DEFINITION OF DRAMA

Drama is story written to be performed by actors. Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word "dran" meaning "action", which is derived from "to do" or "to act". According to the modern definition, any play may be considered a drama.

The difference between drama and other forms of literature is the way the “audience” receives the texts. For example, drama is meant to be performed in the form of a play, skit, sitcom etc. The lines are read to the audience and they receive it that way. As for the other forms, the “audience” reads the text themselves whether it be a fictional novel, nonfictional texts (newspapers, magazines, textbooks) or anything that is read. Non-fictional information can be given in the form of a newscast or some TV show but this just delivers facts and is not acted. Some shows may be bases on real events but the way they are preformed is scripted, reenacted, and may contain fictional elements making it drama.

Drama is a favorite form of entertainment for many people, whether it is a play being performed live or a movie being shown at a movie theater. However, people may not be aware that the art of drama has been practiced and studied for many years. In 335 B.C., the philosopher Aristotle wrote a work called Poetics in which he outlined the most basic elements of drama that are still adhered to by actors and actresses today. Traditionally, drama performed on stage before an audience, but nowadays can refer to a TV show/movie/Broadway etc.