Introduction to Drama

Introduction to Drama.
Essential Questions: What is drama? Why use drama to advocate?

Types of Drama to be discussed:
Flash Drama
Readers’ Theater
Found Drama
Collage
Guerilla Theater

Learner Objectives:
To understand dramatic structure
To be able to define drama and discuss the role of drama in advocacy
To look at various types of drama that can be used for advocacy
To write, find, or adopt a script for a dramatic performance
To discuss short plays and look at sections of plays that may have an environmental message
(The Tempest, The Birds, Doctor Faustus, A Midsummer Night’s Dram)

Drama was considered a genre of poetry by the ancient Greeks. Aristotle offered drama as a general term to describe forms of poetry that were acted. The Roman writer Horace stated that the purpose of drama was either to delight (comedy) or instruct (tragedy).

“Drama is about imperfection. We don’t always like morally good people.”

“Cut quarrels out of literature, and you will have very little history or drama or fiction or epic poetry left.” -- Robert Lynd

“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” – Hitchcock

Great drama is all about conflict. Every scene, every line of dialogue must move the conflict along.

So what is conflict? The clash of opposing forces. These forces can be other people, nature, society, our own selves, or fate or God.

What does a successful drama need?
Conflict, characters, setting, dramatic structure and good dialogue.
Characters: you need at least one (dramatic monologue). Your character should be someone with magnitude. Or importance. Some common person who stands for all of us. He needs to be a person who faces some sort of conflict. The setting/plot should reflect the time in which you live.

If where talking about the environment, it could be a story about a person who lives in a place where there is no clean water and this person’s mother is dying from disease associated with drinking polluted water.

So what’s the conflict here?
What must the main character overcome? How will they overcome it? Or will they overcome it? Is there a solution?

See http://www.expertvillage.com/video/153588_write-drama.htm

Dramatic Structure: Exposition, inciting event, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution

Dialogue: characters need to have a goal every time they speak. They want to get something from the other character(s). There must be conflict in the dialogue.
“Your dialogue shouldn’t be – what’s called—too much on the nose. You character shouldn’t be saying exactly what they’re thinking.” -- Marcy Kahan
“Characters shouldn’t actually answer each other’s lines, they should jump off each’s lines onto something else, or turn corners or surprise people. This will also create movements.”

LET’S LOOK AT SOME MASTERY DIALOGUE and discuss how it performs the above: contains conflict and moves it along; the speakers seek some information or objective from each other; the dialogue jumps off of each others.


CLAUDIO

Benedick, didst thou note the daughter of Signior Leonato?

BENEDICK

I noted her not; but I looked on her.

CLAUDIO

Is she not a modest young lady?

BENEDICK

Do you question me, as an honest man should do, for
my simple true judgment; or would you have me speak
after my custom, as being a professed tyrant to their sex?

CLAUDIO

No; I pray thee speak in sober judgment.

BENEDICK

Why, i' faith, methinks she's too low for a high
praise, too brown for a fair praise and too little
for a great praise: only this commendation I can
afford her, that were she other than she is, she
were unhandsome; and being no other but as she is, I
do not like her.

CLAUDIO

Thou thinkest I am in sport: I pray thee tell me
truly how thou likest her.

BENEDICK

Would you buy her, that you inquire after her?

CLAUDIO

Can the world buy such a jewel?

BENEDICK

Yea, and a case to put it into. But speak you this
with a sad brow? or do you play the flouting Jack,
to tell us Cupid is a good hare-finder and Vulcan a
rare carpenter? Come, in what key shall a man take
you, to go in the song?

CLAUDIO

In mine eye she is the sweetest lady that ever I
looked on.

BENEDICK

I can see yet without spectacles and I see no such
matter: there's her cousin, an she were not
possessed with a fury, exceeds her as much in beauty
as the first of May doth the last of December. But I
hope you have no intent to turn husband, have you?

CLAUDIO

I would scarce trust myself, though I had sworn the
contrary, if Hero would be my wife.

BENEDICK

Is't come to this? In faith, hath not the world
one man but he will wear his cap with suspicion?
Shall I never see a bachelor of three-score again?
Go to, i' faith; an thou wilt needs thrust thy neck
into a yoke, wear the print of it and sigh away
Sundays. Look Don Pedro is returned to seek you.

Re-enter DON PEDRO

DON PEDRO

What secret hath held you here, that you followed
not to Leonato's?

BENEDICK

I would your grace would constrain me to tell.

DON PEDRO

I charge thee on thy allegiance.

BENEDICK

You hear, Count Claudio: I can be secret as a dumb
man; I would have you think so; but, on my
allegiance, mark you this, on my allegiance. He is
in love. With who? now that is your grace's part.
Mark how short his answer is;--With Hero, Leonato's
short daughter.

CLAUDIO

If this were so, so were it uttered.

BENEDICK

Like the old tale, my lord: 'it is not so, nor
'twas not so, but, indeed, God forbid it should be
so.'

CLAUDIO

If my passion change not shortly, God forbid it
should be otherwise.

DON PEDRO

Amen, if you love her; for the lady is very well worthy.

CLAUDIO

You speak this to fetch me in, my lord.

DON PEDRO

By my troth, I speak my thought.

CLAUDIO

And, in faith, my lord, I spoke mine.

BENEDICK

And, by my two faiths and troths, my lord, I spoke mine.

CLAUDIO

That I love her, I feel.

DON PEDRO

That she is worthy, I know.

BENEDICK

That I neither feel how she should be loved nor
know how she should be worthy, is the opinion that
fire cannot melt out of me: I will die in it at the stake.

DON PEDRO

Thou wast ever an obstinate heretic in the despite
of beauty.

CLAUDIO

And never could maintain his part but in the force
of his will.

BENEDICK

That a woman conceived me, I thank her; that she
brought me up, I likewise give her most humble
thanks: but that I will have a recheat winded in my
forehead, or hang my bugle in an invisible baldrick,
all women shall pardon me. Because I will not do
them the wrong to mistrust any, I will do myself the
right to trust none; and the fine is, for the which
I may go the finer, I will live a bachelor.

FLASH DRAMA –
This is just a short play that is less than ten minutes in length.