In this unit you will learn about Melodrama and Silent Movies. You will explore the importance of facial expression, gesture, physicality, voice and movement in performance, use research to inform your own work, record your use of creative thinking skills, and reflect on your own work and the work of others.
So what is Melodrama? Melodrama (as a distinct genre of theatre) originated in Europe in the 1800's. Life was hard for many people in those days and Melodramas (with their sensational plots and exciting twists and turns as the hero battles the villain) provided a respite from the doom and gloom for the many workers who had come to the cities as the Industrial Revolution took hold. For the first time theatre was accessible to everybody, to the 'common' people as well as the upper classes. The word Melodrama is a combination of 'melody' and 'drama', and they featured music for a very special reason. In the early 1800's only two theatres in the whole of the London had a licence to present legitimate shows, and there was definitely not enough space there for everyone to go and watch. To get around these restrictions other (at the time non legitimate) theatres began to show dramatic scenes with musical interludes. These became so popular that more and more Melodramas were staged and popular demand became huge. By 1843 the licensing laws were scrapped altogether as the government gave up trying to control which shows were staged where. You will write and perform your own short Melodramas, making use of some of the many conventions typical to this genre, including stock characters, gesture, asides and the every exaggerated use of movement and voice. You will then transfer this new knowledge to the exploration of Silent Movies - another genre in which movement and gesture is all important. So what is Mime? And what are Silent Movies? Mime is used as an umbrella term for many different forms of nonverbal communication. Silent Movies were some of the earliest forms of cinema, silent because there was not yet the technology to record live voice and sound. Silent Movie acting styles, characters and plots are closely linked with Melodrama. You will explore the work of some famous Mime and Silent Movie artists such as Charlie Chaplin, Mr Bean and Buster Keaton to find out how they communicate stories so effectively without words.
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