Real Drama Research Articles

The Futility of Language as a Means of Communication in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Fam and Yam, and The Sandbox

The three plays Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962) The Sandbox (1959) and Fam and Yam (1959) all display the absurdist tendencies to dispel the traditional view of language as the rational means of communication amongst mankind. In absurdist drama the world is portrayed as one that is meaningless and incomprehensible to the human mind. Language, which is confined to faulty human perception and subjectivity, is inefficient in the face of an unfathomable universe. A gap persists between the meanings in language and the world it purports to describe. In addition, the lack of fit between what language permits man to say and what he actually wants to say leads to a breakdown in communication and ultimately to the alienation of the individual. In absurdist works this chaotic sphere of existence is reflected in the dispensing of traditional elements in drama as well as in the illogical usage of language by the characters. Thus, absurdist drama acts as a counter-discourse to the previously dominant, essentialist discourse of realist drama. In this article a brief overview of the absurdist depiction of language’s insufficiency in communication is presented to serve as a backdrop for the analysis of certain segments in Albee’s aforementioned plays in order to assess the extent to which Albee’s plays demonstrate the absurdist’s notion of language’s deficiencies. Thus, the sections chosen for discussion are those that showcase language’s apparent shortcomings in generating human contact.

Artistic Value and Social Reflections of Realistic Movies

The movie "I Am Not the God of Medicine" is both an inheritance of neo-realist movies and an innovation based on it. The movie "I am not the God of Medicine" is a realist drama film directed by Wen Muye and produced by Ning Hao and Xu Zheng. The storyline in the movie is based on real-life events. Taking drug selling as a clue, the movie portrays a team of five drug sellers with different professions and personalities, and through a three-part narrative structure, each paragraph sets up a convincing plot point, parsing it out layer by layer, the protagonist is forced to become a "superhero" from the boss of a marketplace peddler in the end. The film uses the localized image construction of the Hao Cai Wu style narrative, the interaction between the fate of small characters and traditional philosophical concepts, and the imaginative transformation of the environment under the intertwining of documentary and art, to reproduce the real life of the characters at the bottom of the social ladder, and to truthfully and dramatically expose and criticize the true state of the society, focusing on the return of the value of life and exploration, highlighting the aesthetical characteristics of artistic innovation, which has a very great social value and practical significance. It has great social value and practical significance.

“Until Dignity Becomes Ordinary”: The Grammar of Dignity in Catholic Social Teaching

This article explores the theme of dignity as it emerges in Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum (1891) and develops within mainstream Catholic social teaching. In expositing the grammar of dignity, I argue that, while the tradition certainly affirms dignity as an equal status pertaining to all people as created in God’s image, dignity is not just a status. In a world damaged by sin, the real drama of dignity is its defense—the practical acknowledgement of dignity and human equality in the midst of our lived experience. Given how conditions in our world so often deny this truth about the human creature, dignity is, therefore, something we must have faith in, as well as constantly fight to make ordinary.

Репрезентация христианской теологической нормы в кинематографе

The article discusses ways of representing the normative provisions of Christian theology in modern cinema. It is shown that the use of cinematic language for the symbolic display of church dogma does not contradict the Christian tradition, the entire history of which is filled with the search for symbolic means of expressing the gospel kerygma and church dogma. The historically established dominance of philosophical means of representing church dogmas prevents us from seeing this. However, it is hard not to notice that fine and performing arts (of course, in the archaic and medieval sense of them) have always played a significant role in the religious life of Christians. The advent of cinema gave Christian thinkers and artists additional means to interpret theological norms. It should be noted at the same time that the influence of Christian meanings on European culture is so great that the authors of a number of cinematic masterpieces do not necessarily broadcast these meanings intentionally. The review of foreign and domestic cinematography reveals the main themes of Christian teaching, which filmmakers most often turn to: providenciology, soteriology, Christology, and triadology. At the same time, the genre range of Christian and crypto-Christian cinema is quite wide, ranging from realistic dramas to fantasy films. Scriptwriters and directors show extraordinary ingenuity in visualizing the supersensible: divine providence, the co-presence of the divine and human natures in the Person of the Savior, and the Persons of the Divine Trinity. Although it must be admitted that not always their artistic interpretations remain within the framework of the dogmatic norm, it is important to note that the secrets of the success of many cinematic techniques are contained in the practice of church art, in particular in the canonical Orthodox iconography.

