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Module 003: Explorations in Theater Part 2

At the end of this module, you will be able to:

1. define what drama is all about;
2. demonstrate an understanding about its purpose;
3. identify and explain its important elements; and
4. classify its different types as applied in various theater performance.

What is Drama?

It is believed to have its origin in the art of dance, is found in some form in almost every
society, primitive and civilized, and has served a variety of functions in the community.
At its best, it is a reflection of many phases of life.
The abridged Oxford Dictionary defines drama as a composition in prose or verse,
adapted to be acted and is represented with accompanying gesture, costume, and
scenery, as in real life (Sanchez C. A., et al, 2016).
Moreover, it is a performing art that tells story and is performed on stage. It means to
act or to do from the Greek Word ‘dran’. It is a composition in prose for enactment,
intended, to portray life or character or to tell a story by action and dialogue. (Collier,
1995).

Purpose of Drama
Drama captures the essence of a culture or a group within that culture. It reveals the
attitudes and opinions of their time.
1. Improvisation is the ability to do something spontaneously to new and unexpected
situations. Drama gives us the opportunity to hone our improvisation skills. Life is
improvisation. We respond in new ways when spontaneous and unexpected things
occur to us.
2. Play Making is the process of experimenting with new roles. Through plays, you
can re-examine old roles and challenge society’s values and interpretations. In drama,
you will be expected to create plays.
3. Drama as a Cooperative Process is the process in which you are asked to
participate in group work. This helps you explore relationships on and off stage. It
helps your communication skills and helps you make friends on campus (AMA Online
Module, n.d.).

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Elements of Drama
There are six elements of drama which are considered vital in performing arts. They
are outlined as follows:
1. Theme/Thought/Idea
The theme contains the meaning or the main idea of the play. This is mostly the
abstract issues and feelings that grow out of the dramatic action of the characters.
Sometimes, this is straightforwardly stated in the title or it may be inserted into the
dialogue of a character. The theme may also be less obvious and would only emerge
after some study or thought (AMA Online Module, n.d.). It is the soul of the story and
it mostly involves conflict between individuals, man and society, man and a superior
force, and man and himself.
2. Action/Plot
The plot or action is the framework, the plan, or the main story line. Drama requires a
plot that is faster in progression and without too much interruption in order to sustain
the interest of the audience who usually are eager to get the show going. It is the
arrangement of action and movement in the play.
a. Initial complication/Exposition – It is also known as the introductory part
where the narrator introduces the story including the characters. It is the
beginning of the play which sets the time and place of the action; it familiarizes
the audience with the characters and the situations they are in and initiates
the development of the conflict.
b. Rising Action – It is the part where the issues, twists, and other important
matters in the story are slowly revealed.
c. Climax/Complication – It is the highest peak or the most intense part of
the story and also known as the middle part of the play which develops the
conflict that was started in the exposition. This is the parts of the play where
the audience gets to know the characters more deeply.
d. Falling Action – This is where matters being discussed delicately from the
climax are slowly resolved.
e. Resolution – It is the part where the story ends with the problems being
properly resolved and the characters are placed in well situations (Sanchez C.
A., et al, 2016).
3. Characters
Characters are the people involved in a story, they may seem real to us depending on
how the playwright put words on paper to make the characters come to life
(Dickinson, 1966). Each character should have his own distinct personality, age,
appearance, beliefs, socio-economic background, and language (AMA Online Module,
n.d.).

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Character Presentation:
a. Direct Presentation – author tells us straight out, by exposition or analysis,
or through another character.
b. Indirect Presentation –author shows us the character in action; the reader
infers what a character is like from what she/he thinks, or says, or does. These
are also called dramatized characters and they are generally consistent (in
behavior), motivated (convincing), and plausible (lifelike).
Character Types:
a. Flat Character – is known by one or two traits.
b. Round Character – is a complex and multi-sided character.
c. Stock Character – is a stereotyped character (a mad scientist, the absent-
minded professor, the cruel mother-in-law).
d. Static Character – is a character who remains the same from the beginning
of the plot up to the end.
e. Dynamic Character – is a developing character who undergoes permanent
change. This change must be:
i. within the possibilities of the character;
ii. sufficiently motivated; and
iii. allowed sufficient time for change (Balita, n.d.).
4. Language/Dialogue
It is the only way of telling the story in drama (Sanchez C. A., et al, 2016). Language or
dialogue delivered by the characters move the action or plot along. Each playwright
can create their own specific style in relationship to language choices that they use in
establishing character and dialogue (AMA Online Module, n.d.).
5. Music/Rhythm
Music is not a part of every play, but music can be included to mean all sounds in
production. This refers to the sound of the dialogue, musicality, pace, etc. Music and
rhythm help in establishing the mood of the play and builds the impelling force that
may lead to a climax. It can expand to all sound effects, the actor’s voice, songs, and
instrumental music played as underscore in a play. There is a need for the composers
and lyricists to work hand and hand with the playwright to strengthen the themes and
ideas of the play. This element enables the characters to relate with the audience
through lyrics and music (AMA Online Module, n.d.).
6. Spectacle
The spectacle in the theater involves all the visual elements of the play – all of the
aspects of scenery, costumes, and special effects in a production. These include the
qualities determined by the playwright that create the world and atmosphere of the
play for the audience’s eye (AMA Online Module, n.d.).

