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English
Quarter 2 – Module 1:
Elements, Techniques, and
Literary Devices in Drama
English : Creative Writing- Grade – 12/Humanities and Social Sciences
Quarter 2 – Module 1: Elements, Techniques, and Literary devices in Drama
First Edition, 2020

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Published by the Department of Education

Development Team of the Module

Writers: Glaiza Mae Geralde-Palmero, Pedro A. Arches National High School
Editors:
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Template Developer: Neil Edward D. Diaz
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English
Quarter 2-Module 1:
Elements, Techniques, and
Literary Devices in Drama
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:

Welcome to Creative Writing, a specialized subject in Humanities and Social

Sciences (HUMSS). This module is designed to provide learners with a self-learning tool
in exploring the beauty and nature of creative writing.

As the facilitator, you are tasked to guide the learners in navigating the various
activities crafted in this module in the pursuit of holistic learning. In addition, please
be reminded that the activities of this module shall be answered in a separate sheet.

Let us continuously work together in providing life-long learning to the future of

our nation-the learners of today and that no pandemic can hinder us in our quest
towards education.

For the learner:

Kudos to your hard work! Congratulations in keeping up with the challenges in

today’s new normal classroom. This self-learning module in Creative Writing is
designed especially for you. The content of this module is anchored from the Most
Essential Leaning Competencies (MELC) of this subject in lined with the K to 12
Curriculum.

In this module, you will deal with different discussions and activities that will
help you deepen your understanding about creative writing. You are expected to hone
your creative writing skills as you explore the developed multifaceted tasks included
in this learning material.

Above everything else, always have A HAPPY LEARNI

PARTS OF THE MODULE

• Let Us Learn- This contains the objective set to be accomplished in the

lesson.
• Let Us Try- This serves as a pre-test to assess how much you know about
the lesson.
• Let Us Study- The new lesson is introduced in this part through various
modalities.
• Let Us Practice- This part contains activities that will help you discover and
understand concepts.
• Let Us Practice More- This contains activities that will further deepen your
understanding about the topic.
• Let Us Remember- This is the generalization/summary of the lesson.
• Let Us Assess- This part contains activities that serves as evaluation of the
lesson learned.
• Let Us Enhance- This section contains enrichment activities which aims to
increase the strength of your responses towards the lesson.
• Let Us Reflect- This part serves as your reflection about everything that has
transpired in the module.

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 Let Us Learn!

Most Essential Learning Competency (MELC)

➢ Identify the various elements, technique, and literary devices in

drama (HUMSS_CW/MPlj-llc-15)
➢ Understand intertextuality as a technique of drama
(HUMSS_CW/MPIj-IIc-16)
➢ Conceptualize a character/setting/plot for a one act play
(HUMSS_CW/MPlj-llc-17)
➢ explore different staging modalities vis-à-vis envisioning the script
(HUMSS_CW/MPIjc-18)

Let Us Try!
Directions: Match the concepts with its description.
______1. Monologue a. This refers to the basic storyline of a
. play.
______2. Genre b. This refers to the theatrical equipment
. . such as curtains or platforms used in
. a dramatic production
______3. Scenery c. This is the long speech made by an .
. actor.
______4. Character d. This refers to a type the type of the .
. play. It includes comedy or drama.
______5. Plot e. This refers to the people (sometimes
. animals or ideas) portrayed by the .
. actors in a play.

Let Us Study
Drama is an art that tells a story through the speech and actions of
the characters of a play. Most drama is performed by actors who impersonate
the characters before an audience in a stage or theater.
The word drama comes from the Greek word meaning a thing done.
This art grew out of religious ceremonies, in which the life of a god was
portrayed by a man or a group of men. The beginning of drama is unknown.
Drama is the exercise or art of mimetic representation which
represents a picture of human interest. It is usually designed for production
on the stage, with accessories of costumes, scenery music, etc.

History of Drama

Greek drama has influenced the course of modern playwriting more

than the drama by any other culture. It was born on festival and rituals
honoring Dionysus, the god of wine. He was honored with four separate types

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of performance- dithyramb (a usually short poem in an inspired wild
irregular strain), tragedy (a play with a sad ending such as death of the main
character), satire play (a way of using humor to show that someone or
something is foolish, weak, bad, etc.: humor that shows the weaknesses or
bad qualities of a person, society, etc.), and comedy (a medieval narrative that
ends happily.)
In order to understand the conventions of drama, we have to go
back to the study of tragedy and comedy.

The Tragedy

This kind of drama refers to a portrayal of a conflict between human

beings and some greater or overwhelming force.
The Protagonist experiences disaster until the closing of the play.
Several closing situations happen to the protagonists:
➢ either learns or realizes a painful lesson that would place
him/her in a sorry state
➢ he/she dies in the end
➢ he/she vanishes and is never heard of again
The success of a tragedy is principally due to the fact that virtue gets
its rewards, epiphanies are realized, and situations-no matter how painful
they are to embraced-are reinstated, and the audience leave the theater with
all their emotions purged.

The Comedy

The word comedy originated from the Greek komos which means “a
revelry or celebration.” This may have been due to the festivities that the
Greeks celebrated to rejoice the coming of spring and to ritual presentations
in praise of Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.

Varieties of Comedy

1. High comedy relies more on wit and word play than on physical action for
its humor. It attempts to lecture on the hypocrisy of human behavior.
Ex. Comedy of Manners- a funny satire about the misgivings and
misappropriation of the elite society.
2. Low comedy places greater emphases on physical action and visual gags,
and its visual and verbal jokes do not require high intellect to be appreciated.
Ex. Slapstick- a farce that involves pie-throwing, head-swatting, and other
violent actions intended to be humorous.

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 A regular comedy is a play of on to five acts, which is light and half-
serious, with interjections of humor and wit. Although the villain or the
antagonist is introduced as the one who is winning initially, before the play
closes, the protagonist gets the better of him/her and comes out as the victor.
The plot of the story is predominantly intense but the sequences or plot
situations are mind-blogging. In the end, all’s well that ends well. The plot
conflict is resolved and the character’s humanity is restored.

