The Elements of Drama

The Elements of Drama

Guiding Questions

■ What is a drama queen?
■ 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?

Poll

When someone calls you a drama queen, they mean to say. . .

• you have won a beauty pagent

• you have reacted in an exaggerated way

• your value among your peers ranks like royalty

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