To get ready for this first blog on drama, you'll want to gather the handouts on drama that cover tragedy and comedy -- from our Week 5 module on Canvas. You'll also want to read again the introductory pages in our text, pages ix - xxvi (we are now reading the next volume of our text, called Plays). It might be eye-opening for you to learn about the origins of drama, and it'll certainly mean you'll "see" more in the plays and movies you watch in the future. To do that means we need to get to know something about ancient Greece, the plays that emerged during the festivals to Dionysus, and the social function of plays to the people of the "birthplace of democracy." I hope this sounds fun and intriguing to you. :)
Start by viewing a couple of the short videos about the origins of
drama (under the "Historical Beginnings of Drama" heading to the
right), to give us an easy introduction to the origins and elements of drama:
watch "Intro to Classical Greek Comedy and Satyr plays" and
"Intro to Classical Greek Tragedy." Then study the handout on Greek
Tragedy and Comedy in our Week 5 module, and compare what the videos and the
handouts cover about these two primary forms of drama.
In the play, "Sure Thing" by David Ives, the comedic element that stood out to me the most was the focus on audience amusement and laughter. Throughout the play, it seems like the actors deliver their lines in a certain dramatic way that the audience finds amusement in. This could be from their quick-witted banter, modern language, volume, ridiculous reactions, etc. I think in tragedy, the main focus is to create a meaningful deep story that the audience can connect with and develop certain feelings from. But like it mentioned in the "Intro to Classical Greek Comedy and Satyr drama" video, comedic plays were created to ease the audience and give them a playful lighthearted story that contrasts with the darker tragedies. It was pretty difficult to follow the story just by reading it because the banter is so quick, and you have to understand the speed that it is supposed to be going in. But by watching it, the actors' portrayal and the audience's laughter and clear enjoyment made the story really come to life.
ReplyDeleteSorry, forgot to include my name in the post.
DeleteGot it, Olivia!
DeleteIn this short play i noticed repetition as an element of comedy. The man would ask a question in the beginning along the line of “can I sit here?” And every time they woman would make an excuse as to why he couldn’t. Somehow the play kept moving and the conversation kept growing, all still while continuing the idea of repetition. Every question that was asked would be repeated in a different way and have a different response, as if to create a greater conversation. I think this was meant to represent how often we as humans say something and wish we could have said it a different way and gotten a different response.
ReplyDeleteIn the play “Sure Thing” By David Ives, I noticed repetition as an element of comedy. The repetition comes from when the bell rings and each time they would restart their conversation when it would get boring, or they could not add on anything more to make the conversation flow. Lines are repeated many times but each time how they perform it is slightly different. This play shows the multiple ways things can go in life by how we simply word it. The use of repetition was used for a comedic effect to keep the audience engaged and entertained. If you started zoning out, it felt like the bell would draw you right back in.
ReplyDeleteThe play "Sure Thing!," by David Ines, portrayed multiple elements of comedy throughout its performance. One that specifically stood out to me was that of parody. Parody of the behavior of people in society is a common element of comedy, and I found "Sure Thing!" to be a good example of that. The characters, Betty and Bill, have no specific characterization because their personalities are consistently switching, therefore they represent any woman and any man. This leads to a parody of dating culture. Each *ding* in the script signals a new conversation outcome, thus exposing the various possible outcomes for the conversation. A longer paragraph of dialogue in the script also portrays hook-up culture, because that's very common nowadays, and how that did not interest Betty at all. At the end of the script, they declare their mutual hate for brussel sprouts and express they will cherish and love each other forever. This mocks a stereotype in dating and how we're willing to do anything for someone once we've formed some sort of mutual connection.
ReplyDelete"Sure Thing!" by David Ives takes a lot of inspiration from classic comedy tropes, but the two that I'd like to focus on are misdirection and repetition. Starting with misdirection, it is used from both Bill and Betty quite frequently, misleading the audience and their expectations of what should happen, instead going into the complete opposite direction. Along side adding humor, it keeps the audience on their toes and engaged with the work. The use of repetition is what makes the premise of the play work so well, having a bell sound every time either Betty or Bill say something awkward, rewinding the interaction by a few seconds. Repeating this action creates familiarity, making the audience expect it after awkward pauses, which in turn can create comedy when it isn't used or timed differently, directly tying back into misdirection.
ReplyDeleteIn "Sure Thing" by David Ives, two classical elements of comedy stand out: timing and absurdity. The timing in the play is spot-on, making the interactions between Bill and Betty hilarious. For instance, when Bill tries to impress Betty by mentioning Schubert, she responds negatively, but each time he resets the conversation, his timing improves until they finally connect over their shared love of music. This comedic timing keeps the audience engaged and laughing. Additionally, the absurdity of the situations adds to the humor. For example, when Betty changes her responses based on Bill's, it creates a ridiculous yet funny scenario that highlights the absurdity of social interactions. These classical comedic elements, combined with witty dialogue and clever staging, make "Sure Thing" an entertaining and enjoyable play that I would recommend to anyone!
