REALISTIC DRAMA

WINKY SEPTIA ARINA KHAIRANIS AZOLLA HIKMAN ERLINA AGUSTIN MUHAMMAD ADEK TOMMY HANDRIAWAN

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Realism seeks to construct truth through an accumulation of surface It is where people move and talk in a manner similar to that of our everyday behavior. The style has been dominant for the last 120 years. It holds the idea of the stage as an environment, rather than as an acting platform

Historical Context
Romanticism, which had its roots in the 1790's with works by Goethe (Faust) and Schiller (William Tell). Romanticism is known for exotic places and adventurous heroes. As the 19th century progressed, there were several contributing elements to Realism, which came together in the late 19th century. Social, and political ideas, play-wrighting, and some spectacular theatrical innovations helped bring Realism to the theatre.

Early Concepts
Realism in the last half of the 19th-century, raised up because of Revolution in Europe. began as an experiment to make theater more useful to society, rejecting Romanticism and Pragmatism reign The mainstream theatre from 1859 to 1900 was still bound up in melodramas, spectacle plays (disasters, etc.), comic operas, and vaudevilles.

Political Contributions to Realistic Theatre

The idealism of Napoleon/Fraternity/Equality was exciting at the turn of the century, but within a few years was replaced by strict governments. With the dawn of the industrial age people moved to the city into crowded conditions. Disease and poverty were common. "Life is a sewer" became an outcry.

DOMINANT IDEAS
Artists and theatre practitioners began embracing : the concepts of Comte (Positive Philosophy; Comte is considered the father of sociology), Marx & Engels (Communist Manifesto) and Darwin (The Origin of Species).

Theatrical Elements
Theatrical, visual, elements: Faraway locales presented in scenery. Attention to detail. Electric lighting.

Text Elements
1. Plot contains secrets known to audience, but hide from certain characters. The secret is revealed and this is the climax. Here the antagonist is revealed. The protagonist has pride-restored, and receives his reward. 2. There is careful attention paid to exposition, usually the entire first act at minimum. After this the remainder of the plot uses contrived entrances (a woman walking in on her son with the maid), exits, and props (such as letters) to increase suspense. 3. There are expected and logical reversals. The hero has a series of successes and failures with the antagonist.

Text Elements (continue)

4. There are discovery scenes where the antagonist learn facts which can hurt the protagonist in some way. The protagonist does not learn until later that the antagonist possesses such knowledge. 5. There is a misunderstanding that is known to the audience, but not to the characters. This increases suspense. 6. The conclusion is believable and logical. 7. Each individual act repeats the general action pattern of the entire play.

Some Major Realistic Playwrights

Henrik Ibsen (problem plays) : A dolls House August Strindberg (also Expressionist) George Bernard Shaw : Pygmalion David Belasco Emile Zola (Naturalist)

Ibsenin Realistic Drama

Ibsen completed the well-made play formula; and by using a familiar formula made his plays, with a very shocking subject matter, acceptable. He discarded soliloquies, asides, etc. Exposition in the plays was motivated, there were causally related scenes, inner psychological motivation was emphasized, the environment had an influence on characters personalities, and all the things characters did and all of things the characters used revealed their socio-economic milieu. He became a model for later realistic writers. Among the subjects addressed by Ibsen in his plays are: euthanasia, the role of women, war and business, and syphilis.

Naturalism vs. Realism

Naturalism was an extreme form of Realism where all characters were the product of their environment. Decisions were made based on what nature had caused. If a person stole bread, it was justified because he was hungry. France's Emile Zola (There's Raquin), and Russia's Gorky (The Lower Depths) are noted Naturalists

Suggested plays
A Doll's House, Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams American Buffalo by David Mamet