LESSON1.ELEMENTS, TECHNIQUES, AND LITERARY DEVICES IN DRAMA

Dramatic Structure

How the structure is utilized by the playwright is

dependent on various factors. Among these are:

1 2 3 4 5
The length of The intended The use of The setting The genre of
the play audience dramatic the play
elements

Aristotle’s Six Elements of Drama

Aristotle (384-322 BC) was a Greek philosopher whose influence still

influenced us today. He was the first to write about the essential elements of
drama more than 2,000 years ago.
Aristotle considered these six essential in achieving good drama.
• Plot: This is what happens in the play. Plot refers to the action; the basic
storyline in the play
• Theme: While plot refers to the action of the play, theme refers to the
meaning of the play. Theme is the main idea or lesson to be learned from
the play. In some cases, the theme of a play is obvious; other time is it
quite subtle.
• Characters: Characters are the people (sometimes animals or ideas)
portrayed by the actors in the play. It is the characters who move the story
or plot, of the play forward.
• Dialogue: This refers to the words written by the playwright and spoken
by the characters in the play. The dialogue helps move the action of the
play.
• Music/Rhythm: While music is often featured in drama, in this case
Aristotle was referring to the rhythm of the actor’s voices as they speak.

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• Spectacle: This refers to the visual elements of a play: set, costumes,
special effects, etc. Spectacle is everything that the audience sees as they
watch the play.

The Modern Theater

In the modern theater, the list has changed slightly, although you will
notice that many of the elements remain the same. The list is as follows:
• Characters • Convention
• Plot • Genre
• Theme • Audience
• Dialogue

The first four; character, plot, theme, and dialogue remain the same,
but the following additions are now also considered essential elements of
drama.
• Convention: These are the techniques and methods used by the
playwright and director to create the desired stylistic effect.
• Genre: Genre refers to the type of play. Some examples of different
genres include comedy, tragedy, mystery, and historical play.
• Audience: This is the group of people who watch the play. Many
playwright and actors consider the audience to be the most important
element of drama, as all the effort put in to writing and producing a
play is for the enjoyment of the audience.

Other Literary Elements

• Language: In drama, the particular manner of verbal expression, the

diction or style of writing, or the speech or phrasing that suggest a class
or profession or type of character.
• Style: The shaping of dramatic material, settings, or costumes in a
deliberately non-realistic manner
• Soliloquy: A speech by a single actor who is ALONE on stage
• Monologue: A long speech made by one actor (a monologue may be
delivered alone or in the presence of others.)

Technical Elements

• Scenery (set): The theatrical equipment, such as curtains, flats,

backdrops, or platforms, used in a dramatic production to
communicate environment.

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 • Costumes: Clothing and accessories worn by actors to portray
character and period.
• Props: Short for properties; any article, except costume or scenery,
used as part of a dramatic production; any moveable object that
appears on stage during a performance, from a telephone or train.

Other Technical Elements

• Lights: The placement, intensity, and color of lights to help

communicative environment, mood, or feeling.
• Sound: The effects an audience hears during performance to
communicate character, context, or environment.
• Make-up: Costumes, wigs, and body paint used to transform an actor
into character.

Performance Elements

• Acting: Use of face, body, and voice to portray character

• Character motivation: The reason or reasons for character’s behavior;
an incentive or inducement for further action for character.
• Character analysis: In responding to dramatic art, the process or
examining how the elements of drama- literary, technical, and
performance-are used.
• Empathy: The capacity to relate to the feelings of another.

Other Performance Elements

• Speaking: The mode of expression or delivery of lines.

• Breath Control: Proper use of the lungs and diaphragm muscle for
maximum capacity and efficiency of breath or speaking
• Vocal Expression: How an actor uses his or her voice to convey
character
• Inflection: Change in pitch or loudness of the voice
• Projection: How well the voice carries to the audience
• Speaking style: The mode of expression or delivery of lines
• Diction: Selection of pronunciation of words; clarity of speech
• Non-verbal Expression
o Gestures: Any movement of the actor’s head, shoulder, arm,
hand, leg, or foot to convey meaning.
o Facial Expression: Physical and vocal aspects used by an actor
to convey mood, feeling, or personality.

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 LESSON2.UNDERSTAND INTERTEXTUALITY AS A TECHNIQUE OF DRAMA
Do you sometimes borrow phrases and concepts from other work and
integrate it to your own? If yes, then you’re using intertextuality, perhaps
even without knowing it.
Intertextuality denotes the way in which text (any text, not just
literature) gain meaning through their referencing or evocation of other texts.
The definition of intertextuality was created by the French semiotician
Julia Kristeva in the 1960s. She created the term from the Latin
word intertexto, which means “to intermingle while weaving.” Kristeva argued
that all works of literature being produced contemporarily are intertextual
with the works that came before it. As she stated, “any text,” she argues, “is
constructed of a mosaic of quotations; any text is the absorption and
transformation of another.”
Texts that are referenced in intertextuality can be implicit, that’s when
the composer alludes to another text through ideas, symbols, genre or style.
On the other hand, it can also be referenced explicitly when the composer
directly mentions quotes, or references another text in their work.
Composers refer to specific texts to help shape meaning because all
texts portray particular perspective on issues or messages, so it helps in
enriching and extending a message.

Different types of intertextuality

There are many different types of intertextuality. All of them refer to
texts in different ways to produce and shape meaning.
• Allusion: A subtle or indirect reference to another historical period of
religious belief.
o Example: T.S Eliot mentions celestial rose in his poem Hollow Me,
this rose comes from Dante’s Paradiso. This is an allusion because
he did not mention the composer.
• Parody: An imitation of another text for satirical purpose; usually to
mock
o Example: In Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell had Winston
read the political tract, ‘The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical
Collectivism,’ which is a parody of the communist revolutionist’s
Leon Trotsky’s writing.
• Adaptation: A film, TV drama, or stage play that is based on a written
work.
o Example: JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series has a film adaptation.

