1. The Elements of Drama 6th Grade Language Arts Interactive Journal 3 rd 9 weeks

2. Essential Question How does drama provide the reader a different experience than prose (short stories, novels) or poetry? How is drama different from television?

3. Drama Comes from the Greek Word, “ Dran ” Means “ To do ” or “ To Act ” The Doing/Acting Makes Drama

4. Drama Elements Plot Setting Theme Resolution

5. Drama….. Play … is a story told in front of an audience

6. Elements of Drama Playwright-the author of a play Script- Written form of the play Actors-the people who perform

7. Acts and Scenes An Act is a group of two or more scenes that form a major division of a play. A Scene is one part of the action, usually happening in a particular time and place.

8. Cast of Characters A Cast of Characters is a list of who is in a play, and/or a short description of these characters.

9. Dramatic Speech Dialogue- conversation between or among characters Monologue-long speech by one single character (private thoughts)

10. Narrator A play may also include a Narrator. A narrator speaks from the side and gives important information and insights, but is not part of the action.

11. Monologue/Soliloquy A Monologue or Soliloquy is a speech by one character who is alone on the stage or who speaks as if he is alone. These are given by a character in the story. (A narrator gives insights and information from the side, but is not one of the characters in the action.)

12. Conflict The internal or external struggle between opposing forces, ideas, or interests that create dramatic tension.

13. Stage Directions Found in brackets [ ] Describe scenery and how characters speak C, Center Stage L, Stage Left R, Stage Right U, Upstage or Rear D, Downstage or Front

14. Theatre Where a play takes place

15. Set or Setting Construction on the stage that shows time/place Could be called Scenery

16. Props Small movable items that the actors use to make actions look real

17. Characterization Is the playwright’s technique for creating believable characters. Indirect Direct

18. Characterization: Direct Characterization If a writer tells you that a character is mean-tempered or friendly, that is direct characterization. When a writer uses direct characterization, you don’t have to do any detective work to figure out the character. The two types of characterization are direct characterization and indirect characterization.

19. Indirect Characterization Indirect characterization is the process by which the writer shows the character's personality through his/her speech, actions and appearance. When you watch a movie or television show, you can usually gather what type of person the main character is based on how he/she acts and reacts in different situations

20. Types of Drama Drama is used to describe plays that address a serious subject.

21. Types of Drama Comedy is a form of drama that has a happy ending. Humor comes from the dialogue and situations.

22. Types of Drama Tragedy is a form of drama in which events lead to the downfall of the main character, often a person of great significance, like a king or hero.

23. Melodrama a play in which the characters are types rather than individuals, the story and situations exaggerated to the point of improbability or sensationalism and the language and emotion over-emphasized

24. Farce a comedy in which story, character, and especially situations are exaggerated to the point of improbability; the situation begins with a highly impossible, but when that is accepted everything that follows is completely logical. Fast moving; uses such theatrical devices as duplications, reversals, repetitions, surprises, disguises, chance encounters, often many doors and closets.

25. Tragic Comedy a play with the sincerity and earnestness of tragedy but without its inevitability of impending disaster, attitude of comedy but without its underlying spirit of humor; uses tense situations and moments of extreme conflict, but the tragedy is averted and transcended.