For other senses of this word, see drama (disambiguation).

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". Wiktionary has related dictionary definitions, such as: drama Drama may refer to: Drama (art form) Drama (Yes album), an album by progressive rock group Yes Drama (Flaw album), an independantly released album by rock group Flaw Drama, Greece, a city in the Drama Prefecture in Greece Drama, a well-known... Image File history File links Drama-icon. ... The History of Greece extends back to the arrival of the Greeks in Europe some time before 1500 BC, even though there has only been an independent state called Greece since Turkey, Italy and Libya. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The History of Greece extends back to the arrival of the Greeks in Europe some time before 1500 BC, even though there has only been an independent state called Greece since Turkey, Italy and Libya. ...

Dramas can be performed in a variety of media: live performance, 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. Film is a term that encompasses motion pictures as individual projects, as well as the field in general. ... A closet drama is a play that is not intended to be performed onstage. ... Bust, traditionally thought to be Seneca, now identified by some as Hesiod. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Manfred, a dramatic poem Manfred is a dramatic poem written in 1816-1817 by Lord Byron; it contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. ... Lord Byron, Anglo-Scottish poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (January 22, 1788–April 19, 1824) was an Anglo-Scottish poet and a leading figure in Romanticism. ... There are two plays named Prometheus Unbound. ... Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley (August 4, 1792 – July 8, 1822; pronounced ) was one of the major English Romantic poets and is widely considered to be among the finest lyric poets of the English language. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Walter Savage Landor (January 30, 1775 - September 17, 1864), English writer, eldest son of Walter Landor and his wife Elizabeth Savage, was born at Warwick. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan is one of the worlds most famous opera houses. ... Noh performance at Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima, Hiroshima Noh or Nō (Japanese: 能) is a major form of classical Japanese musical drama that has been performed since the 14th century. ...

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. Improvisational Theatre (also known as improv or impro) is a form of theatre in which the actors perform spontaneously, without a script. ...

Historical

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. Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína IPA: ) is the capital and largest city of Greece and the birthplace of democracy. ... In general usage, a tragedy or tragoedy is a drama, movie or sometimes a real world event with a sad outcome. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... Satyr plays were an ancient Greek form of comedy, similar to the modern-day burlesque style. ...

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 tragic plays of Ancient Greece, the chorus (choros) is believed to have grown out of the Greek dithyrambs and tragikon drama. ... From the Greek , in mythology and folklore, a hero (male) or heroine (female). ... Thespis of Icaria (6th century BCE) is claimed to be the first person ever to appear on stage as an actor in a play although the reality is undoubtedly more complex. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 580s BC - 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC Events and Trends 538 BC - Babylon occupied by Jews transported to Babylon are allowed to return to...

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). For other uses see Muse (disambiguation). ... Thalia - oil on canvas by Jean-Marc Nattier 1739 In Greek mythology, Thalia or Thaleia (good cheer) was the muse of comedy and pastoral poetry. ... Hesiod and the Muse, 1891 - Oil on canvas, Musee dOrsay, Paris Gustave Moreau Melpomene (to sing) was a Muse in Greek mythology. ... Comedy has a classical meaning (comical theatre) and a popular one (the use of humour with an intent to provoke laughter in general). ... In general usage, a tragedy or tragoedy is a drama, movie or sometimes a real world event with a sad outcome. ...

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 medevil time offering their heads to the king. If he did not enjoy the performance, he would have their heads cut off.^{[citation needed]} Mystery plays or miracle plays are one of the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. ...

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. Iambic pentameter is a meter in poetry. ... William Shakespeare—born April 1564; baptised April 26, 1564; died April 23, 1616 (O.S.), May 3, 1616 (N.S.)—has a reputation as the greatest of all writers in English. ... An anonymous portrait, often believed to show Christopher Marlowe. ... Thomas Middleton (baptized April 18, 1580, died 1627) was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. ... Benjamin Jonson (circa June 11, 1572 – August 6, 1637) was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. ... The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor (Welsh: Tudur) is a series of five monarchs of Welsh origin who ruled England and Ireland from 1485 until 1603. ...

