ELEMENTS OF DRAMA and the ONE ACT PLAY

Drama is a literary composition to be acted by players on a stage before

an audience. Its successful portrayal depends on the cooperation that must
exist among writers, actors, producers and audiences in accepting the limitations and the
conventions of the stage. Since the turn of the twentieth century, modern drama has become the
greatest form of mass entertainment in the western world. Experimentation and innovation are basic to this century’s
dramatist. Through movies and television, everyone has experienced the excitement and emotional involvement that
gives the drama its important place in our lives today. The drama is difficult to read because it is meant to be
seen, not read.

It demands much imagination and attention on the part of the reader to enable him to hear the tones and see the
actions of the actors against an imaginary background. The reader has only the dialogue from which to visualize the
costumes, the situation, the facial expressions, and the movements of the actors. The drama is also difficult to write
because the playwright must be aware of the interests and opinions of the actors and producer as well as his audience.
He must also recognize the limitation of the stage and work within the many conventions and restrictions it imposes on
the actions of his characters and the locations of his settings.

ELEMENTS OF THE DRAMA

 Setting
 Plot and Plot structures
 Characters/Characterization
 Conflict
 Theme
 Suspense and Atmosphere

The literary elements of the drama include setting, plot, characters, and theme. Essential to the effective
presentation of these elements are conflict, structure, suspense and atmosphere. Each of these elements are included in
any narrative composition, but drama adds extra elements of stage direction, lighting effects, and the visual presence of
the actors, the set and costumes.

A. SETTING
The setting of a drama presented on stage must be adapted to the limitations of the stage area.
The playwright must confine his locations to scenes that can be constructed on the stage and limited to as a few
changes as possible. The actions must be physically restricted on the stage, and depend on dialogue, lighting, and
sound effects to carry the actions and events that cannot be presented visually. It is this physical confinement that
makes writing plays more difficult than any other narrative form.

B. PLOT
The plot of the drama, although limited in its physical actions and changes of location or scene, is similar to
that of the novel or short story. It must have the same characteristics of development and structuring, and depend on
conflict, suspense and mood to carry the action forward.

Technical Divisions –
Acts and scenes are the divisions of a play. Shakespeare’s plays are mainly five acts in length,
with many changes of scene within each act. However, the modern theatre audience is accustomed to sitting for only two
to three hours to watch a play. This means the average modern play must be limited to three acts, which also has the
benefit of keeping set changes minimum. A few modern plays run longer and have five or six acts.

Structure of the Play

The technical development or structuring of the action in a drama is similar to that of a novel.

•A preliminary exposition opens up the play, presenting background information and any necessary explanation of the
situation. It introduces the characters.

•The inciting moment follows the preliminary exposition in which the conflict is presented and the main action begins.

•The rising action then develops through a series of incidents and minor crises which lead up to the climax or the
turning point of the struggle when the action turns against the protagonist.

•The falling action follows the climax as the conflict works itself out either for or against the protagonist.
 •The denoument (ending) presents the final outcomes of the struggle, sometimes referred to as the catastrophe
which is the end of the struggle, but it is necessarily a tragic ending.

Developing the ACTION

Preliminary Exposition:
The beginning must be clear, brief, and interesting. Every detail must have a purpose: characters
are introduced in their roles, background information is given, the mood and tone are established,
time and place are given, and any necessary hints at the outcome or suggestion of theme that will give
understanding to the plot is provided.

Complications:
The complications which keep the plot moving forward must have some basis in real life. They
develop through series of crises that move in waves of heightened emotion, all moving upwards to a peak of crisis or
climax where the action reverses from the previous rising action and the events go for or against the protagonist towards
a final outcome. The falling action, like the rising action, moves in waves of emotional crises. The denoument or
ENDING should be natural in its outcome, inevitable in its solutions, unless it is a surprise ending, and realistic in its
purpose.

Suspense:
Suspense in situations which rouse our concern for the welfare of the characters can be created in many ways in a
play. It can be accomplished through a series of crises and a major crisis or climax, foreshadowing, surprise or use of the
unexpected, withholding information, disguise, and the intervention of chance or fate.

