The art of Melodrama. Melodrama is a dramatic work which exaggerates the plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions of the audience. Asides are used to create an air of secrecy, as well as dramatic tension. Melodrama began in the 18th century combining spoken recitation with short pieces of accompanying music.
Melodramatic characters are known as stock characters and include the heroine, the hero, the villain, a faithful man servant, a faithful maid and the villain's accomplice. The plot revolves around the hero who is the symbol of good who is tricked by the villain who is the symbol of evil. The play makes use of extreme opposites to capture the audiences attention for example justice vs. revenge. The hero saves the heroine and ultimately, good overcomes evil.
Melodramatic theatre sets are elaborate and stage effects are used. Spectacular costumes, as well as music are used to increase the impact and appeal of the play. Music is used to heighten the emotions of the audience or to signal when something good or bad is going to happen.
For our lesson we were split into groups of four. Each group was given two cards, each containing a thought starter indicating an event that we were to act out using melodramatic aspects. These included exaggerated gestures and facial expressions, as well as acting out the characteristics of the stereotypes of the events.
My group's thought starters were 'Soccer supporters' and 'Models'. For soccer supporters we acted out a crowd anticipating a goal, and then the victory after the goal has been scored. For models we acted walking down a runway, using stereotypical gestures and facial expressions of models for example sulky expressions and fake smiles, as well as jealousy of the other models.
I enjoyed this lesson immensely as the other groups skits were very entertaining, and it was enjoyable watching the different interpretations of the stereotypes.
