Today we will…
• Learn the features of drama
because we will be reading
“The Tell-Tale Heart” play
tomorrow!
Question
• Have you ever seen a play? What was your
experience like?
Elements of Drama
2-Column Notes
What makes something a drama?
• If you are trying to determine whether a piece
of writing is a drama (or something else), you’ll
have to be able to identify the characteristics
of a drama.
• What’s important to remember is that drama is
meant to be performed in front of an
audience!
Script
• The text of a play, film or broadcast (such as a
TV show) is called a script.
• A script will include a cast of characters, each
character’s dialogue, and stage directions.
Dialogue
• Dialogue is written conversation between two
or more characters.
• In a drama, the story is told primarily through
dialogue.
Stage Directions
• In the script of a play, the instructions to the actors,
director and stage crew are called stage directions.
• Stage directions might suggest scenery, lighting,
sound effects, and ways for actors to move and
speak.
• Stage directions often appear in parenthesis and in
italic type in a script.
Act
• An act is a major division within a play, similar
to a chapter in a book.
• Each act my be further divided into smaller
sections, which are called scenes.
Scene
• In a drama, the action is often divided into
acts and scenes.
• Each scene presents an episode of the play’s
plot and typically occurs at a single time and
place.