Introduction to Drama & A Christmas Carol

Week of November 18th - 22nd

Drama Notes & A Christmas Carol - Act 1

History of the Theater

➢ Originated in Ancient Greece (5th-8th

century B.C.)

➢ Performed in an amphitheater: a large,

half-circle-shaped building without a

roof.

➢ Three main genres: tragedy, comedy, and

satire

Multiple Choice

Where did the theatre originate?

• Italy

• Ancient Greece

• England

• America

Multiple Select

What are the three main genres in theatre?

• Comedy

• Romance

• Tragedy

• Satire

• Horror

The Basics of Drama

Drama: a genre of writing performed for a large audience

Script: the written words for the actors

Acts: the “chapters” of a drama

Scenes: show changes in setting over time; each act contains
multiple scenes

Cast: the characters in a given drama or actors who play them

Stage Directions: an instruction written into the script of a play,
indicating:

stage actions, movements of performers,
or production requirements

Multiple Choice

What are stage directions for?

• Stage directions are only for lighting design.
• Stage directions guide actors and directors in performance.
• Stage directions are used to write scripts.
• Stage directions are meant for audience members.

Types of Spoken Lines

Dialogue: spoken lines between two or more people

Monologue: a long speech by one actor/character in a
play or movie

Aside: line(s) spoken by one character to the audience, which the

other characters onstage cannot hear

Soliloquy: when a character in a dramatic work speaks
directly to the

audience, expressing their inner thoughts.

Multiple Choice

A monologue is...

• A dialogue between two characters.
• A speech by one character.
• A poem recited by a group.
• A narrative told by an author.

Multiple Choice

Asides and soliloquies are..

• Both spoken to the audience

• Are spoken the the director

Types of Irony

Verbal: the use of words to mean something different from
what a

person actually says

Dramatic: when the audience is aware of something that the

characters in the story are not aware of

Situational: when the exact opposite of what is meant to
happen,

happens

Multiple Choice

Which is an example of situational irony?

• a cat sleeping peacefully.

• a sunny beach on a clear day.

• a fire station burns down.

• a chef cooking in a restaurant.

Meet the author Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens was one of the most popular
authors of the 19th Century.

He wrote several famous pieces of literature
including:

A Christmas Carol
A Tale of Two Cities

Oliver Twist

Great Expectations
David Copperfield

The Pickwick Papers

Background Information

➢ Born February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England

➢ His father was a naval clerk

➢ One of eight children

➢ Family would have been considered lower middle class

➢ Before Charles turned 12, his father, John, was sent to

prison for debt

➢ Charles was forced to leave school and work in a

boot-blacking factory pasting labels onto bottles

➢ Charles Dickens died June 9, 1870

Dickens’ always remembered the difficulties of his
childhood and used his novels to draw attention to
the suffering of children in Victorian Era England.
He particularly focused on…
●

Poverty

●

Loneliness

●

Shame

Child labor, not
just in England

Multiple Choice

What did Dickens focus on in his writing?

• Fame

• Wealth

• Poverty

● believed he could use his social position and

writing to help the poor. That education was
a resource that could be utilized by
individuals to improve their situation.

● highlighted characters’ ability to change and

to become productive members of society.

Write for five minutes on this topic:

Do you think people are
capable of significantly
changing their beliefs and their
actions?

Open Ended

Do you think people are
capable of significantly
changing their beliefs and their
actions? Explain why or why not.

One of Charles Dickens most beloved stories

●Dickens wrote “A Christmas Carol” in 1843 in only
six weeks.

●Dickens was unable to find a publisher because they
believed there was no commercial market for the
story.

●Dickens decided to publish it himself.

●He included hand colored illustrations and insisted
the price be kept within the budget of the poor.

●It was a success and has seen numerous printings,
adaptations and movies.

Multiple Choice

How long did it take Dickens to write A Christmas Carol?

• Two months
• One week
• Six weeks
• Three days

There are many adaptations of

Dickens’ A Christmas Carol

Wow! Check out how tone and

mood change the feeling in this

version.