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Drama

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Art; Theatre

   Drama ( Classical Greek δρᾶμα) is a literary form involving parts
   written for actors to perform. It is a Greek word meaning "action",
   drawn from the ( Classical Greek δρᾶν), "to do".

   Dramas can be performed in various media: live performance, radio,
   film, and/or television. " Closet dramas" are works written in the same
   form as plays (with dialogue, scenes, and "stage directions"), but
   meant to be read rather than staged; examples include the plays of
   Seneca, Manfred by Byron, and Prometheus Unbound by Percy Bysshe
   Shelley. Other dramatic literature may not resemble plays at all, such
   as the Imaginary Conversations of Walter Savage Landor. Drama is also
   often combined with music and dance, such as in opera which is sung
   throughout, musicals which include spoken dialog and songs, or plays
   that have musical accompaniment, such as the Japanese Noh drama.

   Recent studies have shown that students that partake in drama classes
   have a higher rate of graduation. One of the top highschools for drama
   in America is found in Hickory, NC. Fred T. Foard Highschool.

   Improvisational drama, a form of Improvisational theatre, is drama that
   has no set script, in which the performers take their cues from one
   another and the situations (sometimes established in advance) in which
   their characters find themselves to create their own dialogue as they
   perform. Improvisational drama is made up on the spot using whatever
   space, costumes or props are available.

History of Drama

Greek

   The three types of drama composed in the city of Athens were tragedy,
   comedy, and satyrs. The origins of Athenian tragedy and comedy are far
   from clear, but they did begin as a part of religious ritual.

   The chorus seems to have originated first, with a leader, singing a
   song about some legendary hero. Later the leader, rather than singing
   about the hero, began to impersonate him. Spoken dialogue between
   several actors was added, and the result was "tragedy" in the Greek
   form. The very first prize for tragedy went to Thespis in 534 BC.

   In fact, the two masks associated with drama with the smiling and
   frowning faces are both symbols of the Muses Thalia and Melpomene.
   Thalia is the Muse of comedy (the smiling face), and Melpomene is the
   Muse of tragedy (the frowning face).

Medieval

   In the Middle Ages, drama in the vernacular languages of Europe again
   emerged from religious enactments of the liturgy. Miracle plays were
   presented on the porch of the cathedrals on feast days. These again
   evolved into tragic and comic forms, depending on the theme. The first
   truly secular plays in Europe were historical plays, celebrating the
   lives of historical or legendary kings, these combined the functions of
   entertainment and propaganda. When bowing it is thanking an audience
   for their time and in the medieval time offering their heads to the
   king. If he did not enjoy the performance, he would have their heads
   cut off.People in medieval times used drama to express stories.

   Many of the medieval dramas were based on Christian church. The Roman
   Empire was greatly affected by christian church and had a even greater
   affect on entertainment. Many of the plays were bibical and had
   significant relivance to the Church.

Elizabethan and Jacobean

   One of the great flowerings of drama in England occurred in the 16th
   and 17th centuries. Many of these plays were written in verse,
   particularly iambic pentameter. In addition to Shakespeare, such
   authors as Christopher Marlowe, Thomas Middleton, and Ben Jonson were
   prominent playwrights during this period. As in the medieval period,
   historical plays celebrated the lives of past kings, enhancing the
   image of the Tudor monarchy.

Chinese

   Chinese opera is a popular form of drama in China. In general, it dates
   back to the Tang Dynasty with Emperor Xuanzong (712-755), who founded
   the " Pear Garden" (梨園), the first known opera troupe in China. The
   troupe mostly performed for the emperors' personal pleasure. To this
   day operatic professionals are still referred to as "Disciples of the
   Pear Garden" (梨園弟子). In the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), forms like the
   Zaju (雜劇, variety plays), which acts based on rhyming schemes plus the
   innovation of having specialized roles like " Dan" (旦, female), "
   Sheng" (生, male), " Hua" (花, painted-face) and " Chou" (丑, clown) were
   introduced into the opera. The dominant form of the Ming and early Qing
   dynasties was Kunqu, which came from the Wu cultural area, and evolved
   a longer form of play called chuanqi. Chinese operas continue to exist
   in 368 different forms now, the best known of which is Beijing opera,
   which assumed its present form in the mid-19th century and was
   extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

   In Beijing opera, traditional Chinese string and percussion instruments
   provide a strong rhythmic accompaniment to the acting. The acting is
   based on allusion: gestures, footwork, and other body movements express
   such actions as riding a horse, rowing a boat, or opening a door.
   Spoken dialogue is divided into recitative and Beijing colloquial
   speech, the former employed by serious characters and the latter by
   young females and clowns. Character roles are strictly defined.
   Elaborate make-up designs portray which character is acting. The
   traditional repertoire of Beijing opera includes more than 1,000 works,
   mostly taken from historical novels about political and military
   struggles.

   In traditional Chinese theatre, no plays were performed in the
   vernacular Chinese or without singing. But at the turn of the 20th
   century, Chinese students returning from abroad began to experiment
   with Western plays. Following the May Fourth Movement of 1919, a number
   of Western plays were staged in China, and Chinese playwrights began to
   imitate this form. The most notable of the new-style playwrights was
   Cao Yu (b. 1910). His major works — "Thunderstorm," "Sunrise,"
   "Wilderness," and "Peking Man" — written between 1934 and 1940, have
   been widely read in China.

   In the 1930s, theatrical productions performed by traveling Red Army
   cultural troupes in Communist - controlled areas were consciously used
   to promote party goals and political philosophy. By the 1940s theatre
   was well-established in the Communist controlled areas.

