What comes on your

mind when you hear

the word “drama” ?
Arts and Humanities
(Reading Visual Arts)

8: The Drama
DRAMA
• comes from the Greek word “dran”
meaning “to do” or “to act”
• a form of literature meant to be
performed for an audience, either
on stage or before a camera
Brief History
• Originated most likely among prehistoric
cultures in religious festival dances or
mimetics movements to demonstrate how a
specific achievement was done on a certain
occasion, such as the hunting adventures of
some tribe members.
Greek Drama 
• the theatrical culture of the city-state of Athens
produced three genres of drama: tragedy, comedy,
and the satyr play
• Ritual & Drama: Drama was a chosen form for the
honoring of the divine in ancient Greece, as it
allowed the gods to intervene in our lives and
sometimes overturn them. In classical drama, the
hero is sacrificed; in Greek tragedy, he or she is
killed
• Chorus : Among the ancient Greeks the chorus
was a group of people, wearing masks, who sang
or chanted verses while performing dancelike
movements at religious festivals.
• Satyr play:  Satyr plays were an ancient Greek
form of tragicomedy, similar in spirit to the
burlesque. They featured choruses of satyrs, were
based on Greek mythology, and were rife with
mock drunkenness, brazen sexuality, and general
merriment
Roman Drama
• Following the expansion of the Roman Republic
(509–27 BCE) into several Greek territories
between 270–240 BCE, Rome encountered
Greek drama.
• generally separated into genres of tragedy and
comedy, which are represented by a particular
style of architecture and stage play, and
conveyed to an audience purely as a form of
entertainment and control.
Medieval Drama
• Medieval drama, when 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.
Renaissance (Elizabethan)
Drama 
• The Renaissance saw a huge resurgence in all
types of art, including theater. It was during this
time that Commedia Dell'arte flourished and the
first Elizabethan playhouse opened.
William  
Shakespeare 
one of the world's most renowned
playwrights, wrote and produced
many plays that are still performed
regularly even today
Drama of the 17th, 18th and 19th
Centuries
• In England, the casual charm that characterized
Elizabethan drama died out under the Puritan regime
and did not return until near the end of the 18th century.
The theaters, closed during the Civil War and the
Commonwealth period, reopened under Charles I to
produce the sophisticated, witty and coarse comedies
• in the middle of the 18th century, the theater was briefly
revived by the comedy of manners of Oliver Goldsmith
and Richard Sheridan.  
• French drama emerged in the 17th century, from
its medieval and religious influences with the
classical tragedies of Pierre Corneille and Jean
Racine and the superb comedies of Moliere.
German drama came to maturity much more
slowly than did the Roman and English dramas
• at the end of the 16th century, theatrical
performances soon degenerated into improvised
farce, featuring certain shock characters, without
however, the merits of the commedia dell ‘arte. 
Modern Drama 
• involved much experimentation
with new forms and ideas. In
the early part of the 20th
century, musical drama came
to dominate stages in New
York and England, although
each theater season saw the
release of straight dramatic
plays as well Henrik Johan Ibsen
(March 20, 1828–May 23, 1906) was a Norwegian playwright
Known as “the father of realism,” 
Oriental Drama
• Like Western drama, the drama of Asia originated as an
elaboration of liturgical practices while Eastern Drama is
based on the concept of sangita or sammita, the threefold art
of music, dance and poetry, fused into a single entity. In
modern times, the classical theater in Eastern countries
subsists as national heritage side by side with the developing
techniques of a new drama patterned after European practice
but strongly colored by local habit and taste.
Philippine Drama 
• Before the Spanish period, the early forms of the Philippine
Drama were duplo and karagatan.
• Duplo was a poetical  debate held by trained men and
women on the ninth night, the last night of the mourning
period for the dead. The male participants, bellacos, are
the heads of the game.
• Karagatan was also a poetical debate like the duplo, but
the participants were amateurs. Both were held in the
homes. The theme was all about a ring that fell into the
sea .
• First recorded drama was staged in Cebu way back in 1598.
Eleven years later, in 1609, another stage play portraying
the life of Santa Barbara was staged in Bicol. 
 Three kinds of plays became popular among the masses
during the Spanish era.
1. Cenakulo
⮚ a very heavy drama shown in relation to the life sacrifices
and death of Jesus Christ.
⮚ It is like a passion play presented  and celebrated during
the month of March or April, depending upon the exact
date of the holy week.
⮚ This lasts for three to four hours, the cycle starts with
creation and ends with resurrection.
Two kinds of presentation
• Ablada(oral)
• Kantada (song)

