Introduction to dramatic literature and the art of theatrical presentation.

1. Drama
Thalia
Melpomene
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2.  A story enacted onstage for a live audience.
 A literary composition that tells a story, usually of
human conflict, by means of dialogue and action
to be performed by actors in front of a live
audience.
What Is Drama?
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3. What Is Drama?
 Origins of Drama
 The word drama derives from
the Greek verb 'dran', which
means “to do.”
 The earliest known plays...
 were written around the fifth
century B.C.
 produced for festivals to honor
Dionysus, the god of wine and
fertility
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Greece: Delphi Amphitheater

4. The plot of a drama involves characters who face a
problem or conflict.
Climax
point of highest tension;
action determines how the
conflict will be resolved
Resolution
conflict is resolved;
play ends
Complications
tension builds
Exposition
characters and conflict
are introduced
Dramatic Structure
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Falling Action
Tension gets on reducing

5. Dramatic Structure
Conflict is a struggle or clash
between opposing characters
or forces. A conflict may
develop...
 between characters who want different
things or the same thing
 between a character and his or her
circumstances
 within a character who is torn by
competing desires
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6. A tragedy is a play that ends unhappily.
• Tragedies pit human limitations against the
larger forces of destiny.
right and wrong
justice and injustice
life and death
Tragedy
• Most classic Greek tragedies deal with
serious, universal themes such as
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7. The protagonist of most classical tragedies is a
tragic hero. This hero
• is noble and in many
ways admirable
• has a tragic flaw, a
personal failing that
leads to a tragic end
rebelliousness
jealousy
pride
Tragedy
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8. A comedy is a play that ends happily. The plot
usually centers on a romantic conflict.
boy meets girl boy loses girl boy wins girl
Comedy
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9. The main characters in a comedy could be
anyone:
nobility servants
townspeople
Comedy
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10. • Comic complications always
occur before the conflict is
resolved.
• In most cases, the play
ends with a wedding.
Comedy
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11. Modern Comedy
 Modern Comedies
 In modern comedies, the genders in this romantic
plot pattern sometimes are reversed.
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12. A modern play
• usually is about ordinary people
• may be tragedy, comedy, or a mixture of the
two
• usually focuses on personal issues
Modern Drama
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13. Modern playwrights often experiment with
unconventional plot structures.
Modern Drama
long flashbacks
music
visual projections
of a character’s
private thoughts
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14. When you read a play, remember that it is meant
to be performed for an audience.
Stage Directions
Playwright describes setting
and characters’ actions and
manner.
[Selina is sitting on the couch.
She sees Patrick and jumps to
her feet.]
Selina. [Angrily.] What do you
want?
Performance of a Play
Performance
 Theater artists bring the
playwright’s vision to life
on the stage.
 The audience responds to
the play and shares the
experience.
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15. Performance of a Play
 Theater artists include
 Actors
 Directors
 Lighting technicians
 Stage crew
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16. Stages can have many different sizes and
layouts.
“Thrust” stage
Setting the Stage
• The stage extends
into the viewing area.
• The audience
surrounds the stage
on three sides.
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17. “In the round” stage is surrounded by an
audience on all sides.
Setting the Stage
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18. Proscenium stage
Setting the Stage
• The playing area extends behind an opening
called a “proscenium arch.”
• The audience sits on one side looking into the
action.
upstage
downstage
stage left
stage right
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19. Setting the Stage
Stages in Shakespeare’s
time were thrust stages.
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20. Scene design transforms a bare stage into the
world of the play. Scene design consists of
• props
• sets
• costumes
• lighting
Setting the Stage
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21. A stage’s set might be
realistic and
detailed
Setting the Stage
abstract
and minimal
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22. A lighting director skillfully uses light to change
the mood and appearance of the set.
Setting the Stage
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23. The costume director works with the director to
design the actors’ costumes.
• Like sets, costumes can be
detailed minimal
Setting the Stage
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24. Props (short for properties) are items that the
characters carry or handle onstage.
• The person in charge of props must make sure
that the right props are available to the actors
at the right moments.
Setting the Stage
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25. The characters’ speech may take any of the
following forms.
Dialogue: conversations of characters onstage
Monologue: long speech given by one character to others
Soliloquy: speech by a character alone onstage to himself or herself or
to the audience
Asides: remarks made to the audience or to one character; the other
characters onstage do not hear an aside
The Characters
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26. Finally, a play needs an audience to
experience the performance
understand the story
respond to the characters
The Audience
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27. The End
Thank You For Watching
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