Dramaclassone 120305152246-phpapp01

Drama

A drama is a story enacted onstage for a live audience.

A drama tells a story, usually of human conflict, through dialogue and action.

“A story in dramatic form, typically emphasising conflict in key characters and written to be performed by actors” (from Harris, et al. The Literacy Dictionary, IRA, 1995)

“…three necessary elements in drama: (1) a story (2) told in action (3) by characters who impersonate the characters of the story” (Thrall and Hibbert, A Handbook to Literature, Odyssey Press,1960)

What Is Drama?

What does drama do?

• Plays on your emotions.• Asks you to believe and be involved in

it.• Makes you feel for the hero and the

heroine.• Subject matter: reflection of the

drama of everyday life – concentrates life, focuses it and holds it up for examination.

– Like the plot of a story, the plot of a play involves characters who face a problem or conflict.

Dramatic StructureDramatic Structure

Like the plot of a story, the plot of a play involves characters who face a problem or conflict.

Climaxpoint of highest tension;

action determines how the conflict will be resolved

Resolutionconflict is resolved;play ends

Plot: Sequence of events that develop the drama (complications)

Expositioncharacters and conflict are introduced

Dramatic Structure

Dramatic Structure

• Conflict is a struggle or clash between opposing characters or forces. A conflict may develop . . .

• between characters who want different things or the same thing

• between a character and his or her circumstances

• within a character who is torn by competing desires

FORMS OF DRAMA

TRAGEDYA tragedy is a play that ends unhappily. Most classic Greek tragedies deal with serious, universal themessuch as

• Tragedies pit human limitations against the larger forces of destiny.

• right and wrong • justice and injustice• life and death

tragedy

The protagonist of most classical tragedies is a tragic hero. This hero

MELODRAMA

It shows events that follow each other rapidly, butseems to be governed always by chance. The characters are victims in the hands of mercilessfate.

COMEDYA comedy is a play that ends happily. The plot

usually centers on a romantic conflict.

FARCE

Farce is a sub-category ofcomedy, characterized by greatlyexaggerated characters andsituations. Farces typically involve mistakenidentities, lots of physicalcomedy and outrageous plottwists.

musical

In musical theater, the story is told not only throughdialogue and acting but through music and dance.Musicals are often comedies, although many do involveserious subject matter.

TRAGICOMEDY

It is a play that does not adhere strictly to the

structure of tragedy. There is a mix of comedy and

Tragedy side by side in these types of plays.

It focuses on character relationships and shows society

in a state of continuous flux.

Types of charactors– The protagonist of most – classical tragedies is a

tragic– hero. – This hero is noble and in

many– ways admirable has a

tragic– flaw, a personal failing

that– leads to a tragic end.

• Theme: the basic idea of a play; the idea, point of view, or perception that binds together a work of art.

Style: the shaping of dramatic material, settings, or costumes in a deliberately nonrealistic manner.

Elements of Drama

There are three types of Drama Elements.

• Literary• Technical• Performance

Literary Elements(What is needed to write a script or story?)

• Script• Plot• Character• Story Organization• Setting• Dialogue• Monologue /soliloquy/aside• Conflict

Technical Elements (What is needed to produce a play?)

• Scenery• Costumes• Props• Sound and Music• Make-up

Performance Elements (What do the actors do on stage to make a character come alive?)

• Acting• Speaking• Non-verbal Expression

But…what do all these words mean?

All the elements of drama combine to make a good production. They

are all important. Some demonstrate more of one element

than others.

Literary Elements

• Script?

• A script is the written words and directions of a play.

Literary Elements

• Plot?• Drama uses the resources of the theater to show

human actions in such a way that we gain a deeper understanding of the human experience.

• Structured story which develops the action of the play– More than a story – involves causes & results, interactions

of characters and a development in time– Allows story to develop logically, presenting characters in

an unfolding situation

Literary Elements

• Character?• A character is a person portrayed in a drama.

Literary Elements

• Story Organization?• The story organization is how a story is told –

the beginning, middle and end.

Literary Elements

• Setting?• The setting is where the action takes place.

Literary Elements

• Dialogue?• A dialogue is a spoken conversation between

two characters.

Literary Elements

• Monologue?• A monologue is a long speech made by one

person.• Soliloquy? A character alone on stage reveals

private thoughts.• Aside? A character briefly expresses private

thoughts to the audience that other characters on stage cannot hear.

Literary Elements

• Conflict?• The internal or external struggle between

opposing forces, ideas, or interests that create dramatic tension.

Technical Elements

• Scenery?• The scenery is theatrical equipment such as

curtains, backdrops, and platforms to communicate the environment. An example might be trees to show a forest environment.

Technical Elements

• Props?• Props are any article other than costumes or

scenery used as part of a dramatic production. An example might be a table on the stage.

Technical Elements

• Sound and Music?• Sound is the effect an audience hears during a

show, like the sound of rain. And music – well, you know what music is!

Technical Elements

• Make-up?• Make-up is the use of costumes, wigs and

body paint to transform an actor into a character.

Performance Elements

• Acting?Acting is how speaking and moving help to

create characters.

Performance Elements

• Non-verbal Expression Non-expression includes gestures, facial

expressions, and movement.

Performance Elements

• SpeakingSpeaking is vocal expression, projection,

speaking style and diction.

A comedy ends happily after an amusing series of problem. Tragedy stresses human greatness, but comedy emphasizes human faults and the weaknesses of society

Conclusion