RIZAL TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY

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NAME: Angela Mellina V. Ador DATE: March 25, 2021

COURSE: BSEd Major in English SECTION: CED-02-601P
SUBJECT: Contemporary Popular Literature PROF.: ELMER MONES

ACTIVITY 4: Drama
TASKS
1. Watch the contemporary drama/play entitled “Stop Kiss” by Diana Son.
https://youtu.be/MH6kpLym1Jo
2. Critique the theatrical structure used in the drama/play.
A. Literary
1. Script
2. Plot
3. Characters
4. Story Organization
5. Setting
6. Dialogues
B. Technical
1. Scenery (theatrical equipment)
2. Costumes
3. Sound and Music
4. Lightning
5. Make up
C. Performance
1. Acting
2. Speaking/Voice
3. Non-verbal Expression
3. Explain the changes and or developments happened in the contemporary drama/play.

NOTE: Document your sources.

Criteria for Checking:

Content/Completeness 35
Quality of Answer 45
Timeliness 10
Mechanics/Grammar 10
TOTAL 100
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A. Literary
1. Script
The script in the play Stop Kiss was well written because it created a visual to its
audience. Throughout the entirety of the script, certain elements were depicted
such as actions, sounds, and speech. Although the description of the cast was fairly
vague (as it only stated each of the character’s ages), the descriptions of the
settings and dialogues made up for it.
2. Plot
The plot of the drama unfolds with the protagonist named Callie and how she
develops a relationship with Sara. Their relationship soon stops being platonic.
The drama portrays how those associated to the LGBTQ+ community is treated.
Its plot starts at the beginning but occasionally jumps from the present time to the
past. This style, flashbacking, highlights the events which happened before the
present scenes to fill a backstory (Kenny, 2004).
3. Story Organization
The drama has a non-linear structure in terms of how the scenes panned out.
Nonlinear plot structure is a narrative technique where events are presented not
according to their chronological order of happening. Authors feel compelled to
follow this style in order to give the main conflict more depth and therefore
creating more suspense and therefore adding more depth to the story
(coursehero, n.d.).
4. Setting
Different settings were utilized in the drama. From Callie’s apartment, Sara’s
hospital room, a coffee shop, an interrogation room, to the street outside Mrs.
Winsley’s residence. All these settings where the scenes took place were
necessary to build up the foundation for the plot. These scenes strengthened the
visual imagery for its audience.
5. Dialogues
The interchange between the characters, mainly Callie and Sara were crucial in
telling the story. There wasn’t any narration so the dialogue was one of the most
needed elements in order for this play or drama to be understood. Majority of the
dialogue between the characters were light in tone, almost having a joke in
between and often made the audience snicker. When necessary, the characters
engaged in heavy conversations. This is notably seen in every conversation had
with Detective Cole. Like the scene itself, dialogue has several specific functions in
the screenplay. Its primary function is dramatic, that is, to carry the story forward.
Characters speak because they need something and saying something will help
them get it (Lengsfield, n.d.). As such, the dialogue of the characters showed how
the plot thickens by telling its audience their viewpoints.
B. Technical
1. Scenery (theatrical equipment)
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The cast of this play made minimal use of setting up the scenery. This does not
mean that the overall presentation was terrible. In fact, the way that the
production team did not bombard the stage with an extravagant background
shifted the audience’s focus entirely on the characters’ acting. They made use of
a black backdrop to highlight the characters and block unnecessary clutter behind
the stage. They also made use of props which stuck to the main script. These
props, a candlestick, a bra, and so on and so forth, were used to subtly add a
humorous element to the play.
2. Costumes
The characters barely changed into more than three costumes. This could be due
to the fact that the original script was continuous in nature. The script was meant
to have no intermissions. It would then make sense that the characters used
pieces of clothing that they can style in more than one way. Lastly, the styles of
each character were representative of who they were. For instance, Callie was
always seen dressed casually. She rarely dressed femininely but when she does, it
was always in a conservative manner. Sara also dressed casually, always wearing
jeans, a coat to top her blouse, and flats. These are evidences that the characters
were simple and plain (at least in appearance).
3. Sound and Music
The production team almost did not make use of any sound throughout the play.
What they made use of were music (which were mostly sung by a female) which
were played after every scene to fill the silence while they were changing from
one setting to another.
4. Lightning
The lighting in this play was sufficed by a spotlight shone down on the characters
onstage. The whole stage was not lit up. This set up also makes the audience focus
on what’s in front of them. The drama was heavy into dialogue that it wouldn’t
make sense if they highlighted anything other than what the characters were
saying. It is safe to say, then, that the lighting of this play was appropriate for the
content it contained.
5. Make up
The characters were not caked with make up and it almost didn’t show that they
were wearing makeup. It could be possible that the camera angle did not capture
whether or not they were wearing make up but if they were, it could be to conceal
any imperfections or to just even out their skin tones. In the same fashion, make
up was not used to a maximum level so as not to shift the audience’s attention
from their acting.
C. Performance
1. Acting
The acting of the characters was brilliant, especially the protagonist. The person
who played Callie fully encompassed the mannerisms of the character and even
showed her nuisances. Similarly, the rest of the cast were good in acting even if
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they roles they were playing were male. This was an all-female cast and the acting
of each role supported how they were in the script. Callie’s acting depicted how
she was almost oblivious and ignorant of her true feelings; Sara’s acting showed
how her curiosity growing towards the protagonist; Detective Cole’s acting
portrayed the skepticism of his role towards every person in question; George and
Peter’s acting encompassed their relationships with the two females; and Mrs.
Winsley, although played by a younger person, performed as if she was indeed in
her early 40s to early 50s.
2. Speaking/Voice
The voice of the characters was modulated that everyone in the area surrounding
the stage was able to hear the dialogue between each of the characters. It is worth
noting that there was appropriate tone and pitch applied. This is seen during the
exchange of the characters Callie and Sara. Their tones when talking to each other
were far different when talking to people like George and Peter.
3. Non-verbal Expression
The most notable characters seen using non-verbal expressions were Callie,
Detective Cole, and Mrs. Winsley. Callie often used facial expressions to further
show how she was feeling at a certain moment. Likewise, the rest of the cast made
use of non-verbal expressions such as eye contact, facial expression, posture,
gesture, and pacing.

