Drama terms

1. Introduction to Drama
Miss Longoria
English I & II

2. Definition
Unlike short stories or
novels, plays are
written for the
purpose of being
performed.

3. Definition
Actors play roles and
present the storyline
through dialogue,
action, and gestures.

4. Definitions
For the most part, plays have no narrators.
(There are a few notable exceptions to this
rule.)
The audience must learn critical
information from the action on stage.

5. Dealing with Details
Plays have special features.
– Plays are divided into acts and scenes.
– Scripts feature lists of characters and stage
directions which require the reader to pause
and visualize the set up.
– Readers and actors must pay close attention to
the dialogue in order to understand the
characters and action.

6. How is a play written?
The author of a play is called a playwright.
Everything a playwright writes must appear
onstage.
A play in written form is called a script.
The playwright must write the dialogue, or what
the characters say to each other in conversation,
as well as the stage directions, which tells how
the play is to be performed.

7. Dialogue
Dialogue is what the characters say, and it is
used to reveal their personalities = Character
Traits.
The name of the character who is to speak is
listed usually in bold at the start of a line,
followed by a colon.
Every time the speaker changes, a new line is
started. Dialogue is necessary in order to
develop conflict and advance the plot.

8. Staging a play
Drama is more than just the words on a page.
The production of a play involves directing the
way the characters move, what they wear, the
lighting, and the scenery.
Staging is the practice of putting on the play.
Some of the details of staging may be included
in the stage directions, however, the director
and the producer take what the playwright has
described and bring it to life with their own
ideas.

9. Sets
Sets are the scenery, backdrops, and furniture
that create the setting.
A production may have different sets for
different scenes. For example, some scenes
may take place outside in the street, while
others may take place in a character’s living
room. Some scenes may take place during the
day, while others may take place at night.

10. Props
Props are things like books, telephones, dishes,
and other items that actors use onstage during the
performance to support the action.

11. Stage directions
Stage directions are notes in the script usually
written in italics and enclosed in parentheses or
brackets. They usually describe where and when
a scene takes place (setting), how the characters
should say their lines, and how the characters
should move onstage. They may explain the
character’s mood or how the character is feeling.
– Stage directions may also describe sets,
costumes, props, lighting, and sound effects.
– Stage directions use certain terms to describe
the stage. Look at the following slide and see
how.

12. Example of Stage Directions

13. Examples of Stage Directions

14. Important Terms
Monologue – an extended speech by one
character. It is meant for other characters to hear.
Soliloquy – an extended speech by one character,
alone on stage. Soliloquies are used to express
the private thoughts of one character.
Aside – a character’s direct address to the
audience, which is not heard by the other
characters.

15. Monologues,
soliloquies, and asides
are dramatic
techniques that
provide direct insight
into motives,
attitudes, and overall
tone.
These techniques
function like a
fictional narrator.

16. Examples
Monologue -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRlh_w6uRd
s&t=1s
Soliloquy –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP31L6AhB
3M
Aside – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-
41jc6jSgk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLAaUvsKlj
c&t=84s

17. Let’s practice
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qAC
oMK1ypE&t=108s

18. Two Basic “Flavors”
 Tragedy
Tragedies treat serious
subjects and often
focus on the tragic
hero’s character.
Tragedies usually end
with death.
 Comedy
Comedies are
dramatic works which
use humor to explore
various themes and
characters. Comedies
usually end on a
happy note.

19. More Terms
Dramatic Irony
– Playwrights use dramatic irony when they allow the
audience to know more than the characters do about a
specific situation or incident.
In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the audience hears the
fiendish plot of Claudius and Laërtes. Both are
determined to see Hamlet dead. Moments later, Hamlet
responds to news of the King’s great wager and his own
impending duel with Laërtes by saying, “[…] how ill
all’s here about my heart” (V.ii. 186).

20. Key Terms
Melodrama
– This nineteenth century view of drama appeals
to the emotions. Based on stock characters
who are either villainous or virtuous, these
sensational plays have happy endings.
– Like many contemporary television shows,
melodramas feature static characters who deal
with the world but fail to experience real
growth, development, or insight.

21. Key Terms
Realism
– Realistic drama deals frankly with social
issues and contemporary life. Instead of
focusing on the lives of kings or great heroes,
these dramas present a look at ordinary people
and everyday problems.

22. Key Terms
Effects of Realism
– Realism requires a shift away from painted
backdrops and scenery.
– The result is the “box set” which utilizes
three, more or less, solid walls. The fourth
“wall” remains open to the audience.
– Sets are decorated with real furniture.
– New methods make changing scenery faster.

23. Key Terms
Naturalism
– Like realism, naturalism developed in
response to the sentimental and sensational
melodramas that were popular in the
nineteenth century.
– Using realistic plots, naturalism explores the
forces that influence the human condition.

24. Key Terms
Satire
– The term satire refers to social criticism that is
cloaked in comedy and used to ridicule social
institutions and figureheads.
Farce
– The term farce refers to comedy that lapses
into ludicrous, improbable plots, mockery, and
even slapstick.

25. Plot
The overall storyline and sequence of
events is known as the plot.

26. Elements of Plot
Exposition – introduces the characters,
setting and basic situation.
Rising action – presents the central
conflict, complications, suspense and
crisis.
Climax – the point of greatest tension.

27. Elements of Plot
Falling action – subsiding intensity.
Denouement – the resolution which ties up
loose ends and concludes the action.

28. Reading Drama
Pay particular attention to the overall plot.
– What are the major conflicts or issues?
– When does the climax occur?
– What force or forces seem to be at work in the
play, moving the action along?

29.  Pay close attention to
characters.
– Who are the central
characters?
– What do you know
about their
personalities? How do
you know this
information?
– What are the
characters’ strengths
and weaknesses?
Photo credit: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams. Cornell
Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.

30. Recognizing the Theme
Most written works have a central theme
and several additional themes.
–Try to identify the central theme.
–Back up your interpretation with
examples from the text.

31. If possible, watch a
production of the play
you’ve been reading.
How does the
production correspond
to your reading? How
does it differ?

32. The Theater, Enjoy!