DRAMA

Elements of drama: action

C O M P I L E D BY:

ETA (209421015)

GLADERYA

P.S

ARITONANG

TRISNO ISKANDAR SINAGA (209121052) CRYSTIAN (209121009) JULIANA SIDAURUK

FAKULTAS BAHASA DAN SENI UNIMED

2013
DRAMATIC ACTION Action is a process or condition of acting or moving, as opposed to rest; the doing of something; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; the effect of power exerted on one body by another; agency; activity; operation; as, the action of heat; a man of action. In drama, the action is all the activities of all the characters in the lay. Laugh, cry, fight, shoot, talk to one another are called dramatic action. Every movement occurs that played by the actor is called dramatic action. Any action performed by any character must be as a result of an earlier action. The action in drama is usually organized in a climatic order with the scenes increasing in interest by increasing suspense and emotional intensity. Action in drama involves gestures, facial expressions, inflexion of voice and movement. Some gestures and expressions actually present more actions than words. Dramatic action also includes what the character fails to do. MOTIVATION Motivation is the drive behind every action a character takes in a play. For example In The Marriage of Anansewa, poverty drives Ananse to sell his daughter. In The Lion and the Jewel, the girls are excited as they discuss the magazine that contains Sidis pictures. Their excitement is motivated by the fact they have never seen the picture of anybody from their community in a magazine. What this means is that there must be a reason for any action taken by every character in the play. In drama, because the action is presented in dialogue and the playwright does not have the space to explain the action like the novelist, some of the actions that cannot be incorporated in dialogue are presented in the stage direction. The explanation of the action in the stage direction helps the reader to enjoy the action and also helps the director in the blocking of the play during rehearsals before the performance.

Types of Dramatic Action (a) Physical Action (b) Reported Action (c) Mental Action A. Physical Action The physical action in drama refers to the movements made by a character in the play. It is visible and may or may not involve dialogue. Physical action could in form of movements/ gestures, mime or pantomime. Movement/ Gesture

Movement is used to describe mainly the actual movements like walking, running, pacing, kneeling, lying down, standing or sitting. Movement is simply the process of moving, change of place, position, or passing from one place to another.These movements are usually accompanied by dialogue.This differentiates it from mime and pantomime which are actions without words. Closely related to movement is gesture. Mime

Mime is certain action that are presented without words to show meaning for the purpose of entertainment by dramatists. The oxford dictionary describes mime as a dumb show, mummery, pantomime, the use of gesture to indicate certain action or indication by sign language. It is regarded as a simple facial drama that is characterized by mimicry and the ludicrous representation of familiar types of characters. Therefore mime is the art or technique of expressing or conveying action, character, or emotion without words by using only gestures and movements. Pantomime

Pantomime is synonymous with mime. It is a term for silent acting; the form of dramatic activity in silent motion, gesture, facial expression, in which costume are relied upon to express emotional state or action.

Taken from dictionary.com, pantomime defined as: 1. Gesture without speech 2. Play in which the performers express themselves by gesture only. It was popular in ancient Rome where it was a dramatic entertainment in which performers expressed meaning through gestures accompanied by music. Pantomime is also used to dramatise absurd or outrageous behaviour. B. Reported Action In dramatic action, sometimes, it is not possible to present every action on stage. This could be as a result of the prevalent convention or because the action cannot be realized on stage. In the Classical Period, for instance, violence was not presented on stage. In The Marriage of Anansewa, the taxi that takes Aya and Kweku to Nanka is not brought on stage because the stage cannot contain it. Also in Arms and the Man, the cavalry charge by Sergius is reported and not presented because it will be very difficult to bring a cavalry on stage.

C. Mental Action Mental action is an action that takes place in the characters mind. In most cases, mental action is manifested in facial expressions.