Drama

1. Drama Plays are divided into Acts, and acts are divided into scenes. There can be one or several acts in a play.

2. Drama has evolved from the times of ancient Egypt to the present. • Egypt- drama was used in religious celebrations • Greeks • Language: Spoke in verse • Sets and costumes • Wore masks • Had little sets • Had no special costumes • Performed out doors in the morning or afternoon. • Performed in arenas • Audience was close to the stage • Audience could hear even a whisper • The assigned seating plan created a sense of community

3. Medieval times • Sets & Costumes • Performed on push wagons and carts • Some special effects were used • Many themes revolved around reward and punishment in the after life. • Performance • Performed inside or outside churches • Created a sense of belonging in churches and communities • Actors came into the audience & broke the illusion of separation • Elizabethan • Language: Most lines were in verse • Sets & Costumes • Actors spoke directly to the crowds • Actors wore contemporary costumes • There was very little scenery

4. Performance • Was performed in the afternoon • The theatre was wooden with an enclosed space open to the sky • The stage was covered , as was the seating for patrons & upper class • Seating was arranged by social class • Actors spoke directly to the audience • The audience was not silent during the productions • 19th/20th century • Performance • Performed on a proscenium stage • Actors acted unaware of the audience’s presence. • The audience was a silent observer looking through an imaginary fourth wall. • The detachment from the actors created a realistic atmosphere • Gas lights and electricity were introduced.

5. 21st century drama (the present) • Drama is eclectic • The audience sits in a dark theater & looks at a lighted stage • Effects are ran by computerized lighting boards • Drama is meant to imitate life. It both entertains and instructs. Today’s dramas are lifelike & allow an audience to examine human nature. • When reading a play, the audience (reader) does not get the benefit of the director’s, actor’s, and scene designer’s interpretations. • The reader must work hard to visualize the scenes and action from the author’s stage directions.

6. Elements of Drama • Plot • Characterization: direct characterization is given through stage directions • Setting: including time, place, & scenery. These are important in influencing the audience’s emotional reactions. • Dialogue: verbal exchange between characters • Soliloquy-when an actor is on stage speaking his or her own thoughts or feelings. These thoughts are usually true and give the audience information that other characters may not know • Monologue: A long speech given by one character. • Aside: A short statement made by a character that no other character on stage can hear.

7. Music • Movement: stage direction informs the reader of where the characters are, when they move, how they move, and sometimes, the significance of their movements. • Theme: The play’s message; its central concern. Theme reduces the complex action in the drama into a relatively simple, universal phrase.