Reading Drama

1. Reading Drama EQ- How is reading a play different from reading a book?

2. The written form of a play is called a SCRIPT. The author of a script is called a PLAYWRIGHT. (502)

3. ACTS and SCENES (503) • Scenes are small parts of the action usually happening in a particular time and place. The setting changes when scenes change. • Acts are a group of 2 or more scenes that form a major division in a play.

4. Cast of Characters (504) The Cast of Characters is a list that describes who’s in the play and how they are related. SPEECH TAG- this is the name of the character who will be speaking.

5. THEME-A message or idea that the playwright wants you to remember.(489) Common Topics: • Success • Trust • Truth • Violence • War • Growing Up • Hate • Hope • Love • Justice • Loyalty • Nature • Patience • Patriotism • Prejudice • Race • Self-Improvement • Childhood • Courage • Death • Faith • Family • Freedom • Friendship

6. Plots and Conflicts (508) Just like in books, plays have plots that revolve around conflict too. Remember, there are 5 main types of conflicts: • Person vs. Person • Person vs. Society (beliefs or laws) • Person vs. Nature (blizzards, winds) • Person vs. Self (what to do?) • Person vs. Fate (uncontrollable problem)

7. Dialogue and Stage Directions (505) Dialogue-The actual words spoken by the characters in a play. Stage Directions-directions to actors and techs in a play to describe emotions and facial expressions…. (written in italics in parenthesis)

8. Monologue (506) • sometimes called a soliloquy, a monologue is a speech by one character who is alone on the stage.

9. Irony, Dramatic Irony, Flashback • Irony is a contrast between expectation and reality. • Dramatic Irony occurs when the people watching a play know something that the characters on stage do not know- including, sometimes, what awaits them in the future. • Flashback- when the current action of a play stops to go back in time.