Dramatic Emphasis:
Emphasis is maintained by demonstrating every point to the audience. Every scene or conversation between
characters must have a purpose; dialogue must not wander away from the major concerns of the plot nor must it be
directed towards superfluous or unrelated detail. Exits and entrances must be managed with purpose and be properly
timed to gain dramatic emphasis, while maintaining a
naturalness that does not destroy the continuity of events. Artistic economy must be observed at all times, permitting no
waste of movements, words, or events to obtain an overall unit and emphasis of purpose.

Prologue and Epilogue:

A prologue is generally given by an actor before the play begins. Its purpose is to present an explanatory poem or
speech that introduces information that is needed to start the play. An epilogue is a speech made by an actor after the play
is over. It may be used by the playwright to reveal what happened afterwards or to point out the lesson of the play. In this
way he is able to convey the meaning behind his play and its outcomes which could not be done naturally within the plot.

Atmosphere:
The atmosphere and mood of the drama is created by the set, the lighting, the furnishings, the music or sound
effects, the opening dialogue, the facial expressions and gestures of the actors, and the growing tension of the plot.

Stage Directions and Their Value:

As plays are intended to be seen, not read, everything in them, must be seen or heard. All informa-tion, emotions,
attitudes, and reactions must be presented through speech and action. This means that stage direction must succeed in
reaching the audience through effective use of speech, action, furnishing, lighting, exits, entrances, and sound effects.
Stage directions must determine the actor’s movements, choice of costumes, as well as the behavior of characters and
interpretations of their speeches.

C. CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERIZATION

Characters in a play are portrayed by actors who speak the dialogue and carry out the action of
the play. Sometimes characters may be merely instruments in the plot; at other times, they have control of the action.

All characters must appear natural so that their motivations and reactions as well as their exits and entrances
seem realistic to the audience.
Some dramatists introduce a wider range of characters into their plays than other authors. Shakespeare has the
widest, most developed range of any playwright.

Characters are developed through their dialogue and their actions.

Their dialogue carries the plot and theme of the play and must be adapted to their individual characters. If
dialogue is unrealistic, it must still reveal their character.

Characters must be strongly drawn, consistent and believable.

 Sudden changes in character, inappropriate gestures, wrong dialogue, mistimed facial expressions or
smiles when the mood is sad or hostile must be avoided if the play is to be consistent in its portrayal and
effective emotionally and intellectually for the audience.

D. CONFLICT
Drama is created by conflict.

It usually involves opposing forces, sometimes external and physical, sometimes internal and psychological.
There may be a clash of wills in a conflict of purposes, or there may be a mental or emotional conflict within on person.

E. THEME
Theme in a drama is similar in its aspects to those of the short story or novel. Theme is the main idea or purpose of the
story, which the playwright is trying to convey to the audience.

ONE-ACT PLAYS
A one-act play is similar to a short story in its limitations. It is a complete drama within one act. It is brief,
condensed, and single in effect. One situation or episode is presented, permitting no minor plots or side actions that may
distract attention for the single purpose and effect being developed. Charac-ters are few in number, quickly introduced, and
very limited in character development. Dialogue and plot must carry the action forward smoothly and quickly.

One-acts can run anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour or more. While technically, the one-act play gets its
name from having only one act (however long that might be), it's more commonly thought of as a play that isn't long enough
to constitute a full evening. Arguably the most popular length for one-acts is around a half-hour.

A good one-act focuses on one main action or problem; there's not time to get into complicated layers of plot.
And for practical reasons, it's a good idea to keep your play to one set and as few scenes as possible. You will be asked to
write your one-act with the most minimal set and technical demands possible.

Like all drama, one-act plays are made up of the same elements that are necessary for short stories, Theme, Plot,
Character, and dialogue.

THEME
The one-act needs to have a theme or thought just as a full-length does. What is the play about? Revenge? Self-
discovery? Whatever your choice, it needs to be clear in your mind what your theme is. In a full-length play, all characters,
plots, and subplots need to point to and support the theme. The one-act is not much different, except the subplots will likely
be absent.

PLOT
This is much different in the one-act than in the full-length. For a full-length play, the plot is the series and
sequence of events that lead the hero (and the audience) on the journey. In a one-act play there is really only time for one
significant event. This is the determining place for the hero, where all is won or lost. Events that led up to this must be
incorporated into the script without the benefit of the audience seeing them. And any events that follow must be inferred or
understood by the audience that they will occur.

