DRAMA
READING DRAMA
WHAT IS A PLAY?
a play is a written document
O script
O text
O prompt book
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WHAT IS A PLAY?
it is written to be seen, performed
O collaboration
 script
 actors
 director
 set designers
 costumer designers
 makeup artists
 lighting & sound engineers
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WHAT IS A PLAY?
Because of this collaboration
O Less authorial control
 from an absolute monarchy
 to a constitutional monarchy
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DRAMA & FICTION, POETRY
SIMILARITIES
elements
O Plot, Characterization
O Structure, Atmosphere
O Theme, Symbolism, POV
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DRAMA & FICTION, POETRY
DIFFERENCES
interaction
O written to be performed
 1st & foremost -- LIVE
 to be read & studied, too
like the Constitution:
• a living document
• interpreted
O quick exposition (engaging)
O one sitting –
 can’t be stopped, picked up later
 (as a paperback)
O not rewound, watched again
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DRAMA
Page vs. Stage
Reading Drama vs. Watching Production
O to study the language
 to ascertain the nuance of the language
O to pay careful attention to detail
 word choice
 symbolism
 allusions
O re-read parts
 make connections
 get clarity
 close examination
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DRAMA
HOW TO READ A PLAY
I. LISTEN TO THE LINES
Careful Reading –
O feel the tone of the language
O listen for emotion behind the lines
 passion, love, assurance
 anger, fear, defiance
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I. LISTEN TO THE LINES
Performance Reading –
O read the lines out loud
O read them with others
O act out scenes in class
O see the work performed
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
“Scene” = Staging
O see the action on a stage
 a production in your mind’s eye
O read like an actor/director
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
TYPES of STAGING
(a) proscenium arch
O proscenium arch
 arch over which the curtain hangs
O apron
 space between the foot of the curtain & the floodlights
O upstage
 toward the back
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
TYPES of STAGING
(a) proscenium arch
O downstage
 toward the apron
O 4th wall
 the “missing” wall
 the audience’s perspective
O flats
 canvas-covered frames/backdrop
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
TYPES of STAGING
(b) theatre-in-the-round
O aka, arena staging
O audience sits around the stage
O raised
O no 4th wall
O perhaps more intimate setting
 greater immediacy
 feel as if part of the action
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II. VISUALIZE THE SCENE
TYPES of STAGING
(c) Theatre of the Absurd
O lack of traditional staging, plot, character, action
O can keep or remove or both all of the above
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III. ENVISION THE ACTION
DRAMA =
O “not a medium of words
O BUT
O of people moving around onstage using words”

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III. ENVISION THE ACTION
Thus
O non-verbal elements –
 movement
 gesture
 setting
O so read imaginatively
 like an actor/director
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III. ENVISION THE ACTION
stage directions:
O cues for
 gestures
 movements
 facial expressions
 tone of voice
O written by the playwright
 detailed
 sparse
O written by editors (SHK)
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IV. C/C DRAMA ON FILM
filmed productions
O live productions recorded
O BBC SHK
movie adaptations
O more movie than play
O Hollywood versions
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IV. C/C DRAMA ON FILM
 C/C Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
What has been cut/added (characters, scenes,
subplots)?
How does the characterization of the role/s differ
from your original?
Do you agree with the casting?
Do camera actions (zoom, close-ups, reactions
shots) focus your attention on certain characters or
add to the appreciation or understanding of certain
scenes?
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IV. C/C DRAMA ON FILM

C/C Questions:
5.
6.
7.
8.
Is the setting faithful to the script or have liberties
been taken?
Would the play make a better movie or stage
production?
Does the film version enhance your understanding
of the play?
How would the playwright react to the filmed
version?
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IV. C/C DRAMA ON FILM
 C/C Questions:
9.
As the director, what decisions would you make in
terms of

pace, costuming,
setting, casting,
characterization,

costume design?