Other Examples of Intertextuality

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 o A famous example of intertextuality in literature is James
Joyce’s Ulysses as a retelling of The Odyssey, set in Dublin. Ernest
Hemingway used the language of the metaphysical poet John Donne in
naming his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls.
o Even the Bible is considered an instance of intertextuality, since the
New Testament quotes passages from the Old Testament.
o After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great
adventure. (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling)
o In a moment of subtle intertextuality, the mentor figure of
Dumbledore tells Harry Potter not to pity a dying wizard. The
wizard in question has been living for hundreds of years due to
the “sorcerer’s stone,” and is not afraid of death. J.K. Rowling is
hinting back at the line in J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, who once
uttered, “to die would be an awfully big adventure.” There are
themes in common between these two fantasy stories of Harry
Potter and Peter Pan, yet the reader does not need to pick up on
the influence to J.M. Barrie’s work to appreciate J.K. Rowling’s
work. J.K. Rowling also borrowed from other sources, such as
from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and from the
horrors of real-life Nazi Germany, yet once again the reader can
appreciate the story without thinking about its influences.

LESSON3.CHARACTER, SETTING, PLOT, AND DIALOGUE FOR A ONE ACT

PLAY

I. CHARACTER

As previously discussed in fiction, a character is a person (or an entity

given the characteristics of a person) who acts, speaks, narrates, or is referred
to in a literary work. Because of the grand scale of tragedies and comedies
that have been performed in the past, characters in drama have been
traditionally classified as follows:

Hero or Heroin- the main leading character in the story who exhibits
superior qualities. Her/his conflict is also the play’s main conflict. The hero or
heroine is sometimes referred to as the protagonist.

Villain or villainess- a character who is often characterized as evil and

always in opposition to the hero(ine).

Superhero or superheroine- a larger-than-life character, always

possessing supernatural powers.

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 Antihero or anti-heroine- a character who is more ordinary than the
traditional hero (ine).

In modern drama, the classification of the characters in more lifelike and caters
more to contemporary landscapes and demands of playwriting. Some of these characters
are flat, round, stock, type, and stereotype.
Creating characters in drama is always crucial to the success of a play. The
characters must have a strong motivation and solid need or desire that will propel them
to take risks and do everything to get what they earnestly yearn for. These motivations
justify why they what they do.

The characters in your play must be fully developed, as close to real

people as they can be. The following are considerations in creating plausible
characters.
a. Gender Men and women react differently to certain issues and events.
b. Class People in the middle class speak a different lingo from poor
people.
c. Age The elderly and the young do not have the same language and
expression.
d. Education An educated person will have a dissimilar outlook or view
from an out-of-school person.
e. Relationships People who are married or are in committed relationships
usually behave and think differently from single and
uncommitted ones.
f. Work People are governed by their work and earnings. Their actions
are justified because of the nature of their occupation.
g. Race/ethnicity People of different upbringings make different choices in
given situations.
h. Politics Political beliefs can powerfully affect what a person opts to
do.
Example:
Following is the opening scene of Crimes of the Heart, a Pulitzer Prize
winning play of Beth Henly. In this scene, we are introduced to the characters
of Lenny MaGrath and her cousin, Chick Boyle. Although we do not initially
know who they are, their dialogues with each other will help us get to know
their characters.
Crimes of the Heart
(an excerpt)
Beth Henley
The characters
Lenny Magrath, thirty, the oldest sister
Chick Boyle, twenty-nine, the sister’s first cousin

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 Doc Porter, thirty, Meg’s old boyfriend
Meg Magrath, twenty-seven, the middle sister
Babe Botrelle, twenty-four, the youngest sister
Barnette Lloyd, twenty-six, Babe’s lawyer

The Setting
The setting of the entire play is the kitchen in the MaGrath sisters’ house in
the Hazlehurst, Mississippi, a small Southern Town. The old-fashioned kitchen us
unusually spacious, but there is a lived-in, cluttered look about it. There are four
different entrances and exits to the kitchen: the back door, the door leading to the
dining room and the front of the house, a door leading to downstairs bedroom, and
a staircase leading to the upstairs room. There is a table near the center of the room,
and a cot has been set up in one of the corners.

The Time
In the fall, five years after Hurricane Camille.

ACT ONE

The lights go up on the empty kitchen. It is late afternoon. Lenny MaGrath, a

thirty-year-old woman with a round figure and face, enters from the back door carrying
a white suitcase, a saxophone case, and a brown paper sack. She sets the suitcase
and the sax case down and takes the brown sack to the kitchen table. After glancing
quickly at the door, she gets the cookie jar from the kitchen counter, a box of matches
from the stove, and then brings both objects back to the kitchen table. Excitedly, she
reaches in the brown sack and pulls out a package and removes a candle. She tries to
stick the candle onto the cookie- it falls off. She sticks the candle in again, but the
cookie is too hard and crumbles. Frantically, she gets a second cookie and begins
dripping was onto the cookie. Just as she is beginning to smile we hear Chick’s voice
from offstage.

CHICK’S Lenny! Oh, Lenny! Lenny quickly blows out the candle and stuffs the
VOICE: cookie and candle into her dress pocket. Chick, twenty-nine, enters from
the back door. She is a brightly dressed matron with yellow hair and shiny
red lips.

CHICK: Hi! I saw your car pull up.

LENNY: Hi.
CHICK: Well, did you see today’s paper?
Lenny nods.

CHICK: It’s just too awful! It’s just way too awful! How I’m gonna continue
holding my head up high in this community, I do not know. Did
you remember to pick up those pantyhose for me?
LENNY: They’re in the sack.
CHICK: Well, thank goodness, at least I’m not gonna have to go into town
wearing holes in my stockings. She gets the package, tears it open, and
proceeds to take off one pair of stockings and put on another throughout

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 the following scene. There should be something slightly grotesque about
this woman changing her stockings in the kitchen.

LENNY: Did Uncle Watson call?

