MS. CUTLER FUNDAMENTALS OF DRAMA

Structure Of Drama

Play

Is the central element of the art of theatre. It is brought to life by the actors Expressed through the media of color, light,

and movement against a background of stage and scenery.

Unified by the creative vision of the director.

Aristotle’s Poetics

Aristotle was a major philosopher in GreeceHe wrote a book called Poetics which

describes the key elements of a successful play.

He stresses that drama is an imitation of life;He also points out that human happiness or

misery takes the form of action.He therefore identifies plot as the most

important element of a play.

Key Elements of Drama

Spectacle (the visible part of a play)Sound (the audible part of a play, especially

a poetic play)Diction (Language)Reasoning (the way speech is used to

present all aspects of the play, including the production of emotions such as pity, terror, and anger)

Plot (the action and events)

Protagonist

The main character of the story, most of the time seen as the hero

The protagonists should be “average or better” persons who experience happiness or misery as a result of their reactions to the situations of the plot.

Action and Plot

Aristotle believed that action must have unity

It must have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Events must occur in logical order and

must reach a plausible conclusion.

Exposition

As soon as possible after a play begins, the audience must know what kind of play is being presented, where and when it is taking place, who the leading characters are, and in what situations and conflicts they find themselves.

Primary Situation

The most important part of the exposition, and leads into the rising action.

This is the clear explanation of the situation that the characters find themselves in.

These events place them in the situation in which we find them at the beginning of the play.

Situation

The situation is the predicament of problem the plot revolves around.

Georges Polti created a book saying that there are 36 potential situations a play could be about.

Situations

Some include: Killing relitive (known and unknown) Crime pursued by vengence Daring enterprise Discovery of dishonor of a loved one Adultery Self sacrifice Obstacles to love The mystery Ambition Conflicting with a god

Rising Action

a series of related incidents builds toward the point of greatest interest

Climax

The climax is the turning point, which changes the protagonist’s fate.

If the story is a comedy, things will have gone badly for the protagonist up to this point; now, the plot will begin to unfold in his or her favor, often requiring the protagonist to draw on hidden inner strengths.

If the story is a tragedy, the opposite state of affairs will ensue, with things going from good to bad for the protagonist, often revealing the protagonist's hidden weaknesses

Falling Action

The conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist.

The falling action may contain a moment of final suspense, in which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt.

Resolution

Another term for the resolution of a play is denouement. The French for “untying the knot,”

It is the untangling of the situations and conflicts in the play.

“By complication I mean everything from the beginning of the story up to the point where the hero suffers a change of fortune; by denouement, everything from the latter point to the end.” - Aristotle