CHARACTER
There is really only enough time in this to get to know one character well -- the hero. In the short time that the
one-act play is going, it is the hero's event that the audience is experiencing; again, there isn’t time for more than that. Some
characteristics of the supporting characters, including the antagonist, will need to be portrayed for the story to move
forward, but it is the character of the protagonist that is vital to the story line.

DIALOGUE
Economy is the key here. Each line must be crafted carefully to focus on the theme, the incident, and the character of the
protagonist. The dialogue need not be abrupt, but must be concise and full of meaning. Any lines that do not point to the
focus of the play should be carefully considered for whether they are needed

Dramatic Analysis and Construction of the One-Act-Play

  I. The Theme of the One-Act play
II. The Technique of the One-Act play
a. The characters in the one-act play
b. The plot of the one act play
1. The beginning of the one-act play
2. The middle of the play
3. The end of the play
III. Dialogue of the play
A one-act play deals with a single dominant situation, and aims at producing a single effect, though the methods
used may vary greatly from tragedy to farce, according to the nature of the effect desired. As the play is short and the
action takes place within a short period of time, greatest economy and concentration is required. Everything unneeded is
to be strictly avoided. The play must be close knit and the greatest attention must be paid to its structure. It is a highly
artistic form and has immense possibilities for development.
Though short in form the one-act play can have as its theme a large number of varied subjects. In fact every
subject between heaven and earth is fit for the one-act play. It, of course, deals with only one action to produce the
maximum of effect. Some tense situation or some particular phase in the life of an individual is chosen and is depicted in
an effect-tive manner. All attention is concentrated on that particular moment and the story of the play hangs on it.
Various problems connected with the life of the individual are discussed. Thus various sort of things – love,
marriage, divorce, justice, crime, punishment, law, superstitions, customs and manners – are all suitable themes for a one-
act play. According to its theme the one-act play can be divided into different types as – realistic plays, problem plays,
phantasies, costume plays, satire, romance, etc. In short, the playwright has a large and varied choice of subjects which
can be discussed equally well in the one-act play.
The One-Act Play, like the longer drama, should have a beginning, middle and an end. It may be divided into four
stages: the Exposition, the Conflict, the Climax and the Denouement. All these stages may be distinctly marked as in the
larger play, but more often than not, they tend to overlap in a one-act play.
The Exposition serves as an introduction to the play. The situation and the themes of the play are explained to the
audience and the important characters are also introduced. The part of the story that has already happened and which it is
necessary to know for an understanding of the play, is also told to the audience. But as the one-act play is very short, the
dramatist cannot devote much time to this introduction-and explanation.
Therefore, the exposition of a one-act play is usually brief. The exposition is followed by the conflict. It is through
the conflict that the action of the drama develops. The conflict means a struggle between two opposing forces. The
conflict may take different forms. There may be a struggle between two opposite interests, ideas, persons, group of
persons, or the hero and his fate or circumstances. There may also be an inner conflict between two opposite ideas or
urges in the mind of the hero, who may not be able to decide what to do and so may suffer great agony of spirit as a
consequence. The conflict is the very backbone of the one-act play. Complications after complications arise and the
readers are in constant suspense about the outcome of the conflict.
After the conflict comes the climax. It is the turning point of the drama. One of the two contending forces now
gains supremacy over the others. It is now clear which of the two would win in the end. The climax is an important part of
the one-act play and constitutes its moment of supreme interest.
The Denouement is the next and the final stage of the one-act play. The play now reaches its end. One of the two
contending forces now definitely gets victory over the other and the action of the drama concludes. As the space at the
disposal of the writer of one-act plays is limited, the denouement is very brief and often overlaps with climax. The plays
come to an end just after the climax.
There are three dramatic unities which are observed in the One-Act Play as far as possible. The unities are – the
unity of time, unity of place and the unity of action. If the drama is to be probable and natural, these three unities are to be
observed by the dramatist. Of course, sometimes it is difficult to observe these unities, but effort is to be made to observe
them as far as possible.
The characters in a one-act play are limited in number. The space at the disposal of the playwright is limited and
if he introduces too many characters, it would result in overcrowding and lessen the effect of the drama. Of course, there
is no hard and fast rule as to the number of characters in a play. But generally there are not more than two or three
principal characters.
Not only are the characters limited in number, there is also no full development of character. The dramatist has no
time to present the characters through the different stages of their development. All the different aspects of a character are
not presented. The attention is focused on only one or two unique aspects of character and they are brought out by placing
the characters in different situations and circumstances.
Besides this, the characters in the modern one-act play are ordinary men and women. They are neither saints nor
devils. They have all the faults and weaknesses, as well as all the virtues that ordinary human beings have. If they are
otherwise, it would make the play unnatural, unrealistic and unconvincing.
Dialogue is of the greatest importance in the One-Act Play. As the drama is short, all wordiness is to be avoided.
Absolute economy of means should be used. Every word is to be carefully chosen and sentences must be compact and
condensed. Effort should be made to say, whatever is to be said, in the least possible words. Thus the language of the
dialogue should be simple, brief and easy to understand. Long speeches and arguments and long sentences would be out
of place and would lessen the charm and interest of the play.
 Detailed stage-directions are invariably introduced by the dramatist in the one-act play. The space at the disposal
of the playwright is limited and so he cannot supply us with detailed information through a lengthy exposition or during
the action of the play itself. This purpose is served by the stage directions. Moreover these stage directions, describing the
minute details of the scene, give an air of realism to the drama.
Besides, the play is not meant only for acting but for reading as well. The reader can know of the entire scene
through the stage direction and can, to a great extent, appreciate the real spirit of the drama. The stage directions function
to make the play perfectly clear to the reader. They impart realism and authenticity to the one-act play.
4 types of drama in literature

