DRAMA

Plays are divided into Acts, and acts are

divided into scenes. There can be one or

several acts in a play.

Drama has evolved from the times of ancient Egypt to the present.

Egypt- drama was used in religious celebrationsGreeks

• Language: Spoke in verse• Sets and costumes

• Wore masks• Had little sets• Had no special costumes

• Performed out doors in the morning or afternoon.

• Performed in arenas• Audience was close to the stage• Audience could hear even a whisper• The assigned seating plan created a sense of

community

Medieval times• Sets & Costumes

• Performed on push wagons and carts• Some special effects were used• Many themes revolved around reward and

punishment in the after life.• Performance

• Performed inside or outside churches• Created a sense of belonging in churches and

communities• Actors came into the audience & broke the illusion

of separationElizabethan

• Language: Most lines were in verse• Sets & Costumes

• Actors spoke directly to the crowds• Actors wore contemporary costumes• There was very little scenery

• Performance• Was performed in the afternoon• The theatre was wooden with an enclosed space open to

the sky• The stage was covered , as was the seating for patrons

& upper class• Seating was arranged by social class• Actors spoke directly to the audience• The audience was not silent during the productions

19th/20th century• Performance

• Performed on a proscenium stage• Actors acted unaware of the audience’s presence.• The audience was a silent observer looking through an

imaginary fourth wall.• The detachment from the actors created a realistic

atmosphere• Gas lights and electricity were introduced.

21st century drama (the present)• Drama is eclectic• The audience sits in a dark theater & looks at a lighted

stage• Effects are ran by computerized lighting boards

Drama is meant to imitate life. It both entertains and instructs.

Today’s dramas are lifelike & allow an audience to examine human

nature.

When reading a play, the audience (reader) does not get the

benefit of the director’s, actor’s, and scene designer’s

interpretations.

The reader must work hard to visualize the scenes and action

from the author’s stage directions.

PlotCharacterization: direct characterization is given through stage directionsSetting: including time, place, & scenery. These are important in influencing the audience’s emotional reactions.Dialogue: verbal exchange between characters

• Soliloquy-when an actor is on stage speaking his or her own thoughts or feelings. These thoughts are usually true and give the audience information that other characters may not know

• Monologue: A long speech given by one character.

• Aside: A short statement made by a character that no other character on stage can hear.

Elements of Drama

Music

Movement: stage direction informs the reader

of where the characters are, when they move,

how they move, and sometimes, the significance

of their movements.

Theme: The play’s message; its central

concern. Theme reduces the complex action in

the drama into a relatively simple, universal

phrase.