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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Main Conflict
O
O
resolved
How?
 Subplots
O
O
What are they?
How do they enhance the main plot?
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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Traditional Dramatic Structure (see below)
O
O
O
O
O
Exposition
Complication
Climax
Dénouement
Resolution
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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Protagonist
O
O
O
character analysis
tragic error/fatal flaw
hero or anti-hero
 Minor Characters
O
O
flat, expository function
foil to main characters


oppose, contrast, criticize
help develop main char.
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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Time & Setting
O
O
integral
Can it be changed?
 Title
O
O
clue to understanding
What would yours be?
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V. CRITICAL QUESTIONS
 Theme
 Genre
O
O
O
Comedy or Tragedy
Tragic-Comedy
unimportant
 Realistic Presentation
O
O
O
theatrical devices
lighting, music, costuming,
real/surreal settings
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DRAMA
DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
PLOT
story
Aristotle’s “fable”
beginning, middle, end
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ARGUMENT
“agon”
the heart of the dramatic story
the CONFLICT surrounding the
ARGUMENT
O creates Tension & incites interest
the 2 sides of the argument
O the “pro” and “con”
O = Protagonist, Antagonist
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PROTAGONIST
HERO or HEROINE
1 person or many
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ANTAGONIST
VILLAIN
1 person, group, or
force
O (supernatural, natural)
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DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
establish a conflict
develop both sides of the argument
reach a credible conclusion
O (Rogerian Method)
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(1) POINT of ATTACK
 the starting point from which the dramatist
leads the audience into the Plot
 opening scene
1.
begun at the beginning

2.
in medias res


3.
characters & audience find out at the same time
begun “in the middle of things”
reveal events that have already taken place
(Exposition)
begun toward the end

