Drama (from the Greek drew, I act), is a class of writings which almost entirely consist of dialogue, persons being represented as acting and speaking, and the pieces being usually intended to be acted on a stage by parties assuming the characters of the respective persons.
Its two great branches are tragedy and comedy, the former, roughly speaking, melancholy in character, the latter cheerful. The origin of the drama must be sought for in the love of imitation, and dramatic performances of some kind are to be met with probably among all nations.
Dramatic compositions are found in the Old Testament, for example in Job and the Song of Solomon; and ancient India and China both developed a dramatic literature of their own.
The European drama bad its origin in Greece. Both forms, tragic and comic, took their rise in the celebrations of the Greek festivals of Dionysus (Bacchus), at which hymns and chants were sung by choruses in honour of the god, and the chorus continued to be a prominent feature of the old Greek drama. Greek comedy commenced about 580-560 BC with Susarion, but it was long in attaining regular form. Of the old Greek comedy the chief representatives were Oratinus, Eupolis, Pherecrates, and Aristophanes - the last the greatest.
The invention of tragedy is generally ascribed to Thespis about 530 BC, who was followed by Phrynichus. But the true creator of tragedy was Aeschylus, in whose works and those of Sophocles and Euripides it found its most perfect expression. Thespis had only one actor, who from time to time relieved the chorus by declamation. Aeschylus changed this representation into real action by making use of two actors in addition to the chorus. Aeschylus also introduced masks; and by means of a long gown and the cothurnus, or buskin, the lofty stature of the heroes was imitated. A third actor was first introduced by Sophocles. The accommodations for the spectators were improved, and machinery and scenery introduced. The theatres, which had been formerly built of wood, were now large stone erections, capable of containing the greater number of the citizens. The regular drama among the Romans was borrowed from the Greeks. Plautus and Terence were imitators of the Greek comedy, Livius Andronicus (240 BC) of the Greek tragedy. Of the Roman tragedy, the dramas of Seneca are the only specimens extant.
In most modern European countries the regular drama took its rise in the mysteries, miracle-plays, and moralities of the middle ages. In Italy, however, it began with a reproduction in Latin of classical models. The earliest tragedy in Italian is Trissino's Sofonisba (1502). Regular comedies in Italian were written by Ariosto, Aretino, Macchiavelli, and others; and to the same period (15th and 16th centuries) belongs the Italian Pastoral Drama, which sprung from the ancient idylls, and aimed at a fanciful delineation of Arcadian and mythological scenes. Among the pastoral dramatists of this period are Poliziano, Tasso, and Guarini. The pastorals gave birth to the opera, early masters of which, so far as it may be included in the poetic drama, are Zenoand Metastasio. The Italian drama waned in the 17th century, but in the 18th genuine comedy and classic tragedy were restored, the former by Goldoni, the latter by Alfieri. Monti, Manzoni, and Niccolini are among the later writers of tragedy.
The other European nations cultivated the dramatic art much later than the Italians. The English and Spaniards devoted their attention to it almost at the game time; the former reaching their acme in William Shakespeare, the latter in Lope de Vega and Calderon. The history of the English theatre and the drama is naturally divided into two parts, the first of which begins with the reign of Elizabeth I and ends with the reign of Charles I. The rapid developmentof the drama during the reign of Elizabeth I was entirely unhampered by foreign influence. Lyly, Peele, Greene, Marlowe, William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Beaumont and Fletchor, Chapman, Webster, Middleton, Marston, Ford,and Massinger are among the chief names connected with the brilliant period of the English drama.
During the Commonwealth the Puritans prohibited all kinds of plays, and the theatres were shut up for thirteen years. With Charles II the drama reappeared, and exhibited a licentiousness hardly equalled by that of any other Christian nation. Among the chief names belonging to this period are Dryden, Otway, Lee, Shadwell, Wycherley, and Etherege. From the close of the 17th to that of the 18th century British comedy was cultivated with much success by Cibber, Farquhar, Congreve, Sheridan, and others.
During the 19th century many writers have been conspicuous by their dramas. Among the chief of these may be noted Byron, Coleridge, Landor, Shelley, Maturin, Talfourd, Milman, Sir Henry Taylor, the first LordLytton, Knowles, R. H. Home, Arnold, Browning, Swinburne, and Tennyson. Among other 19th-century writers for the stage, who, however, may be called playwrights rather than dramatists, may be named, Douglas Jerrold, Tom Taylor, Charles Reade, Thomas Robertson, W. G. Wills, H. Byron, R. Buchanan, Dion Boucicault, W. S. Gilbert, J. M. Barrie, A. W. Pinero, H. A. Jones, etc.
The French drama was in a miserable state before Corncille (1606-84), who indeed is looked on as the founder of the drama in France. Racine, Moliere, Voltaire, and in later times Hugo, are some of the other distinguished French dramatists. Since about 1820 a new dramatic school has been formed in France, which, departing from the ancient strictness of what is called the classic, approaches more and more to the German or British, or what is called the romantic school. The establishment of this school formed part of the general reaction against the excessive adherence to classic models in literature, the leader in the movement being Victor Hugo. C. Delavigne marks the transition from the classical to the beginnings of the romantic school, and among the 19th century dramatists may be mentioned A. de Vigny, George Sand, A. de Musset, Merimee, Ponsard, Augier, Scribe, Dumas the Younger, and Sardou.
