• PLAY: a plan or “blueprint” for the total

theatrical production.

Typically Contains:

• DIALOGUE: words spoken by the

characters.

• STAGE DIRECTIONS: written descriptions

of physical or emotional action or

physical appearance.

An early examination of dramatic

literature in which Aristotle identifies

the six elements of a play:

• PLOT

• CHARACTER

• THOUGHT

• LANGUAGE

• MUSIC

• SPECTACLE

• These six elements work together to

create a special world on the stage.

• Their relative significance varies

considerably from play to play.

1. PLOT

• The organization of the action of a

play.

• The arrangement of the incidents

we see onstage.

• An organizing principle that gives a

play its unity (a beginning, middle,

and an end).

• Also known as “STRUCTURE.”

• LINEAR PLOT structure: the events of the drama progress forward and sequentially in TIME (chronologically).

• CAUSAL (“cause-to-effect”) PLOT structure: one event leads to (results in) the next; a sequence of events (domino effect).

• Plays can follow BOTH a linear and a causal structure at the same time.

PLOT (continued)

CONFLICT:

• Stands at the heart of causal structure.

• Generally, two or more characters want the

same thing or want different things to

happen.

• They work against each other until an

outcome is decided.

• The conflict between characters can also

represent or embody a larger issue (good

and evil, right and wrong, etc.)

• Man vs. Man

• Man vs. Nature

• Man vs. Himself

• Man vs. Society

EXPOSITION • Crucial background information that is

needed for the audience to understand the play.

• A means whereby the playwright sets up the dramatic situation for the audience.

• A great deal of information is typically conveyed to the audience in the first few scenes of a play (character, setting, past events), so that the audience can follow the play’s progression.

• Additional exposition may be introduced throughout the play.

POINT OF ATTACK

• The point in the story at which the

playwright chooses to start dramatizing

the action.

• Where does the action of the story

begin?

• The one moment in the story when the

playwright chooses to begin actually

showing (not just telling about) the

progress of events.

POINT OF ATTACK

• A play with an EARLY point of attack is

usually EPISODIC. Selected dramatized

moments in the play are separated by

breaks in the action.

• A play with a LATE point of attack

portrays action that takes place after

most of the events in the story have

already happened; we see only the

conclusion of these events (the last few

hours, for example).

THE INCITING INCIDENT

• At the beginning of the play, we learn

about the uneasy balance of forces that

exists (the potential for conflict).

• The inciting incident is an event that

destroys the uneasy balance and sets

off the major conflict of forces.

RISING ACTION • Units of action that are dramatized in a

play that build in emotional intensity.

• The major forces in conflict gather

information, lay plans, pursue their own

objectives and encounter obstacles.

• The stakes become higher for the

characters.

• Audience empathy becomes stronger

and we become increasingly involved in

the action.

CLIMAX • The emotional high point of the action.

• The critical stage when the outcome of

the conflict is finally decided.

• Everything in the play leads up to this

moment on stage.

• The most important scene in a play.

• Often followed by FALLING ACTION

(a.k.a. “resolution” or “dénouement”) :

the events from the climax to the end of

the play. Loose ends are tied up,

balance is restored.

Other features of PLOT: • SUBPLOTS: secondary lines of action in

which different conflicts are developed;

may be intertwined with the major line

of action or may develop independently.

• DISCOVERY: when something important

is found, revealed, or realized during

the action of a play (concrete or

abstract).

• REVERSAL: When what seems like a

logical line of action veers around

suddenly to its opposite.

The “WELL-MADE” PLAY: • The use of causal structure in a play, which

was perfected by European playwrights of the 19th century.

• A meticulous and involved plot takes precedent over all other elements.

• Features:

-an intricate pattern of cause and effect.

-carefully controlled suspense.

-misunderstandings and reversals.

-an emotionally satisfying climax.

-rapidly falling action.

Variations on Linear and Causal Plot

Structure

A way of challenging audience

expectations and the familiar comfort

zone.

• CLIFF HANGER: stops at the climax; the

outcome of the conflict is not shown.

• FLASHBACK: a variation on linear

structure; occasional scenes may

dramatize events that occur before the

point of attack.

“DEUS EX MACHINA”

• “Mechane”: a popular device used in both

comedies and tragedies.

• Used in many Greek tragedies to effect a

dynamic conclusion to the conflict.

• A god or goddess flies in near the end to

create a cosmic discovery or a reversal of

fortune and resolves the conflict.

• Became a cliché in ancient Greek tragedy.

“DEUS EX MACHINA”

• Today: stands for any contrived

conclusion to a play or any other form

of literature that tells stories.

• Hallmarks are: manipulated climaxes,

including reversals and discoveries.

• Often an act of desperation by the

playwright to solve an impossible

dilemma.

Structure in the 20th and 21st

Centuries • Many plays have attempted to defy, disrupt,

or free dramatic structure from its traditional qualities.

• Traditional rules have been broken; boundaries of structure have been pushed to the limit; much experimentation.

• Audience expectations are often undermined or shattered.

