Transcript Features of Melodrama theatre

Features of Melodrama theatre
features of the theatre form
Melodrama - origins
 Melodrama - from Melody and Drama,
originally the word 'melodrama' simply meant
'drama with music'. Melodrama is essentially a
visual form of theatre with stereotypical
characters, sensational stage effects and plot
contrivances (virtue triumphing over vice, plot
dominating characterisation.)
 At its most popular in 18th Century.
Melodrama - origins
Out of this very simple structure, other
types evolved:
 domestic melodrama
 nautical melodrama
 military melodrama
 temperance and gambling melodrama
Stock Characters
 Were used so that audiences could relate to
what was going on (without actually needing
to hear absolutely everything)
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Hero and Heroine - good
Villain - evil
Male Servant - comic relief
Soubrette (female servant) - comic relief
Old Man and Old Woman
Acting Style
Physical and highly stylised.
Movement was large, overblown and
generous.
Voices were loud, clear and overstated
Acting Style
 Acting conformed to a code, meaning was
conveyed through stance and gesture
 There were acting manuals that had very
strict rules that the actors had to follow to
portray emotions:
 A hand to the forehead = suffering
 A hand over the heart = virtue, honesty,
faithfulness
 A downcast head = defeat
Remember….
 In melodrama, we aren’t expected as actors
to actually experience the particular emotion
(like in the Stanislavski method) we are simply
expected to indicate the feeling to the
audience.
 The audience expected this style of acting. If
you tried to be ‘real’ you were invariably
boo-ed off the stage!
Costumes
 The ‘code’ extended
to the costumes.
 Hero = dressed in
white. May have
often wore a military
uniform or in nautical
plays, a sailor’s
uniform.
Costumes
 Villain = dressed in black
 Male Servant = checked
vest and jacket (comic)
 Ragged clothes indicated
poverty
Voices
 Also had to conform
to the code of
Melodrama.
 Hero = tenor
 Villain = bass
 Heroine = light
soprano
 Soubrette = Mezzo
(Alto)
Audiences
Going to the theatre today is tame in comparison
to the nineteenth century.
 The character of Melodrama was influenced,
developed by the audience (not the
playwrights, theatre managers or directors)
 As an actor, if you stepped outside of the
expected code, the audience would be
ruthless because you did not meet their
expectations. Failure to do so could well have
ended your career.
Audiences
Performances could last up to five hours
 Alcohol was readily available in the theatre. Actors
therefore were often targets for bottles, as were other
members of the audience.
 In order to control such a crowd, a dynamic acting
style was needed.
 Explicit sexual references in plays were banned,
which is ironic considering that at that time there were
side-slips in the gallery where prostitutes worked
during dull moments in the play!
7 Features of the form
Features that are key to this genre:
 stereotypical characters
 exaggerated story lines
 the theme of good triumphing over evil
 emphasis on action and sensation
 romantic love - often the cause of strife
 sentiment - much evident emotion such as
grief, horror, despair, greed, envy
 audience participation encouraged by cue
cards and speaking directly to the