A style of drama that we can utilised in the performing of TRIH is melodrama.
Melodrama style of Acting
Watch this video of the play A 10 Minute Melodrama and describe what the characteristics of this style of acting are. How do the characters speak and move?
Basic melodrama stage conventions
Melodrama Types and Acting Conventions (video inclusive)
Webpage from Kaiapoy High School with a whole unit on Melodrama!
Notes about the genre of Melodrama
19th Century Melodrama
Wikipedia’s entry on Melodrama
the acting is is overly dramatized. Their actions are very big and "fake". It's not something we will see in real life. The way they talk is very exaggerated and everything is done not like how it should be in real life. Also, it looks like they did not know how to act and were merely just acting as amateurs but it's suppose to be over dramatized and make it seem all fake. Their movements are also very big and not something someone in real life will do. For example, when the man dies in the end he was lying flat for a while and then he suddenly jerked and was dead. It seemed so over exaggerated and did not seem like a real death.
ReplyDeleteOh btw the previous comment is made by Aashna :)
ReplyDeleteThe characters speak and move very exaggeratingly, they tend to overemphasise in their gestures and also in their facial expressions. The tones that they use differ in a way from the norm is that they are much brighter than the norm.
ReplyDeleteIn a way melodrama seems very fake too for eg, for (A 10 minute Melodrama) at 3.00) the way the actors react to each other is much more "reactive" and in a way as if they anticipate as there tend to be pauses/breaks between lines.
The characters act in a comedic type of way especially when they try to show "the moment"
dawn
I think what's so interesting about Melodrama is how exaggerated the portrayal is. Quoting from the third website, “BE FREE IN MOVEMENT, VIGOROUS IN ACTION”. This pretty much sums up the whole idea of Melodrama. Perhaps this also serves as a guideline, especially for budding actors like us, as to how to go about doing Melodrama. The word "Melodrama" is derived from "Melodic drama" also directly translated to "music drama". This would account for the poetic manner in which they recite the lines. Mostly, i think the highlight of melodrama is how they make use of pacing in their words as well as big gestures to really emphasize and bring out their lines. That's the beauty of Melodrama. :)
ReplyDelete-Vera lingling
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ReplyDeleteI felt that melodrama kind of spoiled the (A 10 Minute Melodrama) for me because it was supposed to be a sad story, but instead I kept laughing. I felt that using melodrama made them lose many of their moments and instead, making them look like a comedic act instead. The characters tend to exaggerate whatever they do on stage and the way the react around each other, and thus, this made it all seem very fake.
ReplyDelete-Mel Mae
i agree with mel. it is clearly a who-dunnit. this is similar to The Inspector Hound. The character, in particular the plumpish man says a lot of unnecessary, redundant things that make him suspicious. what makes it hilarious is that there is dramatic irony as many a times he seems to be doing asides, letting the audience in on the joke.
ReplyDeleteanother similarity is that the two male characters are veying for the lead female's love and attention. it is evident through their behaviour that they are trying to one up each other. the female lead on the other hand is completely oblivious to their game of one - up
-Gill
Sorry. i realised i wrote it in the wrong area. my previous post is in reference to the Mouse trap
ReplyDelete-Gill
The characters in the melodrama had great, big actions that were very exagerated. And when they spoke, they had a lot of pauses. They way they spoke is not the way people speak in real life as it has way too much emotion and their actions are too exaggerated
ReplyDeleteRaebs
ReplyDeletethe actors and actresses exaggerate their actions. its not fake, more of very big, over the top gestures and facial expressions that we dont normally see in our daily lives. this makes it very hilarious as the emotions are greatly emplified where they are still conveying the meaning of the emotion. What i find good about how they do melodramtic drama is that they commit to it thoroughly through their facial expressions, body, movement and use of props. however, what makes it so interesting and funny is that they take the minute details from a normal situation and expand it by exaggerating to emphasize the point.
ReplyDelete-Gill
In melodrama, characters have taken on this over exaggerated behavior. Their actions are very big and stretched. It is also very clear how they react differently from other types of drama. When something is said, the other character would pause and then react very suddenly. Their actions are also very defined as they snap into their next gesture or anything very quickly. I found that their voices were kind of forced to give that effect of bringing everything over the top. It's like the olden days black and white films where some of it is like this.
ReplyDeleteNicole C
Wow. That was super exaggerated. They just blew everything out of proportion and when they talked it was super ironic. For example in the first one she says that his lust for the other girl is pathetic but there she is lusting away. The whole thing was super fake and unbelievable because they even had pauses and slow reactions to the other actors words making it seem like they were anticipating it.
ReplyDelete--Lauren <3