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Types of Drama
Below are some of the popular types of drama:
1. Comedy – are lighter in tone than ordinary works, and provide a happy conclusion.
The intention of dramatist in comedies is to make their audience laugh. Hence, they
use quaint circumstances, unusual characters, and witty remarks (Balita, n.d.).
This genre should have the view of a “comic spirit” and is physical and energetic. It is
tied up in rebirth and renewal. This is the reason most comedy end in weddings, which
suggest a union of a couple and the expected birth of children. Comedy create light
feelings. The playwright uses comic devices such as exaggeration, incongruity,
surprise, repetition, wisecracks, and sarcasm. (AMA Online Module, n.d.)
2. Tragedy – Tragic dramas use darker themes, such as disaster, pain, and death.
Protagonist often have a tragic flaw – a characteristics that lead them to their downfall.
Aristotle’s definition of tragedy: A tragedy is the imitation in dramatic form
of an action that is serious and complete, with incidents arousing pity and fear
wherewith it affects a catharsis of such emotions. The language used is
pleasurable and throughout appropriate to the situation in which it is used.
The chief characters are noble personage (“better than ourselves,” says
Aristotle) and the actions they perform are noble actions.
Central features of the Aristotelian archetype:
1. The tragic hero is a character of noble stature and has greatness. If the hero’s
fall is to arouse in us the emotions of pity and fear, it must be a fall from a great
height.
2. Though the tragic hero is pre-eminently great, he/she is not perfect. Tragic
flaw, hubris (excessive pride or passion), and hamartia (some error) lead to
the hero’s downfall.
3. The heroes downfall, therefore, is partially her/his own fault, the result of
one’s own free choice, not the result of pure accident or villainy, or some
overriding malignant fate.
4. Nevertheless, the hero’s misfortune is not wholly deserved. The punishment
exceeds the crime. The hero remains admirable.
5. Yet the tragic fall is not pure lost – though it may result in the hero’s death,
before it, there is some increase in awareness, some gain in self-knowledge or,
as Aristotle puts it, some “discovery.”
6. Though it arouses solemn emotion – pity and fear, says Aristotle, but
compassion and awe might be better terms – tragedy, when well performed,
does not leave its audience in a state of depression. It produces a catharsis or
an emotional release at the end, one shared as a common experience by the
audience (Balita, n.d.).

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Tragedy is a serious, complete, and of a certain magnitude action and deals with
intense problem. It involves the audience in the action and creates tension and
expectation (AMA Online Module, n.d.).
3. Farce – Generally, a farce is a nonsensical genre of drama, which often overacts or
engages slapstick humor.
4. Melodrama – Melodrama is an exaggerated drama, which is sensational and
appeals directly to the senses of the audience. Just like the farce, the characters are of
a single dimension and simple, or maybe stereotyped. (Balita, n.d.).
Melodrama is a drama of disaster and differs from tragedy significantly. The
protagonist is usually a victim of circumstance. He is acted upon by the antagonist or
anti-hero and suffers without having to accept responsibility and inevitability of fate.
Melodrama has a sense of strict moral judgement. All issues presented in the plays are
resolved in a well-defined way. The good characters are rewarded and the bad
characters are punished in a means that fits the crime (AMA Online Module, n.d.).
5. Musical Drama – In musical dramas, dramatists not only tell their stories through
acting and dialogue, but through dance as well as music. Often the story may be
comedic, though it may also involve serious subjects (Balita, n.d.).
6. Tragic Comedy – Tragicomedy is the most lifelike of all of the types of drama. It
focuses on character relationships and shows society in a state of continuous change.
There is a mix of comedy and tragedy side by side in these types of plays. (AMA Online
Module, n.d.).

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References and Supplementary Materials

Books and Journals

1. Dr. Carl E. Balita, n.d. ; Ultimate Learning Guide to English General Education and
Majorship; Sampaloc, Manila; Ultimate Learning Series

2. Dr. Victoria Santos Lamucho, Jenalyn S. Baesa-Pagay, Danilo H. Cabalu, Janet C.

Pascual, and Dr. Lito F. Noroña, 2003; Introduction to Humanities; Valenzuela City;
Mutya Publishing House

Online Supplementary Reading Materials

1. AMA Online Module; https://blended.amauonline.com; August 9, 2019

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