Chapter+7

Dramas have conflict with rising action and crisis. There is eventually a resolution or catastrophe. Characters and their position on the stage, as well as their movements add meaning to the play. The interpreter must get into the mind of the character and understand them fully in order to bring a realistic light to the performance. Each character also participates in little everyday things that bring life to the character, such as turning a page, the way they walk, the way they hold themselves, and more. These must be understood as well. The interpreter must also understand how the characters interact with one another. The action and inaction sets the rhythm. Style can be seen in what a character says or does not say. Instead of acting out the action between many charcters, the interpreter would describe this information to the audience as the playwright wrote it (ex. pie fight). Drama is everyday life with more confict. We can see our characters walking down the street, at the coffee shop, at school, in the car next to us, or even at home. Everyone's life is a drama with confict and resolutions and each person is a character. Drama is very well played out in schools, especially middle school, or on the elementary school playground as children discover themselves and explore different roles. Drama can be seen in young girls playing "Mommy". They have observed their own mother and how she acts with children, her husband, and doing household things, then in turn the little girl makes her own drama about this character she has seen. Drama is everywhere! Activities: Have students write a journal from the character's point of view as they learn and progress through the scenes before cutting it down to the final performance piece. Have students dry read a performance and work with the stage and how it would naturally feel to move about if they were the particular character. Have them continue with this to further develop their characters. Have them do it one at a time, reading one side aloud, then working on doing the same with the other characters. Videos: [|What is dramatic interpretation?] [|Character Placement] These videos would be used to define dramatic interpretation and character placement in drama.