CREATIVE WRITING

2ND QUARTER LESSONS

DEFINITION AND ORIGINS OF DRAMA • Development of pantomime

• Introduction of Commedia dell' Arte
Drama
- is staged art (Robert di Yanni) Japanese Noh Stage
- designed for the theater - Connection to the natural world
- an enacted fiction; an art form based on -stage was constructed to recall an outdoor
mimetic action environment
- the most elegant expression of thought nearest
to truth
- the most concrete form in which art can
recreate human situation
- in drama, characters are assigned roles and
they act out their roles as the action is enacted
on stage
ORIGINS OF DRAMA
Parts of Japanese Noh Stage:
 The word drama comes from the Greek verb • Hashigakari (bridge)
dran, which means “to do.” • Kizahashi (stairway)
 Ancient Greece is considered the birthplace of • Kagami-ita (back wall of stage area)
classic western theater.
Medieval English Stage
Greek Stage - theater performances were produced by the church
-Greek theater began as part of a religious -to instruct the illiterate on the Bible
celebration of the god Dionysus
Parts of a Greek Theater:
• Orchestra (circular stone)
• Scene/skene (rectangular building for
entrance/exits)
• Theatron (seats)

GREEK STAGE
Universal Elements of Drama
1. Imitation-it is close to reality but not reality
2. Re-presentation-aims to give or show something
again
3. Impersonation- broader term for copying somebody
or something
4. Re-enactment- persons or actions will impersonate
specific characters in the original action
Roman Stage
-resembled the construct of the Greek theater KINDS OF DRAMA
-preferred bawdy comedies to tragic plays.  The two famous masks of
drama represent the division
between comedy and tragedy.
They are the Greek Muses
 Thalia was the muse of
comedy, while Melpomene was
the muse of tragedy.