CHICK: Yes, Daddy called me twice already. He said Babe’s ready to come
home. We’ve got to get right over and pick her up before they
change their simple minds.
LENNY: (hesitantly) Oh! I know, of course, it’s just-

CHUCK: What?
LENNY: Well, I was hoping Meg would call.
CHUCK: Meg?
LENNY: Yes, I sent her a telegram: about Babe, and -
CHICK: A telegram? Couldn’t you just phone her up?
LENNY: Well, no,’ cause her phone’s……out of order.
CHICK: Out of order?
LENNY: Disconnected. I don’t know what.
CHICK: Well, that sounds like Meg. My, these are snug. Are you sure you
bought my right size?
LENNY: (looking at the box) Size extra-petite.
CHICK: Well, they’re skimping on the nylon material. Struggling to pull up the
stockings. That’s all there is to it. Skimping on the nylon. She finishes
one leg and starts the other. Now, just what all did you say in this
“telegram” to Meg?
LENNY: (nervously, as she begins to pick up the mess of dirty stockings and plastic
wrappings) But Babe wants Meg home. She asked me to call her.

CHICK: I’m not talking about what Babe wants.

LENNY: Well, what then?
CHICK: Listen, Lenora. I think it’s pretty accurate to assume that after this
morning’s paper, Babe’s gonna be incurring some mighty negative
publicity around this town. And Meg’s appearance isn’t gonna help
out a bit.
LENNY: What’s wrong with Meg?
CHICK: She had a loose reputation in high school.
LENNY: (weakly) She was popular.

CHICK: She was known all over Copiah County as cheap Christmas trash,
and that was the least of it. There was that whole sordid affair with
Doc Porter, leaving him cripple.
LENNY: A cripple-he’s got limp. Just kind of, barely a limp.

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CHICK: Well, his mother was going to keep me out of the Ladies’ Social
League because of it.
LENNY: What?
CHICK: That’s right. I never told you, but I had to go plead with that mean
of woman and convinced her that I was just appalled with what
Meg had done as she was, and that it was only a first cousin
anyway and I could hardly be blamed for all the skeletons in the
MaGrath’s closet. It was humiliating. I tell you, even she brought
up your mother’s death. And that poor cat.
LENNY: Oh! Oh! Oh, please, Chick! I’m sorry. But you’re in the Ladies’
League now.
CHICK: Yes. That’s true, I am. But frankly, if Mrs. Porter hadn’t developed
that tumor in her bladder, I wouldn’t be in the club today, much
less a committee head. As she brushes her hair. Anyway, you be a
sweet potato and wait right here for Meg to call, so you can
convince her not to come back home. It would make things a whole
lot easier on everybody. Don’t you think it really would?
LENNY: Probably.
CHICK: Good, then suit yourself. How’s my hair?
LENNY: Fine.
CHICK: Not pooching our in the back, is it?
LENNY: No.
CHICK: (cleaning the hair from her brush) All right then, I’m on my way. I’ve
got Annie May over keeping an eye on Peekay and Buck Jr., but I
don’t trust her with them for long periods of time. (Dropping the ball
of hair onto the floor) Her mind is like a loose sieve. Honestly it is ( as
she puts her brush back into her purse). Oh! Oh! I almost forgot. Here’s
a present for you. Happy birthday to Lenny, from the Buck Boyles!
(she takes a wrapped package from her bag and hands it to Lenny.)

LENNY: Why? Thank you, Chick. It’s so nice to have you remember my
birthday every year like you do.
CHICK: (modestly) Oh, well, now, that’s just the way I am, I suppose. That’s
just the way I was brought up to be. Well, why don’t you go on and
open the present?
LENNY: All right. (She starts to unwrap the gift)
CHICK: It’s a box of candy-assorted crèmes.
LENNY: Candy-that’s always a nice gift.
CHICK: And you have a sweet tooth, don’t you?
LENNY: I guess.

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CHICK: Well, I’m glad you like it.
LENNY: I do.
CHICK: Oh, speaking of which, remember that little polka-dot dress you
got from Peekay for her fifth birthday last month?
LENNY: The red-and-white one?
CHICK: Yes. Well, the first time I put it in the washing machine, I mean the
very first time, it fell all to pieces. Those little polka dots just
dropped right off in the water.
LENNY: (crushed) Oh no. Well, I’ll get something else for her, then- a little
toy.
CHICK: Oh no,no,no,no,no! We shouldn’t hear of it! I just wanted to let you
know so you wouldn’t go and waste any more of your hard-earned
money on that make of dress. Those inexpensive brands just don’t
hold up. I’m sorry, but not in these modern washing machines.
DOC Hello! Hello, Lenny!
PORTER’S
VOICE
CHICK: (taking over) Oh, look, it’s Doc Porter! Come on in, Doc! Please come
right on in!
Doc Porter enters through the back door. He is carrying a large sack of
pecans. Dos is an attractively worn man with a slight limp that adds rather
than detracts him from his quite seductive quality. He is thirty years old,
but appears slightly older.

CHICK: Well, how are you doing? How in the world are you doing?
LENNY: Just fine, Chick.
CHICK: And how are you liking it now that you’re back in Hazelhurst?
DOC: Oh, I’m finding it somewhat enjoyable.
CHICK: Somewhat! Only somewhat! Will you listen to him! What a silly,
silly, silly man! Well, I’m on my way. I’ve got some people waiting
on me. (whispering to Doc) It’s Babe. I’m on my way to pick her up.
DOC: Oh.
CHICK: Well, goodbye! Farewell and goodbye!
LENNY: Bye.
Chick exits.

II. SETTING
Understanding and knowing the plot are not the only major
considerations in playwriting. A playwright has to recognize the value of
setting in a play. Setting refers to the place or the locale where the story of

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the play is situated. The date, the time, and the action all add up to the setting
of the play.
Realistic Plays
Realistic plays are those whose conventions fall under the realistic
plane and are drawn out from real people, objects and situations. The setting,
like realism in fiction, is aimed at reproducing faithfully the external presence
of life, especially those of the commonplace people in everyday situations.
The key to presenting realistic plays is always representational because
they are mostly domestic dramas and traditional plays. The setting mounted
on stage would be sections of a house, an office, a park, a street, a garage,
and abandoned building, or staircase.
Example:
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House
This drama is considered by many dramatists as pioneering work of
realism. The play became popular because of its ability to identify with its
characters and the lives they live. The setting of the play is Mr. Torvald
Helmer’s home.
Nonrealistic Plays
Non-realistic plays are those whose conventions do not fall under the
realistic plane and are drawn out from stylized and unconventional situations.
The characters are not real people, but are either allegorical or symbolic such
as ghost, devils, animals, or human representations of virtues or vices.
The setting, therefore is also non-realistic. It could be a dream-like
forest, a barren and deserted mountain, a dark alley, the underworld, a
fictional spot. The key to presenting non-realistic plays is always
presentational because the playwright has to device ways to mount the setting
on stage stylistically.
Example:
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Although Hamlet is a prince and the other characters are drawn out
from real people, the presence of his father’s “ghost” and the pressing attacks
of his guilt and conscience should be figuratively seen on stage.

