ETI 309 Elements of Drama(Literary, Technical, Performance)

Literary Elements

Script Plot Character Story Organization Setting Dialogue Monologue Conflict

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Technical Elements Scenery Costumes Props Sound and Music Make-up

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Performance Elements Acting Speaking Non-verbal Expression

What do all these words mean?

All the elements of drama combine to make a good production.

Drama differs from short stories and novels because it is made to be performed by different actors in different locations throughout time. While the script remains the same, actors' interpretations of a single role may differ.

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Literary Elements Script: the written words and directions of a play Plot: the storyline or arrangement of action Character: a person portrayed in a drama Story organization: how a story is told – the beginning,

middle and end Setting: where the action takes place Dialogue: a spoken conversation between two

characters Monologue: a long speech made by one person Conflict: the internal or external struggle between

opposing forces, ideas, or interests that create dramatic tension.

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Technical Elements Scenery: theatrical equipment such as curtains,

backdrops, and platforms to communicate the environment.(e.g. trees to show a forest environment)

Costumes Props: any article other than costumes or scenery used as

part of a dramatic production (e.g. a table on the stage) Sound: the effect an audience hears during a show (e.g.

the sound of rain) Music Make-up: the use of costumes, wigs and body paint to

transform an actor into a character

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Performance Elements

Acting: how speaking and moving help to create characters

Speaking: vocal expression, projection, speaking style and diction

Non-verbal Expression: includes gestures, facial expressions, and movement

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Glossary Catastrophe: the resolution of the plot of a tragedy, depicting

the final downfall of the protagonist.

Catharsis: The purging of the feelings of pity and fear that, according to Aristotle, occur in the audience of tragic drama at the end of the play, following the catastrophe.

Comic relief: The use of a comic scene to interrupt a succession of intensely tragic dramatic moments. Comic relief is lacking in Greek tragedy, but occurs regularly in Shakespeare's tragedies.

Deus ex machina (lit. a god from a machine): A convention used in Greek tragedy after Sophocles for lowering or lifting actors playing gods by means of a crane on the skene. The term is now used for any quick means of resolving a plot.

Dramatic irony: occurs when the audience knows something that the character on stage is not aware.

Glossary Dramatis personae: Latin for the characters or persons in a play

Foil: A character who contrasts and parallels the main character in a play or story.

Pathos: A quality of a play's action that stimulates the audience to feel pity for a character.

Poetic justice: The operation of justice in a play with fair distribution of rewards for good deeds and punishment for wrong doing.

Soliloquy: A speech in a play that is meant to be heard by the audience but not by other characters on the stage. If there are no other characters present, the soliloquy represents the character thinking aloud. Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech is an example.

Types of Drama

Tragedy: A type of drama in which the characters experience reversals of fortune, usually for the worse. In tragedy, catastrophe and suffering await many of the characters, especially the hero.

Modern tragedy: Unlike Greek tragedy, the protagonist is often a common or middle class person, not high born, noble or important. Ordinary people exemplify basic issues of social and personal conflict.

Melodrama: It arouses pity and fear through cruder means. Good and evil are clearly depicted in white and black motifs. Plot is emphasized over character development.

Types of Drama Comedy: A type of drama in which the characters experience

reversals of fortune, usually for the better. In comedy, things work out happily in the end.

comic drama: involves a love affair that does not run smoothly but ends happily; it may be either romantic or satiric. (Satiric works offer a darker vision of human nature, one that ridicules human folly).

farce: is aimed at arousing explosive laughter using crude means. Conflicts are violent, practical jokes are common, and the wit is coarse. Psychologically farce may boost the reader's spirit and purge hostility and aggression.

absurd (black) comedy: unusual, weird, or uncomfortable comedy that portrays the world as unstable. The action includes improbable events with highly unpredictable characters. Black comedy is very different from other comedies in that this type tends to end unhappily.