ELEMENTS

OF

A PLA

Y

Y OU

CA

N W

RI T

E Y

OU

R O

WN

PL A

Y

PLOT

The action in the story!

STRUCTURE OF A PLOT

A Good Plot Contains:

1. Exposition – Background information

2. Conflict – The event that sets in motion the action of the play

3. Rising Action – Complications and discoveries, which create conflict.

4. Climax – Turning point of the pot, emotion intensity of play

5. Falling Action – Series of events following the climax

6. Resolution of the conflicts

HOW TO WRITE A PLOT

Click here to view

Here is a web site that will give us great examples of how to recognize and write your own plot.

PLOT

You write your own plot-Make an outline of the sequence of events

THEME – THE PLAYWRIGHT'S MESSAGE

The theme is expressed through words and actions of the characters in a series of situations that make up the plot.

YOUR THEME – WRITE A PARAGRAPH ON A POSSIBLE THEME FOR YOUR PLAYTheme Ideas:

Living in Harmony with others

Racism

Death comes to us all

We can learn at any age

THEME

Brain storm on a piece of paper some theme ideas for your play.

• Ideas that have a powerful emotional trigger

• An event that struck you in one way or another

• Strong feelings and emotions about a theme

• Write about something that matters to you

SETTING-WHERE AND WHEN DOES IT HAPPEN?

SETTING – VIEWABLE ELEMENTS

Come up with your stories setting.

Descriptions of sights and sounds help to illustrate the story!

What will the setting of your story be?

SETTING

Setting must contain:

1. Common sight and sounds to enhance time and place

2. Sound effects and or music in the text to contribute to time and place

CHARACTER – WHO DOES IT HAPPEN TO?Your character choices should fall in line with your:

• Setting – time and play

• Theme

• Plot

• Conflict

CHARACTER

1. Protagonist – main character

2. Antagonist – person, situation, or inner conflict in opposition to the main character’s goals

3. Secondary Characters – all other characters other than protagonist and antagonist

CHARACTER

Characters:

The characters that form a part of the story are interwoven with the plot of the drama. Each character in a play has a personality of its own and has a distinct set of principles and beliefs.

Actors who play various roles in a drama have the very important responsibility of bringing the characters to life.

CONFLICT

CONFLICT

CONFLICT

During rising action, the basic internal conflict is complicated by the introduction of related secondary conflicts, including various obstacles that frustrate the protagonist's attempt to reach his goal. Secondary conflicts can include adversaries of lesser importance than the story’s antagonist, who may work with the antagonist or separately, by and for themselves or actions unknown, and also the conflict.

SYMBOLISM

Adding the use of symbol in a student drama performance is a difficult task. But when symbol is weaved successfully into either classroom drama or professional theatre, it adds sophistication that places the show on a whole new level.

A symbol implies a greater meaning than the literal suggestion and is usually used to represent something other than what it is at face value. Symbolism in the theatre can be achieved via characters, colour, movement, costume and props.

Symbolism began with a group of French poets in the late 19th Century and soon spread to the visual arts and theatre, finding its peak between about 1885 and 1910. French poet Jean Moreas published the Symbolist Manifesto in 1886 that greatly influenced the entire movement in the visual and performing arts.

SYMBOLISM

Symbolism in art implied a higher, more spiritual existence and aimed to express emotional experiences by visual means. In the theatre, symbolism was considered to be a reaction against the plays that embodied naturalism and realism at the turn of the 20th Century. The dialogue and style of acting in symbolist plays was highly stylized and anti realistic/non-naturalistic. As theatre is often a blend of the visual and performing arts working in harmony, many of the sets and props in symbolist plays were also anti realistic/non-naturalistic and were often used to symbolize emotions or values in society. A huge throne could symbolize power, a window placed in a set could symbolize freedom in the outside world or a simple action by a character could symbolize a greater ideal in the context of the play.

SYMBOLISM

The use of symbols implies the use of indirect suggestions in a drama. Logically used symbols help in making a scene more effective. The use of contrast is about using stillness followed by activity or silence followed by noise. It can also mean the use of contrasting colors to add to the visual appeal. It can mean the clever use of contrasting scenes following each other that enhance the dramatic element of a play.

RESOLUTION

The third act of a dramatic structure, in which the conflict comes to some kind of conclusion: the protagonist either gets it or doesn't.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Writing a play is like baking a cake! All the essential ingredients must be there!

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

I have my idea. How do I turn it into a story?

1. Once you have found a creative trigger for your story, play a game of “What if?” with it.

2. Playing “What if” allows you to explore all the possible dramatic situations that can develop from the original idea. It is what professional writers call “Brainstorming”. The important rule is that you pay attention to the choice you make when you answer the “What if?” question. Each answer is a choice you make. That choice will determine the next question. Your narrative will start developing in a specific direction. Little by little, the image you started with will be transformed through the decisions you make. Your goal is to come up with the most interesting, dramatic situation possible.