Sample of some famous settings ever written:

A. Realistic Plays
1. Trifles by Susan Glaspell
Setting: The kitchen in the now abandoned farmhouse of John Wright,
a gloomy kitchen, and left without having been put in order-
unwashed pans under the sink, a loaf of bread outside the bread
box, a dish on the towel-other signs of incomplete work.
2. Riders to the Sea by John Millington Synge

13
 Setting: An island off the west of Ireland. Cottage kitchen, with nets,
oil-skins, spinning-wheel, some new boards standing by the wall, etc.

B. Non-realistic Plays:
1. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Setting: A country road. A tree. Evening.
2. Antigone by Sophocles
Setting: The royal house of Thebes. It is a still night, and the invading
armies of Argos have just been driven from the city. Fighting on opposite sides,
the sons of Oedipus, Eteocles and Polynices, have killed each other in combat.
Their uncle Creaon, is now king of Thebes.

III. PLOT
When talking about dramatic structure of a play, we are talking about
plot, just like a novel or a short story.
The physical format of a play is divided into major divisions or acts. A
three-act play has three acts, showcasing a fuller and longer exposition of
the theme and conflict while a one-act-play has one unit of time of place, and
one unit of action.
Conflicts in drama revolves around a conflict: a) person versus
him/herself; b) person versus another person; c) person versus group/society;
d) person versus nature/environment; or e) person versus God/universe.

A. Exposition and Introduction

This is also called a status quo. When the play opens, you are
introduced to the characters and the setting is established. Sometimes, the
conflict in the play is introduced in the introduction. This is called in medias
res (in the middle of the action). However, whatever the structure of the play
is, the opening scene always stablishes the circumstances that involve the
characters to the conflict and sets the tone of the play.

Example:

AMADOR T. DAGUIO
- A poet, novelist, and teacher during the pre-war.
He was best known for his fictions and poems. He
served as chief editor for the Philippine House of
Representatives before he died in 1966.

The Wedding Dance

14
 This novel written by Amador T. Daguio talks about the life of an Igorot
couple distanced by a tribe’s beliefs and traditions. This is enacted into a play
by Alberto S. Florentino.

Characters: AWIYAO – husband

LUMNAY- wife

The story opens with Awiyao entering the house he had built for him and
Lumnay. This is the exposition of the play because we do not know yet the real
conflict between the two, however, we are already given initial indications of the
theme and mood of the play.

Total darkness. Sound of gangsas (coming from the wedding dance) in

background. Light slowly faces in our Lumnay kneeling on the ground, hands
on knees, eyes closed. Awiyao slowly enters under the pale of light.

Awiyao: Lumnay…
Lumnay: (Eyes closed; motionless) Why did you come Awiyao? Why did
you leave the dance? They will be looking for you.
Awiyao: The whole tribe is at dance, Lumnay. Everyone except you.
Lumnay: The whole tribe is happy for you.
Awiyao: And because you are the only one absent, you are not happy for
me?
Lumnay: ……..
Awiyao: Why don’t you come and join the dance, Lumnay? Join the
dancing women.
Lumnay: What is the use of dancing now? I have always danced because
of joy.
Awiyao: Dance, if only to let them know you don’t harbor anger or hate
in your heart.
Lumnay: Awiyao, I harbor here no hate or bitterness. But I will not dance
only to let others know that.
Awiyao: Oh, I am sorry this has to be done. I am really sorry. But neither
of us can help it.
Lumnay: (Sways, kneeling)
Awiyao: (Gathering her in his arms) Lumnay, what are you doing?
Lumnay: I was thinking….remembering….
Awiyao: Remembering what?
Lumnay: Our life together. Of the seven harvest we have lived together as
man and wife.

B. Conflict
15
 This is the point where you recognized the threat or challenge that
besets the protagonist (main character). Sometimes referred to as the exciting
force, the conflict launches the rising action of the play. Recognizing the
conflict in the structure of drama is significant because it provides the
character’s motivation for their actions and the audience motivation to feel
and care for these characters.
The following is a list of the common conflicts used in plays.

Conflict between a person and another which may arise because of love, hate,
1 rivalry or competition, strong pursuit or obsession, or betrayal
Conflict between one person and a group of society in general where the
2 exciting forces could be rebellion, revenge, persecution, or war
Conflict between a person and environment or nature which may arise from
3 a catastrophe, rescue, survival, or grief over death or loss
Conflict between a person and God or the universe where the exciting force
4 may be about the protagonist’s faith or his/her lack of it, the triumph of
good over evil, and the search for life’s meaning.
Conflict between a person and him/herself which may arise from self-
5 sacrifice, self-destruction, greed, or ambition

Example:
The conflict in Amador T. Daguio’s Wedding Dance begins when we the
story revealed that Awiyao wanted his former wife Lumnay to dance for him
in his wedding dance and asked her not to feel bitter of the situation. In
this scene, we begin to empathize with Lumnay as her husband is marrying
another woman.

Awiyao: (letting her go) You frightened me.