Lights up! Assessing standards-based performance skills in drama education

With the recent release of the National Core Arts Standards (NCAS), educators need new consistent, fair assessments of drama learning. As an initial starting point, this paper reports on the creation of the LATA Drama Performance Rubric, a standards-based assessment to measure learning occurring under real drama classroom conditions that we hope evaluators will find to be useful. A widespread group of drama instructors coordinated with researchers to create a rubric containing four categories: (1) Diction and Volume; (2) Movement and Gesture; (3) Group Coordination; and (4) Stage Presence. Field testing of the instrument with 97 students in the treatment group and 80 students in the control group demonstrated its ability to distinguish between fourth-grade classrooms that had and had not received long-term drama instruction. Reliability, validity, and NCAS alignment are discussed, along with limitations and future recommendations.

The African Novel of Ideas: Philosophy and Individualism in the Age of Global Writing

The African Novel of Ideas: Philosophy and Individualism in the Age of Global Writing

Metatheatricality and Self-reflexivity in Subedi’s Plays

This paper seeks to explore meta-theatricality and self-reflexivity in Abhi Subedi’s two plays, A Journey into Thamel and The Caretaker’s Sky, to mark how the playwright reflects the changing social and cultural milieus of Nepal through these dramatic techniques. Through a close reading of Subedi’s A Journey into Thamel and The Caretaker’s Sky from the metatheatrical perspectives propounded by Lionel Abel and Richard Hornby, the research surveys how the playwright connects theatricality and realism in these plays. A Journey into Thamel portrays the hardships of people living in the post-war scenario of Nepalese society. The Caretaker’s Sky deals with the quest for freedom of creativity. But both plays share the common ground in terms of form, as Subedi’s dramaturgy expresses using metadrama as a rhetorical vehicle. In doing so, he uses as many metatheatrical tools as possible in making the plays self-reflective. The chief finding of this research is that Abhi Subedi exploits meta-drama as a rhetorical vehicle and at a time responds to the co-existence of realistic drama, staged theatricality, and anti-theatricalism in these plays so as to portray the Nepalese problems. The research scholars intended to work on Nepali theatre are expected to take the paper as a reference.

The Creation of the Hero Image in Realistic Military Drama—Take "Li Yannian of Meritorious Service" as an Example

In recent years, the ratings of military dramas have continued to decline, and there are few characters that audiences are enjoying. As a recent fire out of the circle of red theme film and television drama "Meritorious service". Through the realism unit military drama Li Yannian, this paper discusses how the heroic image in contemporary military dramas can avoid falling into the vicious circle and how realistic dramas construct the heroic image. Excellent literary and artistic products can always be moved and resonated by people all over the world, and the heroic image of defending the home and the country is respected and revered by all mankind. Through the realistic creation direction of military drama and the construction and typical image of the theme characters of military drama, this paper analyzes the important core of the realistic theme drama, in order to express the invincible, brave and tenacious optimistic fighting spirit of Chinese men.

Reality Matters: Relevance of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck and Chekhov’s The Seagull to Daily Life

Described as the pioneers of modern drama, Henrik Ibsen and Anton Chekhov shed light on the realities of daily life. Two of them, Ibsen’s The Wild Duck (1884) and Chekhov’s The Seagull (1895), defined as realistic dramas, are constantly compared with one another due to their shared and contrasting qualities. Even though these comparative studies contribute to clarifying areas such as plot, character analysis, themes, and symbols to establish a link between the two works, they do not explain the degree of their relevance to real life. Indeed, the problem is that Ibsen is regarded as the father of modern drama, and Chekhov’s implied to be inspired by Ibsen’s The Wild Duck while writing his The Seagull; because of that, the general conception is inclined to first’s literary supremacy over latter. Therefore, this study analyzes the relevance of these plays to daily life and examines which one is more realistic than the other. For such a comparison, it has been paid attention to the plots’ developments and the dialogues between the characters in both plays.

