Conventions of drama

What elements do you typically find in a playscript? Check all that apply.

• dialogue

• setting

• post-editing

• made for live performance

Answer explanation

In drama, there's no post-editing. Once a mistake is made on stage, there's no turning back.

Drama is inherently performative, relying on the collaboration between playwrights, actors, directors, and designers to bring the text to life on stage.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

Drama is supposed to be SEEN, supposed to be ACTED, supposed to be FELT, so it is a very collaborative medium.

Playscripts DO NOT include...

• Stage directions

• Dialogue

• Charaters names

• Camera positioning

What does an ACT mark on a playscript?

• major divisions within the narrative

• changes in location, time, or focus

• guidance for actors, directors and stage crew

Answer explanation

Acts mark major divisions within the narrative, while scenes indicate changes in location, time, or focus within each act.

Check all the answers that apply to SETTING directions:

• time

• place

• details about the environment

Answer explanation

Descriptions of setting might include time, place and any significant details about the environment. These provide context for the action and help the reader visualise the scene.

Unlike novels, what is the central element of a playscript?

Answer explanation

Playscripts rely mostly on dialogue to narrate the story because it's difficult to describe scenes on stage, for example.

What element is easier to perceive in a novel than in a play?

• light and sound

• the power of dialogue

• character's feelings

• character's face

Answer explanation

It is easier to perceive a character's feelings in a novel because this medium is much more descriptive, allowing the writer to use elements such as stream of consciousness.

What is a soliloquy?

• When a character addresses the audience directly, acknowledging their presence and involving them in the performance.

• A speech delivered by a single character, typically addressing other characters, the audience, or themselves.

• A type of monologue in which a character is alone on stage and speaks their thoughts aloud, revealing their innermost thoughts or feelings.

• When the audience possesses information that one or more characters do not, creating suspense and anticipation.