DRAMA

•Drama – classified as literature – can be read as well as experienced on stage

• intended to be seen and heard based upon sequences of visual and auditory stimuli
• drama is the term used for the written play, and theater for the performed drama
• drama, novels and short stories are alike in having a plot, characters, settings and theme
• basically a story in words that are in dialogue and are acted out

• Two forms of Drama: (1) Tragedy – refers to tragic drama which stresses the vulnerability of human beings whose suffering is brought on by a combination of human and divine actions, but is generally undeserved for its harshness; the hero (protagonist) suffers some serious misfortune which is not accidental and therefore meaningless; and (2) Comedy – characterized by an exuberant and high- spirited satire of public persons and affairs.
• Pantomime – story without words
• Dialogue – information conveyed to the audience
• Act – a part of a larger whole but distinct and independent insofar as it has its own beginning and ending
• Scene – a division of acts; has its own unity and its own place in the act, as well as the entire play
• Stage directions – indicate that some period of time has elapsed between end of one act and the beginning of the next
• Dramatic organization – prescribes a single structure to which all plays conform to a greater or lesser degree.
• Exposition – gives the audience any information it needs to know about the past
• Complication (rising action) – involves the protagonist in a course of action that will materially affect future developments
• Crisis – an event which decides the result of the action, whether it be good or bad
• Denouement (‘unraveling,’ ‘falling action) or catastrophe – the inevitable conclusion of the play
• Characters – individuals / persons who act out the dialogue of the play

• Protagonist – hero; main character
• Antagonist – villain; adversary (character or force)

• Setting – a means of emphasizing what is said in the play; also contributes to the mood of the play
• Stage – a place for the actors
• Auditorium – a place for the audience
• Box office – ticket booth
• Thalia – shown as a laughing mask; the muse of Comedy in Greek drama
• Melpomene – shown as a crying mask; the muse of tragedy in Greek drama