GLOSSARY

• PLAYWRIGHT– the person who invents/writes the play
• Plot – the plan or essential facts of the story
• Theme – the main idea transmitted by the play, for example, Othello’s jealousy
• SCRIPT - words that are written for the actors to say. It may also have:

• STAGE DIRECTIONS: Instructions for the actors about how to speak and move onstage
• EFFECTS details about things such as music, lighting, sound effects, etc.
• Descriptions of the SETTING or staging (the background scenery, the time of the day…)
• A CAST or list of characters

•  CHARACTER – a made-up person who appears in a play.  Protagonist – the main character.  The antagonist is his/her  rival in the conflict

In a story, the narrator  tells us about the characters and the plot. However, in a dramatic work, we must learn about the characters from:

Ø  Their words: what they say in the DIALOGUE

Ø  Their actions: what they do and how they do it

Ø  Their reactions: what characters act towards each other

• ACT – a major division of any dramatic work. It can include a number of SCENES that are shorter units of action in which the setting is fixed. A change in scenery implies a new scene.