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Printed from https://writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/2205-.html
Drama: February 06, 2008 Issue [#2205]

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Drama


 This week:
  Edited by: StephBee Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

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DRAMA IS:

1. The Greek word for "action."

2. A real situation or succession of events having the dramatic progression or emotional content of a play.

Works of drama include a wide variety of subgenres. While tragedies and comedies are seen as the traditional genres, one I wanted to explore today is fairly new - psychological drama.


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Letter from the editor

A psychological drama incorporates those elements that are related to the mind or are mental in nature. The tension in a psychological drama is further heightened by placing the characters at risk consistently throughout the story. Out of this is born the psychological thriller, where the characters are exposed to danger on a mental level, not a physical level. The characters can't rely on brute force to overcome the story's problem, they have to use their mind.

In storytelling, the main character confronts "the problem," or "conflict," in the beginning, thus setting up the crux of the story. How they go about solving the problem throughout the story will change them in some way. In psychological writing, the change has to do with the mind.

Psychological drama has adapted several themes over the years. These include:

Reality - What's real and what's not in the story.

Perception - What a character perceives to be reality by the end of the story. The character usually discovers they've been operating under a misconception from the start.

Mind - The human condition. Characters wrestle with their own mind to reach and understand what they perceive is real.

Existence/Purpose - Characters try to discover their purpose by questioning their existence.

Identity - Characters are confused about themselves and try to find their real identity.

Death - Characters rationally fear death or are overly fascinated by it.



Modern Writers

M. Night Shyamalan is a writer/director who has been very influential in the modern psychological drama/thriller. The Sixth Sense is probably one of his best known works.

Alfred Hitchcock is also another well known writer/director of psychological drama/thrillers. His Psycho also draws on elements from the horror genre as well.

And who can forget Orson Well's classic, Citzen Kane?

What psychological drama has made a lasting impression on you? Write in and share your thoughts.

Do you have a psychological drama to share? Send it in to the drama newsletter.

Next: How philosophical issues and ethical themes influence psychological dramas.

Rosebud. *Smile*

Info for this newsletter was taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_thriller


Editor's Picks

My picks this week focus on various themes found in psychological writing.

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#1383231 by Not Available.


Main theme: Perception. What does the reader perceive is really going on?

 Tortured Artist Open in new Window. (E)
Showing the overlap of artistry and mental instability.
#1382110 by Ringo Author IconMail Icon


Main theme: Mind, includes reality and perception.

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#1383450 by Not Available.


Main theme: Death, includes perception.

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#1383183 by Not Available.


Main theme: Fatalism, a philosophical issue.

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#1381256 by Not Available.


Main theme: Death.


 
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Ask & Answer

Hannah Author IconMail Icon

I don't really understand why you covered a Doll's House in this newsletter. I mean, is it helpful to us writers?

I thought it would interesting. Ibsen is considered the father of modern drama and many of his plays, including "A Doll's House," have elements of psychological drama talked about in this issue. (ie, perception)

francie

Hi. I'm not a drama writer, and I'm not quite sure why I signed up for this newsletter? Sadly. I don't have any portfolio items to send with this e-mail.

Okay, that being said, this was a wonderful newsletter. I read your synopsis of the play and I'm enriched by the experience. I can't imagine this play being accepted in the 1800's!

Okay,thanks for the hard work you expended for this newsletter.

t. welch

Check your newsletter setting in your account. They have a list of those newsletters you've subscribed to. I'm glad you liked the newsletter and I agree, I can't imagine "A Doll's House" being accepted in the straight laced Victorian society of the 1800's. Ibsen was ahead of his time, IMHO.

April Sunday Author IconMail Icon

Watch out world here comes Steph B --- the gal who sums up a story for her audience and really clues us (the uninitiated) in on things we can use in the sense of both Lit history and plot developement. NICE!!

A pic of me taken 2 years ago.


StephBee Author IconMail Icon is a 911 Dispatcher for LAPD. She is a divisional reporter for "The Thin Blue Line," the LAPPL monthly magazine for the LAPD. Her novel, "Destination: Berlin" is currently available through IUniverse.

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