​DRAMA

• ​A drama, or a play, is told mainly through the words and actions of characters.

• The STORY might unfold on a stage or on a movie or television screen. ​

• Readers of plays imagine actors speaking the dialogue and envision the setting, lighting, and actions described in the stage directions.

• Drama allows readers to see the STORY unfold before their very eyes.

​CHARACTERS

• ​The characters to be portrayed are listed at the beginning of a play.

• In tragedy, the main character is sometimes called the tragic hero.

• The tragic hero - and often other characters in a tragedy - is bound to take a terrible fall.

• ​Tragic plots are diven by the hero's tragic flaw, or part of the character's personality that leads to their downfall, ruin, or death.

​CATEGORIES

• A tragedy is a play in which the main character suffers a downfall.

• A tragic hero is the main chracter in a tragedy.

• A comedy is aplay that deal with its subject in alight, familiar, or satirical manner.​

• Unlike tragedies, comedies move toward a happy ending.

​DIALOGUE

• ​Plays consist mostly of dialogue, or conversation, among the characters.

• Through dialogue, the characters reveal themselves and the plot of the play moves forward.

• In the script, the name of the characters comes before the dialogue they will speak. Dialone is sometimes referred to as lines.

​STAGE DIRECTIONS

• ​May describe the sets, props, sound effects, lighting, and actions of the characters.

• They may also tell actos how they should appear and some of the actions they should take on stage.​

• ​Often in italics, sometimes enclosed in parentheses or brackets.

​ORAGNIZATION

• ​Instead of chapters (like a book) plays are divided into Acts and Scenes.

• ​Plays usually usually have between one and five Acts, but there is no rule about how many acts a play should have.

• ​Acts are further divided into scenes.

• ​Scene changes usually indicte a change in location or the passage of time.

• ​One-act plays often are not divided into scenes.