Intro to Drama

“Beauty” by Jane Martin and “Sure Thing” by David Ives

Think, Pair, Share

• We are going to think about these questions silently for a moment, pair with a partner, and share your ideas with each other before we discuss them as a class.

• What can an audience expect when watching a play? Ideally, audiences experience this type of literature very differently than the short stories we have read so far. What makes the experience of watching drama unique?

Origins of Drama• The Western theater tradition traces is origins back to

ancient Greece. • The earliest plays (dramas) were performed during

religious festivals to Dionysius and featured stories from mythology and history. (7th Century BCE)

• Many of the Greek plays that are still performed and studied today were written in the 5th century BCE.

• By the time Aristotle wrote about Greek theater around 330 BCE, the genres of tragedy and comedy were firmly established, and the ancient Greeks were speculating about the history of drama much in the same way we wonder about the past now.

Ancient Greek Theater at Eretria One of the oldest existing theaters of its type, construction began in the 5th century BCE. Image Credit: Perseus Digital Library

Elements of Drama• When reading a play, you will encounter two

distinct types of writing that the play needs in order to get its action across to an audience. – The dialogue consists of the lines the actors speak as

they perform their parts. – The stage directions, which are written in third person

present tense, tell what the actors should be doing. They also give directions about sets, lighting, and music. They are usually written in italics. Some authors write sparse, simple stage directions, and some writers provide extensive, often beautifully eloquent stage directions.

Elements of Drama, Continued

• Drama, like fiction, has characters, setting, plot, etc., but there are some characteristics of drama that are unique because drama is meant to be performed live. – Sets (scenery, props, etc) may be elaborate or simple,

and often reflect the theme of the play.• Playwright Anton Chekov once said, "If you put a gun over

the mantle in the first act, then it must fire in the last."

– Lighting and music are used to create mood and enhance theme.

Development of Sets/Scenery

• Ancient Greek theaters had a building called a skene that could be decorated to represent a temple, a house, or some other structure relevant to the plot of the drama.

• Some Greek theaters also had trap doors that would allow characters to enter or exit suddenly, and some had cranes that would allow characters representing deities to descend onto the stage.

Development of Sets/Scenery

• Plays in Shakespeare’s day also included scenery that was more or less elaborate depending on the audience and the wealth of the acting company.

• However, no matter how elaborate the scenery, the burden of conveying where and when the action takes place still fell on the actors.

• Directors of modern plays sometimes choose not to have elaborate sets on stage in order to keep the focus on characters’ actions and words.

Image of the set for production of the play Noises Off

Image of the set for production of the play Our Town.

Aristotle’s Unities (and How to Break Them)

• Neo-classical playwrights believe that Aristotle (who they held in high regard) had said that a play should observe three “unities:” – Unity of action: They thought a play should have one

main plot and no subplots. – Unity of time: They thought that the events of a play

should take place in the span of 24 hours, or, even better, that the action of the play should unfold in “real time.”

– Unity of place: They thought that the stage should represent one place, and one place only. (So no scene changes.)

How to Throw Aristotle’s Unities out the Window

• Most modern drama does not observe these three unities. (And neither did Shakespeare.)

• Action can take place in many different settings. A playwright can indicate to an audience that the setting has changed by a change in props or lighting, or by writing dialogue that mentions where the characters are. Some playwrights who have a large stage to work with assign different parts of the stage to different settings.

• The important thing is, if a playwright chooses to switch from one setting to another, the audience should not be confused about where the new setting is.

How to Throw Aristotle’s Unities out the Window

• Many plays do not observe the “Unity of Time,” either. So, how do playwrights indicate that time has passed?

• If enough time has passed in the story of the play, they call for the director of the play to cast different actors.

• They include dialogue for their actors that indicates how much time has passed.

• Subtle changes in lighting, props, costumes, and music can indicate a passage of time.

How to Throw Aristotle’s Unities out the Window

• Any time you see a scene or act change in a play, there is a good chance that the playwright just broke one of the unities. Be on the lookout for how much time has passed and whether or not the characters are in the same place they were before.

In-Class Reading of “Sure Thing”• I will need three volunteers: Bill, Betty,

and a Bell Ringer. (The person ringing the bell needs to be really on top of it.)

• As your classmates perform, follow along in your handout and pay attention to how watching the play affects your reaction to it.

Group Questions for Sure Thing• What is the significance of the title? • What is the significance of the bell? Are the

characters aware of it? (And of the repetition?)

• What serious point is Ives (the author) making in this comedy?

• TAKE NOTES. I will be collecting one sheet from each group, and I will expect detailed, thoughtful responses during discussion.

Comparison to “Happy Endings”• We have already read the brief story “Happy

Endings” by Margaret Atwood on p. 394. • This is a short story that, like Sure Thing,

deals with the "different versions of events in a relationship" idea.

• How is this story similar to the play? In what significant ways is it different?

Questions for Beauty p. 762• This seems on the surface to be a case of “The

grass is always greener on the other side.” Is there anything else going on here? What other issues does this play bring up? How does the play address those issues?

• If we were able to watch the video, how did the director and the actresses use lighting, music, props, costumes, and stage directions?

• Why is the switch supernatural? Why don't they just talk about their differences?

• Which woman do you think is going to be happier with the switch? Support your opinion.

In Class Writing #2

• Write a short comparison of TWO of the following works: “Sure Thing,” “Beauty” (p. 762), and “Happy Endings.” (p. 394)

• What connections can you make between the two works that you choose?

• Are there striking similarities or contrasts in terms of theme or tone?

• Be sure to QUOTE each work at least once.