DRAMA NOTES

Based on the given module:

Unit 1. THE HISTORY OF DRAMA

Have you been to a play? How was your experience? Were you not wondering on how
everything became possible on stage and believable the characters were?

These questions are always present in the mind of somebody who had seen a play for the
first time. The spectacle of theater will leave you in awe. That is, if your first experience was
pleasant. But if your first time to watch a play is with a company that is very amateur and the
spectacle is not pleasing, you will for sure hate theater. But, giving a second chance to watch a
great play will that first impression for sure.

Below is a link that will lead you a great theater experiences. This a musical of a girl who
wants to follow her love to Harvard Law School and end up realizing a lot about everything else.
This the story of Elle Woods who definitely loves pink…this is Legally Blonde. Watch and
enjoy to be inspired on how spectacular theater is!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiX-EJA8n4w&t=68s

now, that you already inspired to be part of theater, let us open the curtain by how drama
started. Below is the account on how drama began and how it was in other places. Read and
enjoy!

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime,
ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television. Considered as a genre of poetry
in general, the dramatic mode has been contrasted with the epic and the lyrical modes ever
since Aristotle's Poetics (c. 335 BC)—the earliest work of dramatic theory. One has to take note
that DRAMA is the written medium generally known as script.

The term "drama" comes from a Greek word

meaning "action" (Classical Greek: δρᾶμα, drama), which is
derived from "I do" (Classical Greek: δράω, drao). The two
masks associated with drama represent the traditional
generic division between comedy and tragedy.

In English (as was the analogous case in many other European languages), the word play or
game (translating the Anglo-Saxon pleġan or Latin ludus) was the standard term for dramas
until William Shakespeare's time—just as its creator was a play-maker rather than a
dramatist and the building was a play-house rather than a theatre.

The use of "drama" in a more narrow sense to designate a specific type of play dates from the
modern era. "Drama" in this sense refers to a play that is neither a comedy nor a tragedy—
for example, Zola's Thérèse Raquin (1873) or Chekhov's Ivanov (1887). It is this narrower
sense that the film and television industries, along with film studies, adopted to describe
"drama" as a genre within their respective media. The term ”radio drama“ has been used
in both senses—originally transmitted in a live performance. May also refer to the more
high-brow and serious end of the dramatic output of radio.

The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience,

presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception. The structure
of dramatic texts, unlike other forms of literature, is directly influenced by this collaborative
production and collective reception.

Mime is a form of drama where the action of a story is told only through the movement of
the body. Drama can be combined with music: the dramatic text in opera is generally sung
throughout; as for in some ballets dance "expresses or imitates emotion, character, and
narrative action". Musicals include both spoken dialogue and songs; and some forms of
drama have incidental music or musical accompaniment underscoring the dialogue
(melodrama and Japanese Nō, for example). Closet drama is a form that is intended to be
read, rather than performed. In improvisation, the drama does not pre-exist the moment of
performance; performers devise a dramatic script spontaneously before an audience.

Based on the groups TQ’s:

GROUP1

1. Where does the term "Drama" come from?

Greek
2. In ancient Greece, what are people who act in the theatre called?
Thespian
3. A historical tragedy that won first prize at the City Dionysia competition in 472 BC.
The Persians
4. They featured choruses' satyrs, were based on Greek mythology, and were rife with
mock drunkenness, brazen sexuality, and general merriment.
Satyr Play
5. In what era of drama did Livius Andronicus come from?

Roman Drama

6. It emerged hundreds of years after the original tragedies and comedies, was a new
creation rather than a rebirth, the drama of earlier times having had almost no influence
on it.

Medieval Drama

7. What drama originated from classical Greece?

Western Drama

8. 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.

Elizabethan and Jacobean

9. This comedy is known for its sexual explicitness, urbane, cosmopolitan wit,

up-to-the-minute topical writing, and crowded and bustling plots.

English Restoration Comedy

10. A dramatic art form that arose during the Renaissance in an attempt to revive the
classical Greek drama in which dialogue, dance, and song were combined.

Opera

11. This production is also creatively characterized by technical aspects, such as set
design,costumes, stage properties (props), lighting and sound.