Lumnay: I was thinking of the day we first met. You with your fluke
logs coming down the mountainside…
Awiyao: And you with your load of jars of water. I was tired so I
stopped at the spring and rest. Then I saw you.
Lumnay: I made you drink that cool mountain water from my
coconut shell…… And it did not take you long to decide to
throw your spear on the stairs of my father’s house as a
token of your desire to marry me……. Remember too, the
day you took away me away from my parents? Remember
how we crossed the roaring river? And that frightful trip
up the trail on the other side of the mountain? And the
step on the rocks?
Awiyao: Yes, a slip-the slightest slip-would have meant…..death

16
Lumnay: Oh……better at that moment of great joy my hold failed
or my foot has slipped….
Awiyao: Lumnay, don’t say that! Don’t feel bitter!
Lumnay: (Furious, faces him) I am bitter! How can one be made to
turn his back on seven harvest of a life lived together-
and not be bitter? And for what? Only because a man
must have a child and one woman cannot bear one!
Awiyao: You know that life is not worth living without a child!
Lumnay: Life is not worth living without you! (pained silence)

C. Rising Action
As immediately as the conflict sets the action in motion, the play figures
a dramatic tension that builds up toward a confrontation. This dramatic
tension fluctuates, providing emotional tension between the characters, and
the audience learns further details about them that were not initially provided
in the introduction and conflict. Furthermore, the conflict becomes even more
complicated at this point.

Example:

The rising action in Amador T. Daguio’s Wedding Dance begins when

things start to heat up in their conversation. Lumnay confessed that she
cannot let go of Awiyao-her one true love. Here, both characters are
confronted with the sad reality of their situation and the decisions that go
with it.

Awiyao: You cannot completely blame me Lumnay. We waited seven

harvests for a child. We waited too long.
Lumnay: But what is a child compared to our love? Our life together? Oh!
I wish someone will tell me what it is that makes a man wish for
a child? What is in life, in the work in the fields, in the planting
and harvest, in the silence of the night, in the communing
between husband and wife, in the whole life of the tribe itself,
that makes a man wish for a child? Why does the unwritten law
demand, anyway, that a man, must have a child to come after
him? (Suddenly rising) I will go to the dance!
Awiyao: (Holding her arm) You will?
Lumnay: Only to confront the chief, the elders, to tell them it is not right.
Awiyao, you are mine! Nobody can take you away from me. Let
me be the first to complain, to denounce that unwritten rule
which also says you may leave me and take another woman for

17
 a wife. I will go and break the dancing. I will tell them to give you
back to me!
Awiyao: Lumnay, the men- because I cannot bear you a child-mock me
behind my back….I want a child so that my name will live on in
out tribe.
Lumnay: Right now, as much as you desire a child to carry your name, I
desire-death! (falls on her knees)
Awiyao: Lumnay! (Brings face to ground)
Lumnay: (Sits up, faces him vehemently) What will I live for? Name one
good reason and I will live on.
Awiyao: Take another chance at life Lumnay.
Take another man.
Lumnay: I don’t want another man.
Awiyao: Come with me to the dance. Who knows, one of the men will
see you and like your dancing. He may ask you to marry him.
Who know, with him you might be luckier than you were with
me.
Lumnay: I don’t want another man Awiyao.
Awiyao: (Defeated, guilty) I don’t want another woman either.

D. Turning point, Climax, or Crisis

The turning point of the story, this is the highest point where the
protagonist comes face to face with the struggles against the main conflict
and we, the audience, are kept at the edge of our seat. Will the protagonist
come out successfully, or will he or she be beaten by the conflict?

Example:

The turning point or climax in Amador T. Daguio’s Wedding Dance

begins when Lumnay persuades Awiyao to stay with her and live their life
as it is. She does not want Awiyao to remarry just because they could not
have a child together. Here, the two revealed that they are still both in love
which each other. However, they have to face the changes brought by life
and tradition

Lumnay: (bitterly) You say you don’t, yet you will take another
woman-tonight. Madulimay (tinged with jealousy) who is
prettier, younger-how lucky she is. All women who, seven
harvest ago, danced in my honor, tonight dance in her
honor whose only claim is that, perhaps she could give
you a child. It is not right! How does she know-how does

18
 anybody know that she can give you a child? And yet, you
will belong to her-from tonight!
Awiyao: Madulimay can never be as good as you have been. She is
not as strong in planting beans, not as fast in cleaning
jars, not as good as keeping a house clean. You are one as
the best wives in the village Lumnay.
Lumnay: But it has not helped me any, it has not done me any good,
has it? After all, a woman’s worth, so the tribe law seems
to say, is how fruitful she can be.
Awiyao: ………..
Lumnay: Yet, seven harvest ago, I was as Madulimay is now.
Everybody thought I would bear you dozen children.
Remember Awiyao, when my body was young and full of
promise?
Awiyao: Mostly, remember the dancing, you were the best dancer
in the village. You had lightness and grace, alone among
the women, you dance like a bird tripping for grains on
the ground. Men praise-and envied your supple body and
your hands that stretched like eagle wings when you
danced.
Lumnay: Awiyao! Awiyao, my husband. I did everything to have a
child. Look at me! Look at my body. Remember when this
body work fast in the fields? Climb mountains? When it
was firm and full. My body was as a field fully plowed
and fertile. But alas! I was never blessed by a child-or
even the rumor of one (Kabunyan-he is cruel!-he never
blessed me!) Awiyao, I am useless, I must die.
Awiyao: Maybe you and I never prayed enough.
Lumnay: But I have! I have sacrificed many chickens in my prayer.
You remember how angry you were once? I butchered one
of your pigs without your permission. I did it to appease
Kabunyan….but Kabunyan did not see fit to give me a
child.
Awiyao: It will not be right to die (gathering her in his arms)
Lumnay: I don’t care about everything! I’ll have no other man
Awiyao.
Awiyao: Then you’ll always be fruitless.
Lumnay: I’ll go back to my father, I’ll die.
Awiyao: Then you hate me. If you die it means you hate me. You
don’t want me to have a child. You don’t want my name to
live in our tribe
Lumnay: ( She was silent…..)

19
E. Falling Action
Generally, the falling action is more fleeting and short-lived than the
rising action, but may still cover some gripping moments in the play. This part
gives the audience a sense of conclusion, with several unsettled questions at
work within the plot, giving some sense of resolution to the play.

The falling action in Amador T. Daguio’s Wedding Dance begins when

both Lumnay and Awiyao decided to follow their tribe’s tradition.