Tropes Revisited: Evert Sprinchorn'sIbsen's Kingdom: The Man and His Worksand Recent Historical Research in Ibsen Studies

Tropes Revisited: Evert Sprinchorn's<i>Ibsen's Kingdom: The Man and His Works</i>and Recent Historical Research in Ibsen Studies

Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman

El valor cristiano del sufrimiento humano desde la mirada de Max Scheler: una revisión a la primera edición de vom sinn des laides (1916)

&nbsp;The purpose of the essay is to show in detail a little explored essay by the German philosopher Max Scheler (1874-1928) entitled, On the meaning of suffering (Vom Sinn des Leides). This essay was published after the end of the First World War and until shortly before the death of its author, it was constantly edited and enlarged, which demonstrates his constant interest in the phenomenon of pain and human suffering within his philosophical system. The first version of the essay states that in all times, cultures and religions there is a constant struggle with the question of suffering, its truth, its meaning and, ultimately, with the concrete and real drama of pain itself. This is an inescapable question for any philosophical understanding of man, since it calls for a renewed approach to the fundamental questions about his origin, his meaning and his destiny.

Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne

Reviewed by: Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Kilcoyne, Elizabeth Wake the Bones. Wednesday/St. Martin's, 2022 [320p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781250790828 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781250790835 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 After a failed stint at college in Cincinnati, nineteen-year-old Laurel returns to her family farm in Kentucky, content to work the land her family has owned for generations. Unfortunately, any return to the comforts of home is sent wildly askew by a series of increasingly disturbing events: she and her friends find a mutilated deer corpse that is seemingly sprouting flora, a hideous bone monster pursues her through the forest, her dead mother visits her in her dreams, and finally and most dramatically, an emphatically creepy guy waylays her in the woods and promises to "gnaw the bones of you until they splinter and break" before she manages to escape him. Taken together, it's all pretty horrifying, but the fear is muted by a languid pace and a fuzzy focus, moving between the very real drama of Laurel's tangles with the literal devil to a less interesting subplot involving her best friend Isaac and his wrestling with his sexuality in a small, insulated town. Still, Kilcoyne's fresh, vivid prose punctuates the less suspenseful emotional turmoil with moments of true terror, dripping in blood and gore and filled with unexpected plot turns that underscore a feeling of panicked disorientation. The devil is an absolutely spine-chilling villain, much in the tradition of Barraclough's monstrous Long Lankin (Long Lankin, BCCB 9/12), a creature without pity and with far too much power. Fans of horror willing to stay through the more subdued moments will be thoroughly satisfied. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Radio Drama Takeover 1: Hedda Gabler

British radio drama since the creation of the BBC in 1922 has often been in the form of adapted stage plays. This has led to disagreements about whether the non-visual representation of dramas written for the theatre produces satisfactory results. This article explores this question using Ibsen’s realist drama, Hedda Gabler. It is argued that the audio version is successful and enables the listener to ‘overhear’ whispered conversations and share Hedda’s domestic claustrophobia.

Exploring the dilemmas of identity in modern Indian society in the context of globalisation taking The White Tiger as an example

The Indian realist drama film The White Tiger (2021) tells the story of Balram, a man from a poor Indian village who uses his wits and cunning to escape poverty through a self-referential narrative involving poverty, calculation and violence, exposing the problems of modern Indian society and the individual's loss of self-identity in the pursuit of freedom. This essay will examine The White Tiger through the theoretical framework of globalisation. Through a review of the development of globalisation in modern Indian society and an analysis of the metaphors of ‘the rooster coop’, ‘the white tiger’ and ‘half-baked’ in the film, it will further critically analyse the dilemma of identity in modern Indian society and attempt to expose the problems India faces in the process of decolonisation, globalisation and modernisation through this film.

