Dinner For One Dramatic tension

Tension engages the performers and the audience in the scene or action. The four main types of dramatic tension are the tension of the task, the tension of relationships, the tension of surprise, and the tension of mystery (Sanders, 2006). Tension can be created by a number of different actions such as the performer raising their voice to a shout; this creates a move obvious tension between actor and audience but something more subtle such as the actor’s position on stage can create a more subtle amount of tension as well. Timing is very important when creating dramatic tension the pace the tension builds is crucial to the desired effect, if the tension builds to slowly the meaning that the performer is trying to convey may get lost mid scene where as if the tension builds to quickly it may fail to have the desired dramatic effect. Tension and release can also be a great comedic tool; you can control the audience by making them as Uncomfortable as possible and then release the tension with the right joke or action at a specific time.

Dinner for one uses dramatic tension throughout the entire piece, tension is created subtly while the task being performed and building up waiting for the reaction for example the butler is serving wine to the imaginary guests and the audience is awaiting the lady’s reaction to the butlers in character toast trying to decipher the punch line. Another example of use of tension is having the butler continually trip over the tiger rug so when he doesn’t trip the audience pauses not knowing what to expect the butler then tripping in the opposite direction creates and even funnier effect. Throughout the entire piece the butler keeps repeating the same routine leaving the audience waiting for something to change he serves the imaginary guests and then toasts in character and asks Mrs Sophie “same procedure as last year?” to which she replies “same procedure as every year James”  when  Mrs Sophie has finished her banquet she then informs James that she is retiring to bed, he then asks her the same question as before leaving the audience waiting for the release of tension expecting the punch line to which she responds the same and he then turns to the camera and winks saying “I’ll do my best”  leaving the audience to assume they are retiring to bed together.

References

Bent, M., 2014. Tension and Release – Comedy Writing. [online] Netplaces.com. Available at: <http://www.netplaces.com/comedy-writing/the-funny-five/tension-and-release.htm&gt; [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

Cash, J., 2014. Elements of Drama: Tension. [online] Thedramateacher.com. Available at: <http://www.thedramateacher.com/elements-of-drama-tension/&gt; [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

Sanders, T., 2014. Tracey Sanders. [online] Dlibrary.acu.edu.au. Available at: <http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/trsanders/units/nature_of_drama/elements.html&gt; [Accessed 18 Apr. 2014].

Slapstick Comedy

Slapstick is a type of comedy performance which involves over-exaggerated physical violence or actions that extend well past the boundaries of common sense, for example dropping an anvil on someone’s head, running into a brick wall or shoving a pie in someone’s face. These hyperbolic actions are most commonly found in children’s television shows and cartoons.

Ben Turpin was credited with the birth of slapstick when he took a pie in the face in the 1909 short film ‘Mr Flip’. Mabel Normand who was the face of female slapstick artist performed the famous pie in the face act and then went on to develop slapstick and eventually she performed alongside the great slapstick legends Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.

The history of slapstick was shaped by a few legends in particular one of whom was Buster Keaton. Keaton was famous for not only starring in but writing and directing his films as well. He was renowned for performing death deifying stunts most famously was when he has a building collapsed around him while he stood standing because of a single window.

Another legendary and influencing slapstick artist was Charlie Chaplin who was an iconic figure in the history of motion pictures; he made his slapstick debut in ‘making a living’ (Chillapuram, 2014).

In past times the three stooges were widely loved slapstick artists although these days slapstick has developed into something else entirely. A modern slapstick film that received great critical acclaim was Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud’s “Despicable Me”.   Some other examples of modern day slapstick films include George of The Jungle and The Pink Panther.   Since the turn of the century, slapstick has been incorporate into children’s cartoons such as the looney toons although in current times it no longer seems to be a genre of its own.  Slapstick is rarely used and tends to be brief segments in comedy shows rather than entire shows centred around the style slapstick like for example the Three Stooges.

References

Chillapuram, S., 2014. History of Slapstick Comedy. [online] Comedyknockout.com. Available at: <http://comedyknockout.com/history-slapstick&gt; [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

Splat!TV – History. 2014. [online] Splat-tv.artshtick.com. Available at: <http://splat-tv.artshtick.com/history.html&gt; [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

the definition of slapstick. 2014. [online] Dictionary.com. Available at: <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slapstick&gt; [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

Mime research

 

Mime is a type of dramatic performance not using words.

The term mime comes from the Greek word mimos meaning imitator. The ancient Greeks are thought to have first introduced mime as a style of performance. After the fall of the Roman Empire the ancient Romans adopted their own style of mime from the Greeks that exaggerated and emphasised physical traits and vulgar behaviour as a type of comedy. After mime was adopted into French culture it truly flourished and was developed by famous artists such as Jean- Gasoard Deburau, Etienne Decroux and Marcel Marcea. Mime evolved into three distinct styles among the Eastern, Italian and French performers, while all styles had different techniques and structures 20^th century mime performers rejected the established styles and re formulated mime using ideas from each style.

 

Mime is one of the oldest of all forms of drama in Australia alone mime has been performed for over 60,000 years by the Aboriginals. When using mime the actors create meaning by using their movements and telling the story with their body. Aboriginal performers would imitate an animal with their body to show what their story was about.

Some people that were said to have made significant contributions to the world of mime include but are not limited to, John Weaver- said to be the father of English mime (1673-1760), Etienne Decroux- the father of modern mime, Jean- Gaspard Deburau adopted the white faced image of Pierrot and most notable Marcel Marcea- the world’s most famous mime and said to be the world’s greatest mime. (Other Famous Mime Artists,2014) Marcel Marceau survived the Nazi occupation and was known to move audiences without uttering a single word, he was said to be “the master of silence” (Marcel Marceau,2014). He was said to be one of the funniest mimes of his time. In 1959 he established his own school in Paris and a foundation to promote mime in the United States.  A lot of changes were made to mime during the 20^th century most of those changes were made by the French.

References

History of Mime. 2014. [online] Mimethegap.com. Available at: <http://www.mimethegap.com/historyofmime.html&gt; [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

mime. 2014. [online] Dlibrary.acu.edu.au. Available at: <http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/siryan/academy/theatres/mime.htm&gt; [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

Other Famous Mime Artists. 2014. [online] Members.tripod.com. Available at: <http://members.tripod.com/~kiko_mime/others.html&gt; [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].

The World of Mime Theatre * Library * History of Mime. 2014. [online] Mime.info. Available at: <http://www.mime.info/history-lust.html&gt; [Accessed 17 Apr. 2014].