Theatre movements: Absurd, Epic, Expressionism

• Drama is a form of literature intended for performance, where characters enact a story through dialogue and action.
• Theatre is the live performance of drama in front of an audience, incorporating acting, stage design, lighting, sound, and direction.
• Drama refers to the written script, while theatre is the actual performance of that script.
• Drama plays a vital role in cultural and social contexts by serving as a medium for storytelling, education, and social reflection.
• Drama preserves cultural heritage by showcasing traditions, beliefs, and historical narratives while evolving to address contemporary issues.
• Theatre has been a platform for raising awareness of social injustices, promoting empathy, and inspiring change through portrayals of real-life struggles and emotions.
• Drama fosters creativity, entertains audiences, and provides a space for artistic expression, making it an essential part of human communication and societal development.

Historical Context:

• World War I (1914–1918) brought about themes of loss, disillusionment, and war's absurdity, which inspired Expressionist theatre, where emotions and psychological turmoil were exaggerated.
• Notable playwrights: Ernst Toller, Georg Kaiser (The Gas), and Luigi Pirandello (Six Characters in Search of an Author).
• The Great Depression (1929–1939) led to themes of social justice, inequality, and working-class struggles.
• Epic Theatre emerged, led by Bertolt Brecht, to promote political awareness causing plays like Clifford Odets' Waiting for Lefty and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman to captured the struggles of ordinary people.
• World War II (1939–1945) led to themes of survival, existentialism, and questioning of human nature with the rise of the Theatre of the Absurd as a response to the war's devastation, thus portraying meaningless and chaotic human existence.
• Notable works include Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit.
• The Cold War (1947–1991) created an atmosphere of paranoia, surveillance, and ideological conflict creating Political theatre and satirical plays which became popular, exposing government control and propaganda.
• Arthur Miller's The Crucible was an allegory for McCarthyism and anti-communist hysteria in the U.S.

Key Movements & Style:

• Realism aims to portray life as it is, focusing on everyday experiences, social issues, and psychological depth in characters.
• Naturalism is an extreme form of realism that presents life with scientific accuracy, emphasizing heredity and environment as key influences on human behavior.
• Konstantin Stanislavski developed the "Stanislavski System" which later influenced method acting.
• Anton Chekhov focused on internal conflicts, subtext, and mundane life struggles, and his notable works are The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull
• Characteristics include complex characters with psychological depth along with dialogue and setting the reflect real life
• Expressionism rejects realism, presenting the world from a subjective, often distorted perspective focusing on human emotion, inner turmoil, and critiques of industrialization and war.
• Bertolt Brecht's notable works are Mother Courage and Her Children along with The Threepenny Opera and he also developed Epic Theatre to ensure the audience remains critically aware, "Verfremdungseffekt" or alienation effect.
• Absurdism focuses on the absurdity of human existence and often depicting meaningless or illogical situations.
• Absurdism is influenced by existentialist philosophy (life has no inherent meaning).
• Samuel Beckett's notable works include Waiting for Godot.
• Waiting for Godot is a play about two characters waiting indefinitely for someone who never arrives.
• Characteristics include non-linear storytelling, unconventional dialogue (pauses, circular conversations), and satirical, dark humor mixed with existential themes.
• Postmodern and Contemporary Theatre moves beyond traditional storytelling, often questioning the nature of reality and blending different styles and media and experimenting with form, interactivity, and multimedia elements.
• Caryl Churchill is known for feminist themes and fragmented structure and her notable work is Top Girls.
• Sarah Kane's notable work is Blasted and she is known for shock theatre, and raw emotions.
• Robert Wilson is known for experimental theatre with visual storytelling.

Philippine Drama and Theatre:

• Before Spanish colonization, drama in the Philippines was deeply rooted in oral traditions, conveying history, folklore, and religious beliefs through rituals and storytelling.
• Indigenous communities performed rituals and storytelling to convey history, folklore, and religious beliefs which include epic chanting (Hudhud, Darangen, Biag ni Lam-ang), shamanistic rituals (Anitism), mimetic dances, and folk dramas.
• When Spain colonized the Philippines in 1565, they introduced European theatrical forms, blending them with indigenous performances.
• Komedya is a play influenced by European medieval theatre that depicted battles between Christians and Moors (Muslims).
• Zarzuela is musical that combines singing, dancing, and dialogue to depict social issues that is often satirical in nature.
• Moro-Moro is a play dramatizing the Christian-Muslim conflicts depicting Christian Spaniards as heroes and Moors as villains. By the early 20th century, the Philippines saw the emergence of nationalist theatre which reflects political resistance and social change.
• Many playwrights used drama as a platform to critique colonial rule, social injustices, and cultural identity.
• Severino Reyes' notable work is Walang Sugat.
• Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero's notable work is Three Rats.
• Nick Joaquin's notable work is A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino.
• The introduction of English education led to the rise of English-language plays.
• Drama transitioned from nationalist themes to psychological and social issues, influenced by Western realism during The American period (1898-1946).
• University-based theatre groups like the University of the Philippines (UP) Dramatics Club flourished.
• Strict censorship limited nationalist and anti-colonial themes during the Japanese Occupation (1941-1945).
• Performances were used for propaganda, but underground plays carried subtle resistance.
• The era marked a shift toward radio drama because live theatre became restricted.
• After independence, theatre in the Philippines evolved to address contemporary issues, embracing both traditional and experimental approaches with institutions playing a major role in fostering Filipino theatre:
• Two institutions that fostered Filipino Theatre are the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) and Tanghalang Pilipino.
• Floy Quintos examines art, identity, and politics in his works which include Angry Christ and Fluid.
• Rody Vera is known for historical and socio-political plays which include Bonifacio: Isang Sarswela and Lakambini.
• Liza Magtoto wrote Rak of Aegis which is a jukebox musical blending contemporary Filipino music with social commentary.

Explore theatrical movements like Expressionism, Epic Theatre, Theatre of the Absurd, and their historical contexts. Examine drama's role in reflecting social justice, inequality, and post-World War II anxieties. Understand key figures and the distinction between drama and theatre.