Musical

12. A type of musical comedy stage production, designed for family entertainment.

Pantomime

13. A theatrical medium where the action of a story is told through the movement of the
body, without the use of speech.

Mime

14. Dance movements of this art form "are often closely related to everyday forms of
physical expression, [so that] there is an expressive quality inherent in nearly all

dancing", and this is used to convey both action and emotions.

Ballet

15. Includes dramatic activities and games used primarily in educational settings with
children.

Creative Drama

16. The earliest form of Indian drama

Sanskrit Drama

17. This has a rich and extensive history that spans over two thousand years. It has evolved
through various dynasties, cultural shifts, and artistic innovations. It is also a diverse and
dynamic art form that continues to evolve, reflecting the changing cultural and social

landscape of China.

Chinese Drama

18. A traditional Japanese popular drama with singing and dancing performed in a highly

stylized manner. A rich blend of music, dance, mime, and spectacular staging and
costuming, it has been a major theatrical form in Japan for four centuries.

Kabuki

19. Major source of evidence of The earliest-surviving fragments of Sanskrit drama date
from the 1st century AD.

Treatise on Theatre

20. Known for its unique blend of traditional and contemporary elements, exploring
themes of love, politics and social issues,

Philippine Drama

21. -25. Name at least five types of dramatic artform.

Ballet, Pantomime, Mime, Opera, English Restoration Comedy, Elizabethan and Jacobean,

Satyr Play

26. -28. Give the 3 kinds of play from the Philippines

Cenakulo, Moro-Moro, Zarzuela

29.-30. These are the 2 early forms of Philippine Drama

Duplo, Karagatan

GROUP 2 TQ

1.What century Greek Drama started?

a) 4th century

b) 5th century

c) 6th century

d) 6th century BCE

2.Drama comes from the Greek word meaning

_________.

a) To do

b) To play

c) To think

d) To sing

3.What are the three distinct genres of Greek Drama?

a) tragedy

b) satyr-drama

c) sci-fi

d) comedy

4.The god of wine

a) Dionisus

b) Dionysus

c) Dionysos

d) Dionysuss

5.Hymns used as a form of worship.

a) Dithyramb

b) Diathyram

c) Dionysos

d) Dietyramb

6.Who turned Athens into the city of Dionysia with

theater competition at its center?

a) Peisistratus

b) Sophocles

c) Aeschylus

d) Aristotle

7-9.Give five examples of Greek Drama

• the Oresteia, The King, Electra, Medea,

Philoctetes

10.A Greek slave, who is credited with translating Greek

plays into Latin and introducing them to Roman

audiences.

• Livius Andronicus

11.It is known for its humorous plot involving a hidden pot

of gold and a miserly old man.

a) Aulularia

b) Aluria

c) Asturias
d) Alulluria

12.A Greek Tragedian who relied heavily on prologues and

deus ex machina ending.

a) Sophocles

b) Aeschylus

c) Euripides

13.A Roman playwright who wrote comedies. He is known

for his elegant and refined style.

a) Terence

b) Clarence

c) Tarence

14.Who was the prolific Roman playwright who wrote

many popular comedies during 240-130 BCE?

a) Plautus

b) Terence

c) Sophocles

15.Who is the first actor in Greek Drama?

a) Thespis

b) Terence

c) Sophocles

16.His comedies revolve mostly around daily life and

average people, superficially the stuff of Greek New

Comedy as opposed to the politically oriented Old

Comedy of the Classical Age or the spoofs of tragedy

popular in post-classical Middle Comedy.

a) Thespis

b) Plautus

c) Sophocles

17.It features a shipwreck, mistaken identities, and

romantic entanglements.

a) Ruins

b) Rudens

c) Rudeen

18-22.Give five examples of Classical Roman Drama

• Aulularia, Rudens, Andria, Adelphoe, Phormio

23.What does Tragedy mean?

• Tragedy is a genre that focuses on human

suffering and does not have a happy ending.

GROUP3

GROUP 3

Medieval and Elizabethan and Jacobean and English Restoration Comedy

Test Questionnaires

1. During the medieval epoch, dramatic presentations constituted a notable and culturally

significant facet of societal expression.

A. TRUE

B. FALSE

2. After public theater had been banned by the Puritan regime in English Restoration

Comedy, the re-opening of the theaters in 1660 with the Restoration of King Charlie
signaled a renaissance of English drama.

