature member of a family or neighborhood friends caught up in a series of complicated but amusing situations. Domestic comedy

 Concerned with pointing up the foibles and peculiarities of the upper class, comedy of manners uses verbal wit to depict the charm of its character and expose their social pretensions.  Rather than relying on horseplay, it stresses witty phrases and clever barbs. Comedy of Manners

 The term Heroic Drama refers to a serious drama that has heroic or noble characters and certain other traits of classic tragedy –such as dialogue in verse, elevated language, or extreme situations – but differs from tragedy in important respects. Heroic Drama

 One way is having a happy ending; another is in assuming a basically optimistic worldview, even when the ending is sad.  If heroic drama has a happy ending, the chief characters go through many trials and tribulations but finally emerge victorious. Heroic Drama con’t

 The term melodrama means “song drama” or “music drama.” It usually refers to a theatrical form made of popular by the French at the end of the 18 th century and the beginning of the 19 th century.  Melodrama had easily recognizable stock characters: the threatened young woman, the sidekick (a comic foil to the hero), and the calculating villain. Melodrama

 The highly moral tone of a traditional melodrama meant that the conflict between good and evil was clearly and firmly established, and virtue was always victorious.  Melodrama on television, such as adventure stories, detective, and cop shows, have a climax –a car crash, a sudden confrontation, a discovery or important evidence – just before each commercial break. Melodrama Con’t