What is Drama?: Read and Respond

drama or a play is a story that is meant to be acted out in front of an audience. “Drama” comes from the Greek word for “action.” The action, or the doing, makes the drama. When a play is performed, the actors and the audience are all in the performance space together. This is what separates drama from movies or television: the performance happens live, in front of the audience’s eyes.

You can also enjoy and analyze a drama in its written form. Just remember while you’re reading that the author intended the words to be spoken out loud. This is the key difference between a drama and a story or novel. You can ask yourself, what would this play look like in performance? Why is it important that this piece be performed? What was the playwright trying to say that he or she felt would be communicated best by actors?

What can you do while reading a drama to analyze how it’s different from a story or novel?

• Imagine what a performance of the play would look like.

• Ask yourself why the playwright wrote it as a play and not a story or novel.

• Remember that you’re reading something that was meant to be performed.

• all of the above

There are several different parts of a play text or script. Plays are usually divided into parts called acts. Shakespeare wrote all his plays in five acts, while most modern plays have one, two or three acts. The time between acts is called intermission. Acts can be further broken up into pieces called scenes. Scenes are a little like chapters in a book: they usually show action that happens all in the same place at the same time. A change in scene can signal a change in location or a change in time. The playwright will usually put all the information you need to know about the setting and time at the beginning of the scene or act. Make sure to read everything so that you know when and where a scene or act takes place.

Imagine that you work for a theater company. The director tells you that she wants to produce a play with no intermission.

Which play would you suggest?

• Hamlet by William Shakespeare, which has five acts and takes place in different locations in and around Elsinore Castle

• “Master Harold”...and the Boys by South African playwright Athol Fugard, which takes place in one location and in one span of time

• Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda, which has two acts, each with multiple scenes, and covers many years of Alexander Hamilton’s life

• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, which has three acts that take place in either a London apartment or an English country house

The people in plays, like the people in books, are the characters. Plays are written in dialogue, with each character’s speech set off separately. The things a character says are called his or her lines. Every time a new character speaks, a new line starts. Sometimes a character is alone onstage and speaks to him or herself or to the audience. This is called a monologue or soliloquy. Unlike in a book, there is no extra explanation that accompanies the dialogue. Everything you need to know about a character, like their personality, motives, or character traits, comes from the things they say and do.

The passage below is from The Miracle Worker by William Gibson. The play is about Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan. This scene takes place when Annie gets off the train and meets Kate, Helen’s mother.

Annie: I changed trains every time they stopped, the man who sold me that ticket ought to be tied to the tracks...you didn’t bring Helen. I was hoping you would.

Kate: No, she’s home.

Annie: You--live far from town, Mrs. Keller?

Kate: Only a mile.

Annie: Well. I suppose I can wait one more mile. But don’t be surprised if I get out to push the horse!

Based on the dialogue, which of the following is true?

• Annie is reluctant to meet Helen and start working.

• Kate brought Helen with her to the station.

• Annie is very impatient to meet Helen.

• Annie’s train ride was short and easy.

There’s another kind of writing in scripts as well. When playwrights want to communicate specific instructions to the director of the play, the actors or the reader, they write stage directions. Stage directions could tell what a scene looks like, when and where a character moves or what special effects happen at a particular moment. They are often written in italics, which makes it easier to tell them apart from the dialogue. Common stage directions tell you when a character walks onto the stage, or “enters,” and leaves the stage, or “exits.” Stage directions are particularly helpful when reading a script. They can help you imagine what the play would look like when performed.

The number of stage directions in a script can vary. Some playwrights don’t write very many. You won’t find a lot of stage directions in a play by Shakespeare, for example. Other playwrights write tons of stage directions. Arthur Miller did a lot of research when writing his play The Crucible, about the Salem Witch Trials, and put a lot of thought into the detailed descriptions of scenes and characters.

Read the following passage from the end of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun.

Mama: Yeah--they something all right, my children…

Ruth: Yeah--they’re something. Let’s go, Lena.

…

Walter: Y’all come on! These people charges by the hour, you know!

Mama: All right, honey--go on down. I be down directly.

RUTH hesitates, then exits. MAMA stands, at last alone in the living room, her plant on the table before her as the lights start to come down. She looks around at all the walls and ceilings and suddenly, despite herself, while the children call below, a great heaving thing rises in her and she puts her fist to her mouth to stifle it, takes a final desperate look, pulls her coat about her, pats her hat and goes out. The lights dim down. The door opens and she comes back in, grabs her plant, and goes out for the last time.

What do you learn from the stage directions in this passage that you don’t learn from the dialogue?

• Ruth is trying to get Mama out the door.

• Walter wants Mama and Ruth to hurry up.

• Mama wants to hide her emotions as she leaves her apartment.

• Mama is very proud of her children but doesn’t want to spoil them.

A drama comes to life when it is performed. There are many parts to putting the performance of a play together!

All the characters in the play are performed by actors. The group of actors together is called the cast. The actors rehearse, or go over their lines and movements, with a director for weeks or months before the show.

In the theater, the performance takes place on the stage. The stage is decorated by a set, which represents the setting or settings where the play takes place. Everything on the set that the actors use are called props. Everything the actors wear are the costumes. There are also special lights and sounds that go into creating a performance. All of these elements are created by artists called theater designers.

There is a whole second team of people behind the scenes or backstage making sure the play runs smoothly. These include the stage manager, who runs the play’s technical aspects like changing the lights and sounds. There are also people moving scenery and props and helping the actors change costumes. All these people together are called the crew.

During the performance of a play, who would be most likely to fix a technical problem that arises?

• the stage manager

• the director

• a designer

• an actor

The audience is what makes a drama into theater. When you go to see a play, you are a member of the audience. You have a very important role in the performance of the play. It is your job to watch and listen to the actors and to absorb what they are trying to show and tell you. It is also your job to practice theater etiquette. Make sure you follow these rules:

Show up to the theater on time. Turn off your cell phone before the play starts, and don’t use it during the performance. Be quiet so that you and the rest of the audience can hear the performance. Don’t get out of your seat during the performance. Pay attention so that you can respond to funny, shocking, sad and entertaining moments.

At the end of the performance, the audience applauds. If you thought the performance was amazing, you can stand up and clap. This is called a standing ovation, and it's an extra special way to honor the people who made the play.

Read the following passage.

Preston is going to see a play. The play starts at 8:00, so he thinks he’ll show up at 8:15. He intends to update his social media accounts on his phone during the play so everyone will know what he’s up to. He also plans to scroll through social media a few times to make sure he doesn’t miss any updates.

What could you tell Preston to improve his theater etiquette?

• Make sure to show up on time, keep your phone off and pay attention.

• Nobody really minds if you’re on your phone, but it’s good to show up on time.

• It’s fine to show up late, but only check your phone once or twice during the show.

• Make sure to talk to the people around you during the play so you can post about what they say.