A. TRUE

B. FALSE

3. Elizabethan comedies could take place in a range of settings, from the magical forests of

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" to the bustling streets of "Twelfth Night's" Illyria.

A. TRUE

B. FALSE

4. Jacobean comedies had more cynical outlook, often portraying characters engaged in

deception, manipulation, and moral ambiguity.

A. TRUE

B. FALSE

5. Settings in Jacobean comedies were often rural and depicted a more realistic and gritty

world compared to the idyllic landscapes of Elizabethan comedy.

A. TRUE

B. FALSE

6. This refers to the comedic works of English theater produced during the late 16th

century, primarily during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603).

A. Jacobean Comedy

B. Elizabethan Comedy

C. English Restoration Comedy

7. It was typically performed around Easter, “Who do you seek?” used for liturgical drama
on

the women’s encounter with an angel when visiting Christ’s tomb.

A. Quem-Quaeritis
B. Ordo Virtutum

C. The Boy and the Blind Man

8. It refers to the comedic plays produced in England during the early 17th century,

particularly during the reign of King James I (1603-1625).

A. Medieval Drama

B. English Restoration Comedy

C. Jacobean Comedy

9. In Jacobean Comedy, he was known for plays like "Volpone" and "The Alchemist," his

comedies often contained biting satire and sharp wit.

A. Ben Jonson

B. John Webster

C. Thomas Middleton

10. Who was the king of England during the Restoration Period and was the one who

signaled a renaissance of English Drama?

A. King Charlone II

B. King Charles II

C. King Charles III

11. This refers to English comedies written and performed in England during the

Restoration period from 1660 to 1710.

ANSWER: English Restoration Comedy

12. What is an allegorical morality play, or sacred music drama, by Hildegard of Bingen,

composed c. 1151, during the construction and relocation of her Abbey at Rupertsberg?

ANSWER: Ordo Virtutum

13. Who is known for his works, such as "The Duchess of Malfi," blended elements of
tragedy

and dark comedy?

ANSWER: John Webster

14. Who was known as the earliest woman poet in Germany who also wrote six comedies in

Latin?

ANSWER: Hrosvitha

15. Who is often considered as the greatest playwright of all time?

ANSWER: William Shakespeare

GROUP4

…..

GROUP5

1.Your mime act involves interacting with an invisible rope. How can you make it appear
as if you are handling a real, tangible rope?

a) Ask a stagehand to hold a real rope for you.

b) Imagine the weight and texture of the rope as you interact with it.

c) Avoid miming the rope and move on to the next scene.

d) Describe the rope's appearance to the audience.

2.How does mime differ from pantomime?

a) Mime involves speaking, while pantomime is silent.

b) Mime focuses on using gestures and body language, while pantomime often includes

exaggerated actions and comedy.

c) Mime is a form of dance, while pantomime is a type of sculpture.

d) Mime and pantomime are the same and can be used interchangeably.
3.Which famous mime artist was known for his "The Great Stone Face" persona and his
deadpan

expression?

a) Marcel Marceau

b) Buster Keaton

c) Charlie Chaplin

d) Jim Carrey

4.In mime makeup, what is the purpose of whiteface makeup commonly used by mime
artists?

a) To create scary and intimidating characters.

b) To hide facial expressions and emotions.

c) To add color and vibrancy to the performer's face.

d) To emphasize facial features and expressions for better visibility.

5.What is the primary purpose of mime exercises in drama training?

a) To teach actors how to speak loudly and clearly.

b) To improve physical fitness.

c) To enhance nonverbal communication and body language.

d) To learn how to write scripts.

6. A literature that focuses on regular people and everyday problems.

A. Tragic Opera

B. Mime

C. Classical Ballet
D. Modern Drama

7.It is the most significant and outstanding quality of Modern English Drama.

A. Marxist criticism

B. Surrealism

C. Naturalism

D. Realism

8. Examples of Social and Political commentary.

A. “Magmula Giliw, Nang Ikaw ay Pumanaw” by Gregoria de Jesus

B. Blasted Hope

C. Bertlot Breach's epic theater and the works of Agosto Willson

D. Bertolt Brecht's epor theater and the works of August Wilson

9.It is a movement that shows the effects of things and events on the mind of the artist and
the

attempt of the artist to express his expressions.

