Chapter 6: Writing About Plays

Theater: The art that lives.
Plays: The Text that keeps Theater from dying.

Theater is an ancient art. Aristotle, considered the earliest literary critic of Western civilization in the fifth century, made drama's elements very clear. He said the elements common in all drama are:
1) Plot.
The art of drama is the art of storytelling in a visual way rather than an oral way. With no plot, there is no story, which makes for no play. (Although some people can pull off a play without a plot--take Shakespeare's "All's Well that Ends Well" for example.) Drama relies on visuals like set, expression, props, music in some cases, to tell the story in the best manner.
All's Well That End's Well
(So there's a girl who likes this guy who does not like her back, and there's a funny guy with an instrument, and there's a girl then there's sex? And then people cry and laugh and the girl gets to marry the guy because they had sex, but he still does not like her.....what??)


2) Characterization.
Characters use dialogue to make the plot as well as action. By creating unique characters with very specific nuances or ticks makes the play enjoyable and entertaining to watch. This also captures the essence of a character in a way that oral storytelling can not do. Relates to diction.

3) Theme.
The theme of the play is the same as the theme in a piece of literature--it is seeking to comment on human life.

4) Diction.
Playwrights use diction to create such characters, using certain phrases or words that only that character would say. Comedic characters often have witty remarks to bounce off tragic hero's emo monologues.
One of my favorite characterization is the making of Hamlet in " Hamlet" by Shakespeare.
Hamlet speaks about his inner and outer emotion and his plot. Sometimes he speaks to himself and other times he speaks to the audience. What makes his character so interesting is that the audience never knows if he is tricking them or being honest. He speaks of not trusting anyone and of pretending to go mad. Through monologues, the audience wanders if he is really mad, letting them into his head, or messing with their heads. This role is important for an actor to be a visual for the audience. Just by reading the text, a person does not gt the whole experience of the genius or craziness Hamlet is creating.

5) Melody.
At the beginning of theater, plays often had a Greek chorus that would sing or chant the dialogue of the play. That tradition broke with a stage-hog named Thespis, and theater would grow creatively from then on. Jumping a few years to the English Renaissance, famed playwrights like Shakespeare and Marlowe used iambic pentameter to write, making a steady beat, a melody. Today, melody is not sought after in plays (except in musicals).

6) Spectacle.
This refers to what we actually see onstage. Costumes, actors, sets, lights, all the works. This part of theater is the most exciting for most people. It's when the words jump off the page and into a colorful world in front of you.
Most people " see" plays differently in their heads while reading it, which is what makes it possible to do plays over and over again and never have the same show twice. The spectacle is the part artistic directors manipulate to make the story visually pleasing.