Drama on Stage, Essay Example

Typically, drama on stage represents how the writer views the world around them and how people and environments interact within everyday life.  The important elements of drama are audience, dialogue, plot, stagecraft, convention and characterization (Strever, 2006).  The audience is a live group of people viewing the drama, and the writer should intentionally write to draw a specific response from the audience.  The response that the audience gives can make or break a drama, especially if no response is given where one is intended.  Dialogue helps push the plot along through direct conversation, thoughts, and expression of the characters’ feelings.  The actors must speak in a manner that would be fitting for the actual character.  The plot is literally what events take place throughout the story of the drama.  The stagecraft creates a stage environment for the audience to view and the actors to utilize through their acting.  Finally, the writer and actors must work together to create a character and literally bring the character to life through the use of characterization.

The characters and setting of the play interact with one another in order to help the drama unfold properly.  The setting is literally “the playwright’s placement of the action in time, the cultural environment, or the physical location in which the action occurs” (GPC.edu, par. 6).  Typically, the setting of the play creates the environment in which the characters are living.  The setting and environment of the play can sometimes be the antagonist throughout the story causing problems for the characters that must be overcome, or can even lead to the ultimate demise of the character.  The characters provide the actions throughout the story and help push the plot along through their dialogue.  Characters can serve as both antagonists and protagonists within the drama, but the skill of the actor and the writer’s description of the character must interweave to create a unique character that is specific for the drama.  Furthermore, the style and tone of the play are very crucial to the telling of the story.  The tone depicts whether the audience should feel a particular way about the events of the story, or even the setting.  Characters can help state the tone through direct dialogue or their actions during the play.  The style of the play is very similar in that it is how the writer believes the drama should be communicated to the audience.  It may be a comedy, a mystery, or some other form of genre.  Nevertheless, the style helps achieve the reaction from the audience and set the tone that continues to be the driving force throughout the drama.

The plot is everything that happens throughout the story.  Sometimes, the plot can also contain information that is not directly included within the play or the story.  The audience can make assumptions or inferences to help connect the dots of the plot where the writer feels this is necessary.  However, structure is very different within a play.  “Structure … is an aspect of the narrative that is composed of the way in which the author or playwright arranges events in the story; the way in which the events are connected, which should lead to some sort of conflict to generate reader or audience interest; and the devices that the writer employs to draw in his or her readers or audience” (Hunt, 2006, par. 1).  Structure is completely controlled by the writer to help engage the audience in a number of different ways.  The characters involved within the plot maintain the structure, and continue to push the story along.  Oftentimes, the plot and the structure can be confused with one another, but they are two separate entities within the play.  Still, all of these elements within the play or drama are very crucial to making the end result a complete success.

References

GPC.edu. (n.d.). Drama guidelines. Retrieved on October 20, 2009, from Web site: http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~tknier/drama_guides.htm

Hunt, R. (2006, July 12). Plot and structure in wilde’s the importance of being earnest. Retrieved on October 20, 2009, from Web site: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/wilde/hunt1.html

Strever, J. (2006, July 20). Elements of drama. Retrieved on October 20, 2009, from Web site:  http://ol.scc.spokane.edu/JStrever/lit/cw2005/drama.htm