Unit 4: Reading and Writing Drama

Step into a scene and let it drop from your fingertips. – MJ Bush

Drama: It is a piece of art that is made in the sense that it meets the requirements of theatre. It is stageable, can be
acted with good effect and pleases the audience. It is a literary composition that is written either in prose or verse form.
The word “drama” originated from the Greek word “dran” which means “to do”. Thus, both kinds of play
are called a dramatist or playwright. The enactment of a play is usually done in a theater. The people involved
in the production of a play are called theater artists/ thespian.
Similar with other forms of creative writing such as stories, novels, and poems, drama is also an effective
literary form used by writers to express socially relevant issues, widely accepted morals, and universal truths
about life.
What is an ACT? It is a distinct main section of a play.
ONE-ACT PLAY: It is a short play (of one act) as distinct from a long play (of three or five acts). It deals with one single,
dominant dramatic situation and cannot be elongated into a 3-Act - a 5-Act play.
A PLAY IS INTENDED TO BE PRESENTED:
1. In A Playhouse
2. By Actors
3. Before An Audience

TYPES OF DRAMA
1. TRAGEDY: It is a form of drama based on human suffering that invokes in its audience an accompanying catharsis
or pleasure in the viewing.
2. COMEDY: It is any discourse or work generally intended to be humorous or to amuse by inducing laughter.
3. FARCE: It is a comedy that aims at entertaining the audience through situations that are highly exaggerated,
extravagant, and thus improbable.
4. MELODRAMA: It refers to a dramatic work that puts characters in danger in order to appeal to the emotions.
5. SATIRICAL: It is often presented by mythical creatures such as half-human, half-goat figures, and actors in the
play wore large phalluses for comic effect.
6. MUSICAL DRAMA: It is where the playwrights not only tell their story through acting and dialogue, nevertheless
through dance as well as music.
7. FANTASY: It treats the unreal, the fantastic, or the supernatural.
8. MIME: It is “dumb show” where story is acted without words.
9. TRAGIC COMEDY: It is a play that mixes features of both the comedy and the tragedy

ARISTOTLE, A world-renowned Greek philosopher, wrote about the essential elements that had evolved through
time of drama more than two thousand years ago. His concepts about drama largely influence the way we view drama
today.
A. LITERARY ELEMENTS
1. SCRIPT: It is the written product of the playwright. It contains the dialogues, descriptions and stage directions
2. PLOT: It is the plot refers to the story line or the logical arrangement of events in a play. The plot structure of
drama is very similar to that of a short story. However, the plot in the play is presented in dialogues and stage
directions while the plot of a short story is written in paragraph form.
PLOT STRUCTURE OF DRAMA (Derived from Gustav Freytags’ art of plot)
a. Exposition
b. Rising Action
c. Climax / Turning Point
d. Falling Action
e. Denouement / Resolution
3. CHARACTERS: These are the persons, animals, or other entities that are portrayed in a play. The playwright
usually gives brief, sometimes detailed, character descriptions in the beginning of the script.
4. SETTING: It refers to the particular time and place the story happened. In the beginning of the script, the
playwright usually gives a background of the setting.
5. DIALOGUE: It pertains to the conversation between and among the characters in the play. The appropriate
manner of verbal expression and the correct choice of words are necessary for the playwright to clearly establish
the motives, traits and attitudes of his or her characters.
6. DRAMATIC DEVICES
For more creative and meaningful expression, most playwrights use the following dramatic devices:

a. MONOLOGUE: It is usually a long speech delivered by a single character and addressed directly to a
group of people “within” the play or the actual audience inside the theater.
b. SOLILOQUY: It is a speech that lets a character himself/herself, if thinking aloud. A playwright uses this
device in order to let the reader/audience understand more deeply what the character goes through
internally.
c. STAGE WHISPER: It is also called as loud whisper that is delivered by an actor to another and is audible
to the audience but, for a dramatic effect, is not hear by other actors onstage.
d. ASIDE: It is “unheard” by other actors onstage, the character speaks to the audience, usually in brief
remarks, to express his/her unspoken thoughts aloud.
e. DRAMATIC IRONY: It is where the members of the audience are fully and clearly aware of the
significance and implications of the character’s words, actions, or situations except the character
himself/herself.

