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One Act Play Elements (Main Topic)

A one-act play is a play that consists of only one act, unlike plays with multiple acts. One-act plays may have one or more scenes and have emerged as a popular format for writing competitions. Like short stories, one-act plays contain the elements of theme, plot, character, and dialogue. They focus on conveying a single significant event within a short timeframe through economical dialogue that highlights the protagonist's character development and furthers the central theme.

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8K views1 page

One Act Play Elements (Main Topic)

A one-act play is a play that consists of only one act, unlike plays with multiple acts. One-act plays may have one or more scenes and have emerged as a popular format for writing competitions. Like short stories, one-act plays contain the elements of theme, plot, character, and dialogue. They focus on conveying a single significant event within a short timeframe through economical dialogue that highlights the protagonist's character development and furthers the central theme.

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D Garcia
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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  • ONE ACT PLAY

ONE ACT PLAY

A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-
act plays may consist of one or more scenes. In recent years the 10-minute play known as "flash drama" has
emerged as a popular sub-genre of the one-act play, especially in writing competitions. The origin of the one-act
play may be traced to the very beginning of drama: in ancient Greece, Cyclops, a satyr play by Euripides, is an
early example.
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
lead 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 terse, but must be concise and full of meaning. Any lines
that do not point to the focus of the play should be carefully considered whether they are needed.

ONE ACT PLAY A one-act play (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_(theatre)) is a play that has only one act, as distinct from p

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