Transcript Elements of Drama

What Is Drama?
 Drama is a kind of literature that is written to be
performed by actors for an audience.
 Types of drama include stage plays, radio plays,
movies, and television programs
 Like other forms of literature, the purpose of
drama is to tell a compelling story.
 Unlike other forms of literature, the plot and
characters are developed primarily through the
words and actions of actors.
Elements of Fiction in
Drama
 Plot—the series of related events that make up a
story, consisting of exposition, conflict, rising
action, climax, falling action and resolution.
 Conflict—a struggle between a character and an
opposing force, either internal or external
 Setting—time, place, and social context of a story
 Character—a person in a literary work
 Dialogue—the words characters speak
Elements Unique to
Drama
 Stage Directions—a playwright’s written instructions about how
actors should move and behave. Stage directions also explain
how the stage should look and where props are located.
 Act— a major section in a play that can be further divided
 Scenes—a section in a play in which all of the events occur in
one place at one time.
 Monologue—a speech in which a character speaks to a silent
or absent listener in a moment of deep emotion.
 Soliloquy—a special kind of monologue given by a character
alone on a stage, whose words reveal what he or she is thinking
or feeling.
 Aside—a remark that a character makes, either to the audience
or to another character, that others on stage do not hear.
Elements Unique to
Drama
 Playwright— one who writes plays
 Stage— the raised platform on which entertainers
usually perform
 Theater— a building for dramatic performances
 Dialect— a form of language that is spoken in a certain
place or by a certain class of people
 Staging— The spectacle a play presents in
performance, including the position of actors on stage,
the scenic background, the props and costumes, and
the lighting and sound effects
Types of Stages
Thrust
Proscenium
Arena
Stage Layout
Backstage
Wing
Center Stage
Grand
Drape
Wing
Proscenium
Line
Apron
Audience
House