Scribd
Upload
30 views1 page

Understanding Theatre and Play Production

Drama is derived from the Greek word "dran" meaning "to do" and refers to written works intended for performance. A play is a dramatic performance by actors on a stage before an audience, while a theatre is the place where plays are performed. There are different genres of drama including musicals, tragedies which express human suffering, and comedies which intend to make audiences laugh. Plays go through various stages of production from pre-production where materials are gathered, to the production and post-production phases. Key theatre terms refer to aspects of staging a play such as acts, scenes, stage directions, blocking of actors, and curtain calls.

Uploaded by

jose.jose3x
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
30 views1 page

Understanding Theatre and Play Production

Drama is derived from the Greek word "dran" meaning "to do" and refers to written works intended for performance. A play is a dramatic performance by actors on a stage before an audience, while a theatre is the place where plays are performed. There are different genres of drama including musicals, tragedies which express human suffering, and comedies which intend to make audiences laugh. Plays go through various stages of production from pre-production where materials are gathered, to the production and post-production phases. Key theatre terms refer to aspects of staging a play such as acts, scenes, stage directions, blocking of actors, and curtain calls.

Uploaded by

jose.jose3x
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Drama - derived from the Greek word “dran” which means “to do”.

It refers to written
literature that is intended for performance. They were in honor of the god Dionysus
Play – refers to a dramatic performance by actors on a stage before an audience.
Theatre – refers to the place in which a play is performed. Mean “The Seeing Place”.
Theatre Play – deliberate performance created by live actors and intended for a live
audience typically making use of scripted language.
Mimetic Impulse – desire to imitate, act or pretend
Ludic Impulse – playful instinct, make fun of figure or practices
Catharsis – purgation, cleansing, or “Soul Vomiting”
Functionalism – the desire to explain and rationalize the world around us and how and why
things are.
Didactic – desire to teach people something, especially a moral lesson
Stages in Play Production
Pre-production – preparation and gathering of all materials
Executive function – Production Manager – overall administration of the production, House
Manager – the safety of the audience and all front house, Stage Manager – oversees
rehearsals coordinate all aspects of production.
Business Function – Marketing director – manages all aspects of the theatre’s publicity and
advertising materials, Box Office Staff – provides information about opening performance
and all tickets.
Aesthetic Function – Playwright, Director, Actors, Set Designer, Light Director.
Production and Post-Production
Genres of Drama
Musical – a theatrical production that is characteristically sentimental and amusing in
nature, with a simple out distinctive plot, and offering music, dancing, and dialogue
Tragedy – one of the oldest forms of drama which expresses the plight and suffering of
humans. Involves the ruin or downfall of the characters. Hamartia – a flaw
Comedy – Lighter in tone and provides a happy ending. Intends to make the audience laugh
through any form of fun-provoking situation. Two types: Low comedy (slapstick and more on
physical) and High comedy (jokes pure comedy and from dialogue)
Theatre Terms
Stage Directions – refers to the instructions on how the play acted out.
Act – major division in the action of a play
Scene – signals change in location or entrance of a new character
Dialogue – refers to the direct conversation of the characters
Ad Lib – extemporize (Improvise) stage business or conversation
Cross – refers to the movements of characters from one area to another
Blocking – the arrangements of actors’ movement on the stage with respect to each other
and the stage space
Business rehearsal – rehearsal for onstage action
Dress rehearsal – a full rehearsal in costume and with stage properties shortly before the
first performance.
Break a leg – traditional wish of good luck exchange between theatrical people prior to
curtain
Soliloquy – act of a character’s speaking of one’s thought when by oneself
Curtain call – refers to the final appearance of the cast when the play is over to receive the
audience’s applause.

You might also like