8.11: Writing About Drama

When you read a play, your job is to imagine it as a stage production. In your mind, have a good sense of how a “standard” production might look, complete with a sense of what the characters might look like, the type of costuming that might be used, a suitable set design, and an appropriate rendering of the theme and tone of the work.

You can also think like a director, determining where you might deviate from your concept of a “standard” production if you were in control of the performance. You may want to consider some of the following:

• Why the choice of costumes, and why the set design?
• How would the actors deliver their lines (seriously, comically, realistically, formally)? Are there any significant actions or gestures that contribute to the play’s meaning?
• Should any “special effects” be utilized (consider lighting, sound, audience participation, machinery)?

After you read the play, you can begin writing a formal analysis of it by focusing on the following components: theme, plot, characterization, setting, and symbolism.

Theme and Plot

As with poetry and fiction, pay attention to the themes in a play. Since plays were meant to be viewed by live audiences during the time in which they were written and produced, consider potential messages and social commentary that the playwright might have included for those audiences. Also consider how the play addresses timeless themes that still attract audiences today.

If a play adheres to the classical unities of drama, specifically unity of action, the play will have one principal action. However, a play could also have a variety of subplots in addition to the main plot. When writing about plot, be careful not to focus too much on summarizing the action. Identifying important plot points should be a way of supporting your analysis of the play and its themes.

Characterization

Plays are primarily made up of dialogue between characters. Stage directions may be provided in some plays to describe how actors should move around and deliver lines, but much is left open to interpretation for the director and actors. When analyzing the words and movements of characters, try to imagine them as real people on a stage or even as friends and acquaintances you might see in your daily life. You already have lots of practice reading people around you. During conversations, you might consider other people's thoughts and motives based on what they say and do. Apply those analytical skills to the people who make up a play.

Setting and Symbolism

Stage directions might also reference staging, sets, and props. Sets provide decorations and scenery to give a sense of the overall setting, but once again much is left open to interpretation. Even when elaborate sets are included on stage, the audience still must imagine the time and place in which the play occurs. Plays adhering to the classical unities of drama will take place within one day (unity of time) and in a single physical location (unity of place).

Plays also frequently include props, articles or objects on the stage that may be mentioned in stage directions or in dialogue. Sometimes props are simply another means of conveying the setting, moving forward with the action, or providing characterization when the object belongs to someone. Consider whether the props are also symbolic, especially if the prop is used often or plays a significant role in the plot. Does the physical object also represent an abstract concept?

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