The German drama is of later birth than any thus far mentioned, and for a long time the Germans contented themselves with translations and adaptations from the French. Leasing was the first who, by word and deed, broke the French sway (1755), and he was succeeded by Schiller and Goethe, who rank as the greatest of the more modern dramatists. Prominent names in the German drama are Kotzebue, Korner, Schlegel, Tieck, Brentano, Grillparzer, Hebbel, Ludwig, Gutzkow, Freytag, Laube, Von Moser, etc.
The Dutch drama begins with the classical tragedies of Koster in the beginning of the 17th century, and reached its highest in Vondel (1587-1659). Holberg, Heiberg, Oehlenschlager, Ibsen, and Bjornson are the chief names connected with the Scandinavian drama.
The advent of moving pictures during the 20th century revolutionised drama, and introduced film or movies to the audience, with the USA quickly developing a reputation for film making based in Hollywood, and by the end of the 20th century the Indian city of Mumbai had become a leading center of Hindi language film making producing more films than even Hollywood. Research Drama
James Whale was an English born homosexual Hollywood film director. He was born in 1893 at Dudley and died in 1957, committing suicide by drowning. He is best known for the horror films he directed for the Universal studios during the 1930's. A prisoner of War during the Great War, it was while a prisoner that he learned how to put on plays and after the war he worked on the London stage before moving to work on Broadway and then landing a contract with Paramount as a dialogue director, after which he moved to Universal. Research James Whale
Albert Dekker was an American actor. He was born in 1905 at Brooklyn, New York and died in 1968 of asphyxia. A stage actor from 1927,
Albert Dekker was already an established Broadwaystar when he made his film debut in 1937. Tall and with rugged good looks, he often played aggressive character roles, and was memorable as the double-crossing gang leader in the 1946 film 'The Killers'. From 1945 to 1946 he served a term in the California legislature representing the Hollywood district. As he got older, Dekker, unlike many actors, turned to the stage rather than television, and achieved great success there and on the college lecture circuit. Dekker's last role, in the 1969 western 'The Wild Bunch', was one of his more memorable ones. Research Albert Dekker
Alexander Granach (real name Jessaja Granach) was a Polish born German actor. He was born in 1893 at Werbowitz, Galizia and died in 1945. A leading stage and film actor in Germany during the 1920's and early 1930's. With the advent of Hitler and Nazism, Granach fled his adopted homeland, eventually to arrive in America in the late 1930's where he became a Broadway and Hollywood character actor, appearing in both venues through the mid-1940's. Research Alexander Granach
Alf Kjellin (also known as Christopher Kent) was a Swedish actor, director and writer. He was born in 1920 at Lund, and died in 1988 of a heartattack. Although he trained for the stage in his native Sweden, Alf Kjellin appeared in only a few stage productions before entering films. His 1944 film 'Hets' resulted in his being noticed by Hollywood, and he made his American film debut in 1949 under the name Christopher Kent. He soon went back to using his real name, and though he made several more Hollywood films, he worked mainly out of Sweden, both acting and directing. In the early 1960s he finally settled in Hollywood. Although appearing in several feature films and occasionally directing them, the main body of his work consisted of directing made- for-television movies and appearing in episodic television series, including 'Mission Impossible' and 'Hawaii Five-O'. Research Alf Kjellin
Ben Johnson was an American actor and stuntman. He was born in 1918 at Shidler, Oklahoma and died in 1996. A champion rodeo performer, he first arrived in Hollywood in the early 1940's as a horsewrangler for Howard Hughes's The Outlaw and was later employed as a double and stuntman in Westerns. He was then discovered by John Ford, who cast him as a cavalry sergeant in two of his films and gave him the star part in 'The Wagon Master'. He also starred in Mighty Joe Young and other films but has been used for the most part in supporting roles, mainly in Westerns. He won the Academy Award as best supporting actor and the New York Film Critics Award for his performance in the 1971 film The Last Picture Show. Research Ben Johnson
Billy Benedict was an American actor. He was born in 1917 at Haskell, Oklahoma and died in 1999. He went to California at the age of 17 hoping to get a job as a dancer, but finding that dancers were common place in Hollywood he took up acting jobs instead. Research Billy Benedict
Bill Murray is an American actor. He was born in 1950 at Chicago, Illinois. He first started as a comedian working with his brother Brian Doyle-Murray first in improvised comedy and then on radio in 'The National Lampoon Hour' which led to him being invited to appear on the televison show 'Saturday Night Live With Howard Cosell', which in turn led to Hollywood and film roles. Research Bill Murray
Boris Karloff (real name William Henry Pratt) was an English born American actor. He was born in 1887 and died in 1969. He achieved Hollywood fame with his role as the monster in the 1931 film 'Frankenstein'. In 1941 he gained acclaim on Broadway in 'Arsenic and Old Lace'. Research Boris Karloff
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