Creative Writing

Week 5-6
CONTENT STANDARD:
a.The learners have an understanding of drama as a genre and are able
to analyze its elements and techniques.

PERFORMANCE STANDARD:
a.The learners shall be able to compose at least one scene for a one-act
play that can be staged.
LEARNING COMPETENCIES:

Upon completion of this module, the student will be able to . . .

a.Identify the various elements, techniques, and literary devices
in Drama
b.Understand intertextuality as a technique of drama
c.Conceptualize a character/setting/plot for a one-act play
d.Explore different staging modalities vis-à-vis envisioning the
script
e.Write at least one scene for one-act play applying the various
elements, techniques, and literary devices
List down three (3) movies or drama that you have watched either international or local film
and then identify the setting (time and place of the story), characters (actors and actress
present), and three (3) sentences which give the conflict or problem of the story.
Movie/TV series Title Setting Characters(at least 2) Conflict

Encantadia Kingdom of Lireo Pirena The biggest conflict in Encantadia is

Amihan when Amihan and Pirena vied for the
queenship of Lireo. Pirena wanted to be
queen because she thinks that she is the
only rightful heir to the throne given her
status as the eldest among the siblings
as she said in while, Amihan wants to
succeed her mother to avenge and bring
justice to her father's tragic demise.
Following Amihan’s success in the test
that will determine the next queen of
Lireo, Pirena protested that she was
cheated and cast a curse in the entire
land of Encantadia that it will never
experience peace and happiness.
 LITERARY ELEMENTS, TECHNIQUES,
AND DEVICES IN DRAMA
Drama
-comes from the Greek word “dran”
which means “to act or to do.”
-refers to the performance of written
dialogue and stage action.
-allows actors to act out a writer’s
words directly to an audience
 Types of Drama According to Theme
1.Tragedy

- events lead to the downfall of the main character, often

a person of great significance, like a king or hero

Example: Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

 Types of Drama According to Theme
Subgenres of Tragedy
a. Melodrama
- exaggerates sensational and romantic topics to play with
your reader’s feelings and emotions
(Example: Noel Coward’s once act play Still Life, which is about the unrequited
love of a married woman and a doctor she meets once a week on the same train
station where they first met)

b. Tragicomedy
– blends aspects of both tragedy and comedy, as when you give
a happy ending to a serious play or when you put comedic
elements of in a tragedy to lighten the play’s mood
(Example: Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice with its comedic
structure but tragic character – Shylock.)
 Types of Drama According to Theme

2.Comedy

- is a form of drama that has a happy ending

-humor comes from the dialogue and situations

Example: The Knaves of Shakespeare

 Types of Drama According to Theme
Subgenres of Comedy
a. Satire
-takes a comedic look at people and current events
while at the same time attempting to make political or
social statement like pointing out corruption
(For example, Bertolt Bretch’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo
Ui which satirizes Hitler and the Nazi Party’s rise in
Germany.)
b. Burlesque
-tries to make people laugh by caricaturing the spirit of
the serious works, or by the ridiculous treatment of
their subjects
(For example, Tom Stoppard’s Travesties )
c. Farce
-a generally nonsensical, overacted comedy
play that often uses slapstick humor
(for example, Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors)
d. Comedy of Manners
-satirizes the manners and pretentiousness of a
social class or several classes, and often uses
stereotypes
(for example, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being
Earnest)
 Types of Drama According to Length
1. Full-length play
- also known as evening-length play runs
from 70-80 minutes to about 2 hours
3. Ten-minute play
2. One-act play – is a very short play with a beginning, a
middle, and an end
– can play from 15 to 45 minutes
- limited to 10 minutes, and on paper, it is
actually ten pages or less
Tip: to make a good one-act play, focus on 1 main
action or problem because there is no time to get into
complicated layers of plot and keep the play to one set
and only a very few scenes.
 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
1.Plot
- refers to the action; the basic storyline of the play
 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
2.Characters
- are the people (sometimes animals or ideas) portrayed by the actors in the play
Example:
Characters

JOVITA FUENTES – Opera diva, from 17-53 PAULA – Housemaid. 40’s.

years old
MANUEL ROXAS – President of the Philippines, MERCEDES – Jovita’s sister. 20’s.
from 20 to 56 years old
TITAY – Manuel’s aunt, Jovita’s guardian. 60’s. MAMERTO – Manuel’s Brother. 20’s.
MUNDAY – Titay’s sister. 60’s.
 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

Characterization c.Round character

-the way the playwright/author presents a - complex and undergo
character development
Types of Character d.Flat character
a.Protagonist - relatively uncomplicated and do
- the main character of a story not change throughout the whole
b.Antagonist story
- the opposite of a Protagonist. Usually the
villain or opponent of the main character
 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
3.Theme DIALOGUE SOLILOQUY

