American Drama 565

Drama Definitions

Characteristics of Comedy of Manners:

• Scenes in gathering places for the upper classes (such as fine homes and exclusive clubs).
• Stock characters such as fops, country bumpkins, elegant young ladies, and older persons attempting to recapture their youth.
• Romantic intrigue.
• Gossip.
• Schemers hatching plots against their enemies.
• Eavesdropping. (A character in a closet, behind a curtain, or in another room overhears information that could embarrass or incriminate someone.)
• Scandal or the threat of scandal.
• Witty conversations. But the wit is often contrived and artificial.

Characteristics of Melodrama:

• The virtuous hero/heroine is hounded by a villain and is rescued from a series of life threatening events.
• An episodic story unfolds rapidly after a short expository scene.
• Each scene ends with a climax.
• Important events occur onstage including elaborate spectacle.
• Plot devices like disguise, abduction, concealed identity and fortunate coincidence are used.
• Villains are always defeated and then brought to justice.
• Servants or lowly characters provide comic relief.
• Song and Dance is used to highlight and underscore the production.

Characteristics of a Well-Made Play:

• Extensive exposition and careful preparation (foreshadowing) early in the play.
• A tightly knit cause-and-effect arrangement of plot incidents.
• Each scene builds to a strong climax (or crisis).
• A secret known to the audience, but not to the play's characters.
• A "show down" or confrontational scene between the play's two major characters near the climax.
• A careful resolution of the action so there are no loose ends.

Definition: Expressionism in drama and art was a movement that rejected traditional methods of representing objective reality. Instead, expressionists exaggerated and distorted aspects of the outside world in order to "express" subjective moods and feelings. In other words, their landscapes and portraits were actually "mindscapes." In American drama, Eugene O'Neill, Elmer Rice, and Sophie Treadwell are noted for their expressionist plays. Thriving from about 1910 to 1925, expressionism continues to be an important influence on experimental theatre and art.

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