B. TECHNICAL ELEMENTS
1. SCENERY: It refers to the theatrical equipment such as back drops and platforms that set the mood of setting
in the play.
2. PROPS: In stage production, these are objects of articles that vary from scene to scene and can be moved
from one place in the stage to another. Common examples are tables and chairs.
 Unit 4: Reading and Writing Drama
Step into a scene and let it drop from your fingertips. – MJ Bush

3. SOUND: It refers to both music and effects used in the production of the play. The music, usually called
musical score, gives emphasis on the emotions conveyed in a particular scene while sound effects are used
to represent sounds in the real world such as the sound of rain, knock on the door, or even explosions.
4. MAKEUP
It refers to the use of costumes, body paint, wigs and other similar body accessories to transform an actor
into the character that he/she portrays.

C. PERFORMANCE ELEMENTS

1. ACTING: It refers to the manner an actor brings a character to life through his/her words and action. The way
an actor delivers the role of a character is dependent on the dialogues and stage directions in the script and
how the director interprets the play.
2. SPEAKING: It pertains to the actor’s speaking skills such as vocal expression, enunciation, and projection
that are necessary to effectively deliver the lines from the script.
3. NONVERBAL EXPRESSIONS: It includes the gestures, facial expressions, and body movements that the
actors employ in their performance, usually to support the delivery of lines.

Script Writing
SCRIPT: It is the framework of the play. It sets the direction of the play and guides the director as he leads the
entire production, especially the actors, in bringing the characters and the plot to life.
A script for a play is considered well-written if it contains and utilizes the basic parts and elements effectively.
Basic Guidelines in Writing a Script for a Play
1. Plot Structure
a. Decide your theme
b. Story Line: It is unfolding of events, while the plot (expositions, rising actions, climax, falling action,
and denouement) is logical, creative, and intricate manner by which these series of events are linked
and presented from start to finish.
c. Identify the main conflict and decide how this conflict will be resolved as the story progresses.
d. Choose the characters that will be involved in your story line.
e. Decide on your setting.
f. Layout your story line clearly and smoothly through the dialogue and stage directions.

2. Title: It stimulates the interest of the reader while giving him/her an idea of what the play will be about. It should
capture the essence of the whole play and leave a lasting mark on the audience/readers.
3. Characters: These are the persons about whom the story is told.
4. Setting: It refers to the time and place the story happens. A play may have one or more settings. At the beginning
of each sentence, you may provide a short description of the setting to help the readers as well as the audience
distinguish one scene from another.
5. Descriptions: It provides detailed information and background about the characters and events before the
beginning of the play.
6. Dialogue: It refers to the lines that each character speaks/delivers in the play. It is customary that the dialogue
begin with the character’s name, usually in capital form.
7. Stage Directions: It is written inside round brackets, it describes how the actors, in the portrayal of their
characters, are expected to move, act, and speak. Stage directions also describe other ‘movements’ on stage
such as sound and light effects.
The following are some basic terms that are used in writing stage directions.
a. Downstage – It is the area of the stage that is nearest the audience
b. Upstage – It is the portion of the stage that is farthest the audience
c. Stage Right – It is the side of the stage that is the actor’s right as
he or she faces the audience
d. Stage Left – It is the side of the stage that is the actor’s left as he or
she faces the audience
e. Offstage – It is the part of the stage that is not visible to the
audience
f. Enter – It is the character comes upon or appears in the stage
g. Exit – It is the character leave the stage

TIPS FOR WRITING A GOOD DRAMA:

1. Dramatic action is clear
2. Revelations create intended effect.
3. A playwright should strive to write a play that is completely stage-worthy.
4. Be certain that the rhythms of the language are effective when spoken aloud.

“Acads before Lakads, Aral before Walwal

Readings and Writings before Feelings”
–Zy via Zookal
Prepared by: Ms. Ma. Rebecca S. Olorvida
Subject Teacher in Creative Writing
Humanities Department