Script: This is the words spoken by the characters written by the playwright. The characters use the script when performing on stage.
Playwright: This is the person who writes the play. William Shakespeare and Willy Russell are examples of famous playwrights.
Characters: Characters are the people in the play that drive the plot forward. Playwrights use a variety of characters to tell their story.
Stage Directions: These are used in the script along with the dialogue. The directions tell the actors how to perform their lines and are usually in brackets and italicised.
Conflict: Every play needs a conflict to drive the story forward. Example: The bond in The Merchant of Venice, Mickey and Edward being twins and not knowing, Romeo and Juliet getting married when their families hate each other.
Foreshadowing: This is where characters hint about the possibility of bad things happening before they happen. This is a way of building tension in the story.
Dramatic Irony: This is where the audience knows more about what is happening than some of the characters. It gets the audience more involved in the story.
Props: These are objects and items that are used on stage by the characters. These include knives, rings, money, tables, chairs, etc.. These add realism to the play.
Stage Positioning: This is where the director decides where the characters stand. For example, people in power can be elevated, enemies on opposite sides of the stage.
Facial Expressions: These are used by the actors to display emotions.
Costumes: Costumes are worn by characters and give an insight into their social status and their personality. Colours can also be suggestive. For example red for anger, black for despair, white for hope.
Sound Effects: Sound effects can be used to add drama. For example, the gun shot in Blood Brothers can add real drama to the play.
Pathetic Fallacy: This is where the weather reflects the mood of the play. For example, you could have thunder and lightning when Romeo kills Tybalt and looks to the sky and says, ‘O I am fortune’s fool.’ In films, it is raining for funerals and sunny for weddings. This is a good example of pathetic fallacy.