Dramatic+Naturalism

Aim - Christian By trying to portray a fictional play in a way that is realistic in the audiences eyes, the main aim and purpose of the creation of dramatic naturalism derived from the director’s or playwright’s desire to make the audience question and think about certain aspects of society. This new style of entertainment, where audience members were watching actors portray scenes dealing with “everyday things” stemmed away from previous forms of entertainment where the “average person” often felt that they couldn’t relate (Law). By making people feel like they could relate more to the plays, audience members were more attracted to them and found themselves not only questioning age old aspects of society but enjoying the process as well. Plays such as Othello are a prime example of the kind of power dramatic naturalism has, as Shakespeare’s play which dealt with basic human nature still resonates with people in the 21st century. The whole idea of dramatic naturalism still has a place in society today, as there are hundreds of examples of how people in society enjoy entertainment (music, movies, and TV shows) that they feel they can relate to.

Law, Jonathan. "//Naturalistic/realistic Drama."// Drama Online. The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. Cash, Justin. "//Realism and Naturalism Theater Conventions."// The Drama Teacher. 3 March. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

Historical - Macee Dramatic naturalism is the theater’s attempt to portray a theatrical presentation in a way that it is realistic in the audience’s eyes. Not to be confused with realism, naturalism focuses on realistic plot and characters from a scientific, detached approach, rather than the humanly relatable nature of realism. Beginning in the mid nineteenth century, the theater began to move away from the romantic era and into the naturalistic era of playwright. For the first time in centuries, the predominant artistic movement experiences a radical shift. What audiences worldwide once desired -the beauties of nature, imagination, intense emotion- changed into a desire to artistically represent and experience scientific and social reform. The concept of dramatic realism historically used techniques such as detailed, three-dimensional settings, a secular worldview, and a realistic style of acting. The use of such techniques is for the purpose of creating a perfect illusion of reality, in order to connect with the every-day audience. After an extended period of time that the dramatic world desired romantic art, wars, political changes, and social shifts evoked a worldwide call for a naturalistic approach to the arts.

Cash, Justin. " // Realism and Naturalism Theater Conventions." // The Drama Teacher. 3 March. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. Law, Jonathan. "//Naturalistic/realistic Drama."// Drama Online. The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

Audience - Samuel Although through the rise of dramatic naturalism there was confusion with its similarity to dramatic realism, the audience which it advertised to knew the difference. The key difference between the two were the realistic attributes of the performance itself, and that distinct difference was the primary selling point to the audience. The distinct difference at hand is the relation to realism which it taken to the extreme, so that the audience experiences play in the real amount of time which is passing. The audience is given a heightened sense of realism with the plays following the three rules of Aristotle, time, place, and action. The key aspects of the play which keeps the audience in direct connection to what is going on is that, “the action of the play takes place in a single location over the time frame of a single day… jumps in time and/or place between acts or scenes is not allowed”(thedramateacher). The selling point to the audience is the detail orientation, instead of just having an entertaining plot line, the play is coupled with the ability to be reality which draws the audience in even more so. The audience which this style of writing targets are those who grew tired from the romanticized and unrealistic plays of the 18th century. Although there was some realism in the plays, the audience found certain works of literature more enjoyable when it was realistic to the last detail.

Law, Jonathan. "//Naturalistic/realistic Drama."// Drama Online. The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. Cash, Justin. " // Realism and Naturalism Theater Conventions // ." The Drama Teacher. 3 March. 2014. Web. 23 Apr. 2015.

Cultural Gabriel Dramatic naturalism attempts to portray reality through various dramatic and theatrical strategies. Dramatic naturalism first evolved in Russian theater in an attempt to create “The perfect illusion of reality” (Newworldencyclopedia). Although its goal is paradoxical, dramatic naturalism strives to create a passion in the audience stemming from a realistic portrayal of reality. Dramatic naturalism evolved greatly throughout the world in the 19th century, freeing the limitations of dramatic naturalism in generating pleasure for audiences. The familiarity through the love of tragedy inspired another type of realistic playwriting that evoked emotion because of the paradox in creating the perfect illusion of reality. With the attempt at reality in dramatic naturalism being more prominent than in any other playwriting style in history, dramatic naturalism took the hearts and captivated the eyes of cultures around the globe. Two very prominent cultures which adopted the naturalist literature movement are the United States and France. Writers in dramatic naturalism and realism gave the audience reality inside imagination, representing not only the middle class and their struggles, but also their dreams. There were not any flourishing fairytales because the cultures at hand craved reality, and thus dramatic naturalism found its niche.

Law, Jonathan. "//Naturalistic/realistic Drama."// Drama Online. The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 23 Apr. 2015. "//Naturalism (literature).//" New World Encyclopedia. 2 Apr. 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.