Drama

What Is Drama?
A drama is a story enacted onstage for a live
audience. (Not to be confused with the genre.)
 What Is Drama?
• Origins of Drama
– The word drama comes
from the Greek verb dran,
which means “to do.”
• The earliest known plays:
– were written around
the fifth century B.C.
– produced for festivals
to honor Dionysus, the
god of wine and fertility
 Aristotle
• born in Stagirus, Macedonia, in
384 BC and died 62 years later
in 322 BC.
• was a student at Plato's
Academy and later became one
of the greatest philosophers of
Ancient Greece.
• one of his treatises, The Poetics,
he outlines the Six Elements Of
Drama, was based on the
Ancient Greek belief that
tragedy was the highest form of
Drama.
• This outline has become a
guideline for many playwrights
throughout history, and is
especially emphasized in the
works of William Shakespeare.
 Aristotle’s Six Elements of
Drama
• Plot
• Theme
• Character
• Diction
• Music
• Spectacle
 Elements 1 & 2
• PLOT – what happens in a play; the
order of events, the story as
opposed to the theme; what
happens rather than what it means.

• THEME – what the play means as

opposed to what happens (plot); the
main idea within the play.
 Elements 3 & 4
• CHARACTER – the personality or the
part an actor represents in a play; a
role played by an actor in a play.

• DICTION/LANGUAGE/DIALOGUE –
the word choices made by the
playwright and the enunciation of the
actors delivering the lines.
 Elements 5 & 6
• MUSIC/RHYTHM – by music Aristotle
meant the sound, rhythm and melody
of the speeches.

• SPECTACLE – the visual elements of

the production of a play; the scenery,
costumes, and special effects in a
production.
 Dramatic Structure
Like the plot of a story, the plot of a play involves
characters who face a problem or conflict.
Climax
point of highest tension;
action determines how the
conflict will be resolved
Complications
tension builds

Resolution
Exposition conflict is resolved;
characters and conflict play ends
are introduced
Structure of Shakespearian
Plays
• Act 1- Exposition, Exciting Force, Rising
Action
• Act 2 - Rising Action
• Act 3 - Rising Action, Climax, Falling
Action
• Act 4 - Falling Action
• Act 5 - Falling Action, Catastrophe
 Stages Defined
• Exposition – The general atmosphere, time,
place, main characters and opening
conditions of the play.
• Exciting Force – Something happens that
starts the action of the play moving, usually in
the first act.
• Rising Action – This is a series of actions
usually covering more than one act. During
the rising action, the protagonist is the active
force, trying to make things work out as he or
she intended.
 Stages Defined Cont.
• Climax – The protagonist reaches a
peak of his or her power and a distinct
change occurs in them as well as the
direction of the action. Things begin to
go against the protagonist, who seems
to be following a downward path.
 Stages Defined Cont.
• Falling Action – This also covers
several scenes and shows all the ways
the main events are going against the
main character. At this time, the
protagonist begins to rise in power. The
conflict between the protagonist and the
antagonist becomes the essence of the
play.
 Stages Defined Cont.
• Moment of Final Suspense – Usually found
in the fifth act of the play, the moment of final
suspense has a particular function in the
organization of the plot. Close to the end of
the play, it is more significant to the
protagonist that it is to the audience. It is the
moment when things begin to look as if they
will go the way of the protagonist again. He or
she momentarily believes that tragedy will be
averted.
 Stages Defined Concluded
• Catastrophe – The is the complete
downfall of the protagonist, either
through death or some other
devastating circumstance. If the
protagonist is a villain, then the
catastrophe will be seen by the
audience as a good thing. If not, …
 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

DO YOU
REMEMBER
YOUR 5 MAN VS?
 Performance of a Play
When you read a play, remember that it is
meant to be performed for an audience.
Stage Directions Performance
Playwright describes •Theater artists bring
setting and characters’ the playwright’s vision
actions and manner. to life on the stage.
[Wyona is sitting on the •The audience responds
couch. She sees Paul to the play and shares
and jumps to her feet.] the experience.
Wyona. [Angrily.] What
do you want?
 Performance of a Play
 Theater artists
include:
 Actors
 Directors
 Lighting technicians
 Stage crew
 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.
 Setting the Stage
“In the round” stage is surrounded by an
audience on all sides.
 Setting the Stage
Proscenium stage
• The playing area extends behind an opening
called a “proscenium arch.”
• The audience sits on one side looking into the
action.

upstage
stage right stage left

downstage
 Setting the Stage

Stages in
Shakespeare’s time
were thrust stages.
 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 or herself or to the audience

Asides: remarks made to the audience or to one

character; the other characters onstage do not hear an
aside
 The Audience
Finally, the 3 responsibilities of an audience are to:

experience the performance

understand the story

respond to the characters

 The End!
• Keep these
notes so you
can study them
for your
Background
Test next
Tuesday!