DRAMATIC STRUCTURE & ELEMENTS of DRAMA

6 Elements of Drama

▪ Most successful playwrights follow the theories of playwriting and drama that were established over two thousand years ago by a man named Aristotle. In his works the Poetics Aristotle outlined the six elements of drama in his critical analysis of the classical Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex written by the Greek playwright, Sophocles, in the fifth century B.C.

Thought/Theme/Ideas

What the play means as opposed to what happens (the plot). Sometimes the theme is clearly stated in the title. It may be stated through dialogue by a character acting as the playwright’s voice. Or it may be the theme is less obvious and emerges only after some study or thought. The abstract issues and feelings that grow out of the dramatic action.

Action/Plot

The events of a play; the story as opposed to the theme; what happens rather than what it means. The plot must have some sort of unity and clarity by setting up a pattern by which each action initiating the next rather than standing alone without connection to what came before it or what follows. In the plot of a play, characters are involved in conflict that has a pattern of movement. The action and movement in the play begins from the initial entanglement, through rising action, climax, and falling action to resolution.

Characters

These are the people presented in the play that are involved in the perusing plot. Each character should have their own distinct personality, age, appearance, beliefs, socio economic background, and language.

Language

The word choices made by the playwright and the enunciation of the actors of the language. Language and dialog delivered by the characters moves the plot and action along, provides exposition, defines the distinct characters. Each playwright can create their own specific style in relationship to language choices they use in establishing character and dialogue.

Music

Music can encompass the rhythm of dialogue and speeches in a play or can also mean the aspects of the melody and music compositions as with musical theatre. Each theatrical presentation delivers music, rhythm and melody in its own distinctive manner. Music can expand to all sound effects, the actor’s voices, songs, and instrumental music played as underscore in a play. Music creates patterns and establishes tempo in theatre. In the aspects of the musical the songs are used to push the plot forward and move the story to a higher level of intensity.

Spectacle

The spectacle in the theatre can involve all of the aspects of scenery, costumes, and special effects in a production. The visual elements of the play created for theatrical event. The qualities determined by the playwright that create the world and atmosphere of the play for the audience’s eye.

Tragedy vs. Comedy

TRAGEDY

● Inevitable- there is no way out/to change

● Universal theme● Emotional● Protagonist fails to

achieve goals● Protagonist average or

better● Protagonist alienated

from society● Protagonist falls from

leadership, loses respect, dreams, position

COMEDY● Predictably unpredictable-

you can expect the unlikely● Often time and place

oriented● Intellectual, mental● Protagonist achieves goals● Protagonist often becomes

leader of new society; even villain is usually accepted

● Protagonist less than average

● Protagonist achieves success, often as a result of own mistakes/shortcomings

Plot Diagrams

Dramatic Structure: The plot structure of a play including the exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

Plot Diagrams

•Setting and Characters should be covered in the exposition to a story.

•Conflict:- The problem or obstacles a literary character must

overcome. Often a struggle between opposing forces.

•Plot:- The arrangement of the incidents that take place

in a play.

Types of Conflict

❑Man vs. manExample: a fight with your parents

❑Man vs. selfExample: debating whether or not to cheat on a test

❑Man vs. supernaturalExample: a battle against the god you believe in like

wanting to control your own destiny❑Man vs. nature

Example: building a dam to stop a flowing river

❑Man vs. societyExample: should I join in on this bullying or stand up

for what is right?

Plot Diagrams

•What is the climax?-Turning point in the action of a play.

•What is falling action?-The events following the climax of a story before the

resolution.

•What is the resolution?-The action of solving a problem, dispute, or

controversial matter.

•What is rising action?-The events leading from the conflict to the climax of a

story.

Plot Diagram Example

◻ Aladdin

-Exposition:

•Takes place in Agrabah (a made-up city in the Middle East)•Aladdin, Abu, Jasmine, Rajah, Genie, Sultan, Jafar, Iago

-Conflict:

•Jasmine is supposed to pick someone to marry, but she is unsatisfied with her suitors•Aladdin wants to marry Jasmine but he’s poor

Plot Diagram Example

-Rising Action:•Jafar locks Aladdin away for stealing in the market•Jafar (in disguise) convinces Aladdin to go into a temple•Aladdin meets the Genie (and the Magic Carpet) and wishes to become a prince so that he can marry Princess Jasmine•Princess Jasmine isn’t amused with him at first but then they go on a carpet ride and Jasmine discovers who he really is•Jafar convinces the Sultan that Jasmine must marry him•Jafar gets control of the Genie

-Climax:•Jafar banishes Aladdin•Jafar traps Jasmine in an hourglass

Plot Diagram Example

-Falling Action:

● Aladdin tricks Jafar into turning himself into a Genie and traps him in a lamp

-Resolution:● Aladdin tricks Jafar into turning himself into a Genie and traps

him in a lamp● Aladdin uses his last wish to free the Genie● Sultan allows Jasmine to marry Aladdin even though he’s a

peasant

Beats

❑A beat (in a play) is a completed segment of stage dialogue❑For each beat in a play or scene you need to establish your character’s objective, obstacle, and tactic❑If you complete O,O,&T you have a completed beat

Objectives, Obstacles, Tactics

◻ What is objective?

-The goal intended to be attained. The actor must find out what his or her character wants. Using the following statements help the actor to solidify the objective of the character:

• I want• I need• I must have

▪Example: I want to eat dessert before my dinner.

Objectives, Obstacles, Tactics

The obstacle is what stands in the way of the objective.

■ Example: My mom won’t let me have dessert until I’ve eaten my dinner.

❑What is an obstacle?

Objectives, Obstacles, Tactics

An action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end.

■ I try to give my food to my dog

■ I try to hide food in my napkin

■ I sneak food on to my sister’s plate

■ I sneak bites of the dessert when my mom isn’t looking

❑What is a tactic?

Objectives, Obstacles, Tactics

❑We have objectives, obstacles to those objectives, and use tactics to achieve those objectives in our lives every day. ❑These stories are also all around us: in the media, the news, our daily lives, our friends and family’s lives and everywhere else. ❑It is important to know what your objectives, obstacles, and tactics are when you are acting so that you can act and react appropriately to different situations.

Quiz Terms

◻ Story: The narration of an event or series of events brought to life for listeners by a storyteller.

◻ Storytelling: The art of sharing stories with an audience.

◻ Script: A written copy of the dialogue that the actors will speak.

◻ Scene: A short situation to be acted out, as in improvisation, with a beginning, middle, and end.

◻ Dialogue: The conversation between actors on stage.