Elements of drama:

1. Plot – the storyline of the play. It can be divided into six stages – exposition, inciting incident,
rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement.
a. Exposition: the introduction that gives background information needed to understand
the story.
b. Inciting incident (conflict): the event that sets the action of the play in motion. It is what
gets the story going.
c. Rising action: events that come after the inciting incident and create the dramatic climax
of a plot.
d. Climax: the turning point of a plot which has the most emotional intensity of the play.
e. Falling action: events that come after the climax that leads to the solution of the
conflicts.
f. Denouement: the conclusion of the plot where the conflicts are unraveled. It is the
ending scene of the drama.

2. Character – they are the main part of a play. There are three types according to the roles they
play.
a. Protagonist: the main character
b. Antagonist: the character who opposes the protagonist.
c. Secondary characters: the characters who are neither of the 2 previous characters. They
may have a major part or minor involvement in the drama.

3. Setting – the place, time, and environment in which the events occur. The setting in drama can
be presented through visual elements such as scenes, costumes, and special effects.

4. Dialog – plays are written with mostly dialog. You don’t get to see how characters feel inside
unless they express their emotions or the stage directions (the writing in italics) tells them to
look a certain way.

5. Theme – the message that is intended to be expressed through the story. It is the main idea or
lesson to be learned from the play.

6. Genre – the type of play. Genre types include tragedy, comedy, romantic, mystery, and
historical.

7. Audience – the group of people who watch the play.