Introduction to Drama - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Introduction to DramaSlide2

Freewrite Questions

How

is reading

drama

(a play) different

from reading fiction (like a short story or a novel)?

What things are especially important to notice when reading drama?

That being said, how does

watching

a play differ from

reading

one?

(You might want to think about a specific play you have both read and seen performed.) Slide3

Elements of Drama

When reading a play, you will encounter two distinct types of writing that the play needs in order to get its action across to an audience.

The

dialogue

consists of the lines the actors speak as they perform their parts.

The

stage directions,

which are written in third person present tense, tell what the actors should be

doing.

They also give directions about sets, lighting, and music. They are usually written in italics. Some authors write sparse, simple stage directions, and some writers provide extensive, often beautifully eloquent stage directions.Slide4

Elements of Drama, Continued

Drama, like fiction, has characters, setting, plot, etc., but there are some characteristics of drama that are unique because drama is meant to be performed live.

Sets (scenery, props, etc) may be elaborate or simple, and often reflect the theme of the play.

Playwright Anton Chekov once said, "If you put a gun over the mantle in the first act, then it must fire in the last."

Lighting and music are used to create mood and enhance theme. Slide5

Reviewing:Elements of Drama and Kinds of Drama

From your textbook, page 730 and 742Slide6

Sure Thing

Discuss:

How does this play

WORK?

What is the role of the bell?

Do you think this would be easy to

read

or is the way this story is told enhanced by

seeing and hearing it?

(Maybe

w

atch again

?)Slide7

Comparison to a Short Story

Read the brief story “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood (Handout)

This is a short story that, like

Sure Thing,

deals with the "different versions of events in a relationship" idea.

How is this story

similar

to the play?

In what significant ways is it

different?

Slide8

Discussing Essay 1Slide9

Some Pointers for Essay #1

The “Play” section of your essay should strike a balance between

your

work and the original source.

Follow the length requirements for the compare/contrast section of the essay.

Play formatting:

Use the plays in your book as guides.

Begin with the title of your play and a list of characters. (You are not required to keep the title of the short story unless you wish to.)

Names of characters who are speaking should be in ALL CAPS, followed by a colon, then the dialogue.

Stage directions that interrupt dialogue are written in italics

and

parentheses. (

like this

) Otherwise, stage directions/scene descriptions are simply in

italics

and begin on their own line.

Use scene breaks to indicate passage of time or a change in setting.Slide10

Discovering Theme

The

theme

of a work of literature is an

idea

that dominates the work.

Not

the same thing as a

plot, a subject, or a moral.

Themes

do more than just tell what the story was about or what happened in the story.

Themes often

make a statement about the world/humanity outside of the story,

but

they are not necessarily “lessons” or morals.

See p. 343 of your textbook for more information on theme. Slide11

Thinking About Theme:

First of all, ask yourself, “What ideas or observations about the world did

I

notice as I read?”

Watch for the narrator or a character in the work to reveal the theme. (Remember how we talked about lines that encapsulate meaning?)

Consider the nature of the

conflict

in the story.

Look at the title of the story.

Consider the symbolism and mythological allusions in the story. What themes do those symbols and myths suggest?

For more suggestions, see p. 345 - 347