Explain the changes and or developments happened in the contemporary drama/play.

The story begins with Callie talking to George on the phone explaining that she would be late
since she will be meeting Sara, who’s a friend of a friend of a friend. She explains that she will be
taking care of Sara’s cat in the time that Sara will be in New York. Sara then visits her for the first
time and they get to know each other by asking one another what they do for work. Callie finds
out that Sara is a teacher and Sara discovers that Callie works as a traffic reporter for a radio
station. After spending time with each other, they soon talk about hanging out and having Callie
show Sara around. The scene cuts to Callie being interrogated by a detective asking how Sara
ended up being in the state that she was in, to which Callie replied vaguely. Details about how
Sara wound up in the hospital were still undiscovered. The next scenes revolved around how
Callie and Sara started spending time with one another. They were actually either in an open
relationship (Callie with George) or a complicated one (Sara with Peter). Through the course of
the play, we also see the two females fight over Callie’s awarding ceremony and this marks their
first fight which they eventually patch up. There is tension between Callie and Sara, but neither
makes any effort to acknowledge this and plays ignorance about the relationship which was
starting to bloom. Scenes cut to the present time where Callie struggles to tell the truth for
possible fear of confronting her sexuality. Flashbacks show how the events lead to Sara winding
up in the hospital and we soon uncover that after going to a club, they sat down to talk until a
guy starts harassing them which resulted to Sara fighting back and being hit. In the hospital, Peter
is seen with Sara and this makes Callie realize how important she sees Sara that she eventually
chooses to act upon her feelings. The play flashbacks with the scene of Callie and Sara kissing.
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Bibliography:
coursehero. (n.d.). What are three reasons authors might use a nonlinear plot structure?
Retrieved from Course Hero: https://www.coursehero.com/tutors-
problems/English/25445354-What-are-three-reasons-authors-might-use-a-nonlinear-
plot-structure-t/
Kenny. (2004). Teaching Tv Production in a Digital World: Integrating Media Literacy. Libraries
Unltd Incorporated.
Lengsfield, M. (n.d.). Dialogue and character voice. Retrieved from Future Learn:
https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/screenwriting/0/steps/10501
oneactingthingaday.files.wordpress.com/. (2017, July). Stop Kiss. Retrieved from Wordpress:
https://oneactingthingaday.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/stop-kiss.pdf
Wellesley College. (2016, December 17). Stop Kiss. Retrieved from Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH6kpLym1Jo