On the authenticity pursuit and value transfer of realistic drama creation from the children of Joe family

In the summer of 2021, the TV series "Sons and Daughters of Joe" aired, which aroused hot discussion on the Internet, which was undoubtedly another success of reality drama. Reality-themed TV dramas often focus on realistic issues, write paeans of The Times, pay attention to social development, appreciate the warmth and warmth of the human world, and strive to create real three-dimensional characters and inherit the spirit of The Times. With the background of "reform and opening up", the drama shows the changes of a family in the past 30 years. This paper will discuss from three aspects: restoring the background of the era, shaping the character image and transmitting the values of "truth, kindness and beauty", hoping that the analysis of the drama can provide some valuable references for the family ethics drama under the realistic TV series in the future.

TINDAK TUTUR ILOKUSI PADA TEATER MODERN MALAM JAHANAM (TEATER SATIVA)

This study aims to describe the illocutionary speech acts in each of the dialogues spoken by the characters in the performance of the Modern Malam Jahanam Theater (Theater Sativa) by playing a Realist Drama adaptation of a script from Motinggo Boesje's work entitled Malam Jahanam. This study uses a qualitative research with a descriptive approach. The data in this research is the video of the Modern Malam Jahanam Theater (Theatre Sativa). The source of the data taken is a Theater video uploaded in February 2021 with a duration of 44 minutes 28 seconds. The results of the study show that there are five types of illocutionary speech acts in this study: (1) Directive there are 8 dialogues which state the directive speech of ordering, inviting, asking, suggesting, challenging, and advising. (2) Expressiveness, there are 3 dialogues that express expressive speech, namely blaming, praising, and flattering. (3) There are 3 commissives, namely a promise, threatening, blaming. (4) There are 4 assertives, namely the words stating, complaining, reporting, and showing. (5) There are 2 declarative utterances in the dialogue, namely deciding and prohibiting.

Spectral Characters: Genre and Materiality on the Modern Stage

Spectral Characters: Genre and Materiality on the Modern Stage

DOWN SYNDROME – LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF CLINICAL EVOLUTION AND PSYCHO-SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS

Introduction. Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal disorder, with a worldwide frequency of 1 case in 700 live births. Objectives. Starting from the hypothesis that with the increased life expectancy of the patients with Down syndrome, new phenotypic changes and new dysfunctions are expected to appear, we proposed a longitudinal study to analyze their evolution over a long period of time. Material and method. This is a longitudinal study, based on retrospective research and descriptive evaluation, performed on a group of 81 patients from the case series of the Bihor Regional Center for Medical Genetics from Oradea. Results. We have identified 4 types of evolutionary trends of the clinical signs: stationary, involutive, progressive and with late onset. Conclusions. Knowledge of the natural evolution of the signs and symptoms of the disease is indispensable in the long-term monitoring of patients with Down syndrome. The birth of a child with Down syndrome is a real drama for the family with a strong emotional impact that can be prevented or mitigated by facilitating prenatal diagnosis, psychological counselling, social support and specialized genetic advice.

Verdian lyric theatre. Hermeneutics of the performance and contemporary challenges

Abstract Engaging the viewer in a dialogue with the opera of Giuseppe Verdi is an approach that involves him spiritually, culturally, morally. You can enter this universe of opera music through several gates. The wide path of science will walk through the portal of stylistics, aesthetics, philosophy or art history. On another road comes the profane, motivated by the love for the beautiful. The opera Nabucco was the first step in the evolution of Italian lyrical theatre – from melodrama to realistic drama – characterised by the unity and strength of artistic conception, the energy and simplicity of musical language. Verdi’s dramatic sense and affinity for realism propelled him over time into the role of composer- playwright, his name being closely linked to titles such as: Ernani, Luisa Miller, Macbeth, Othello, Falstaff. However, we can note in recent decades the lack or low presence of important titles among Verdian operas in the repertoire of lyrical theatres. Can the contemporary public still receive this composer’s authentic message? Can current performers wear the clothes of truthful characters and meet the composer’s requirements for the vocal approach? The mission of hermeneutics – this interdisciplinary science – is to discover, as far as possible, the mechanisms of the interpretation of a social phenomenon (as the opera of Giuseppe Verdi has been repeatedly perceived), and its reminiscences in contemporary society.