Structural Elements
The background information on the characters and setting explained at the beginning of the story. It will often have information about events that happened before the story began and is often the very first part of the plot.
Exposition/Character List
Using voice expressively to create roles, situations, relationships, atmosphere and symbols.
Voice
The fictional time in the narrative or setting; timing of one moment to the next contributing to the tension and rhythm of dramatic action.
Time
Both a literary and theatrical device in which the reader or audience knows more than the characters. It is often used to create suspense.
Dramatic Irony
Instructions for how the play should be performed. These directions are usually italicised and/or enclosed in parentheses (brackets).
Stage Directions
The central struggle between opposing forces (internal or external) that drives the plot and creates tension in the drama.
Conflict
The exchange of spoken words between two or more characters in a book, play, or other written work.
Dialogue
The space of the performance and audience, fictional space of the dramatic action and the emotional space between characters.
Space
An indication of something that will happen in the future, often used as a literary device to hint at or allude to future plot developments. A narrative device in which suggestions or warnings about events to come are dropped or planted earlier in a text.
Foreshadowing
Helps to create mood and atmosphere on stage. Soft or low lighting showcases a calmer moment, while hard light tends to create harsh shadows and is used for tense settings.
Lighting
The arrangement of scenery and properties to represent the place where a play or movie is enacted.
Setting (Stage)
A short comment from a character that is spoken directly to the audience. The other actors on set can physically hear the words but as their characters, they pretend as if nothing was said.
Aside
Using facial expression, posture and action expressively in space and time to create roles, situations, relationships, atmosphere and symbols.
Movement
The use of objects, characters, or actions to represent deeper meanings or abstract ideas beyond their literal sense.
Symbolism
Anything an actor handles, carries, or manipulates that is not attached to the walls or floors.
Props
Scene transitions are used to indicate a change in location or time. These transitions may be indicated by a blackout, a fade out, or a curtain call.
Transitions
A lengthy speech given by one character to other characters. There is no back and forth banter that is seen in dialogue, and there is little or no action during the monologue.
Monologue
A pause or moment of change within a scene. Any time the mood or tone of a scene shifts.
A beat
When a character speaks directly to the audience through the imaginary wall that separates the audience from the stage.
Breaking the Fourth Wall
The clothing worn by characters that helps show personality, status, time-period, and cultural context, while also supporting the overall visual style of the production.
Costume
The way a dramatic text is organised, typically into acts and scenes, guiding how the plot unfolds from beginning to end.
Structure
A speech given by a character in a play when the speaker is alone. This is presented to inform the audience or reader of what is happening in the mind of a character and to give information about the action of the play.
Soliloquy
The ability to use your voice loudly, powerfully, and clearly while acting, singing, or speaking. It is an essential tool for performers, especially those who work primarily in the theater.
Voice Projection
The way a dramatic text reflects on, critiques, or exposes issues within society, such as politics, class, or inequality.
Social Commentary
Sound helps to create the environment, set the tone, and give the story a sense of continuity (flow). Sound and music can be an effective way to create mood on stage.
Sound Effects