Vocabulary, Elements and structure of drama

Drama Vocabulary Actor/Actress- A male or female person who performs a role in a play, work of theatre, or movie. Costume- Clothing worn by an actor on stage during a performance. Cue- A signal, either verbal or physical, that indicates something else, such as a line of dialogue or an entrance, is to happen. Dialogue-The conversation between actors on stage. Narrator-person telling the story and exposition (not involved in the action or related to characters)

Drama Vocabulary Play -The stage representation of an action or a story; a dramatic composition. Playwright- A person who writes plays. Props-Items carried on stage by an actor; small items on the set used by the actors.

Elements of Drama Theme of a play-What does it mean? What the play means as opposed to what happens (the plot) Sometimes the theme is clearly stated in the title It may be stated through dialogue (words or lines spoken by a character or narrator) by a character acting as the playwright’s voice Or it may be the theme is less obvious and emerges only after some study or thought

Elements of Drama Plot-The action The events of a play, the story as opposed to the theme -what happens rather than what it means. The plot must have some sort of pattern by which each action starts the next, rather than standing alone without connection to what came before it or what follows In the plot of a play, characters are involved in conflict that has a pattern of movement. The action and movement in the play begins from the initial conflict, through rising action, climax, and falling action to resolution.

Elements of Drama Characters or Cast These are the people presented in the play that are involved in the plot Each character should have his/her own personality, age, appearance, beliefs, background, and language The reader should note character relationships with one another and their involvement in the plot Language The word choices made by the playwright. Language and dialogue delivered by the characters moves the plot and action along, provides exposition and defines the characters Each playwright creates imagery and sensory details through dialogue and stage directions to appeal to a reader’s senses

Drama Structure scenes and acts Scenes are usually used to: Introduce new characters Introduce new settings Foreshadow future events Generally, the wants and desires of one character will conflict with another character. With this method the playwright establishes a pattern of introducing: Conflict Rising Action Climax Resolution Does this sound familiar?

Remember this when we studied Narrative Text?

Drama Structure Stage Directions Dialogue Nonverbal instructions written as part of the script of a play, a message describing how something is to be done or how something should be spoken. Often in italics or (parentheses) The words/phrases/speeches spoken by each character in a play. Example: Hi, I’m Bill.

Drama Structure Exposition Foreshadowing Important information that the audience needs to know in order to follow the main story line of the play. It is the aspects of the story that the audience may hear about but that they will not witness in actual scenes. It includes the past actions of the characters before the play’s opening scenes progress. When the writer clues the reader in to something that will eventually occur in the story; it may be explicit (obvious) or implied (disguised). Usually found in scene changes

Drama Structure Plot The arrangement of ideas and/or incidents that make up the story in a drama or play Conflict-the struggle or problem characters most overcome (man vs man, man vs. self, man vs. nature) Rising Action-the section of the plot beginning with the first action and the sequence of events moving to the crisis or climax. These scenes make up the body of the play and usually create a sense of continuous building suspense for the audience.

Drama Structure The Climax/Crisis Resolution All of the earlier scenes and actions in a play will build to the highest level of dramatic intensity This is the moment where the mystery is starting to be solved, there is a twist or turning point, the audience wants to know what happens next, or something is revealed. This should be the point of the highest stage of dramatic intensity in the action suspense of the play. The whole combined actions of the play generally lead up to this moment. The resolution is the moment of the play in which the conflicts are resolved. It is the solution to the conflict in the play, the answer to the mystery, and the clearing up of the final details. This is the scene that answers the questions raised earlier in the play. In this scene the methods and motives are revealed to the audience

Drama Reading Strategies Preview the drama by reading the title, characters, and narrator. Read any background information provided. Read the drama once for overall meaning. Visualize the characters - What does the person look like? How do they sound? How do they deliver each line? Think about the setting to have a clear understanding of the story’s time and place. Try to imagine the sets (scenery and props),costumes, and lighting.. Sit in the Directors Chair -To visualize the play, the reader thinks like a director. To truly appreciate the dramatic literature, a reader must imagine the cast (crew of actors), the set, and the movement. Evaluate the drama’s theme by asking what message is the play trying to send or help you understand? Does it relate to your life in anyway?

Let’s Practice! Learning Objectives: Students will analyze how two characters in a fable are similar; they will also identify the moral of the fable. Key Skills Character, compare and contrast, vocabulary, fluency, close reading, inference, problem and solution, theme, text structures, explanatory writing Content-Area. Play: The Tale of the Too Talkative Turtle pages 20-25 An age-old fable from India offers a wise lesson

1. What character traits does the prince show in Scene 1 1. What character traits does the prince show in Scene 1? Support your answer with examples. (character) 2. What character traits does Kambu show in Scene 2? How is he similar to the prince? (comparing characters) 3. What problem comes up for Kambu’s family in Scene 3? What plan do they make to solve it? (problem and solution) 4. Reread the lines Kambu says to Mongoose in Scene 3. What do they tell you about Kambu? How do they lead to his problem? (character) 5. In Scene 5, why can’t Kambu keep his mouth closed around the stick? (character) 6. In Scene 6, when Rishi and Rishika “give each other a knowing look,” what do you think they are thinking? (inference) 7. In the last line of the play, the prince states the moral, or the lesson, of the story about Kambu. Restate the moral in your own words, or think of another moral from the story. (theme)