American Drama
Lit Books pg. 813
Novels vs. Plays
• A novel is…
– Meant to be read
– A personal experience for the reader
– Finished once it’s published
• A play is…
– Meant to be brought to life
through theatre
– Dependent on nonverbal
elements (movement and
gestures) for meaning
– A public experience for the viewer
– Not finished until it’s performed
• However, fascinating effects cannot replace an
engaging story that connects to the audience
emotionally (like a novel!).
Organizing Emotions
• The playwright must
– Conceive the story in dramatic terms (to catch, hold, and reward the attention
of an audience)
– Organize audience’s emotions behind characters so they care about characters
and conflicts
– Give characters something vital at stake
• Types of conflict:
– External conflict: person vs. person, person vs. nature, person vs. society
– Internal conflict: involves opposing forces within a person
•
The protagonist: The major character who wants something and who
drives the action forward – typically (but not always) the “good guy”
• Exposition: Background information given at the beginning of a
story, who the characters are, where they are, when the action
is taking place etc.
• A play in an empty theatre is not a play. The actors use the
audience as fuel to help propel their performance. Actors
must think about shaping lines according to audience
reaction (pauses, beats, moments etc.)
The History of American Drama
• Before about 1920 (Eugene O’Neill) American drama
consisted mostly of entertaining spectacles with amazing
effects—but little in deep character development
• Every town had some type of theater or hosted touring
companies.
• Theatre was slow to take up new attitudes and social ideas
(usually they were explored in other areas—like novels—
first)
The Influence of Europe
• Influenced by playwrights such as Ibsen (Norway),
Strindberg (Sweden), and Chekhov (Russia), Americans
started taking on more complex ideas
• These included guilt, sexuality, mental illness, psychological
complexities, and characters’ inner struggles
Example of an “entertaining spectacle”
Realism
• Began in the early 20th
Century
• Realistic Drama:
– based on the illusion that
audiences are looking at
life through a “fourth wall” that has been removed
– the audience is watching characters that are going
through realistic issues in their lives
• Playwrights like Eugene O'Neill tried to reveal
the characters’ complex selves
How realism works
Wall Two
FOURTH WALL!
Characters
Wall One
Wall
Three
Audience
Theater Today: A Revolt Against Realism
• The current revolt of theatre focus is shifting away from
realism and on making theatre theatrical again.
– using different theatrical devices to extends its texture of
language, special effects, imaginative sets, and script writing.
• Expressionist drama: Shows that life is formless or
meaningless, using:
– No logical plot stream of
consciousness writing
– Focus on characters’ inner
consciousness
– Impressions
– Fragmentation
Theater Today: A Revolt Against Realism
• Theatre of the Absurd: The action is not intended to
tell a story but to communicate a pattern of poetic
images. Sometimes nothing actually happens
• The problem with these types of dramas is that they are
only interesting for so long (lack emphasis on plot).
These plays tend to be short
• Modern theatre has no set formula–
just a stage and an audience.
Playwrights may use as many—or as
few—special effects and can write
realistically, absurdly, or somewhere
in between
Arthur Miller (1915-2005):
Playwright of our Social Conscience
• Considered to be the “master of realism”
• Focused on society’s impact of his characters’ lives
• Development of his action/characters depends not
only on the characters’ psychological makeup but
also on the social, philosophical, and economic
atmosphere of
their times.
• Writing style is
one of high moral
seriousness