craft lesson: structure and elements of drama. history of drama… drama was developed more than...
TRANSCRIPT
Craft Lesson: Structure and
Elements of Drama
History of drama…
• Drama was developed more than 2,500 years ago.• The ancient Greeks held a dramatic competition at the Festival of Dionysus each year. • Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes are some of the first playwrights.
Elements of drama:
• Playwright: the author of the play. Examples: William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, and George Bernard Shaw
• Script: is a written form of a play• Acts: are the units of the action in a
drama. • Scenes: are sections of uninterrupted
drama, whether a quiet conversation or a chase. Acts are often divided into scenes.
• Protagonists: are the central, or main, figures of a drama
• Antagonists: are the onstage characters – or the unseen forces – who oppose them
• Dialogue: is the words characters say. The words each character speaks appear next to the character’s name. Single most important element of a stage play.
• Monologue: is a long, uninterrupted speech that is spoken by a single character and reveals his or her thoughts and feelings.
• Characterization: is the playwright’s technique of creating believable characters through actions, dialogue, and movements.
• Set: is the term used for the onstage scenery that suggests the time and place of the action.
• Stage directions: are instructions that convey information about sound effects, sets, props, and characters’ actions, gestures, and movements across the stage. Usually in italics.
• Staging: refers to all the elements that brings:–drama to life on stage–scenery–lighting–sound effects–costumes–how to speak lines and move
Stage Diagram
Off Stage Right
Wing
Off Stage Left
Wing
BACKSTAGE
Orchestra Pit
AUDIENCE
Historical Context
• deals with the atmosphere and conflict of a past era
• includes: political forces, beliefs, and events that influence the character(s)
• i.e. The Diary of Anne Frank–political forces: the Nazis–beliefs: that the European Jews
were–considered an inferior race–events: destruction of over six
million European Jews by the Nazis
Types of Drama:
• Comedy: is a form of drama that has a happy ending, often feature ordinary characters in funny situations, can be written to entertain but also to point out the faults of society.
• Tragedy: often contrasted with comedy. Events lead to the downfall or death of the main character, often is a person of great significance, such as a king or a heroic figure.
• Drama: often used to describe plays that address serious subjects.