A play can appear on a stage or on the page.

Whether serious or funny, its job is the same. It tells a story through the words and actions of its characters.

The play’s story unfolds in sections called scenes.

A scene is a short section of a play, movie, or television program.

Scenes in a play are similar to chapters in a story. Scenes and chapters share many common elements: Characters Events Settings Plot with a problem

and solution

A new scene usually begins for one of the following reasons: The location has

changed. The time period has

changed. A new character is

introduced. A new event takes

place.

Most plays are written to be acted out.

People, called actors, are the ones to act out the plays. In a play, actors portray characters.

Characters can be human or non-human.

The character in a play who tells the story is the narrator.

Playwrights have many techniques for making their characters come alive.

One technique is having a character talk in a distinctive manner or style.

The characters speak in lines of dialogue.

Dialogue is the words spoken in conversation by the characters of a play.

Stage Directions are descriptions of the action or how a character feels.

Stage directions, which appear in parentheses and italics, tell the actors how to say their lines or what action should happen on stage.

Example: McGrew (Chuckles)

This tells the actor playing the part of McGrew that he should perform the action of chuckling.

The four main characteristics of plays are:

They tell a story that is written to be acted.

They include characters, setting, and plot. They tell their stories mainly through the

movements and dialogue of their characters.

They are written in scenes as dialogue, with stage directions.

Now that you have become an expert on the characteristics of plays, I hope you will take the time to act a few out. You never know what sort of story you might unfold!