ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

SO DRAMATIC A drama is a story that is meant to be

performed.Story Drama

Writer: author Writer: playwright

Consists of characters in a particular setting caught up in a conflict

Consists of characters in a particular setting caught up in a conflict

Plot: events Plot: actions

Plot: exposition, conflict, climax, resolution

Plot: exposition, conflict, climax, resolution

Written in: paragraphs & dialogue

Written in: script made up of dialogue and stage directions

Divided into chapters Divided into acts and scenes

Acts & Scenes Basic structure that divide a drama

A drama’s structure affects the meaning that the audience finds from the performance (ex. Commercial break)

An act is made up of several scenes

Setting The time and place of the story

Sometimes a drama’s setting is described at the beginning of the play in the stage directions.

Read the setting for:

Details that affects the characters’ moods/actions

Details that create conflict (a dangerous, challenging environment)

Plot A drama’s plot is the sequence of events

that make up the action of the story. A drama (like a story) also has an exposition (setting, characters), rising action (conflict), climax, falling action, and resolution.

The audience/reader is not told, but SHOWN Ex.: an eerie, scary setting is shown by dark

lighting, spooky scenery, and creepy music

Ex.: a selfish character is revealed through dialogue and actions, not a narrator’s point of view

Conflict

The conflict that the main character, or protagonist, faces drives the action of the drama.

External Conflict: protagonist vs. outside force

Man vs. man (protagonist vs. antagonist)

Man vs. society

Man vs. nature

Man vs. technology/fate/supernatural

Internal Conflict: a struggle inside the mind of the protagonist

Characters the people or animals that take part in the plot

Stage directions and dialogue are important to character development.

Stage directions tell how characters speak (loudly, softly, sarcastically),

move (crosses stage and falls), and look (says with a grimace)

Dialogue reveals a character through speeches, interactions with other

characters, and comments made about others

Dialogue the words spoken by the

characters

Look for dialogue that:

Reveals a character’s thoughts or feelings

Moves the action forward

Reveals the conflict

Types of Dialogue

Monologue: long speech spoken by a character to another

Soliloquy: a long speech spoken by a character alone; reveals private thoughts (speaks either to the audience or to himself)

Aside: a comment made to the audience, not meant to be heard by other characters

written in the script and tell how the actors need to perform the drama

Lighting, sound effects Character movements,

facial expressions, tone Costumes, props, and

Scenery

Stage Directions

Set & Props

Set/Scenery: the onstage construction that suggests the setting

Props: small objects used to help make the actions of the characters realistic

Theme

Dramas also convey themes, or central messages about life.

To discover a drama’s theme:

Look at how characters respond to conflicts: do the characters change and grow?

How does the setting impact the action?

What are the characters doing and saying (plot)? What message are they conveying?