This presentation is a simple introduction to drama. Dealing with its types, forms and forms elements.

1. DRAMA

2. Contents
1. What is Drama?
2. Elements of Drama
3. Kinds of Drama
4. Forms of Drama

3. DRAMA
 Drama comes from Greek words
“dran” meaning "to do" or "to act."
It also referred to as “play”.
 It is a prose or verse
composition, especially one telling
a serious story that was intended
for representation by actors
impersonating the characters and
performing the dialogue and
action and a serious narrative
work or program for television,
radio, or the cinema.

4. ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
• Character
• Theme
• Plot
• Point of View
• Dialogue
• Visual Elements
• Stage

5. CHARACTER:
A Character is one of the
persons who appears in the play,
one of the dramatis personae
(literally, the persons of the
play). In another sense of the
term, the treatment of the
character is the basic part of
the playwright's work. Most
plays contain major characters
and minor characters. The
distinction between heroes (or
heroines) and villains, between
good guys and bad guys, between
virtue and vice is useful in
dealing with certain types of
plays, but in many modern plays
(and some not so modern) it is
difficult to make.

6. The protagonist is the main character in the
story. The antagonist is an enemy to the main
character.
Protagonist - the main character in a
drama or other literary work.
Antagonist - principal rival in the
conflict set forth in the play.
represent a major threat or obstacle
to the main character by their very
existence, without necessarily
deliberately targeting him or her.
-
a person who is opposed to, struggles
against, or competes
with another; opponent; adversary.

7. Theme
• The plot has been called the body
of a play and the theme has been
called its soul.
• A writer’s message, or main point,
is the theme of his or her
literary work. Looking for a
theme helps you look more deeply
into the literature and makes for
more enjoyable reading.
• You will need to infer what the
theme is from the work’s title,
key scenes, characters, symbols,
and plot events.

8. Plot
• events that make up a story,
particularly as they relate to
one another in a pattern, in a
sequence, through cause and
effect, or by coincidence.
• The plot is usually structured
with acts and scenes.

9. Point of View
A. Omniscient – a
story told by the
author, using the
third person;
her/his knowledge,
control, and
prerogatives are
unlimited; authorial
subjectivity.

10. B. Limited Omniscient – a
story in which the author
associates with a major or
minor character; this
character serves as the
author’s spokesperson or
mouthpiece.

11. C. First Person – the
author identifies with or
disappears in a major or
minor character; the
story is told using the
first person “I”.

12. D. Objective or Dramatic
– the opposite of the
omniscient; displays
authorial objectivity;
compared a roving sound
camera. Very little of
the past or the future is
given; the story is set in
the present

13. Dialogue
 Dialogue provides the
substance of a play. Each
word uttered by the
character furthers the
business of the play,
contributes to its effect
as a whole. Therefore, a
sense of DECORUM must
be established by the
characters, ie., what is
said is appropriate to the
role and situation of a
character.

14. Visual Element
While the dialog and music constitute the audible aspect of drama,
the visual element deals with the scenes, costumes and special effects
used in it. The visual element of drama, also known as the spectacle,
renders a visual appeal to it. The costumes worn by the artists must
suit the characters they are playing. Besides, it is important for the
scenes to be dramatic enough to hold the audiences to their seats. The
special effects used in a play add to the visual appeal. Thus, the
spectacle forms an essential component of drama.
The use of symbols implies the use of indirect suggestions in a
drama. Logically used symbols help in making a scene more effective.
The use of contrast is about using stillness followed by activity or
silence followed by noise. It can also mean the use of contrasting colors
to add to the visual appeal. It can mean the clever use of contrasting
scenes following each other that enhance the dramatic element of a
play.

15. Stage
 It is the most important
element and without it
the drama is never
performed.
 It is the name of place
where on the drama is
acted.

16. Kinds of Drama
1. Comedy
2. Tragic
3. Tragicomedy

17. Comedy
 a universal form of expression and a major
dramatic genre that is intended to amuse.
 often associated with humorous behavior,
wordplay, pleasurable feeling, release of
tension, and laughter. Imbued with a
playful spirit, comic entertainment
frequently exposes incongruous, ridiculous,
or grotesque aspects of human nature.
 It generally follows a fixed pattern of
theatrical surprises that leads to a sense
of exhilaration in the spectator. Of all
dramatic genres, comedy is the most widely
performed.

18. Tragic
 dramatic genre that presents
the heroic or moral struggle of an
individual, culminating in his or her
ultimate defeat, tragic plays appear
chiefly in societies that maintain a
fixed hierarchy of political and
religious beliefs. Only when
spectators share with the
playwright a particular social vision
and system of class-based values
can they empathize with the fall of
the protagonist (central character)
from an elevated position into bleak
despair or annihilation.

19. Tragicomedy
 drama that contains elements of
tragedy and comedy. One
example of tragicomedies is
English playwright William
Shakespeare's so-called
reconciliation plays, such as The
Winter's Tale (1610), which
reach a tragic climax but then
lighten to a happy conclusion.
 A tragicomedy is the usual form
for plays in the tradition of the
theater of the absurd.

20. TYPES OF DRAMA
1. Comedy
2. Tragedy
3. Farce
4. Melodrama
5. Musical

21. Comedy
refer to plays that are light in tone, and
that typically have happy endings. The intent
of a comedic play is to make the audience
laugh. In modern theater, there are many
different styles of comedy, ranging from
realistic stories, where the humor is derived
from real-life situations, to outrageous
slapstick humor.

22. Tragedy
- Tragedy is one of the oldest forms of
drama;
- Tragedy usually involves serious
subject matter and the death of one or
more main characters. These plays
rarely have a happy ending.

23. Farce
Farce is a sub-category of comedy,
characterized by greatly exaggerated
characters and situations. Characters tend
to be one-dimensional and often follow
stereotypical behavior. Farces typically
involve mistaken identities, lots of physical
comedy and outrageous plot twists.

24. Melodrama
Melodrama is another type of
exaggerated drama. As in farce, the
characters tend to be simplified and one-
dimensional. The formulaic storyline of the
classic melodrama typically involves a villain a
heroine, and a hero who must rescue the
heroine from the villain.

25. Musical
• In musical theater, the story is told not only through
dialogue and acting but through music and dance. Musicals
are often comedic, although many do involve serious
subject matter. Most involve a large cast and lavish sets
and costumes.
• As a student of drama it is important to be able recognize
these different types of drama. Be aware that in modern
theater, the lines between these types of drama are often
quite blurred, with elements of comedy, drama and
tragedy residing in the same play.

26. Forms of Drama
1. Opera
2. Pantomime
3. Creative Drama

27. Opera
 Opera is a dramatic art form,
which arose during
the Renaissance.
 Drama in which the text is set
to music and staged.
 The texts of operas are sung,
with singing and stage action
nearly always given
instrumental accompaniment.

28. Pantomime
 is an art of dramatic
representation by means of facial
expressions and body movements
rather than words. Pantomime, or
mime, has always played a part in
theater.
 Pantomime, or dumb show, was
essential to commedia dell'arte, an
improvised comedy that arose in
16th-century Italy and spread
throughout Europe.

30. Creative Drama
 includes dramatic
activities and games
used primarily in
educational settings
with children.