1. The Elements of Drama

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

3. Drama
It is an ancient art form. The earliest known plays were written around the fifth century B.C. produced for festivals to honor Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility.

4. Drama…
a play; prose or verse composition telling a story that is intended to be performed by actors

5. Structure of Drama
The special form that a play is written in is called a script. The script includes…
Character List
Setting
Stage Directions tell the actors where to stand, what to
do. They usually
appear in brackets
or parenthesis.
Dialogue

6. The Characters’ Speech
The characters’ speech may take any of the following forms:
Dialogue-conversation between or among characters
Monologue-long speech by one single character; a monologue may be delivered alone or in the presence of others.
Soliloquy: a speech by a single actor who is ALONE on stage.

7. The Characters’ Speech
Let’s look more closely at these words:
Log = word
Mono = one
Dia = across or through
Soli = alone
Dialogue
Monologue
Soliloquy

8. Structure of Drama
Acts are the units of action. Plays can be One Act plays, or they can have several acts. Shakespeare wrote his plays in five acts. Acts are divided into scenes.
Scenes are parts of the acts. A change of scene might represent a change of location or characters.
Narrator - Usually not a character in the play. Narrator gives background information.

9. Overall Structure of Drama