The Main Genres of the Theatre

drama, tragedy, comedy, farce, melodrama, opera, musical com-edy, musical, ballet, variety-show

I. The theatre Is one of the greatest kinds of art. Its appeal is immense. What is its place among other arts? What is the secret of its appeal? What are the main prob-lems of play-writing and of play-acting?

A) Read the. following.

What is a Play?

A play is a story devised to be presented by actors on a stage be-fore an audience.

This plain statement of fact presents an exceedingly simple def-inition of the drama, — a definition so simple indeed as to seem at the first glance easily obvious and therefore scarcely worthy of ex-pression. But if we examine the statement thoroughly, phrase by phrase, we shall see that it sums up within itself the entire theory of the theatre, and that from this primary axiom we may deduce the whole practical philosophy of dramatic criticism.

It is unnecessary to linger long over an explanation of the word story. A story is a representation of a series of events linked to-gether by the law of cause and effect and marching forward toward a predestined culmination, — each event exhibiting imagined characters performing imagined acts in an appropriate imagined setting.

The phrase 'devised to be presented' distinguishes the drama sharply from all other forms of narrative. In particular it must be noted that a play is not a story that is written to be read. By no means must the drama be considered primarily as a department of literature, — like the epic or the novel, for example. Rather, from the standpoint of the theatre, should literary method be considered as only one of a multitude of means which the dramatist must employ to convey his story effectively to the audience. The great Greek dramatists need-ed a sense of sculpture as well as a sense of poetry; and in the con-temporary theatre the playwright must manifest the imagination of the painter as well as the imagination of the man of letters. The ap-peal of a play is primarily visual rather than auditory. On the contem-porary stage, characters properly costumed must be exhibited within a carefully designed and painted setting illuminated with appropri-ate effects of light and shadow; and the art of music is often called upon to render incidental aid to the general impression. The drama-tist, therefore, must be endowed not only with the literary sense, but also with a clear eye for the graphic and plastic elements of pictorial effect, a sense of rhythm and of music, and a thorough knowledge

of the art of acting. Since the dramatist must, at the same time and in the same work, harness and harmonise the methods of so many of the arts, it would be uncritical to centre studious consideration solely on his dialogue and to praise him or condemn him on the literary ground alone.

It is, of course, true that the very greatest plays have always been great literature as well as great drama. The purely literary element — the final touch of style in dialogue —• is the only sure antidote against the opium of time. Now that Aeschylus is no longer performed reg-ularly as a playwright, we read him as a poet. But on the other hand it must be granted that many plays that stand very high as drama do not fall within the range of literature.

(From: Hamilton C. The Theory of the Theatre. N.Y., 1939.)

Answer the following questions:

. Why is the theatre sometimes alluded to as a "synthetic" art?

What arts are involved in the production of a play? Which of them do you consider especially important for a successful presentation of a play? 3. Do you share the author's opinion that the dramatist must manifest the imagination of the painter as well as the imagi-nation of the man of letters and that he should possess a sense of music and a thorough knowledge of the art of acting? One might say that these aspects of the play are rather the concern of the di-rector producing the play than of the author, aren't they? 4. Does drama belong to literature? What is the author's opinion? What is your opinion?