Intro to Drama
“Beauty” by Jane Martin and “Sure
Thing” by David Ives
Think, Pair, Share
• We are going to think about these questions
silently for a moment, pair with a partner, and
share your ideas with each other before we
discuss them as a class.
• What can an audience expect when watching
a play? Ideally, audiences experience this type
of literature very differently than the short
stories we have read so far. What makes the
experience of watching drama unique?
Origins of Drama
• The Western theater tradition traces is origins back to
ancient Greece.
• The earliest plays (dramas) were performed during
religious festivals to Dionysius and featured stories
from mythology and history. (7th Century BCE)
• Many of the Greek plays that are still performed and
studied today were written in the 5th century BCE.
• By the time Aristotle wrote about Greek theater
around 330 BCE, the genres of tragedy and comedy
were firmly established, and the ancient Greeks were
speculating about the history of drama much in the
same way we wonder about the past now.
Ancient Greek Theater at Eretria
One of the oldest existing theaters of its type, construction began in the
5th century BCE.
Image Credit: Perseus Digital Library
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.
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.
Development of Sets/Scenery
• Ancient Greek theaters had a building called a
skene that could be decorated to represent a
temple, a house, or some other structure
relevant to the plot of the drama.
• Some Greek theaters also had trap doors that
would allow characters to enter or exit
suddenly, and some had cranes that would
allow characters representing deities to
descend onto the stage.
Development of Sets/Scenery
• Plays in Shakespeare’s day also included scenery
that was more or less elaborate depending on the
audience and the wealth of the acting company.
• However, no matter how elaborate the scenery,
the burden of conveying where and when the
action takes place still fell on the actors.
• Directors of modern plays sometimes choose not
to have elaborate sets on stage in order to keep
the focus on characters’ actions and words.
Image of the set for production of the play Noises
Off
Image of the set for production of the play Our
Town.
Aristotle’s Unities (and How to
Break Them)
• Neo-classical playwrights believe that Aristotle
(who they held in high regard) had said that a
play should observe three “unities:”
– Unity of action: They thought a play should have one
main plot and no subplots.
– Unity of time: They thought that the events of a play
should take place in the span of 24 hours, or, even
better, that the action of the play should unfold in
“real time.”
– Unity of place: They thought that the stage should
represent one place, and one place only. (So no scene
changes.)
How to Throw Aristotle’s Unities
out the Window
• Most modern drama does not observe these three
unities. (And neither did Shakespeare.)
• Action can take place in many different settings. A
playwright can indicate to an audience that the setting
has changed by a change in props or lighting, or by
writing dialogue that mentions where the characters
are. Some playwrights who have a large stage to work
with assign different parts of the stage to different
settings.
• The important thing is, if a playwright chooses to
switch from one setting to another, the audience
should not be confused about where the new setting is.
How to Throw Aristotle’s Unities
out the Window
• Many plays do not observe the “Unity of Time,”
either. So, how do playwrights indicate that time
has passed?
• If enough time has passed in the story of the play,
they call for the director of the play to cast
different actors.
• They include dialogue for their actors that
indicates how much time has passed.
• Subtle changes in lighting, props, costumes, and
music can indicate a passage of time.
How to Throw Aristotle’s Unities
out the Window
• Any time you see a scene or act change in a
play, there is a good chance that the
playwright just broke one of the unities. Be on
the lookout for how much time has passed
and whether or not the characters are in the
same place they were before.
In-Class Reading of “Sure Thing”
• I will need three volunteers: Bill, Betty, and
a Bell Ringer. (The person ringing the bell
needs to be really on top of it.)
• As your classmates perform, follow along
in your handout and pay attention to how
watching the play affects your reaction to
it.
Group Questions for Sure Thing
• What is the significance of the title?
• What is the significance of the bell? Are the
characters aware of it? (And of the
repetition?)
• What serious point is Ives (the author)
making in this comedy?
• TAKE NOTES. I will be collecting one sheet
from each group, and I will expect detailed,
thoughtful responses during discussion.
Comparison to “Happy Endings”
• We have already read the brief story “Happy
Endings” by Margaret Atwood on p. 394.
• 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?
Questions for Beauty p. 762
• This seems on the surface to be a case of “The
grass is always greener on the other side.” Is
there anything else going on here? What other
issues does this play bring up? How does the play
address those issues?
• If we were able to watch the video, how did the
director and the actresses use lighting, music,
props, costumes, and stage directions?
• Why is the switch supernatural? Why don't they
just talk about their differences?
• Which woman do you think is going to be
happier with the switch? Support your opinion.
In Class Writing #2
• Write a short comparison of TWO of the
following works: “Sure Thing,” “Beauty” (p.
762), and “Happy Endings.” (p. 394)
• What connections can you make between the
two works that you choose?
• Are there striking similarities or contrasts in
terms of theme or tone?
• Be sure to QUOTE each work at least once.