DRAMA

What is Drama?
• is the specific mode of fiction represented in
performance, a play performed in a theatre, or
on radio and television.
• Comes from the Greek word meaning “action”,
which is derived from the word “I do”.
• The two masks represented the traditional
generic division between comedy and tragedy.
• In the narrower sense, the film and television
industries, along with film studies, adopted to
describe drama as a genre with their respective
media.
• it can often combined with music and dance.
DRAMA
• A drama is a story enacted on stage for a live audience.

Performance of a play
When you read a play, remember that it is meant to be
performed for an audience.
Performance of a Play

Stage Directions Performance

Theater artists bring the
Playwright describes
playwright’s vision to life
Setting and characters’
on the stage.
actions and
manner.
The audience responds
To the play and shares
The experience.
Setting the stage
Stages can have many different sizes and
Layouts.

“Thrust” stage
 The stage extends into the viewing area.
The audience surrounds the stage on three sides.

Stages in Shakespeare’s time were thrust

Stages.
Performance of a play
• Theater artists
Include
 Actors
 Directors
 Lighting and Technicians
 Stage crew
Dramatic Structure
• Like the plot of a story, the plot of a play
involves characters who face a problem of
conflict.
The characters
The characters’ speech may take any of the following forms.

Dialogue: conversations of characters onstage

Monologue: long speech given by one character to others

Soliloquy: speech by a character alone onstage to

himself/herself or to the audience.

Asides: remarks made to the audience or to one character, the

other characters onstage do not hear an aside.
 Dramatic structure
Conflict is a struggle or clash between opposing
characters or forces. A conflict may develop:
Between characters who want different things or the same thing
Between a character and his or her circumstances
Within a character who is torn by competing desires
Modern Drama
• Modern playwrights often experiment with unconventional
plot structures.
• A modern play
• may be tragedy, comedy, or a mixture of the two
• usually focuses on personal issues
• About ordinary people
Tragedy
• The protagonist of most classical tragedies is a tragic
hero. This hero
-is a noble and admirable in many ways
- - has a tragic flaw, a personal failing that leads to a tragic
end
Comedy
• The main characters in a comedy could be anyone:
-nobility
-townspeople
-servants
• Comic complications always occur before the conflict is
resolved.
• In most cases, the play ends with a wedding.
Different Forms of Drama

1.Opera
2.Pantomime
3.Mime
4.Creative drama
Different Forms of Drama

1.Opera
2.Pantomime
3.Mime
4.Creative drama
Different Forms of Drama

Opera
-a dramatic act form that arose during the renaissance
in an attempt to revive the Classical Greek drama in which
dialogue, dance and songs were combined.
Pantomime
-type of musical comedy stage production, designed for
family entertainment.
Mime
-is a theatrical medium where the action of a story is
told through the movement of the body, without speech.
Different Forms of Drama

Creative Drama
Includes dramatic activities and games
used primarily in educational setting with
children. Its roots in the United States began
in the early 1900’s. Winifred Ward is
considered as the founder of creative drama
in education, establishing the first academic
used of drama in Evanston.
Tips for students to make the most out of reading a play.

Read with a Pencil

To truly embrace the text, students should jot
down notes, reactions and questions directly
onto the page or in a journal. Students who
record their reactions as they read are more
likely to remember the characters and various
subplots. Best of all, they are more likely to
actively participate in class discussion and
ultimately earn a better grade.
 Visualize the Characters
A playwright will briefly describe a character as he or she
enters the stage. After that point, the characters might never
be described again. Therefore, it is up to the reader to create
a lasting mental image. What does this person look like? How
do they sound? How do they deliver each line?
Nowadays, many students relate to movies rather than
literature right? So, in this case, it might be fun to mentally
cast contemporary actors into the roles. Questions such as;
what current movie star would be best to play Macbeth? For
an entertaining class activity, instructors should have the
students work in groups to write a movie trailer for the play.
Contemplate the Setting

For one, readers should try to

imagine the sets and costumes
as they read. They should
consider whether or not the
historical context is important to
the story.
Research the Historical Context
If the time and place is an essential
component, students should learn more about
the historic details. Some plays can only be
understood when the context is evaluated.
Without knowledge of the historical context,
much of the story’s significance could be lost.
With a little bit of research into the past,
students can generate a new level of
appreciation for the play they are studying.
(And the internet makes this easier than ever
before!)
Sit in the Director’s Chair
Here comes the truly fun part. To visualize the play, the
student should think like a director.
Students should imagine the different possibilities. Does
the protagonist rant and rave? Or does she remain eerily
calm, delivering the lines with an icy gaze? The reader
makes those interpretive choices.
So, get comfortable in that director’s chair. Remember, to
appreciate the dramatic literature, a student must imagine
the cast, the set, and the movements. That is what makes
reading dramatic literature a challenging yet invigorating
experience.