1. ELEMENTS OF DRAMA

2. SO DRAMATIC A drama is a story that is meant to be performed. Story
Writer: author
Writer: playwright
Consists of characters in a particular setting caught up in a conflict
Plot: events
Plot: actions
Plot: exposition, conflict, climax, resolution
Written in: paragraphs & dialogue
Written in: script made up of dialogue and stage directions
Divided into chapters
Divided into acts and scenes

3. Acts & Scenes Basic structure that divide a drama
A drama’s structure affects the meaning that the audience finds from the performance (ex. Commercial break)
An act is made up of several scenes

4. Setting The time and place of the story
Sometimes a drama’s setting is described at the beginning of the play in the stage directions.
Read the setting for:
Details that affects the characters’ moods/actions
Details that create conflict (a dangerous, challenging environment)

5. Plot
A drama’s plot is the sequence of events that make up the action of the story. A drama (like a story) also has an exposition (setting, characters), rising action (conflict), climax, falling action, and resolution.
The audience/reader is not told, but SHOWN
Ex.: an eerie, scary setting is shown by dark lighting, spooky scenery, and creepy music
Ex.: a selfish character is revealed through dialogue and actions, not a narrator’s point of view

6. Conflict
The conflict that the main character, or protagonist, faces drives the action of the drama.
External Conflict: protagonist vs. outside force
Man vs. man (protagonist vs. antagonist)
Man vs. society
Man vs. nature
Man vs. technology/fate/supernatural
Internal Conflict: a struggle inside the mind of the protagonist

7. Characters the people or animals that take part in the plot
Stage directions and dialogue are important to character development.
Stage directions tell how characters speak (loudly, softly, sarcastically), move (crosses stage and falls), and look (says with a grimace)
Dialogue reveals a character through speeches, interactions with other characters, and comments made about others

8. Dialogue the words spoken by the characters Look for dialogue that:
Reveals a character’s thoughts or feelings
Moves the action forward
Reveals the conflict

9. Types of Dialogue
Monologue: long speech spoken by a character to another
Soliloquy: a long speech spoken by a character alone; reveals private thoughts (speaks either to the audience or to himself)
Aside: a comment made to the audience, not meant to be heard by other characters

10. Stage Directions
written in the script and tell how the actors need to perform the drama
Lighting, sound effects
Character movements, facial expressions, tone
Costumes, props, and Scenery

11. Set & Props
Set/Scenery: the onstage construction that suggests the setting
Props: small objects used to help make the actions of the characters realistic

12. Theme Dramas also convey themes, or central messages about life.
To discover a drama’s theme:
Look at how characters respond to conflicts: do the characters change and grow?
How does the setting impact the action?
What are the characters doing and saying (plot)? What message are they conveying?