Drama

What Is Drama?
A drama is a story enacted onstage for a live
audience.
 What Is Drama?
 Origins of Drama
 The word drama comes from the
Greek verb dran, which means
“to do.”
 The earliest known plays . . .
 were written around the fifth
century B.C.
 produced for festivals to honor
Dionysus, the god of wine and
fertility
 Dramatic Structure
Like the plot of a story, the plot of a play involves
characters who face a problem or conflict.
Climax
point of highest tension;
action determines how the
conflict will be resolved
Complications
tension builds

Resolution
Exposition conflict is resolved;
characters and conflict play ends
are introduced
 Dramatic Structure
Conflict is a struggle or clash
between opposing characters
or forces. A conflict may
develop . . .
 between characters who want
different things or the same
thing
 between a character and his or
her circumstances
 within a character who is torn
by competing desires
 Tragedy
A tragedy is a play that ends unhappily.
• Most classic Greek tragedies deal with
serious, universal themes such as

right and wrong

justice and injustice
life and death

• Tragedies pit human limitations against the

larger forces of destiny.
 Tragedy
The protagonist of most classical tragedies is a
tragic hero. This hero
pride
• is noble and in many
ways admirable
• has a tragic flaw, a rebelliousness
personal failing that
leads to a tragic end
jealousy
 Comedy
A comedy is a play that ends happily. The plot
usually centers on a romantic conflict.

boy meets girl boy loses girl boy wins girl

 Comedy
The main characters in a comedy could be
anyone:

nobility townspeople servants

 Comedy
• Comic complications always
occur before the conflict is
resolved.

• In most cases, the play

ends with a wedding.
 Modern Comedy
 Modern Comedies
 In modern comedies, the genders in this romantic
plot pattern sometimes are reversed.
 Modern Drama
A modern play
• may be tragedy, comedy, or a mixture of the
two
• usually focuses on personal issues
• usually is about ordinary people
 Modern Drama
Modern playwrights often experiment with
unconventional plot structures.

long flashbacks
music

visual projections
of a character’s
private thoughts
 Performance of a Play
When you read a play, remember that it is meant
to be performed for an audience.
Stage Directions Performance
Playwright describes setting  Theater artists bring the
and characters’ actions and playwright’s vision to life
manner. on the stage.
[Wyona is sitting on the  The audience responds to
couch. She sees Paul and the play and shares the
jumps to her feet.] experience.
Wyona. [Angrily.] What do
you want?
 Performance of a Play
 Theater artists include
 Actors
 Directors
 Lighting technicians
 Stage crew
 Setting the Stage
Stages can have many different sizes and
layouts.
“Thrust” stage
• The stage extends
into the viewing area.
• The audience
surrounds the stage
on three sides.
 Setting the Stage
“In the round” stage is surrounded by an
audience on all sides.
 Setting the Stage
Proscenium stage
• The playing area extends behind an opening
called a “proscenium arch.”
• The audience sits on one side looking into the
action.

upstage
stage right stage left

downstage
 Setting the Stage

Stages in Shakespeare’s
time were thrust stages.
 Setting the Stage
Scene design transforms a bare stage into the
world of the play. Scene design consists of
• sets
• lighting
• costumes
• props
 Setting the Stage
A stage’s set might be

realistic and abstract

detailed and minimal
 Setting the Stage
A lighting director skillfully uses light to change
the mood and appearance of the set.
 Setting the Stage
The costume director works with the director to
design the actors’ costumes.
• Like sets, costumes can be

detailed minimal
 Setting the Stage
Props (short for properties) are items that the
characters carry or handle onstage.

• The person in charge of props must make sure

that the right props are available to the actors
at the right moments.
 The Characters
The characters’ speech may take any of the
following forms.
Dialogue: conversations of characters onstage

Monologue: long speech given by one character to others

Soliloquy: speech by a character alone onstage to himself or herself

or to the audience

Asides: remarks made to the audience or to one character; the other

characters onstage do not hear an aside
 The Audience
Finally, a play needs an audience to

experience the performance

understand the story

respond to the characters

MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

2. Stage Layouts/Directions
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

2. Stage Layouts/Directions

a. Upstage - this means away from

the stage front. In the proscenium
stage, this usually serves as the
entrance or exit of the performers.
It is where crosses or counter
crosses of the actors and actresses
take place (see figure 1). When a
performer is on the upstage, she/he
can be seen as lesser important than
the one on the downstage.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

2. Stage Layouts/Directions

b. Center stage- the center of the playing area

MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

2. Stage Layouts/Directions

c. Downstage- the area closest to the audience, when a

character is placed in this area, this leaves the
impression that he/she is an important character.
Note: downstage and upstage cannot be used in other
types of stages but proscenium only
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

a. Scenery- includes any non-costume visual element used in

support of a production. This is any nonpermanent two- or
three-dimensional background or environmental element that is
placed on the stage so as to suggest the historical period, locale,
and mood of the play being performed. This relies on your
imagination and interpretation of the script
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

b. Script - is a form of writing in the form of drama. It

consists of dialogues and information about the characters
like their age, occupation and the relationship of the
characters.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

c. Dialogues- are what the characters say to each other. This is central to a
good drama. To make it sound realistic, you need to read it aloud yourself.
You have to ask yourself these questions:
Where does this character come from?
What age are they?
What kind of person are they?
What mood are they in?
Who are they talking to?
Your grandfather speaks differently from your younger brother and an
Ilonggo from a Cebuano as well
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

d. Structure - the order that action and scenes are placed for dramatic
effect. This can be linear and non-linear. When events in the play
run from beginning to end or in chronological order, you have a
linear structure. When events unfold from the present to the past or
flashback, you have a non-linear structure. Reading and
understanding the script is vital to know in which manner the events
of the play happen.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

e. Set- this is the scenery and the furniture on

stage.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

f. Props- are the items held or used by actors/actresses onstage to

make the action more realistic. When staging a drama always think of
what is necessary. Too many props can be very difficult for the
performers to use and as they are to be brought on stage and off stage,
they can slow down the action.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

g. Transition and Flow- this the movement from one scene

to another. A messy transition like interrupting the actions for
costume change or to rearrange the set ruins the attention of
the audience.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

h. Proxemics and Levels-this is how the characters are on a stage.

The distance or level between character/actors shows their
relationships and feelings and give clues of the situation or the people
within the situation at that moment. For instance, when characters
stand close to each other, this gives the impression that they have
intimate relationship. If they are apart, you show the idea that they
must be strangers or no longer speaking to each other.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

i. Costume- special kind of clothing's on the body of the

characters on stage to help in the dramatic action and the
interpretation of the script contents. They can be every day
clothes or symbolical ones. You can add accessories such as
masks, walking sticks, necklaces and others.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

j. Blocking- is not just the movement of the performers on a

stage but this also reveals the relationship of the actors and
actresses between each other and one and another. This
communicates your interpretation of the key points of the story
in your script.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

3. The Script and other Influencing Circumstances

on Staging a Play

k. Audience awareness- along with interpreting the script, it

is important to think of who the audience is .This is a group
of individuals gathered together at a certain period and place
for without any other purposes but to see the performance.
MATALAM NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
LINAO, MATALAM, COTABATO
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

Activity #1

In this activity, there are descriptions written for the

different staging modalities. Read them thoroughly and
write T-for the descriptions that suit TRAVERSE stage,
Th for THRUST, P for PROSCENIUM, A for ARENA
and E for EXPERIMENTAL
The End