What is Drama?

Drama is an unique tool to explore and express human feeling. It’s an

essential form of behaviour in all cultures, it is a fundamental human
activity.

In this site we are investigating the benefits Drama can have on child
development when applied functionally within a primary classroom. Drama
has the potential, as a diverse medium, to enhance cognitive, affective
and motor development.

A high degree of thinking, feeling and moving is involved and subsequently

aids in the development of skills for all other learning within and outside
of schools (transfer of learning).

Drama is a discrete skill in itself (acting, theatre, refined skill), and

therefore it is offered as a 'subject' in secondary school. However
Drama is also a tool which is flexible, versatile and applicable among all
areas of the curriculum. Through its application as a tool in the primary
classroom, Drama can be experienced by all children.

Drama assists in the development of :

 the use of imagination

 powers of creative self expression

 decision making and problem solving skills

 and understanding of self and the world

 self confidence, asense of worth and respect and consideration for

others.

The SACSA Framework defines Drama as:

'the enactment of real and imagined events through role-play, play making
and performances, enabling individuals and groups to explore, shape and
represent ideas, feelings and their consequences in symbolic or dramatic
form.'
Types of Drama
There are many forms of Drama. Here is a non-exhaustive list with a
simple explanation of each:

Improvisation / Let's Pretend

A scene is set, either by the teacher or the children, and then with little
or no time to prepare a script the students perform before the class.

Role Plays

Students are given a particular role in a scripted play. After rehearsal

the play is performed for the class, school or parents.

Mime

Children use only facial expressions and body language to pass on a

message tcript to the rest of the class.

Masked Drama

The main props are masks. Children then feel less inhibited to perform
and overact while participating in this form of drama.

Children are given specific parts to play with a formal script. Using only
their voices they must create the full picture for the rest of the class.
Interpreting content and expressing it using only the voice.

Puppet Plays

Children use puppets to say and do thngs that they may feel too inhibited
to say or do themselves.

Performance Poetry

While reciting a poem the children are encourage to act out the story
from the poem.
Radio Drama

Similar to script reading with the addition of other sound affects, The
painting of the mental picture is important

There are several other types of Drama referred to in the SACSA

Framework (www.sacsa.sa.edu.au)

The Classical Definition of Drama

‘Drama’ is an Ancient Greek word meaning ‘act’ or ‘deed’. The Ancient Greek philosopher
Aristotle used this term in a very influential treatise called the Poetics. In this text, Aristotle
classified different forms of poetry according to basic features he thought could be commonly
recognised in their composition. He used the term ‘drama’ to describe poetic compositions that
were ‘acted’ in front of audiences in a theatron.

While Aristotle offered drama as a general term to describe forms of poetry that were ‘acted’, he
identified different types of composition within this category, including comedy and tragedy. He
regarded comedy as a form of drama because it represented acts that made audiences laugh and
he considered tragedy a form of drama because it represented acts that made audiences feel pity
or fear. The Roman theorist Horace introduced another view of these poetic forms when he
suggested that their purpose was to either delight or instruct. Although various definitions and
developments in drama must be considered in addition to Aristotle’s original assessment of
dramas, many of the terms of classification he introduced are still used or debated today.

Examples: Greek Comedy, Greek Tragedy

References:

Aristotle. The Poetics of Aristotle. Trans. Stephen Halliwell. London: Duckworth, 1987.

Green, J.R. Theatre in Ancient Greek Society. New York; London: Routledge, 1994.

Drama as Imitation

Aristotle suggested that some forms of poetry could be identified as ‘dramas’ because they had
written compositions that represented ‘men acting’ and the presentation of the compositions
required men to act as the men represented in the texts. This system of classification therefore
contains a distinction between dramatic texts and performances that often requires further
clarification. Aristotle argued that dramatic texts and performances imitated actions or deeds
performed by people in real life. He called the process of imitation he identified in the dramas he
analysed mimesis.This concept has sometimes been used to suggest that written compositions
that are ‘acted’ offer representations of activities that copy reality in some way. However,
Aristotle’s arguments can also suggest that dramas offer quite unique kinds of poetry because
they use real actions, ideas and texts to construct possible views of reality. Those studying
dramas today therefore need to consider what views of reality may be represented in texts and
what views of reality may be presented in performance.
Examples: Naturalism, Realism, Brechtian Theatre, Theatre of the Absurd

References:

Aristotle. The Poetics of Aristotle. Trans. Stephen Halliwell. London: Duckworth, 1987.

