Drama Research Paper

DRAMA: the specific mode of fiction represented in performance, from a Greek word meaning "action," "to do," or "to act". The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a collective form of reception. The structure of dramatic texts, unlike other forms of literature, is directly influenced by this collaborative production and collective reception.

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA * Music/Rhythm: Aristotle - the rhythm of the actors' voices as they speak. * Spectacle: the visual elements that the audience sees as they watch the play (sets, costumes, special effects, etc.) * Plot: the basic storyline action that happens in the play. * Theme: the meaning, and main idea or lesson to be learned from the play. * Characters: the people, animals, or ideas portrayed by the actors who move the plot. * Dialogue: the words written by the playwright and spoken by the character which helps move the action of the play along. * Convention: the techniques and methods used by the playwright and director to create the desired stylistic effect. * Genre: the type of play (comedy, tragedy, mystery, historical play, etc.) * Audience: the group of people who watch the play considered most important by playwrights and actors: all of the effort put in to writing and producing is for the enjoyment of the audience.

DRAMATIC SPEECHES: types of dialogue used by playwrights * Aside: a brief comment made by one character that is not meant to be heard by other characters, spoken to the audience or to another character. * Soliloquy: a longer speech unheard by other characters in which a character reveals his or her true thoughts or feelings, the speaker is alone on stage. * Monologue: a long, uninterrupted speech by one character, to which other characters usually listen.

CONFLICT: an inherent incompatibility between the objectives of two or more characters or