This week: The Elements of Drama Edited by: Lilith of House Martell  
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Topics we'll review this week:
 What are the different elements of drama?
How are they related to each other?
How do they affect the quality of a story? |
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 Theme
The theme of a story refers to its central idea. It’s not the plot or the summary, but something a little bit deeper. A theme links a big idea about our world with the action in the story. It can be stated through dialogue or action, or inferred.
Don’t confuse the theme with the main idea of a story, though. These are two different things. The main idea is what the story is about and the theme is the message or lesson that one can apply to their own life. Themes are considered universal; meaning anyone can relate to them.
So, if I write a story about how I got sick eating coconut shrimp instead of going to the market for groceries on my way home; the theme isn’t ‘don’t trust the coconut at a Sunshine Chinese Takeout’. The theme is ‘to be prepared’. Most people can relate to the idea of planning ahead, but not everyone has been to the Sunshine Chinese Takeout. Do you see the difference?
The theme is the philosophy that forms the base of the story or a moral lesson that the characters learn.
Plot
The order of events occurring in a story makes the plot; essentially, the plot is what happens in the story. It’s the connection between the events and the characters in the story that forms an integral part of the plot. What the characters do, how they react and interact, the course of their lives as narrated by the story, and what happens to them in the end, constitute the plot.
A struggle between two individuals, the relationship between them, a struggle with self, a dilemma, or any form of conflict of one character with himself or another character in the story, all go into forming the plot. The story unfolds through a series of incidents that share a cause-and-effect relationship.
Typically, a story begins with exposing the past or background of the main and other characters, and the point of conflict then proceeds to give the central theme or climax. Then come the consequences of the climax and the story ends with a conclusion.
The plot flows in this sequence: Exposition—> Rising Action —> Climax —> Falling Action —> Resolution.
Characters
Characters serve as the driving force of your story. Every story needs characters but have you ever wondered why they are so important? Let's look at a few things to determine what makes them critical and how to determine if a character is essential to the story.
An essential character makes at least one (preferably more than one) of the following four contributions to the story:
 Contributes to the plot
 Does the character exhibit complex emotions? If the character doesn't seem to react to what's going on in the story emotionally, they're not likely to contribute to the plot.
Is this character believable? Believable characters connect to the readers more and thereby help them connect to the plot. If a character is too exaggerated or flat, they're more likely to become a distraction.
Does the character cause something to change in the story? If nothing changes because of the character's action, they're probably more of a background character.
Interactions with the protagonist
Think about the protagonist and how the other characters support them.
Does the protagonist change their mind about something because of this character? Influencing decision-making, especially difficult choices, means the character acts as a catalyst for character development.
Does the protagonist display behavior that might be related to this character? Is this character the reason your protagonist is happy/angry/jealous/fidgety is an essential character?
Does this character contribute to the reason your protagonist succeeds or fails in the end?
Contributes to conflict
A story needs some conflict to be interesting and therefore we need someone to stir it up.
Does the character have a personal conflict with the protagonist? A personal conflict with the main character almost always makes a character essential, even more so if it involves emotion.
Does the character cause a conflict to happen even though they're not directly involved? Misunderstandings are useful and the one who causes them is essential.
Perhaps the character plays a role in resolving a conflict. That could have a big impact on the plot.
Or is this character being sneaky and withholding information that could resolve a conflict?
Apart from these elements, the structure of the story, clever use of symbolism and contrast, and dialogue are some of the other important elements of drama. Perhaps we will look into those next time!
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Drama: February 22, 2023 Issue [#11820]
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