ReplyDeleteIn this play "Sure Thing!" by David Ives when it comes to identifying the classical elements of comedy I saw one that really stands out which is timing and repetition. Throughout the play there is lots of rhythm in the dialogue as the characters engage in restarting when the bell rings after something negative to the situation was said. This repetition makes it super comedic and adds a layer of humor to the interactions. And I think with all the switch ups the audience feels tons of amusement and interest because even though they are starting the same conversation every time, it keeps a sense of enlightenment wondering how it will end the next time. There was also many interwoven plots, because every couple seconds there was a new plot as too why it was ending or why the next part happened when it did, which ties back to keeping the audience "on the edge of their seat," in a way.
ReplyDeleteIn the play “Sure Thing” written by David Ives, there is a clear usage of repetition, but the smaller and more subtle elements of comedy were the usage of love, the symbolism of marriage or love at the end, another element to look at would be how “flat” the characters of Bill and Betty, and it really works for this type of play. In the play, we are shown common interest between the characters and the things they like, but it doesn’t go overboard with detail, it’s only for the character's gain, not the audience's. When we learn about the characters and observe their conversation, we realize how dull and flat their characters are, and it serves its purpose, they are meant to be one-dimensional. And the love at the end comes off as funny because both characters seem very shallow or dull, and the symbolism of love is funny too, it’s almost like they are but aren’t made for each other, so when you end up together towards the end it’s comedic in a way, and of course, the repetition is key to all of this, and it left me wondering in the end, do they even stay together? Through all that, will the bell keep ringing? Are they doomed to repeat? I believe the audience can find a lot of symbolism and usages of humor.
ReplyDelete"Sure Thing" by David Ives has many classical comedy elements embedded in its content. Comedy is used to explore social behavior and human interaction with humor and irony. The most obvious and recurring comedy element in this play is mistaken conversation. The play's humor is built on the initial inappropriate responses of both characters Bill and Betty. They echo each other's words and realize that they have failed to build communication with each other. For example, when they first meet at the cafe, it is quickly evident that they are going to be able to get on. One of the first things Bill asks Betty is her favorite book. Bill replies "Pride and Prejudice" and this time he earns a gong. In this space the tension is magnified when the character is in trouble. Additionally, "Sure Thing" can also be hilarious because it contains repeated themes and puns that trigger our memories. Overall, Sure thing uses these classical elements of comedy to provide a certain level of insight into the complexities of human relations and still manages to entertain the audience.
ReplyDeleteIn Sure Thing by David Ives, the classical elements of comedy that I identified are the comedic devices of repetition and a “marriage” at the ending. Throughout the play, the “ring” of the doorbell at the cafe where Bill and Betty meet symbolizes a reset of their conversation.This normally happens when the conversation goes south, and so the bell represents a sort of second chance at an introduction by Bill. It adds a lot of comedic effect because of how many times it rings because of Bill and his awkwardness. The “marriage” trait is represented at the end of the play where the conversation becomes one about love and comfort, where Betty promises Bill to love and cherish him forever. Overall I found this play very sweet and entertaining, and a fun and unique portrayal of the first interactions between two people of interest to one another.
ReplyDeleteIn the play "Sure Thing" by David Ives, the classical elements of comedy that I saw were the repetition of "Is this chair taken?" and "ding". The lady also keeps making excuses as to how the seat is taken. A funny part was when the lady said that she wanted to read in silence and when it was time for the audience to "ding" they whispered. It seems as if the ding represents "again" or a replay of the same moment. When the man was talking about a book and said "the smells of the earth, what do you think?", and the lady responded with "I think that it's pretty boring". I like the sarcasm that is incorporated into this comedic play. It seems as if the "ding" represents a reset button. For example, the lady asks if the man has a girlfriend and the man goes on to say "Well 2 actually, one of them is pregnant and Stephanie.." and then the ding happens. The ding acts as a good pause and a way to reset the situation before it escalates to a weird talk.
ReplyDeleteIn Sure Thing we see that one element show is the story ending in marriage as they get together at the end of the play. We could also see the audience felt amused when they would say the wrong things two each other and then started over. This also played into the comedic timing when they would restart multiple times after saying multiple things very quickly which added a sense of humor as well. We could also see that the protagonist had a weakness and was shown limitations on how the man could win her over. Multiple things were said back and forth two each other but had to start over constantly to get the right things for each other to meet the expectations and not go beyond their limits.We also saw a constant theme of how the reality of dating is vs what we want or what it appears to be at times on the dating world when people say you found the one. Because even though at the end they seemed like a perfect fit for each other, in reality you’re not going to find someone who likes all the things you like and are exactly like you. And overall you shouldn’t. This kind of ideology also showed comic relief because the audience know this isn’t reasonable in reality.
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