Japanese

   Japanese Noh drama is a serious dramatic form that combines drama,
   music, and dance into a complete aesthetic performance experience. It
   developed in the 14th and 15th centuries and has its own instruments
   and performance techniques, which were often handed down from father to
   son. The performers were generally male (for both male and female
   roles), although female amateurs also perform Noh dramas. Noh drama was
   supported by the government, and particularly the military, many
   military commanders having their own troupes and sometimes performing
   themselves. It is a thriving performance art in Japan today.

   Kyogen is the comic counterpart to Noh drama. It concentrates more on
   dialogue and less on music, although Noh instrumentalists sometimes
   appear also in Kyogen.

Indian

   Indian plays were based on the Gods they worshiped. There were plays
   based on the earth, wind, fire, sun, and water Gods. One of the more
   famous plays was called "Tri-Pod" in which was about the 3 major Gods
   in Indian Lifestyle. The first one was Michllous which was the fire
   god. The next was Candicous who was the God of wind. The last was
   Biankous who was the water God.

Today

   Except the sacred classical Indian musical theatre, the most usual
   purpose of drama is as entertainment, However drama can also be used as
   an educational activity or for therapeutic purposes.

   It has a unique ability to allow us to play, allowing us to be another
   person or in a situation that we would not normally encounter such as,
   being a general in a war. This is what makes drama a useful way of
   teaching, learning, and growing as a person.

   Drama has a holistic way of teaching people. Whether it be in a play or
   by partaking in a role-play situation, participants learn through
   interactions with others -- this allows participants to not only learn
   facts as they would from a book or in a classroom, but to enter the
   world of another person, to be allowed to explore how they feel about
   this situation or person, whether it be a war-torn town or the wolf in
   the Three Little Pigs. Every interaction with another character or
   situation gives a greater understanding of what is happening around us.

   If you look at a small child when they are playing, they are enthralled
   with their own world, and through their actions, thoughts and the way
   they play they learn about themselves, others, and the world around
   them. Play allows them to act out new situations, try out new ways of
   doing things and by doing so learn.

   When people grow up, the idea of play becomes less important and
   entering into the imagination becomes more difficult. However this is
   where drama has the unique and undeniable ability to help others learn
   and grow as individuals, as it allows them to play. Through playing we
   can once again try out situations, whether it be for a job interview by
   live action role-playing (aka. LARP), or just to think about new ideas,
   we can also gain confidence in ourselves and learn to trust others.

   Role-play and can also play an important part in therapy, again
   entering the imagination and allowing ourselves to pretend and to think
   of things in other ways. Drama therapy is often considered an effective
   treatment for people who have had severe emotional and psychological
   problems, although it is important to note that the evidence to support
   therapeutic efficacy of Drama therapy is anecdotal rather than
   scientific.

   In the theater, drama is a living, breathing art form. Actors are
   placed on stage, so that they can breathe life into the characters that
   have been created by the playwrights. In theatre, the two main things
   to consider are: a) drama is driven by conflict and b) that drama is
   action. Action can be loosely defined as anything a character does with
   an objective behind it, whereas conflict can be briefly summarized as a
   clash between the motives of one or more characters.

Tool for education

   There are many forms of educational drama these all share one common
   goal, to create awareness or an understanding of an idea or issue. The
   following is a few examples of the main forms in which drama is used as
   a tool for education.

   Theatre in education (TIE) is the typical image of drama, seen since
   the 1960s. Usually performed for youth groups, or schools by a drama
   group this form of theatre was usually a devised piece which used
   abstract ideas to communicate a message, it follows in the tradition of
   plays seen throughout history such as morality plays like Everyman.
   This form of theatre could also be compared to commedia del arte, and
   other such travelling forms of theatre.

Pantomime

   These stories follow in the tradition of fables and folk tales, usually
   there is a lesson learned, and with some help from the audience the
   hero/heroine saves the day. This kind of play uses stock characters
   seen in masque and again commedia del arte, these characters include
   the villain (doctore), the clown/servant(Arlechino/Harlequin/buttons),
   the lovers etc. These plays usually have an emphasis on moral dilemmas,
   and good always triumphs over evil, this kind of play is also very
   entertaining making it a very effective way of reaching many people.

Drama in Education

   Unlike theatre in education, Drama in Education (DIE) is
   workshop-based, with groups creating their own scenarios, ideas and
   even subject matter through the use of Drama and Drama workshops.
   Sometimes this kind of work may lead to the creation of a play, or a
   piece of TIE or some other kind of means to show a result from the
   work. Drama in Education the group, and is therefore aimed for smaller
   groups of individuals.

Workshops

   A workshop is a situation where a group is allowed to explore and think
   about an issue, a book, a thought, a play, anything. Within drama terms
   it is an active situation with a lot of learning and experiencing.
   Drama workshops have many different styles and approaches much like any
   group activity, this style and approach is determined by the group's
   willingness to participate, the frame and distance that they are from
   the drama is usually the holding form for the session, in the example
   shown through teacher in role we see the group are "framed" as social
   workers and because of their role in the drama they are at a very close
   distance, if the group were older at age 14-17 say then they would be
   less likely to enter into the drama and a more suitable frame would
   have to be chosen. For example, instead of social workers they could
   become reporters, which would allow them to remain at the spectator end
   of the drama and give them a chance to reflect on the conditions
   surrounding events. However, this does not mean that the group always
   has to have a frame. they can remain themselves and still participate
   in the drama, allowing them to think about how they feel about the
   situation. In this case, the group may enter the drama as themselves
   and how they would act in a situation, or explore being characters in a
   situation and what is making them act the way they are.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drama"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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