• Events may be presented in a seemingly illogical progression.

• Time may be disregarded, blended, “jumbled” or ANACHRONISTIC.

POSTSTRUCTURALISM

• Dramatic works created after World War

II (1939-1945) that break down

traditional causal structure.

• The events portrayed may be

ambivalent or contradictory.

• May have no logical “story.”

• May take of form of METATHEATRE or be

self-conscious in its presentation of

theatre-as-theatre.

• Should support the plot.

• Refers to the persons who are created to

perform the action of the play.

• The element of drama that most people

find the easiest to understand, since we

constantly observe and interpret human

behavior in everyday life.

• The PROTAGONIST is the central character

of the play.

• What characters say about themselves.

• What others say about them.

• What the characters do.

Action, or what a character actually DOES

is the most important way of defining

character.

• Biological traits.

• Physical traits.

• Psychological and emotional traits.

• Social traits.

• Ethical traits.

• The species of the character (human,

animal, gods, fairies, etc.)

• Sex (male or female): can have a

profound effect on their behavior.

• Race: can determine social position or

behavior.

• Stature.

• Weight.

• Hair and Eye Color.

• Facial hair.

• Disabilities or other distinguishing

physical characteristics.

• The character’s basic internal makeup.

• Has a great impact on the action that

takes place on stage.

• Angry, vengeful, clever, ruthless,

sensitive, withdrawn, happy, foolish,

intelligent, thoughtful, sad, insecure,

fearful, helpful, angry, violent, selfish,

competitive, etc.

• Provides the motivation for the action

in the play and in how characters relate

to others around them.

• May include a character’s job or

profession.

• Social or economic status.

• Religious beliefs and affiliation.

• Political dogma and affiliation.

• Educational background.

• The moral standards and beliefs held by

a character.

• The ethical or moral choices a character

makes and how s/he faces moral

dilemmas are often a defining moment

for a protagonist.

• Also often gives clues to the audience

concerning a character’s integrity.

• The ideas or “themes” contained in and communicated by a play.

• What messages about the nature of life or the “universal human condition” are contained in it?

• What makes the ideas in the play “timeless” or “universal”?

• How does the play pertain to us in the “here and now,” and what can we take away from it?

• How does the play spur our own thought processes and understanding?

• Refers to a playwright’s choice of words

in a play.

• Aristotle: “the expression of the meaning

in words” (a.k.a. “diction”).

• Language written for the stage must be

capable of being spoken aloud.

• Typically consists of a heightened version

of human speech.

• May be written in poetry (VERSE) or prose

(similar to everyday speech).

• Was for many centuries the standard

language of the theatre.

• Dialogue written in verse may have a

rhythm, meter, or rhyme scheme.

• Prose was considered inartistic and

unworthy of performance onstage.

• By the late 18th-early 19th centuries,

prose had become the theatrical

standard for drama.

• Popular in drama from the 17th-18th

centuries:

May you be true to all you now profess,

And so deserve unending happiness.

Meanwhile, betrayed and wronged in

everything,

I’ll flee this bitter world where vice is king,

And seek some spot unpeopled and apart

Where I’ll be free to have an honest heart.

(Moliere, The Misanthrope)

• Often enriches dramatic dialogue.

• METAPHOR: a comparison between two

unlike objects.

But, soft! what light through yonder window

breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

• SIMILE: A comparison between two unlike

things using “like” or “as.”

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep; the more I give to thee,

The more I have, for both are infinite.

• HYPERBOLE: exaggeration, overstatement.

Juliet: What a’ clock to-morrow

Shall I send to thee?

Romeo: By the hour of nine.

Juliet: I will not fail, ‘tis twenty year till

then.

• In most plays, dialogue moves back and forth between characters.

• MONOLOGUE: When one character speaks for an extended period of time without interruption.

• SOLILOQUY: If the character is also alone onstage or if the other characters are not supposed to hear the words s/he is speaking.

• ASIDE: A brief remark by a character meant to be heard by the audience but not the other characters onstage.

• Can communicate a great deal about

character, including his or her intelligence

and emotional state.

• For example: halting dialogue, disconnected

phrases or repeated words with lots of

pauses can suggest the character is having

a difficult time making a decision.

• Pauses on stage can be just as important as

words, since they can reflect an inner

struggle.

• Important to the theatre of most cultures.

• For Aristotle: Greek theatre was

chanted/sung, and accompanied by

instrumental or choral music.

• Today: theatre is highly oriented toward

spoken language instead (except for

musicals).

• Music: a powerful tool for increasing

audience identification (suspense,

excitement, sadness, happiness) or to

express heightened emotion.

• Can be atmospheric as well (a

phonograph record playing onstage, a

radio, offstage music coming from a

nearby source, etc.)

• Also can include sound other than

traditional instrumental music, a.k.a.

offstage sound effects: gunshots, a

raging fire, sirens, a train, doors

slamming, etc.

• The visual (sensory) elements in a play

that impact the eye:

-scenery

-costumes

-props

-lighting

-actor physicality/movement

(swordfights, costumes, dancing).