Diamond, E. Unmaking Mimesis: Essays on Feminism and Theater. London, Routledge, 1997.

Ley, Graham. From Mimesis to Interculturalism: Readings of Theatrical Theory Before and
After ‘Modernism’. Exeter: U of Exeter P, 1997.

Taussig, Michael. Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses. New York; London:
Routledge, 1993.

Drama as Action

Aristotle argued that actors in a drama aim to mimic actions rather than perform real actions.
While his view has been influential, exploring how the concept of imitation relates to drama is
crucial to an understanding of dramatic activity. Dramatic ‘acting’ involves more than simply
copying actions that are described by playwrights or performed by people in everyday life. For
example, someone who performs a murder in a drama is unlikely to produce an exact replica of a
murder that has really occurred. Since those acting dramas probably wish to avoid causing
trauma to others or being dragged off to prison, it is likely that an actor would try to find an
action that can suggest the action of murder. Actors may still choose to perform actions that are
copies of ‘real’ or ‘imagined’ actions but they always need to be mindful of the consequences
and impact of their actions on themselves and on their audiences. Since those ‘acting’ dramas are
also really performing actions, those who are performing actions need to consider how their
actions will impact upon the different views and values in different audiences.

Examples: Boal’s ‘Invisible Theatre’ and Artaud’s ‘Theatre of Cruelty’

References:

Aristotle. The Poetics of Aristotle. Trans. Stephen Halliwell. London: Duckworth, 1987.

Boal, Augusto. Theater of the Oppressed. Trans. Charles A. McBride and Maria-Odilia Leal McBride.
London: Pluto, 1979.

Brecht, Bertolt. Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic. Ed. and trans., John
Willett. London: Eyre Methuen, 1974.

Diderot, Denis. The Paradox of Acting. New York: Hill and Wang, 1957.

Rayner, Alice. To Act, To Do, To Perform: Drama and the Phenomenology of Action. Ann Arbor:
U of Michigan P, 1994.

Roach, Joseph. The Player’s Passion: Studies in the Science of Acting. Ann Arbor: U of
Michigan P, 2002.

Schumacher, Claude, ed. Artaud on Theatre. London: Methuen Drama, 1989.

Stanislavskii, Konstantin. Building a Character. Trans. Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood. London:
Methuen, 1968.

6 Components of Drama
Aristotle is considered one of the world's greatest philosophers.

Born in 384 B.C. in Greece, Aristotle studied under the philosopher and mathematician Plato,
tutored a young Alexander the Great, and greatly contributed to science and philosophy until his
death in 322 B.C. In 350 B.C., Aristotle wrote "Poetics." In this treatise, he analyzed the classical
Greek tragedy, "Oedipus Rex" by Sophocles, and developed the six elements of drama.

1. Thought

The thought component of a drama is sometimes called the theme. It refers to the meaning of
play. The thought element of the play may be obvious or obscure. Some playwrights choose to
declare the theme in the title of the play or state it outright in the dialogue between characters.
Other playwrights communicate the theme through emotions and reactions produced by the plot.
In these plays, the audience often must analyze the play to discover its theme.

2. Plot

The plot of a drama refers to events that take place in the play, or the storyline. The plot is made
up of characters involved in conflict that eventually climaxes, then comes to a resolution. This
component consists of two stages. The first stage, the complication, includes everything that
happens before the climax. Everything that happens after climax occurs during the unraveling
stage.

3. Characters

In a drama, the characters are the people in the play who act out the plot and move it toward a
resolution. Each character must be fully developed and equipped with his own personality,
appearance, beliefs and background. The characters must be true to life, acting as a person of
their age or status would behave in real life.

4. Language

The fourth component of a drama is language or diction. The language consists of two parts: the
words the playwright writes and the way the actors deliver those words on stage. The language
develops the characters and moves the storyline along.

5. Music

Music has two definitions in a drama. Most obviously, it consists of any songs or instrumental
music involved in the play. While not all plays contain music, they all have a music component:
the rhythm of the dialogue, sound effects and the actors' voices. Playwrights often use both types
of the music element to convey the play's theme.
6. Spectacle

The visual elements of the play -- the scenery, costumes, and special effects -- make up the
spectacle element of the play. This component allows the playwright to create a fictional world
that the audience can see with their eyes and not just imagine in their minds.