Lumnay: I am leaving the village at the rising of the sun tomorrow-

when you cease to be my husband, and I, your wife. I have
prepared the house for Madulimay’s coming.
Awiyao: No, Lumnay, stay here. This house is yours. I built it for
you. Live in it as long as you wish.
Lumnay: And you and Madulimay?
Awiyao: I will build another house.
Lumnay: No Awiyao, stay in this house and I have no need of it. I
will go back to my own house.
Awiyao: But this this your own house!
Lumnay: This is my only house as long as you are my husband
Awiyao, my parents are old. They will need help in the
planting of the beans and in the pounding of rice.
Awiyao: At least don’t leave the village Lumnay. Take care of the
field that I cleared for you.
Lumnay: I have no need for the fields either. They are Madulimay’s
now.
Awiyao: Lumnay, I dug that field out back of the mountain for you.
Lumnay: Give it as a gift again-to Madulimay.
Awiyao: You are not taking anything I have worked for you and
given you.
Lumnay: There is one thing I want to take with me. The beads
(produces them)
Awiyao: They are yours to keep Lumnay. Here (Puts them on her)
Lumnay: (Folding the beads) I shall keep these because they stand
for the love you have for me. I shall bring these with me
wherever I go, I love you Awiyao, and I am sorry I have
nothing to give!
Awiyao: (Cups her hands) These beads came from far off times. My
grandmother said they came way up North; from the slant-
eyed people across the sea. Keep the beads, take good care
of them.

20
Sound: Wedding dance
Lumnay: Awiyao, they are looking for you at the dance. I can hear
them calling your name. Go back to them.
Awiyao: I am not in a hurry.
Lumnay: Madulimay waits for you.
Awiyao: She and I will have all the time together after tonight.
Lumnay: But the elders, they will scold you. You must go!
Awiyao: Not until you tell me everything is all right with you.
Lumnay: Everything is all right with me Awiyao.
Awiyao: I do this for the sake of the tribe.
Lumnay: I know (bits her lips and sobbed and shook her head
wildly)

F. Denouement or Resolution
This is the concluding part or ending of the play. We see in this part
whether the protagonist has won or lost, order is brought back, and problems
are resolved.

The denouement or resolution in Amador T. Daguio’s Wedding Dance

begins when Awiyao finally decided to go to his wedding dance, leaving
Lumnay behind.
Lumnay: Awiyao…. if you fail this time- but no! I don’t want you to fail!
Awiyao: If I fail this time, I will come back.
Lumnay: (Lays hand on his lips) Awiyao! Do not make such promise!
Awiyao: Why?
Lumnay: Because if you do, I will throw myself to the ground and pray to
Kabunyan that you fail this time with Madulimay, so I could go
back to you soon.
Awiyao: Lumnay, pray that I be blessed with a child. If in spite of
prayers, in spite of Kabunyan’s powers, I still be without a child,
the I will come back to you. Both of us will die together. We will
both vanish from the life of the tribe.
Lumnay: ………..
Awiyao: (Went to the door and decides to leave)
Lumnay: Awiyao! Awiyao, its hard! (She gasped and closed her eyes and
hurriedly buried her face in his neck)
Sound: (The call from the outside of the house repeated)
Lumnay: (Her grip loosened….)
Awiyao: (He vanished out into the night)

21
Lumnay: (Sat in the midst of the darkness for a while and went to the
door and opened it. The moonlight struck her face.)
Music: The sound of the gangsas rises to a crescendo.

IV. DIALOGUE
Dialogue is the primary and most significant component in a play. The
action of the play moves because of the dialogue. Since drama is performative
in nature, the tone of the play and the character are revealed through the
dialogues between the characters. For example, a change in character’s
attitude or reactions, whether the character gets ecstatic or surprised can
only be known only in the character’s dialogue and relationship with other
characters.

Pointers to consider in writing dialogues:

1. Characters should not talk perfectly. In reality, people do not

speak in perfect English or Filipino. They also do not speak in complete
sentences like a teacher would require a student to speak in front of a class.
In Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart, some characters used ungrammatical
sentences and incomplete expressions because they are not academic person.

2. Characters should not use clichés. Clichés like “honesty is the

best policy” or “God is good” are trite expressions. They can make dialogues
sound dull, uninspired, and meaningless.

3. Characters should not overuse character names. In real life,

people do not address one another by always mentioning their names because
it sounds silly and irritating.

4. Characters should not speechify. Try to avoid having characters

deliver kilometric lines without interruption. In real life, people usually
alternate remarks in a communication exchange, even cutting in on one
another.

5. Keep the agenda out of the dialogue. The theme of the play
should ne naturally conveyed to the audience through the series of events
happening in the play, and not through the dialogues of the characters. If you
have to reveal the theme in the dialogue, it means that the play is not effective
or working well as it should.

22
 LESSON4. EXPLORE DIFFERENT STAGING MODALITIES VIS-À-VIS
ENVISIONING THE SCRIPT

Staging is the position of the acting area in relation to the audience.

The acting area is the part of the available space occupied by the set and
used by the actors when acting

Theaters have evolved with the different internal layouts according to

the types of productions presented there. The most common types of stage
arrangements are listed below.

What are the types of theatre stages and auditoria?

Proscenium stages
Proscenium stages have an
architectural frame, known as the
proscenium arch, although not
always arched in shape. Their stages
are deep and sometimes raked,
meaning the stage is gently sloped
rising away from the audience.
Sometimes the front of the stage
extends past the proscenium into the
auditorium. This is known as an
apron or forestage. Theatres
containing proscenium stages are
known as proscenium arch theatres
and often include an orchestra pit for
live music and a fly tower for the
movement of scenery and lighting.
Image showing the proscenium arch at Sheffield
Lyceum.
Thrust stages
As the name suggests, these
project or ‘thrust’ into the
auditorium with the audience sitting
on three sides. The thrust stage area
itself is not always square but may be
semi-circular or half a polygon with
any number of sides. Such stages are
often used to increase intimacy
between actors and the audience.
Image showing the Thrust Stage at the Gulbenkian,
University of Kent .