A. Expressionism

B. Naturalism

C. Marxism

D. Impressionism

10.It is a movement that tries to express the feelings and emotions of the people rather than

objects and events.

A. Impressionism

B. Naturalism

C. Realism

D. Expressionism

11.Understanding modern drama often requires consideration of the __.

A. Author

B. Conductor

C. Driver

D. Cultural and Historical

12.Father of modern drama.

A. Uncle Vanya

B. Anton Chekhov

C. Bertolt Brecht

D. Henrik Ibsen

13. He has the ability to capture the nuances of human behavior and complexity of
relationships in

his plays.

A. Henrik Ibsen

B. Uncle Vanya

C. Confidential

D. Anton Chekhov

14. Identify Henrik Ibsen's play.

A. Uncle Vanya
B. Magmula Giliw, Nang Ikaw ay Pumanaw

C. Blasted Hope

D. A Doll's House

15. The following are examples of modern drama except one:

A. A Doll's House

B. Mother Courage and Her Children

C. Uncle Vanya

D. Blasted Hope

16. You're watching a performance where the actors are entirely silent, using only their
bodies to convey a story or concept. What form of theatrical performance is this?

A) Pantomime

B) Mime

C) Farce

D) Ballet

17.A performer in a pantomime uses a ladder to reach a high object but intentionally keeps
slipping and falling off the ladder for comedic effect. What type of humor is this demonstrating?

A) Wit and wordplay

B) Physical comedy

C) Mime humor

D) Theatrical makeup

18.In a pantomime performance, a character suddenly pretends to be trapped in an invisible

box, pushing and feeling the imaginary walls. What aspect of pantomime is this demonstrating?
A) Costume design

B) Proper set-up

C) Use of props

D) Gestures and movement

19.The main characters in a pantomime are trying to cross a roaring river. Which prop might be
commonly used to create the illusion of a river?

A) A large cardboard box

B) A length of blue fabric

C) A real boat

D) A rubber chicken

20.Which of the following best defines ballet?

A) A form of competitive dance

B) A type of folk dance

C) A highly stylized form of dance characterized by precise movements and

gestures D) A type of rhythmic gymnastics

21."Swan Lake" choreographed by Julius (Wentzel) Reisinger is an example of which type of

ballet known for its storytelling and narrative elements?

A) Classical ballet

B) Neoclassical ballet

C) Contemporary ballet

D) Plotless ballet

22."Concerto Barocco" choreographed by George Balanchine is an example of which style of

ballet known for its abstract and non-narrative approach?
A) Classical ballet

B) Neoclassical ballet

C) Contemporary ballet

D) Story ballet

23."Petite Mort" choreographed by Jiří Kylián is an example of which style of ballet known for its
innovative and modern approach?

A) Classical ballet

B) Neoclassical ballet

C) Contemporary ballet

D) Plotless ballet

24."Sleeping Beauty" choreographed by Marius Petipa is an example of which type of ballet

that tells a classic fairy tale with a storyline?

A) Classical ballet

B) Neoclassical ballet

C) Contemporary ballet

D) Plotless ballet

25.In which type of ballet do dancers primarily focus on the physicality and beauty of their
movements rather than telling a specific story?

A) Classical ballet

B) Neoclassical ballet

C) Contemporary ballet

D) Story ballet
26.Which style of ballet often incorporates innovative choreography and challenges traditional
ballet techniques?

A) Classical ballet

B) Neoclassical ballet

C) Contemporary ballet

D) Story ballet

27.Which style of ballet emphasizes the preservation of classical ballet techniques and

traditions? A) Classical ballet

B) Neoclassical ballet

C) Contemporary ballet

D) Story ballet
28.In mime, which basic action involves slowly turning a body part or object in a circular

motion?

A) Rotation

B) Inclination

C) Isolation

D) Expansion

29.Mime performers often use a basic action where they bend or lean their bodies forward,
backward, or to the sides. What is this action called?

A) Rotation

B) Inclination

C) Isolation

D) Expansion
30.Augustus Harris was a prominent figure in the development of pantomime in the late 19th
century. What role did he primarily play in the world of pantomime?

A) An actor known for his silent performances

B) A theater manager, actor, and producer of pantomime

C) A playwright famous for his pantomime scripts

D) A pantomime performer known for his physical comedy