THEATER 2040 1st Edition Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture I Essential of Elements of Theatre II Two types of experiences during a performance III Two types of theater IV Theatre of the Oppressed V Willing suspension of Disbelief VI Questions for a Critic VII Dramaturg Outline of Current Lecture I Playwright Dramatic Structure Genre a Wright b Playwright c Theme II Qualities of a Good Play a Credibility b Intrigue c Speakability d Stageability e Richness f Depth of Characterization g Gravity h Pertinence i Compression j Economy k Celebration III Goal of theater IV Dramatic Structure a 6 parts of Drama Current Lecture I Playwright a Wright once who builds b Playwright a person who makes plays c Playwrights rent their scripts to theatres and are paid a royalty some money i Written script is a blueprint d At the core of every play action These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute II III IV e Playwright has only two tools i Dialogue ii Physical Action f Theme overall attitude toward the issue and ideas brought up by the action Qualities of a Good Play a Credibility i The audience imposed demand that requires a play s actions to appear to flow logically from its characters situation and theatrical context the play provides ii Believable b Intrigue i The quality of a play that makes us curious to see what happens next c Speakability i A line of dialogue should be so written that it achieves its maximum impact when spoken d Richness i One of the qualities common to plays that leave us with this sense of satisfaction richness of detail and richness of dimension ii Specific language e Depth of Characterization i Requires that every character possesses an independence of intension expression and motivation f Gravity i Terms used to describe the importance of the play s theme and its overall relevance to the concerns of the intended audience g Pertinence i Refers to the play s touching on current audience concerns both of themoment and timeless ii Touches on current concerns of society h Compression i Refers to the playwright s skill in condensing a story into a theatrical time frame i Economy i Relates to an author s skill in eliminating or consolidating characters events locales and words in the service of compression j Celebration i A great play celebrates life The goal of theater is to extend our known experience to exhaust the human experience Nice thing about being a playwright a Only artists in theater who can bring their work to the first stage of completion without any outside profession help b Don t need to audition or have an agent to create a manuscript V c Neil LaBute and Anton Chekhov suggest to simply start to write if you want to be a playwright Dramatic Structure a First observed and recorded by Aristotle in a book called The Poetics b 6 parts of Drama from simplest to most complex i Spectacle 1 Visual element of drama 2 Includes set costumes makeup props etc ii Music sound 1 Everything that is heard 2 Includes silence iii Diction language 1 How they are chosen arranged 2 Helps audience get perception of time place and characters iv Thought v Character vi Plot 1 Type 1 Linear 2 Type 2 Episodic