23
Theatres in-the-round
These have a central
performance area enclosed by the
audience on all sides. The
arrangement is rarely ‘round’: more
usually the seating is in a square or
polygonal formation. The actors
enter through aisles or vomitories
between the seating. Scenery is
minimal and carefully positioned to
ensure it does not obstruct the
Image showing the in-the-round auditorium at the
audience’s view. Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.

Arena theatres
Arena theatres are large scale
auditoria and have a central stage
area with audiences on all sides,
similar to theatres in-the-round. The
stage area is usually rectangular,
more like a sports arena, with tiered
seating.

The nine stage positions

All nine positions on stage are
from the perspective of the
performer. When a performer is
standing in the middle of the stage,
their position is referred to as centre
stage. As the performer looks out to
the audience, the area on their right-
hand side is called stage right and
the area on the left is called stage left.
If a performer walks towards the
front of the stage, approaching the
audience, this area is referred to as
downstage, and the opposite area of
the stage further away from the
audience is called upstage. The term
downstage originates from when
stages were sloped or raked
downwards towards the audience to
improve sightlines.
The four corners of the stage
space combine both the right and the
left with downstage and upstage,
creating:

24
 Stage positions are used more commonly in some staging
configurations than others, such as proscenium arch and thrust. Sometimes
it can be too complicated to use certain stage positions. For example, when
using theatre in the round staging, there is not a back wall. This means it is
impossible to have an upstage and downstage and stage right and stage left.

Let Us Practice

Task 1. Let’s Recreate!

Think about three of the most unforgettable characters you have
encountered in a film, books, or any narrative you have heard about. Recreate
your top three characters and illustrate each of their personality using the
table below.

Category Character 1 Character 2 Character 3

Name:

Physical attributes:

Short description
about their
character:

Let Us Practice More

Task 2. Let’s Set it up!

Think about a place where these three characters are best suited. This
will serve as your setting in your upcoming one-act-play. Please apply the
things we have learned about vivid writing in writing a description.

Setting:

After creating a setting for your characters, create a progressive title of

the drama you have in mind.

Title:

25
 Let Us Remember

Always remember that playwriting is an exciting discipline in the

performing arts. You have to be observant about how people converse with
each other, how to develop and active storyline, how to create effective
dialogues and how to illustrate full dimensional characters, and how to bring
the story to a substantial close.

Let Us Assess

Task 3. Let PLOT it right!

Create the different parts of your one-act-playing using the
format given below:

Title
1. Exposition or Introduction

2. Conflict

3. Rising Action or Complication

4. Turning point, Climax, or Crisis

5. Falling Action

6. Denouement or Resolution

26
 Let Us Enhance

Task 4. Let’s Playwright!

Using the outline you have creative, write atleast a one scene one-act-
play using the elements, techniques and literary devices in writing a drama.

Title
Characters
1
2
3
Setting/Scene

Dialogue:

Use the rubric given below as your guide.

Fair E
Excellent Excellent Good Fair Needs Work
Indicators (8 points) (6 points) (4 points) (2 points)4
s Work pts
Structure The one-act The one-act The one-act play The one-act
play follows play follows hardly follows play does not
the proposed the proposed the proposed have a clear
structure, structure, structure, and beginning,
and there is a and there is a the beginning, middle, and
clear beginning, middle, and end ending.
beginning, middle, and are somewhat
middle, and end. The play unclear. Scene
end. The play does not open changes are
opens in in media res, added
media res, and there unnecessarily.
and there is may not be
some type of closure at the
closure at the end. The
end. The entire play is
entire play one scene.
takes place
in one scene.
Dialogue The dialogue The dialogue The dialogue is Dialogue is
is realistic is somewhat hardly realistic extremely
and realistic and or interesting. unrealistic.
interesting. interesting. Lines may be
Lines are Lines are wordy, and

27
 short; short; characters speak
characters characters too
interrupt one occasionally politely/formally.
another, interrupt one
repeat lines, another, etc.
answer
questions
with
questions,
and change
the subject
abruptly
Development As the scene As the scene As the scene The scene is
unfolds, the unfolds, the unfolds, the extremely
reader gains reader gains reader gains little undeveloped.
sufficient some insight insight into the The copy
insight into into the characters, their looks like an
the characters, fears, and the initial draft.
characters, their fears, conflict. The
their fears, and the reader is left
and the conflict. without much
conflict. Holes may information on
Scene either exist, but the the characters
pits a situation is and/or their
character explained situations.
with his/her and explored.
greatest fear
or new
alliances
develop.
Characters Characters Characters Characters are Characters
are layered are layered hardly layered, are not
and and but interesting. layered or
interesting. interesting. Fears, interests, interesting.
Fears, Fears, and personality They are one
interests, interests, and are only slightly dimensional,
and personality revealed. identical,
personality are briefly Characters are and/or
are explored, explored, but similar to one unnecessary.
and characters another, and it's
characters might be unclear why
are unique. similar to one some characters
No clone another. are there.
characters Each
appear. Each character has
character a reason to be
has a reason in the scene.
to be in the
scene.
Total Score

28
 Let Us Reflect
You did a great job in completing our module! Kudos to your hard
work! Let us look back from where we have started and complete the chart
below. Let us reflect towards your journey in learning the drama.

I thought………

I learned that…….

Answer key to Activities

a 5.
e 4.
b 3.
d 2. vary.
c 1. -Answers may

Let’s Try Task 1 to 4

29
 References

Book Source
Aguila, Augusto, Galan, Ralph and Wigley, John Jack.
Wording the World: The Art of Creative Writing for
Senior High School. Quezon City: C & E Publishing,
Inc., 2017
Online Sources:
https://thewritepractice.com/intertextuality-as-a-literary-device/

http://www.literarydevices.com/intertextuality/

https://www.matrix.edu.au/literary-techniques-intertextuality/

http://www.theatrestrust.org.uk/discover-theatres/theatre-faqs/170-what-are-the-types-
of-theatre-stages-and-auditoria

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zm2yt39/revision/2

https://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?code=C2A566&sp=true

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