Types of drama in literature There are four main forms of drama. They are comedy, tragedy, tragicomedy and melodrama.
All these types have the common characteristics of drama genre; they are, plot, characters, conflict, music and dailogue.

Comedy
Comedy is a type of drama that aims to make the audience laugh. Its tone is light and it mostly has a happy
ending. Such tradition came from the Ancient Greek theatre, where comedy first emerged as a form of drama. Comedy could
be further divided into subcategories, for example, dramatic irony, farce, sarcasm, black comedy, etc. Each type of comedy
has its own audience. Interestingly, such preferences may also depend on the cultural background of people.

Tragedy
Murders, deaths, insanity, and pain are among the most common ideas in tragedies. Main characters usually have
some kind of weakness or defect that causes their downfall. Tragedy first appeared in the theatre of Ancient Greece. Like
comedy, it lived through Roman Empire, Medieval times, Renaissance and other eras. Aristotle believed that the main
characteristic of tragedy was the change of fortunes of the main character because of his flaws. The philosopher also
believed that such drama has to implant a feeling of fear and pity in the audience. As drama evolved, more modern script
writers thought that depicting the downfall of a common person will cause the viewer to feel greater emotions as it will
relate more to a character of their own social status.

Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is a special kind of drama that combines the features of tragedy and comedy. It means that such play
may be sad but will have a happy ending, or it may be serious with some elements of humor emerging throughout the
whole play. Unlike comedy and tragedy, tragicomedy emerged a bit later, in the times of Roman Empire. Roman
dramatist Plautus was the first to write a tragicomedy and to use the term. In his play Amphitryon, he used the
lightheartedness of comedy but chose gods and kings as the main characters. This was quite revolutionary of him. Before
Plautus, there were strict rules about writing drama, it was either comedy or tragedy. These genres were never mixed
together. Plautus was the first to note that in our daily lives we have features of both tragedy and comedy. Therefore,
drama also can combine them both.

Melodrama
Melodrama is the last one of the four types of drama. It is a kind of drama in which everything is hyperbolized.
Usually, themes depicted in melodramas are simple and without any unpredictable plot twists. There are quite a lot of
stereotypes in such dramas. However, the main point of a melodrama is not to tell a story but to awaken feelings in the
audience. They are mostly love stories with beautiful heroines, charming heroes and scary villains. Melodrama originated
much later than comedy, tragedy, and tragicomedy. It first appeared in France at the end of the 18th century. Later, it
reached Britain and became one of the most popular types of drama in the 19th century. Particularly, the 19th century was
the period when theatre was the most popular kind of entertainment and was visited by vast number of people. This is due
to the fact that in those times, theatres became available for common people. As melodrama was aimed at this layer of
society in particular, it became immensely popular. The influence of melodrama on society was so great that it lived to our
days and even penetrated other areas of literature and entertainment.