Play (theatre)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| - | [[Image:Theatre from Ars Memoriae by Robert Fludd.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Ars Memoriae]]'': The [[Theatre]] ([[1619]]) - [[Robert Fludd]]]] | + | [[Image:Véritable portrait de Monsieur Ubu, par Alfred Jarry (1896).png|thumb|left|200px|''[[True portrait of Monsieur Ubu]]'' (1896) is a woodcut frontispiece for ''Ubu Roi''. It represents Ubu, a fictional character from Jarry's eponymous play]] |
| - | [[Image:Véritable portrait de Monsieur Ubu, par Alfred Jarry (1896).png|thumb|right|200px|'''''Ubu Roi''''' (King Ubu) is a [[play]] developed by [[Alfred Jarry]] premiered on [[December 10]] [[1896]], and is widely acknowledged as a theatrical [[precursor]] to the [[Theatre of the Absurd|Absurdist]], [[Dada]] and [[Surrealism|Surrealist]] art movements.]] | + | {| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" |
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| + | "In the [[comedy of manners]] special attention is paid to [[Character (arts)|character]]-drawing, and each character is made the representative of a certain trait or passion. | ||
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| + | In this way conventional or [[stock character]]s are developed, such as the dissipated son, the rich and miserly uncle, the cruel father, the intriguing servant, and so on, which are used over and over again. Comedies of manners are of a quiet and domestic character and deal with the follies of society. The term has about gone out of use, except when referring to the comedy of the last century. " --''[[The Art of Playwriting]]'' (1890) by Alfred Hennequin | ||
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| + | [[Image:Melodrama by Daumier.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[At the Theater (The Melodrama)]]'' (c. 1860-64) by Honoré Daumier]] | ||
| + | [[Image:Theatre from Ars Memoriae by Robert Fludd.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Theatrum Orbi]] engraving by [[Theodor de Bry]] from the chapter on Ars Memoriae in ''Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica'' by Robert Fludd]] | ||
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| - | A '''playwright''', also known as a '''dramatist''', is a person who writes dramatic literature or [[drama]]. These works may be written specifically to be performed by actors or they may be [[closet drama]]s or literary works written using dramatic forms but not meant for performance. | + | A '''play''' is a work of [[drama]], usually consisting mostly of [[dialogue]] between [[Character (arts)|characters]] and intended for [[theatre|theatrical]] [[performance]] rather than just [[Reading (process)|reading]]. The writer of a play is a playwright. |
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| + | Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from London's [[West End theatre|West End]] and [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in New York City to [[community theatre]], as well as university or school productions. A [[stage]] play is a play performed, and written to be performed, on stage rather than broadcast or made into a movie. Stage plays are those performed on any stage before an audience. There are rare dramatists, notably [[George Bernard Shaw]], who have had little preference as to whether their plays were performed or read. The term "play" can refer to both the written texts of playwrights and to their complete theatrical performance. | ||
| + | ==Playwrights== | ||
| + | A '''playwright''', also known as a '''dramatist''', is a person who writes dramatic literature or [[drama]]. These works may be written specifically to be performed by [[actor]]s or they may be [[closet drama]]s or literary works written using dramatic forms but not meant for performance. | ||
| The term is not a variant spelling of ''playwrite'', but something quite distinct: the word ''wright'' is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder (as in a ''wheelwright'' or ''cartwright''). Hence the prefix and the suffix combine to indicate ''someone who crafts plays''. The [[homophone]] with ''write'' is in this case coincidental. | The term is not a variant spelling of ''playwrite'', but something quite distinct: the word ''wright'' is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder (as in a ''wheelwright'' or ''cartwright''). Hence the prefix and the suffix combine to indicate ''someone who crafts plays''. The [[homophone]] with ''write'' is in this case coincidental. | ||
| - | ==Early playwrights== | + | ===Early playwrights=== |
| The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are the [[Ancient Greeks]], some of their earliest plays having been written around the 5th century BC. Such notables as [[Aeschylus]], [[Sophocles]], [[Euripides]], and [[Aristophanes]] established forms that are still relied on by their modern counterparts. | The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are the [[Ancient Greeks]], some of their earliest plays having been written around the 5th century BC. Such notables as [[Aeschylus]], [[Sophocles]], [[Euripides]], and [[Aristophanes]] established forms that are still relied on by their modern counterparts. | ||
| While the most famous playwright in the English language is [[William Shakespeare]], whose classic tragedies, comedies, and histories are still being performed hundreds of years after they were written, the term 'playwright' appears to have been coined by [[Ben Jonson]] in his Epigram 49, ''To Playwright'', as an insult, to imply an inferior hack-writer for the theatre. He always described himself as a poet, since plays during that time period were always written in meter and so regarded as the provenance of poets. This view was held even as late as the early 19th Century. However, it later lost this negative connotation. | While the most famous playwright in the English language is [[William Shakespeare]], whose classic tragedies, comedies, and histories are still being performed hundreds of years after they were written, the term 'playwright' appears to have been coined by [[Ben Jonson]] in his Epigram 49, ''To Playwright'', as an insult, to imply an inferior hack-writer for the theatre. He always described himself as a poet, since plays during that time period were always written in meter and so regarded as the provenance of poets. This view was held even as late as the early 19th Century. However, it later lost this negative connotation. | ||
