- Published: September 10, 2022
- Updated: September 10, 2022
- University / College: University of Reading
- Language: English
- Downloads: 11
My basic understanding of drama is a work of literature or a compositionwhich delineates life and human activity by means of presenting various actionsof and dialogues between a group ofcharacters.
The basic elements of drama are plot(the events in a play), setting(thetime and place of a literary work), character(people or creatures ina play), characterization(the processs by which the writer reveals thepersonality of a character), dialogue(conversation in a play), theme(thecentral thought of a play; the idea or ideas with which a play deals), and scenery(thevarious elements that are used to create a particularvisual setting for a play). Types of drama are tragedy(In theGreek sense, a play that ends with the death of at least one of the maincharacters. In modern usage, it refers to a play that doesn’t have ahappy ending), comedy( In the Greek sense, it is a play that doesn’t end indeath. In modern usage, it refers to a play that ends happily or that ishumorous) and tragicomedy(a play in which serious and comic elements aremixed). Drama is furthermore designed for theatrical presentation, to be actedon stage. Even when we read a play we have no real grasp of what that play islike unless we at least attempt to imagine how actors on a stage would presentthe material. Drama not only we meet on a theater stage, but also in dailylife.
Drama plays a major role in our lives. We all experience ‘ real life’drama in the form of our own personal experiences as well as ‘ real life’ dramain the news and current affairs. We are also exposed to fictional drama infilm, on television, and in the theatre. By studying drama’s impact on ourculture we can start to look more critically at what these media offer us andwe can choose whether or not to accept the messages that they give. By studyingDrama we become intelligent spectators who can distinguish between good and baddrama as well as ‘ right’ and ‘ wrong’ ideologies. We can start making informeddecisions about the drama that we see.
For example, we are familiar with the word’Drama Queen’. When you see someone who gets too upset or angry over smallproblems and the other people says,” You’re such a drama queen! It’s no bigdeal.” Drama Queen is a person who habitually responds to situations in a melodramaticway. Generally, while drama is the printed text of a play, the word theatreoften refers to the actual production of the text on the stage.
Theatre thus involves action taking place onthe stage, the lighting, the scenery, the accompanying music, the costumes, the atmosphere, and so on. So, what is a play? What is Theatre? A playis a story told by actors in a theatre. Theatre is a building or area fordramatic performances(Meriam Webster). The study of Drama emphasize the writtentext or scenario, whereas The study of Theatre concerns the performance.
Throughdrama we can become anyone, anywhere, at anytime. By understanding drama we canlearn to understand anyone, anywhere anytime.