Recognizing Drama

Recognizing Drama

StudySync

define

​Drama is any form of storytelling that is told through performance. Actors on stage use dialogue, or written speech between characters to reveal their thoughts and feelings. Dramatic writers also provide stage directions, which can describe the set, a sound effect, or the appearance and actions of a character. The dialogue, stage directions, and actor instructions are part of the script, or the written text of a drama.

define 2

The action in dramatic writing is broken up by scenes and acts. A scene is a continuous sequence of action between one or more characters. An act is a series of scenes in a dramatic work that is used to break the text into multiple main parts.

We can recognize dramatic writing even when we are not seeing it on stage. Film uses sound and images to convey story. Musicals are plays or films which incorporate singing and dancing.
Any time a playwright or screenwriter uses dialogue, performance, and acting to share a story, it is considered a drama.

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​define 3

Multiple Choice

an instruction written by the playwright that may describe the set, a sound effect, the lighting, or the appearance or actions of a character

• Script

• Stage Direction

• Musical

• Film

Multiple Choice

a major unit of a drama

• Musical

• Scene

• Act

• Film

Multiple Choice

a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage

• Scene

• Dialogue

• Musical

• Drama

practice

Choose the correct dramatic element that matches the description of each element.

Multiple Choice

JESSICA: Do you know when the concert will begin?AMY: The program says 9 p.m.

• Dialogue

• Setting

• Stage Directions

• Characterization

Multiple Choice

[A crowded auditorium]

• Dialogue

• Setting

• Stage Directions

• Characterization

Multiple Choice

[JESSICA crosses the stage and looks off into the distance.]

• Characterization

• Stage Directions

• Setting

• Dialogue

Multiple Choice

AMY: (concerned) I wonder if something is wrong.

• Dialogue

• Setting

• Stage Directions

• Characterization