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Elements of DRAMA
Elements of DRAMA
and Nature
of Drama
DRAMA
Is a literary work that is intended to
be presented on a stage in front of
an audience or a group of audience.
It involves a conflict between the
main character, antagonist, and
supporting characters
Popular genres are comedy and
tragedy
DRAMA
It brings your imagination to life unlike
poetry and fiction
First form originated from Greece
from 2500 years ago
Difference of DRAMA and THEATER
Drama Theater
Actual written material or
the script
Literary
Technical
Performance
Aristotle, a Greek philosopher,
first wrote about the essential
elements of drama around 2000
years ago. Below is his version of
the six (6) types of drama:
PLOT
Is everything that is happening
on the play. It is action and the
basic story line of the story.
It serves as the skeleton of the
story that brings actions into a
cohesive and more organized
form
theme
It refers to the main idea of the
play. It is the lesson that the
audience will eventually learn
after seeing the play.
It is called the soul of the story
characters
These are people, and can
sometimes be animals or ideas,
that are portrayed by actors in
the play
dialogue
These are storylines that are
spoken by the characters in the
play
Music/rhythm
This refers to the sound of the
dialogue, musicality, pace, etc.
It helps in establishing the mood
of the play and builds impelling
force that may lead to the climax
Spectacle
It is the visual elements of the
play that may come as costumes,
stage display, special effects, etc.
it is everything that you see while
watching the performance
In modern theatre,
convention and audience
were added to the list. This
acknowledges the fact that
these elemennts greatly
affect the plat when not
given due attention.
convention
Different types of methods
and techniques used by the
director to create a specific
style or effect
genre
Plays can be categorized
into different genres such as
tragedy, comedy, mystery
and historical type of play
audience
The most crucial part is
keeping in mind your target
audience. They are the
reason for the creation of
such play.
Categorized in Three ELEMENTS
Literary
Technical
Performance
Set/scenery
Technical equipment such
as curtains, flats, backdrops,
etc.
costumes
Clothing and accessories
props
Any movable objects that
appear on stage (i.e.
telephone, tables, etc.)
lights
Choice of light colors,
intensity, and placement of
lights
sound
The effects that audience
hears which provide
context, communicate
character, and establish the
environment
Make up
Cosmetics and prosthetics
used to enhance/change a
person’s image
Make up
Cosmetics and prosthetics
used to enhance/change a
person’s image
Categorized in Three ELEMENTS
Literary
Technical
Performance
acting
The use of body, face and
voice to portray a certain
role or character
Character motivation
The force that influences
the behaviour of the
characters
Character analysis
The process used in
evaluating how the
elements in drama/play are
used to create impact to
the audience
empathy
Is how you relate to the
experiences of other
people
Types of
DRAMA
Comedy- as a literary genre is dramatic and
amusing at the same time. In most comedy, the
ending results in a happy and successful
conclusion.
Tragedy- this is a type of drama that depicts
sadness, a human suffering, and misfortunes. In
literature, the most common plot for tragedy is
when the protagonist dies. This makes
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet a tragedy.
Melodrama is an exaggerated genre of
drama. It utilizes musi to draw emotion and
appeal to the feelings of the audience
Musical drama-this type of drama takes
advantage of the music. Instead if pure
dialogue and acting, musical drama makes
use of dancing and singing to tell a story
Historical drama is a type of drama that
attempts to relive famous historical events
that made a mark in the world. It can also be
based on stories of famous people in history.
Fantasy is a type of drama that
showcases magic, pseudo-science,
horror, and other themes that only
exist in human mind. This particular
type is famousamong children and
individuals who are young at heart.
In most cases, it utilizes a lot of
special effects