Kinds of Drama
What Romans Gave?
1. Comedy
 a universal form of expression and a major
dramatic genre that is intended to amuse.
 often associated with humorous behavior,
wordplay, pleasurable feeling, release of tension,
and laughter. Imbued with a playful spirit, comic
entertainment frequently exposes incongruous,
ridiculous, or grotesque aspects of human nature.
 It generally follows a fixed pattern of theatrical
surprises that leads to a sense of exhilaration in the
spectator. Of all dramatic genres, comedy is the
most widely performed.
 refer to plays that are light in tone, and that
typically have happy endings. The intent of a
comedic play is to make the audience laugh. In
modern theater, there are many different styles of
comedy, ranging from realistic stories, where the
humor is derived from real-life situations, to
outrageous slapstick humor.
2. Tragic/ Tragedy
 dramatic genre that presents the heroic or moral
struggle of an individual, culminating in his or her
ultimate defeat, tragic plays appear chiefly in
societies that maintain a fixed hierarchy of political
and religious beliefs. Only when spectators share
with the playwright a particular social vision and
system of class-based values can they empathize
with the fall of the protagonist (central character)
from an elevated position into bleak despair or
annihilation.
 one of the oldest forms of drama; and
 usually involves serious subject matter and the
death of one or more main characters. These plays
rarely have a happy ending.
3. Tragicomedy
 drama that contains elements of tragedy and
comedy. One example of tragicomedies is English
playwright William Shakespeare's so-called
reconciliation plays, such as The Winter's Tale
(1610), which reach a tragic climax but then lighten
to a happy conclusion.
 A tragicomedy is the usual form for plays in the
tradition of the theater of the absurd.
4. Farce
 Farce is a sub-category of comedy, characterized
by greatly exaggerated characters and
situations. Characters tend to be one-
dimensional and often follow stereotypical
behavior. Farces typically involve mistaken
identities, lots of physical comedy and
outrageous plot twists.
5. Melodrama
 Melodrama is another type of exaggerated
drama. As in farce, the characters tend to be
simplified and one-dimensional. The formulaic
storyline of the classic melodrama typically
involves a villain a heroine, and a hero who must
rescue the heroine from the villain.
6. Musical
• In musical theater, the story is told not only
through dialogue and acting but through music
and dance. Musicals are often comedic, although
many do involve serious subject matter. Most
involve a large cast and lavish sets and costumes.
7. Opera
 Opera is a dramatic art form, which arose during
the Renaissance.
 Drama in which the text is set to music and
staged.
 The texts of operas are sung, with singing and
stage action nearly always given instrumental
accompaniment.
8. Pantomime
 is an art of dramatic representation by means of
facial expressions and body movements rather
than words. Pantomime, or mime, has always
played a part in theater.
 Pantomime, or dumb show, was essential to
commedia dell'arte, an improvised comedy that
arose in 16th-century Italy and spread
throughout Europe.
9. Creative Drama
 includes dramatic activities and games used
primarily in educational settings with children.
Elements of Drama
1. Character: A Character is one of the persons who
appears in the play, one of the dramatis personae
(literally, the persons of the play). Most plays contain
major characters and minor characters.
 Protagonist - the main character in a drama or
other literary work.
 Antagonist - principal rival in the conflict set
forth in the play. represent a major threat or
obstacle to the main character by their very
existence, without necessarily deliberately
targeting him or her.
2. Theme: A writer’s message, or main point. Looking for
a theme helps you look more deeply into the literature
and makes for more enjoyable reading.
3. Setting: The time, place, and conditions in which the
action of a play takes place.
4. Plot: Events that make up a story, particularly as
they relate to one another in a pattern, in a sequence,
through cause and effect, or by coincidence.
5. Dialogue: Dialogue provides the substance of a
play. Each word uttered by the character furthers the
business of the play, contributes to its effect as a whole.
DRAMATIC LITERARY DEVICES AND TECHNIQUES
• Act- one of the main divisions of the play
• Scene-refers to a unit smaller than an act
• Soliloquy- a speech delivered by a character while
he/she is alone on stage.
• Aside-a speech made by an actor directly to the
audience, but seemingly to himself or herself.
• Dramatic Irony-occurs when the reader/audience
knows a secret, but the characters in a play or work
of fiction do not.
• Foreshadow- a hint or warning of things to come,
making specific events in the plot seem more
probable as they unfold.
• Imagery- using images to describe or compare
something to, so that the reader forms a picture in
his or her mind.
• Nemesis-refers to a character who is an archenemy
of the protagonist
• Pathetic Fallacy- a figure of speech that describes
nature or inanimate things in a way that is
sympathetic to or prophetic about the events in the
plot and/or the emotions of the characters
• Hamartia- an ancient Greek theatre term meaning
the error, frailty, mistaken judgment or misstep
through which the fortunes of the hero of a tragedy
are reversed.
• Cliffhanger- popularized with serialized fiction and
occurs when characters are left in precipitous
situations, or have a revelation, as an episode of the
serial ends.
• Ticking Clock Scenario- elicits dramatic tension by
placing a character in a dangerous, or otherwise
intense situation, in which time is of the essence.
• Tragic Hero- protagonist of a tragedy in drama
• Plot Twist- occurs when a sudden, unexpected
change happens that has a direct impact on the
outcome of the story
• Poetic Justice- an ideal situation in which good is
rewarded and evil is punished
• Pathos- the portrayal of an incident which arouses
feelings of pity and sadness in the reader
• Catharsis- an emotional purification or relief
• Hubris- excessive pride or self-confidence which
leads to a downfall
• Tragic Flaw- a negative quality or weakness within