reveal events that have already taken place
(Exposition)
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(2) EXPOSITION
the revelation of facts, circumstances, & past
events
essential facts @ characters or conflict
revealed
O through minor chararacters
O through jumping right into the action
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(3) RISING ACTION
the building of interest through
COMPLICATION of the Conflict
“Complication”
moving the Protagonist & Antagonist toward
confrontation
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(4) CLIMAX
the “high point” of the action
the showdown between the Protagonist &
Antagonist
the TURNING POINT
O point of no return
1 event or series of events
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(5) FALLING ACTION
the unraveling of the Plot
events fall into place
the Conflict moves toward Resolution
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(6) DENOUEMENT
the “untying” of the knot
the play’s conclusion, explanation, or
outcome of the Action
O the end of the play (go home!)
O wedding, lovers’ kiss, song
O death, pieta
CATASTROPHE –
 the Denouement of a Tragedy
 often with the death of the Hero/Heroine
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DRAMATIC STRUCTURE
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
Sophocles: (c.495 BC –c.405 BC)
O only 7 of his 120+ plays survive
 (Theban trilogy)
O Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
 Electra, Ajax
 Philoctetes
 Women of Trachis (The Trachiniae)
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
Sophocles: (c.495 BC –c.405 BC)
O born in Colonus
 (near Athens)
O studied under Aeschylus
 (master of Greek tragedy)
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
Sophocles: (c.495 BC –c.405 BC)
O themes:
 no questioning the justice of the gods
 assumed a divine order that humans must follow
O protagonists:
 strong-willed
 prideful
 lack of self-knowledge
 end tragically b/c of such traits (hubris)
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
Antigone
O 3rd play in the “trilogy”
 written 1st
 442 BC
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
King Laius of Thebes & his descendents=
cursed by Apollo
Oracle of Delphi
O Apollo’s oracle
O warns that Laius’ son will kill him
Laius abandons Oedipus to die in the
mountains
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
Oedipus survives
later meets & kills his father (unbeknownst
to either) on road to Thebes
solves the Riddle of the Sphinx & becomes
king of Thebes
unwittingly marries his mother (Jocasta) &
has children
later discovers his incest (& patricide), blinds
self, leaves Thebes
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
Creon, Jocasta’s brother, becomes king &
guardian of Oedipus’ 2 daughters
O Antigone
O Ismene
Oedipus’ 2 sons vie for throne
O Polynices
O Eteocles
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EXPOSITION of ANTIGONE
Polynices =
O driven out of city but returns w/army
Polynices & Eteocles
O kill each other in the ensuing battle
Creon
O becomes king
Antigone
O opens w/Antigone & Ismene
O discussing Creon’s 1st decree
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FOLLOW-UP of ANTIGONE
Exposition
O opening scenes
O Chorus
O the Sentry
Conflict
O Protagonist (hero/heroine)
O Antagonist (villain)
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FOLLOW-UP of ANTIGONE
Climax
O too early
Catastrophe/Denouement
O What is it?
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FOLLOW-UP of ANTIGONE
Themes
O clash w/authority, rules, norms, traditions
O politician vs. anarchist
O *public policy vs. individual conscience
O gender conflict
 male vs. female
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FOLLOW-UP of ANTIGONE
Ismene as Foil to Antigone
Eurydice subplot
updated settings:
O professor vs. student
O in Nazi-occupied France
O in 1940’s Japanese-American internment camp
O 2003 Iraq War, Patriot Act
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DRAMA
DRAMATIC CHARACTER
HERO
Hero:
O self-sacrifice
O self-control
O saves others, risk own life
O awe-inspiring feats
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HERO
Classical Tragic Hero:
(Aristotle on the Tragic Hero)
O high renown
O upper class
 (rich & famous)
O inevitably destroyed
O by inherent tragic flaw
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HERO
Classical Tragic Hero:
(Aristotle on the Tragic Hero)
O tragic flaw
 too much of a typical human attribute
 pride, willfulness
 jealousy, indecision, giving
O suggests BALANCE
 order & proportion of traits within
 imbalance brings calamity
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HERO
Modern Tragic Hero:
Aristotle vs. Arthur Miller
O not rich & famous
O not tragic flaw
O not a clash within
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HERO
Modern Tragic Hero:
Aristotle vs. Arthur Miller
O but average person/“Common Man”
O but contrast between idealized self-image & reality
O but conflict with society
 environment denies the fulfillment of self-image
O stature
 gained not by wealth
 but by pitting self vs. cosmos
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HERO
Modern Tragic Hero:
Aristotle vs. Arthur Miller
O displacement
O disillusionment
O indignity
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HERO
 Modern Tragic Hero:
Aristotle vs. Arthur Miller
O Death of a Salesman
 Willie Loman
 self-image = well-liked, successful, worldly businessman
 reality = ridiculed, on edge of poverty
O Fences
 Troy
 life passing by, world changing
 the way grew up vs. world living in
 self-deception, self-delusion
 self-protective illusion
 self-protective illusion
 deceptions & lies
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DRAMA
CULTURE
CULTURE
habits of
O thought
O behavior
O feeling
invented by humans
taught to other humans
passed down to descendents (of humans)
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CULTURE
BUT not practiced among ALL humans
connected to
O age
O religion
O ethnicity
O race
O social class
O sexual orientation
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LITERARY WORK
part of its social context
part of the culture in which it was produced
O the culture it was produced in
O the culture it is read in
both
O a product of its culture
O a contribution to that culture
 study a work to learn @ its culture
 study a culture to learn @ a work
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LITERARY WORK
since literary works often critique the society
of their times
they = fitted for cultural analyses
they attack/support particular social values,
problems, norms, practices, traditions, beliefs
O rituals, racism, ageism, indifference, materialism
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CULTURE & LITERATURE
culture = conditions of the world
O at the time of literary creation
  affect the presentation of the work’s themes
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CULTURAL ANALYSIS
HOW TO:
O classify characters into groups
 age, race, religion, ethnicity, physical disability, class, sex,
sexual orientation
O note how characters classify or stereotype other
characters or people in general
O note themes of power & oppression
 symbols of power, prestige
O (which are culturally defined/determined)
 power relationships (who’s really in control)
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CULTURAL ANALYSIS
HOW TO:
O elements from sociology and psychology courses
O “human universals”
O how does this culture (US MM) define success, power &
those other terms that make the culture
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DRAMA
CRITICAL APPROACHES
TO DRAMA
CRITICAL APPROACHES
Dramatic Elements
O Plot, Subplot
O Character
O Theme
O Setting
O Argument (Conflict & Resolution)
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CRITICAL APPROACHES
Production Elements
O acting
O directing
O casting
O lighting
O sound
O pace
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CRITICAL APPROACHES
Dramatic Genre
O Tragi-Comedy
O Comedy
O Tragedy
O Modern
O Classical
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CRITICAL APPROACHES
Gender Roles
O traditional
O modern
Culture
O in which written
O in which read
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DRAMA
END