Dramatic Terms

 

 

PLOT – the pattern of events which occur. Is it believable or credible given its setting?               

            Is it well-paced as opposed to slow moving? Like a short story or a novel, drama has a

            story line which may contain exposition, rising action, climax and resolution. This is the plot.

            UNLIKE A SHORT STORY OR NOVEL, A DRAMA DOES NOT USE NARRATION

            TO ADVANCE THE STORY LINE, OR PLOT; RATHER IT USES THE DIRECT

            DIALOGUE OF THE CHARACTERS TO MOVE THE ACTION FORWARD.

 

CHARACTERIZATION --  As in a short story or a novel, characters are essential

            to a story line, but the dramatist has less time in which to introduce them to the     

            audience than does the novelist. Given this shorter time period, and the fact that a            

            character is on stage with other characters, the dramatist must work harder at the  

            differentiation among characters in order to bring them to life. If the protagonist is           

            tall, the author may give the antagonist different physical attributes. If the female

            lead is blonde, the playwright may make her friend a brunette. In effect, the          

            dramatist tries to help you keep them separate and distinct.

 

THOUGHT – Even a light-hearted comedy involves thought in it broadest sense, but            

            in a serious drama we expect more serious thought.  That is, we expect a serious    

            play to make a comment on life or living—the human experience.  Generally         

            these direct or indirect comments on life are called THEMES, and to identify the

            theme of a play we would consider:

                        a. significant statements, particularly those made by the protagonist;

                        b. significant actions, particularly those of the protagonist;

                        c. the inferences we may draw from the actions and fate of the characters,                                     

                                    particularly at the conclusion of the play;

                        d. repeated references to the same idea.

 

DIALOGUE --  is the spoken words the characters use in a play. It involves the use of           
            language to create thought, character, and incident.

 

STAGING OR SPECTACLE --  deals with everything that is seen on stage,       

            especially the physical actions of the characters but also including scenery, props,

            costumes, music, and lighting. 

 

DRAMATIST OR PLAYWRIGHT – is one who writes the play.

 

DRAMATIST PERSONAE – is the cast of characters in the play.

 

 

MODERN MELODRAMA – The traditional melodrama had an easily recognized           

            villain who initiated action and threatened an easily recognized hero.  As such,     

            melodrama used stereotypical characters to portray a world in which good and      

            evil were clearly distinguished.  As a result, most melodramas had a sharply          

            defined, oversimplified moral conflict.  To this we might add that the modern       

            melodrama has a conflict that is almost always physical.  These we characterize as action/adventure.

 

DRAMA --  In contrast, serious drama usually involves a conflict that is non-physical. 

            The characters are usually more fully developed and the action of the plot grows

            out of the characters.  As such, good and evil are not as obvious and are less sharply

            defined.  In this sense, drama is more like real life than melodrama is and hence

            has more to say that is relevant to our lives.

 

MOTIVATION  --  is the stimuli which cause the characters to behave in a certain way. 

            In melodrama, it is a given conclusion, an element of the melodramatic style, that a

            character is good or evil, so he or she either acts wickedly or morally. No character

            motivation is necessary.  In a drama, we expect there to be a reason, a motive or motives,

            for a character’s actions, and we expect the motive to be a   plausible one.

 

DRAMATIC CLIMAX --  that point in the action when the emotion peaks. In most          

            plays a dramatic climax will occur toward the end of each act.

 

STAGE BUSINESS  --  a physical action of the character, usually with a prop, piece           

            of scenery, or other character, designed to move the action, reveal character or provide movement.

 

STEREOTYPES --  character types that appear so often that their nature is immediately

            familiar to the audience; for example, the mean-looking, biker with tattoos on his arms,

            long greasy hair, and black jacket.