– refers to the message that is intended is the conversation is like a monologue

to be expressed through the story between two or more but is spoken when
characters in a work no one else is
-the main idea or the lesson to be of literature onstage
learned from the play MONOLOGUE ASIDE

is when one character are words spoken in a

delivers a speech to play for audience to
4.Dialogue convey his or her hear, but supposed
- refers to the words written by the thoughts, although not to be heard by
other characters may other characters
playwright and spoken by the characters remain on stage in
in the play scene
 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

5.MUSIC/RHYTHM
– refers to the rhythm of the actors’ voice as they speak which helps establish
mood, characterize, and lend variety

6.Spectacle
- is the most immediate element which is appropriate and distinctive in a play
- the visual elements of a play: sets, costumes, special effects, etc.
 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
Other Elements:
1. Playwright
-the author of a play (script)
2. Script
- the written pages of a play
-divided into Acts and Scenes
• Acts- long sections of a play, made up of multiple scenes, usually designed to separate the
play into its main parts and to give the audience a “break” from the performance
• Scenes- shorter sections of a play, usually each scene occurs in one location at a specific
time. Multiple scenes make up an act. It is often signaled by the entrance or exit of a
character or change in setting or focus of the action
Example from The Passion of Jovita Fuentes

Act I
Scene 2

[1915. TITAY’s living room has new curtains.

The “Humming Chorus” from Madame Butterfly
is heard in the dark. Lights rise on PAULA dusting.
JOVITA, with a new hairstyle, enters.]

JOVITA: Have they gone Paula?

PAULA: Your watchdogs just left, Betty.
Wow, is that a new dress? And look at your hair!
 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
3. Setting
- the time and place where the story happens
-consists of the historical period, the moment, day, and season in which the incidents take
place
-also includes the sceneries in the performance

SETTING

Scene 1 – 1912, Titay’s house in Manila, afternoon

Scene 2 – 1915, Titay’s house in Manila, morning
Scene 2 – 1919, Delia’s house in Capiz, morning
 ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
4. Conflict
- the internal or external struggle that creates dramatic tension

Internal Conflict
▪ Person vs Society
▪ Person vs Self
▪ Person vs. Nature
External Conflict
▪ Person vs. Supernatural
▪ Person vs. Technology
▪ Person vs. Fate/God
▪Person vs. Person
 Techniques in Drama
1. Vocal Dynamics
– actors need to expand their vocal toolbox and learn about the ways that range, pitch, and
pronunciation which affect performance
2. Body Language and Mannerisms
- actors bring their characters to life by moving, reacting, and even
standing in nuanced ways that are natural for their character
3. Use and Awareness of Space
- actors need to be aware not just of your “marks” on stage, but also of the actors who must
interact with or move past you
4. Improvisational Techniques
- refers to the on-the-spot creativity of the actors
 Literary Devices
– add texture, energy, and excitement
to the narrative, grip the reader’s
imagination
-convey information as a form of a
narrative technique
Intertextuality
-is a literary device that shapes the
meaning of your text through their
referencing or evocation of other
texts
 Types of Intertextuality
Obligatory Intertextuality
-happens when you as a writer deliberately invoke a comparison or association in
your work (the hypertext), with one or more other texts (the hypotext)
-reader’s prior knowledge or understanding of the referenced text (or intertextual
texts) is important for the better appreciation and fuller understanding of your
hypertext

*Without this pre-understanding or successful connection of links, your reader’s understanding of

your new text is considered inadequate or incomplete
 Types of Intertextuality
Optional Intertextuality
- has a less vital impact on the significance
of the hypertext
-the connection of texts may or may not be Accidental Intertextuality
recognized by your reader; and this has no -happens when a reader finds some
big significance in the understanding of your connections between your text and some
hypertext other texts that you had no intention of
making as an intertextual reference
*Usually, if you employ optional intertextuality, you
are merely trying to pay homage to the “original”
writers of the hypotext that you are referencing, or to
reward those who have read the referenced materials.
 STAGE and SCRIPT

Staging Stage
-is the position of the acting area in -the area where the actors
relation to the audience perform, and it is usually a raised
platform
 Types of Staging Modalities
spectators sit on the three sides of
the stage
Stage can be level with the audience or sit
higher
most popular type of stage to date
audience sits in front of the stage
With the advent of lighting controls, better
illusions have been experienced by viewers
 Types of Staging Modalities
• one that extends into the audience
on three sides and is connected to
the backstage area by its upstage
end
• has the benefit of greater intimacy
between performers and the
audience than a proscenium,
while retaining the utility of a
backstage area
• a flexible type of stage;
• common in Europe
establish to debar
• has a sort of U-shaped seating
• the distinction of actors
• familiar arrangement for “cat and viewers’ space
walks” on fashion industry
• audience may move
• seats are on two sides during the performance
Script
- is a piece of writing in the form
of drama. It consists of dialogue
(what the characters say to each
other), stage directions and
instructions to the actors and
director.