| - | ==Contemporary playwrights== | + | == See also == |
| - | Contemporary playwrights often do not reach the same level of fame or cultural importance that they have in the past, since the theatre is no longer the only outlet for serious drama or entertaining comedies, and must compete with films and television for an audience. In addition, the perilous state of [[Arts funding|funding for the arts]] in the U.S. and a growing reliance on ticket sales as a source of income for [[non-profit]] theatres has caused many of them to reduce the number of new works they produce. For example, [[Playwrights Horizons]] produced only six plays in the 2002-03 seasons, compared with thirty-one in 1973-74. As revivals and large-scale production musicals become the ''de rigueur'' [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] (and even [[Off-Broadway]]) production, it has become much more difficult for playwrights to make a living in the business, let alone become major successes. | + | *[[Playing]] |
| - | + | ===Lists=== | |
| - | However, the most successful playwrights are often high-status figures in their industry, in stark contrast to the status of the [[screenwriter]] in [[Hollywood]]. While this may be considered to be a result of the more literary approach that has characterised the [[theatre]] since its roots in [[poetry]], it is also because of the hard fact that according to [[Dramatists Guild]] , the playwright has the final say on a production — a situation which leaves less room for the [[theatre director|director]] to be as much of an ''[[auteur]]'' as the [[film director]], since the playwright’s vision takes precedence. | + | * [[List of basic theatre topics]] |
| - | + | * [[List of films based on stage plays or musicals]] | |
| - | ==See also== | + | * [[List of plays made into feature films]] |
| - | *[[Play (theatre)]] | + | |
| - | *[[List of playwrights]] | + | |
| *[[Screenwriter]] | *[[Screenwriter]] | ||
| *[[Script (comic)]] | *[[Script (comic)]] | ||
| *[[Scriptwriter]] | *[[Scriptwriter]] | ||
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| + | ===Related topics=== | ||
| + | * [[Closet drama]] | ||
| + | * [[Drama]] | ||
| + | * [[Dramatis personæ]] | ||
| + | * [[Theatre]] | ||
| + | * [[History of theatre]] | ||
| + | * [[Screenplay]] | ||
| + | * [[Musical theatre]] | ||
| + | |||
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"In the comedy of manners special attention is paid to character-drawing, and each character is made the representative of a certain trait or passion. In this way conventional or stock characters are developed, such as the dissipated son, the rich and miserly uncle, the cruel father, the intriguing servant, and so on, which are used over and over again. Comedies of manners are of a quiet and domestic character and deal with the follies of society. The term has about gone out of use, except when referring to the comedy of the last century. " --The Art of Playwriting (1890) by Alfred Hennequin |
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A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is a playwright.
Plays are performed at a variety of levels, from London's West End and Broadway in New York City to community theatre, as well as university or school productions. A stage play is a play performed, and written to be performed, on stage rather than broadcast or made into a movie. Stage plays are those performed on any stage before an audience. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference as to whether their plays were performed or read. The term "play" can refer to both the written texts of playwrights and to their complete theatrical performance.
Contents |
Playwrights
A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or drama. These works may be written specifically to be performed by actors or they may be closet dramas or literary works written using dramatic forms but not meant for performance.
The term is not a variant spelling of playwrite, but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder (as in a wheelwright or cartwright). Hence the prefix and the suffix combine to indicate someone who crafts plays. The homophone with write is in this case coincidental.
Early playwrights
The earliest playwrights in Western literature with surviving works are the Ancient Greeks, some of their earliest plays having been written around the 5th century BC. Such notables as Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes established forms that are still relied on by their modern counterparts.
While the most famous playwright in the English language is William Shakespeare, whose classic tragedies, comedies, and histories are still being performed hundreds of years after they were written, the term 'playwright' appears to have been coined by Ben Jonson in his Epigram 49, To Playwright, as an insult, to imply an inferior hack-writer for the theatre. He always described himself as a poet, since plays during that time period were always written in meter and so regarded as the provenance of poets. This view was held even as late as the early 19th Century. However, it later lost this negative connotation.
See also
Lists
- List of basic theatre topics
- List of films based on stage plays or musicals
- List of plays made into feature films
- Screenwriter
- Script (comic)
- Scriptwriter
Related topics
