Creative Arts – Drama
What is Drama?
- Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes
- A means of development
- Exploring situations so that we can learn more about them and how to solve problems.
Drama is the development of natural play in a controlled situation, where the learner is engaged as a whole: cognitively, physically and emotionally.
Aims of Drama:
- Develop concentration and the senses
- Stimulate and enrich the learner’s imagination
- Allows the learner to explore his physical capabilities
- Instill discipline of the creative process
Concepts:
CharactersWe call the people/animals in a story characters
Actorsthe people who take on the roles of the characters are actors and actresses
Plotthe story which is being enacted
Playwrightthe person who writes the story in the form of a play
Scriptthe words or dialogue that the playwright writes down which the actors use
Audiencethe people watching the drama
Costumesthe clothing actors wear that is suitable for their characters
Make-upin some plays actors use make-up to change their faces to suit their characters
Props objects used as part of the play (also sometimes called properties)
Theatrebuildings that have been specifically designed for performances
Lightingspecial effects used to make the plot clearer and the performance more effective
Soundsometimes music and sound effects are used to make the story more effective
Tragedya play which makes one sad; watching grim events on stage
Comedymaking people laugh is a serious business that required skill, both in writing the lines and acting them out. (Serious plays often contain comedy because the laughter breaks the serious moments)
Mysteriesor thriller, sometimes the audience has to guess the villain or simply watch how he or she tries to stay undetected
Farcetakes comedy one step further, so that really ridiculous things happen.
Slapstickcomedy based on deliberately clumsy actions and humorously embarrassing events.
Mimeor acting without words is a very unusual type of acting that is done – the movement of the face and the body explain what is happening.
Improvisationno script is present and the actors improvise or make up their lines spontaneously.
Pantomimeoften children’s stories told with larger than life characters.
Variety showvarious performances in one show that include song, dance and drama.
Dance dramadance is used to tell the story
Shadow playperformed behind a screen so that only shadows are seen and no actors.
Tableauxalso known as a freeze frame, still photograph or statue