The Elements of Drama

The Elements of Drama

Guiding Questions

■ Have you ever noticed what the

movie theater screen is
surrounded by?

■ Why is it that people would rather

watch a movie instead of reading
the book?

Open Ended

Have you ever noticed what the movie theater screen is surrounded by?
Why do you think that is?

Open Ended

Why is it that people would rather watch a movie instead of reading the book?

Drama

■ Comes from the Greek Word,

“Dran”

■ Means “To do” or “To Act”

■ The Doing/Acting Makes Drama

Drama…

■ …is a story told in front of an

audience

■ There are TWO main types

■ Tragedy-a sad ending; usually has a

downfall by a tragic hero ( a hero with
a flaw)

■ And Comedy- a happy ending

Elements of Drama

■ Playwright-the

author of a play

■ Actors-the people

who perform

■ Acts-the units of

action

■ Scenes-parts of the

acts

Match

Match the following

• acts

• playwright

• scenes

• actors

the units of the action

the author of the play

parts of the acts

the people who perform

• the units of the action

• the author of the play

• parts of the acts

• the people who perform

Elements of Drama

■ Plot- Exposition, Rising

Action, Climax, Falling
Action, and Resolution

■ Conflict

■ Many types of

Characters-Protagonist,
Antagonist, Foil, Major,
Minor, Static, Dynamic

■ Setting

Dramatic Speech

■ Dialogue-conversation

between or among
characters

■ Soliloquy- long speech by

one single character to
him/herself or to the
audience (inner thoughts)

■ Monologue- long speech

by one single character to
others

■ Aside- A short speech

that the audience can
hear but no character on
stage can hear it.

Stage Directions

■ Found in brackets [ ]

■ Describes scenery and

how characters speak

■ C, Center Stage

■ L, Stage Left

■ R, Stage Right

■ U, Upstage or Rear

■ D, Downstage or Front

Theater

■ Where a

play
takes
place

Set

■ Construction on

the stage that
shows time/place

■ Could be called

Scenery

Props

■ Small

movable
items
that the
actors
use to
make
actions
look real

The Audience

Finally, a play needs an audience to

● experience the performance

● understand the story and to respond to

the characters

Quiz Time

Use the Notes titled Elements of Drama

to answer the following questions.

Do your best this quiz is a GRADE.

Multiple Select

What is the purpose of the audience? Select the TWO choices.

• to respond to the characters

• to clap

• to show up so the play makes money

• to experience the performance

Multiple Choice

I speak to myself alone on stage and you hear my inner thoughts. I use ​

.

• soliloquy

• Monologue

• dialogue

• aside

Drag and Drop

What are the three types of dramatic genres?



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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

comedy

tragedy

drama

Multiple Choice

Which one of these includes serious and humorous content?

• Comedy

• Tragedy

• Drama