Chinese opera

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). 19th century Chinese opera Chinese opera costumes Chinese opera is a popular form of drama in China. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Emperor Tang Xuanzong (唐玄宗) (685 - 762), born Li Longji (李隆基), was the sixth emperor of the Tang dynasty of China reigining from 712 to 756. ... The Pear Garden (梨园), the first known opera troupe in China. ... The Yuan Dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: Yuáncháo; Mongolian: Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus) lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. ... Dan(æ—¦) is the general name for the female roles in Chinese opera. ... Zhou refers to Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256 BC) Zhou Dynasty (690 AD - 705 AD) Zhou (political division) — Zhou is the name of a type of political division of China. ... Ming redirects here. ... The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: ; Pinyin: QÄ«ng cháo; Wade-Giles: Ching chao; Manchu: daicing gurun), occasionally known as the Manchu Dynasty, is a Chinese term for the Empire of the Great Qing (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: dàqÄ«ngguó), founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what... Kunqu (崑曲; pinyin: KÅ«nqÇ”; Wade-Giles: kun-chü), also known as Kunju, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is the oldest extant form of Chinese opera. ... Wu (吳) is a region in the Jiang Nan area (the south of Yangtze River), surrounding Suzhou, in Jiangsu province of China. ... In Beijing, September 2002 Beijing opera or Peking opera (Simplified Chinese: 京剧; Traditional Chinese: 京劇; Pinyin: JÄ«ngjù) is a kind of Chinese opera which arose in the mid-19th century and was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: ; Pinyin: QÄ«ng cháo; Wade-Giles: Ching chao; Manchu: daicing gurun), occasionally known as the Manchu Dynasty, is a Chinese term for the Empire of the Great Qing (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: dàqÄ«ngguó), founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what...

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. Beijing [English Pronunciation] (Chinese: 北京 [Chinese Pronunciation]; Pinyin: Běijīng; IPA: ), a city in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Cosmetics or makeup are substances to enhance the beauty of the human body, apart from simple cleaning. ...

In traditional Chinese theater, 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. For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle &#8212... Vernacular Chinese (pinyin: báihuà; Wade-Giles: paihua) is a style or register of the written Chinese language essentially modeled after the spoken language and associated with Standard Mandarin. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... 1919 (MCMXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Cao Yu (曹禺, pinyin: cáo yÇ”) (1910-1996) is a Chinese dramatist, often regarded as Chinas most important in the 20th century. ...

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 theater was well-established in the Communist controlled areas. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (official name) also known as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) (Simplified Chinese: 中国共产党; Traditional Chinese: 中國共産黨; Pinyin: Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng) is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

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.[1]

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

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. Mohiniaattam Classical Indian musical theatre is a sacred art of the Hindu temple culture. ...

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. If the role of a teacher is to teach, the role of a student must be to learn. ...

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. In role-playing, participants adopt characters, or parts, that have personalities, motivations, and backgrounds different from their own. ... The third pig builds a house of brick The wolf lands in the cooking pot For the Disney animated short film, see Three Little Pigs (film). ...

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. Drama therapy is a health and human services profession that seeks to facilitate physical integration and personal growth for individuals, couples, families, and various groups through the use of theatrical and dramatic processes. ... Drama therapy is a health and human services profession that seeks to facilitate physical integration and personal growth for individuals, couples, families, and various groups through the use of theatrical and dramatic processes. ...

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 theater, 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. Theatre in Education(TIE) TIE is a way to teaching morals, rules and life problems to children, normally within 4-16 years of age, through theatre and fictional characters. ... Morality plays are a type of theatrical allegory in which the protagonist is met by personifications of various moral attributes who try to prompt him to choose a Godly life over one of evil. ... Everyman is a 16th century English morality play, with possible origins in a late 15th century Flemish morality play called Elckerlijc. ...

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.

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 utilises skills used across the spectrum of dramatic activity, everything from teacher in role to normal theatrical conventions of audience and spectator. DIE is usually run in youth clubs, schools, community centres etc. DIE involves a high amount of participation by 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 have 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, comp In drama, a frame is a situation or position of importance given to a person, and distance relates to how engaged the frame makes the group. ... If the role of a teacher is to teach, the role of a student must be to learn. ...

Slang

'Drama' is used colloquially to refer to unnecessary emotional turmoil, such as that created through social events,gossip, and misinterpreting messages on the internet.

External links

• Greek & Roman Drama Timeline
• Greek & Roman Mask Timeline