Huh? Theatre? The Basics! (Part 2)

Tragicomedy & Dramas

Nowadays, it seems that even Tragedies have jokes and comedies have serious moments, but back in the 1600s in Europe and up until the beginning of this century, Tragecomedy existed as a separate genre of theatre. It was looked down upon by those in academe because it "polluted" both Comedy and Tragedy.

Simply a mixture of Comedy and Tragedy, Tragicomedy, being so broad, is actually difficult to define. So we won't. Suffice it to say that many plays written today would probably be considered tragicomedies by scholars throughout the ages because they contain dramatic elements, even if they end happily, or they contain funny moments, even if they end tragically.

Many plays today are considered by some scholar-categorists as drames. These are dramas that may have humor or not, but most would simply call them dramatic. They aren't really comedies, and they aren't tragedies, but they involve struggle and suspense as characters work out problems, relationships or try to achieve goals.

Although drame is the proper term for this, not even many folks in theatre use the term, so just between you and me, we'll simply call them dramas.