Versions of Cenakulo
• Tagalog
• Iluko
• Kapampangpangan
• Bisayan version
⮚ It is divided into several parts one part for each night
of the holy week.
2. Moro-moro
⮚ it is a cloak and dagger play depicting the
wars between the Christians and Muslims,
with the Christians always the winning side.
⮚ It has become the favourite people,
especially during the town fiestas. lay of the
3. Zarzuela
⮚ It is a melodrama with songs and dances
that have a three-in-one-act play.
⮚ It is intended to make the mass feeling
towards love, fear, grief, sorrow or any
emotional reaction sublimes.
⮚ It sometimes shows the political and social
conditions of our country
4. Moriones
⮚ The Moriones is an annual festival
held on Holy Week on the island of
Marinduque.
⮚ The "Moriones" are men and women in
costumes and masks replicating the
garb of biblical Roman soldiers as
interpreted
⮚ by local folks.
5. Ati-Atihan
⮚ a pagan ritual which has become an
annual affair that the natives look
forward to with great expectation.
⮚ It is the most extravagant fiesta in the
Philippines celebrated in Kalibo, Aklan
every third Sunday of January in honour
of the infant Jesus.
The Modern Philippine
Drama
• Was rejuvenated upon the establishment of
the Repertory Philippines in June of 1967
which was founded by Zenaida “Bibot”
Amado and Baby Barredo.
 Japanese Drama
The traditional forms of Japanese Drama are
the Noh, the Joruri, and the Kabuki.
Noh Plays
• the oldest of the three traditional forms of Japanese drama.
Developed during the 1300’s from the dances performed at
religious shrines.
The first Filipino Noh entitled “Ang Paglalakbay ni si Sisa: Noh sa
Laguna” was the brainchild of Amelia Lapena-Bonifacio. It was
presented at the Bulwagang Gantimpala, Cultura Center of the
Philippines, August  1981
Joruri
• It is a Puppet Drama. Popular between 1650-1730 but is
now restricted to the Bunraku Theater, Osaka where scenes
from famous plays are performed in drama.
Kabuki
• the most common type of Japanese drama It first appeared at the end of the
16th century. Although it combines parts of the Noh Theater's highly stylized
dances and immovable exaggerated positions, Kabuki evolved into a much freer,
more flamboyant form of entertainment.
 Chinese Drama
The history of traditional drama in China, like that
of most dramas, goes back to the earliest rituals
connected with sacrifices performed with song
and dance by the “wu”
Three Types of Chinese Plays

• Vun Pan Shi

• Sin Pan Shi
• Vun Min Shi
 THE CINEMA
• Cinema or motion picture is one of the
most popular form of art and entertainment
in the Philippines. 
• Philippine motion is also a source of
information as well as of entertainment.
 Brief history of the Philippine Cinema
• 1926 - Hollywood silent pictures were shown in the Philippines
• 1927 - the Silos brothers made The Three Trumps, a short comedy,
where Miami Salvador, Manuel Silos, and Enrique Espinosa played
the principal roles.
• 1929 - Carlos Tolosa wrote and directed Collegian Love, which was
produced by Angel Garchitorena under Araw Movies.
• 1932 - George Musser produced for Manila Talkatone the first
talking picture in Tagalog entitled Ang Aswang. A partly talking
movie and was exhibited at the Lyric Theater in Manila.
• 1933 - Jose Nepomuceno started making Tagalog talkies with
American technicians and some cameras brought from
• Hollywood by Harris and Taft.
 WWII And Philippine Movies
The outbreak of the second world war
temporarily paralyzed the Philippine
Movie Industry.
 Present Movie Development
⮚ From the period of Liberation up to the present, the local
movies have began struggling hard but gradually
improving. Despite this condition, there are some local
producers who are creating quality pictures. 
⮚ Slow pace of the development of the Philippine movies
could be attributed to some factors like:
1. The limited market for the local movies
2. Lack of capital or funding
3. Inadequate facilities or equipment
Elements of Philippine Motion Pictures
• Music - Music has been
indispensable in motion pictures
since the very beginning.
• Musical Director- the person who
is in charge in music on motion
pictures
• Make-up - sticky substance which are applied
in the faces of the actors before facing the
camera
• Coiffeur - a hair dresser
• Costumes - A style of dress, including
garments, accessories, and hairstyle, especially
as characteristic of a particular country, period,
or people
• Acting - art of portraying or impersonating a
character
• Stars (Performer) - a performer should forget
his own personality and live the life of his
character
• Colors in the movies - it is the latest
innovation in cinematography
• Set - gives beauty to the picture and pleases the eye
• Art Directors - should know the natural setting and
build artificial sets
• Sound, Cameras and Technicians - technician
exert effort in making the dialogue clear and music of
fine quality. The use of camera and functions of the
technician are indispensable in cinematography. 
Thank you!
krizanne zy gwyn