the hero.
1. Dramatic Techniques
1. Allusion- a brief and indirect reference to a
person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural,
literary or political significance.
2. A generally implied reference to characters,
scenes, plot elements, etc. that appear in
another work
3. Ex.: A woman said, “Thanks, Romeo”, after her
husband offered some type of romantic
gesture. (This is a reference to Shakespeare’s
Romeo, a passionate lover of Juliet, in “Romeo
and Juliet”.)
4. This place is like a Garden of Eden. (This is a
biblical allusion to the “garden of God” in the
Book of Genesis.)
2. Parody- derived from the Greek word “parodia”
which means a song sung alongside another.
5. Also called spoof, send-up, take-off, lampoon,
play on something, caricature, or joke is an
imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist,
or genre with deliberate exaggeration or comic
effect.
6. Ex.: The Hunger Pains- A Parody: The Harvard
Lampoon (The Parody of “The Hunger Games”)
7. Fifty Shades of Black (Parody of the movie “Fifty
Shades of Grey)
3. Pastiche- comes first from the Italian word
“pasticcio” which later became pastiche in
French, and refers to pie.
8. any work of art that imitates the style of
another artist/s.
a. -pastiche is not meant to ridicule the
original style, instead it respects the
original style and often pays some
homage to it.
9. Ex.: Morpheus' promise to Neo in The Matrix to
show him “how deep the rabbit hole goes” which
is also the scenario in Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
FILIPINO PLAYWRIGHTS student at the University of the East, he won a
1. Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Palanca award for his play, "The
- was born in Ermita, World is an Apple."
Manila. - He has since written more than 50 plays for
- At the Age 14, he has stage and more than 100 for television, besides
already written his first having published seven collections of his own
play in Spanish, entitled, plays and more than 70 titles by other Filipino
"No TodoEsRisa." authors.
- Became a reporter and a 4. Rolando Tinio
proofreader for La - He was the Philippine
Vanguardia National Artist for Theater
- He was appointed as the University of the and Literature. Tinio himself
Philippines Dramatic Club director became a film actor and
- He is the first Filipino to have a theater named scriptwriter.
after him within his lifetime: The Wilfrido Ma. - He was born in Gagalangin,
Guerrero Theater of the University of the Tondo, Manila on March 5,
Philippines. 1937
- In 1997, Guerrero was posthumously - In Iowa, Tinio was known as a great writer that
distinguished as a National Artist for Philippine used English as the medium of the Filipino
Theatre writer.
- Six of his plays have been produced abroad: "Half 5. Orlando Nadres
an Hour in a Convent" at the Pasadena
Playhouse, California; "Three Rats" at the - (Born November 1938 in
University of Kansas; "Condemned" in Oahu, Tayabas, Quezon - died July
Hawaii; "One, Two, Three" (premiere 14, 1991) was a stage, film,
performance) at the University of Washington, television writer, director
Seattle; "Wanted: A Chaperon" at the University and actor.
of Hawaii; and "Conflict" in Sydney, Australia. - He helped sustain PETA, as
an actor, playwright and
2. Nick Joaquin Trainer in CITASA.
- Philippine novelist, poet,
6. Estrella D. Alfon
playwright, biographer,
and essayist writing in - (1917 – December 28,
English, the National Artist 1983) was a well-
for Literature. known Filipina author
- Born in Paco on who wrote almost
CalleHerran, the son of exclusively in English.
Leocadio Y. Joaquin, a - She was a nude
lawyer and a colonel of the Philippine storywriter,
Revolution, and playwright, and
Salome Marquez, a schoolteacher. journalist.
- Joaquin started to write short stories, poems, - She published her first story, “Grey Confetti”, in
and essays in 1934. the Graphic in 1935
- His first poem, a piece about Don Quixote, - She was the only female member of the
appeared in 1935 the Tribune, where he was Veronicans, an avantgarde group of writers in
employed as a proofreader. the 1930s led by Francisco Arcellana and H.R.
3. Alberto S. Florentino Ocampo, she was also regarded as their muse.
- Is the author and
playwright of the famed "
The World is an Apple"
- He was born on July 28,
1931.
- Alberto Florentino was 23
when, as an accounting
FOREIGN PLAYWRIGHTS
1. William Shakespeare 6. Samuel Beckett
• Father of English
Drama • Irish novelist and
• He has given a playwright
large number of • He was awarded the
plays which are 1969 Nobel Prize in
about 36 Literature
• Hamlet, Romeo
and Juliet, Macbeth, and a large list of other 7. Jean-Baptiste Poquelin
plays. • He is worldly known
2. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov by his stage name
• He was a Russian Moliere
playwright and also • A French playwright
short story writer and actor
• He produced many • Greatest master of
famous plays and a comedy in Western
large number of short Literature
stories. • The Misanthrope,
3. Sophocles The School for Wives, Tartuffe, The Miser, The
• He is one of three Imaginary Invalid, and The Bourgeois Gentleman
ancient Greek 8. Arthur Asher Miller
tragedians • Miller was an
• Only seven of his American
plays have survived playwright and
in a complete form essayist
which are Ajax, • All My Sons, Death
Antigone, The Women of Trachis, Oedipus the of a Salesman, The
King, Electra, Philoctetes and Oedipus at Colonus Crucible and A
4. Oscar Wilde View from the
• He was an Irish Bridge.
playwright and 9. Thomas Williams
novelist • He was an
• He gave a large American
number of famous playwright and
novels and plays. also author of
many stage
5. Henrik Johan Ibsen classics
• Father of modern
literature and • Some of his
drama. famous plays are The Glass Menagerie , A
• He was a major Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,
19th-century and Sweet Bird of Youth
Norwegian
playwright 10. Euripides
• Ibsen is famous for
his great play A • One of the
Doll’s House. greatest
• Some of his major and most famous works are tragedian in
Brand, Peer Gynt, An Enemy of the People, history
Emperor and Galilean, A Doll’s House, Hedda
• He is considered one of the greatest playwrights
Gabler, Ghosts and The Wild Duck.
ever came in the genre of drama.