Origin and History of One Act Play
• Meaning of One Act Play
The words “one act play” Plainly stated the it is a play in one-act. This simple definition conveys all that is to be said about one-act plays. Let us analyses this bald statement.
1) It is a play-that is, it is meant to be performed or enacted.
2) It is a short play (of one act) as distinct from a long play (of three or five acts).
• Origin and History
One-Act plays were written & staged throughout the 18th & 19th centuries as “The Curtain Raisers” or “The after Pieces”. But the origin of one-act plays can be traced to the satyr plays of the Greeks of the 4th century B.C. which were intended to provide relief at the end of the performance of serious tragedies. The modem one-act plays and the Greek satyr plays share a common trait-both can be enjoyed without too much of expense of effort or of time.
In the Middle Ages (in the 14th and the 15th centuries), there were short there were short plays which dealt with Christian subjects and scriptural themes. These were called the medieval miracle and mystery plays. There was also another of a similar category called the Morality play, of which the outstanding examples was Everyman. Written in the 15th century, Everyman, fits in well with the one-act plays of modem times.
The 16th century saw the rise and glory of great English drama. The Elizabethan drama was written for professional actors and professional theatre. But in the second half of the 16th century short interludes were written to be performed between two long miracle or mystery plays or between the courses of a banquet. These were truly one-act plays requiring just a few actors and capable of being performed in less than half an hour's time.
In the 18th century Fielding's Tom Thumb and Sheridan's The Critic deserve to be mentioned in any account of one-act plays. From the above account it is evident that one-act play is not unique to the 20th century, but since the end of the First World War, there has been a proliferation of this kind in the English theatre world. Two reasons can be attributed for this large output of one-act plays the rise of the amateur drama of radio and television
So, we can say that ----
The origin of the one-act play may be traced to the very beginning of drama in ancient Greece, Cyclops, a play on the forest God , by Euripides, is an early example. But, It was great Norwegian dramatist Ibsen, who, for the first time, introduced the minute stage-directions into the one-act play. Before him, one-act plays were written in poetry, but he made prose the medium of his one-act plays. In short, he made the drama, simple & real , & brought it nearer to everyday life. He made the modern one-act play what it is & his example has been widely followed. George Bernard Shaw & John Galsworthy are two of his greatest followers.
The one-act play requires no elaborate setting & costumes, & so comes in handy to be staged in amateur dramatic societies & clubs.
One-act plays by major dramatists —–
(i) Anton Chekhov —– A Marriage Proposal (1890)
(ii) August Strindberg —–Pariah (1889)
Motherly Love (1892)
The First Warning (1892)
(iii) Thornton Wilder —-The Long Christmas Dinner (1931)
(iv) Eugene Ionesco —- The Bald Soprano (1950)
(v) Arthur Miller —-A Memory of Two Mondays (1955)
(vi) Samuel Beckett —- Krapp’s Last Tape (1958)
(vii) Israel Horovitz —-Line (1974)
(viii) Edward Albee —- The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (2002)
• Chief Characteristics of One Act Play
1. One-act play is a play that has only one act, but may consist of one or more scenes.
2. One-act plays are usually written in a concise manner.
3. It deals with a single dominant situation, & aims at producing a single effect.
4. It deals with only one theme developed through one situation to one climax in order to produce the maximum of effect.
5. It treats the problems of everyday life as marriage, punishment for crimes, labor conditions, divorce, etc.
6. The one-act play, like the longer drama, should have beginning, a middle & an end. It may be divided into four stages :
- The Exposition,
-The Conflict,
-The Climax &
-The Denouement.
The exposition is usually brief, serves as an introduction to the play. It is through the conflict that the action of the drama develops. It is the very backbone of the one-act play. Climax is the turning point of the drama. It is an important part of the one-act play & constitutes its moment of supreme interest. The Denouement is very brief & often overlaps with climax.
7. Action begins right at the start of the play.
8. There are no breaks in the action, that is , it is continuous since its a short play; no intervals.
9. Everything superfluous is to be strictly avoided as the play is short & the action takes place within a short period of time. It introduces elaborate stage directions to minimize the time taken by the action itself.
10. The creation of mood, or atmosphere is indispensable to its success.
11. There are three dramatic unities which are observed in the one-act play. The unities are —- the unity of time, unity of place & the unity of action.
12. It aims at simplicity of plot ; concentration of action & unity of impression. It does not rely on spectacular effects & common dramatic tricks of old.
13. The characters in a one-act play are limited in number. Generally, there are not more than two or three principal characters.
14. There is no full development of character. All the different aspects of a character are not presented. The attention is focused on only one or two salient aspects of character & they are brought out by placing the characters in different situations & circumstances. The author implies the past & intimates the future of a character by presenting a crucial moment in the life of that character.
15. There is an influence of realism. The characters in the modern one-act play are ordinary men & women. It depicts characters that seems to be real & related to everyday life.
16. It must present a question, for which the audience eagerly awaits the answer.
17. Its language is simple & can be followed without any strain. All superfluity is to be avoided in the dialogue. The dialogue must be purposeful; the best dialogue is that which does several things at one time. Every word is to be carefully chosen & sentences must be compact & condensed. Effort should be made to say, whatever is to be said, in the least possible words. Thus, the language of the dialogue should be simple , brief & easy to understand . Long speeches & arguments & long sentences would be out of place & would lessen the charm & interest of the play.
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