Play Genres

Serious Plays• Tragedy - Material is serious/dignified style sorrowful or terrible

events encountered or caused by a heroic individual. The word “Tragedy” comes from the Greek word “Tragos” which means “Goat”. The original meaning may come from the sacrifices the Greeks performed before performing plays (Examples include:Oedipus Rex, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet.

• Drama - Focuses on the everyday domestic lives of people and their relationships in the community where they live (Examples include: Death of a Salesman, All My Sons)

• Melodrama - A sentimental drama with musical underscoring. Often with an unlikely plot that concerns the suffering of the good at the hands of villains. Always ends happily with the good winning. Features stock characters such as the noble hero, the long-suffering heroine, and the cold-blooded villain (Examples include: Dudley Do Right, He Ain’t Done Right By Nell)

Comedic Plays• Comedy - Comes from the Greek word “Komos” which means

celebration. It does not necessarily mean funny, but can focus on a problem that leads to some form of catastrophe which in the end has a happy or joyful outcome (Example: 12th Night)

• Farce - Highly improbable situations, stereotyped characters, extravagant exaggeration, fast pacing, and violent horseplay (Examples: Noises Off, All The Great Books)

• Comedy of Manner - Witty, “brainy” form of comedy that depicts and often satirizes the manners/affectations of the society it is written within. Concerned with social usage and the question of whether or not characters meet social standards (Example: anything by Moliere)

Comedic Plays (continued)• Romantic Comedy - Medley of clever scheming, calculated

coincidence, and discovery all of which ultimately lead to the hero or heroine’s biggest wish - the focus being on love (Example: Meet the Fockers)

• Comedy of Situation - Comedy that grows out of a character’s attempt to solve a problem created by a situation. The attempt is often bumbling but ends up happily (Example: anything called a TV “sitcom”)

• Black Comedy - Tests the boundaries of good tast and moral acceptability by mixing morbid/ghastly elements with comical ones (Example: Arsenic and Old Lace)

• Tragicomedy - A play that mixes the elements of drama and comedy. The end result is a play with a bittersweet quality (Example: Lost in Yonkers)

Plays with Music• Opera - A play where the story is told (and emotion is shown)

primarily through singing (with instrumental music) and limited dancing. Created in Italy in the late 1590s. (Examples: La Boheme, The Magic Flute, The Marriage of Figaro)

• Musical Theatre - A play where the story is told through singing, spoken dialogue, and dance as well as instrumental music.

Created in the United States in the late 1860s. (Examples: Rent, Wicked, Seussical, Zombie Prom, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown)