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126 awesome drama topics to inspire you.

November 10, 2021

As students of literature, you’re already aware drama portrays fictional and nonfictional events. It does this through the performance of written conversations or scripts of prose or poetry.

Drama can either be staged or performed as a film; it can even be broadcast on radios. These are all categorized as plays, and those who write them are called playwrights or dramatists, while those who perform on stage are referred to as thespians.

There are a series of drama topics since the drama was first performed in the days of Aristotle. Being long-standing, you may need creative and comprehensive dramatic topics for your research.

Good Drama Essay Guideline

Writing a top grade drama essay or writing assignment can become difficult. You should try your best and not leave it to the last minute, and dedicate enough time for editing. Here’s a brief guideline on the process of writing a good drama writing assignment:

Choose topic. Always try your best to choose a topic in which you have at least some interest in. If you choose a topic that is boring you will not have the energy and motivation to put in the work required to write a good essay. Also make sure your topic is not too general, but also not to narrow.
Research. After you have the topic, it is time to research and get some information and context on your topic. Begin by using the internet to find general information. Then begin to look into specific, credible sources which you can cite in your paper. Try your best to have varied types of sources (videos, articles, studies, books etc.).
Outline: Once you feel like you did enough research and are comfortable to begin, start with an outline. An outline is a very quick layout of your essay structure. This is where you put everything on your mind on paper, and then begin to organize and forming your paper. A good paper will always be well structure.
Writing: This is the main part. Once you have an outline you now must take some time and actually write everything out in draft. If you have a substantial outline and good research this part shouldn’t take very long.
Editing and proofreading: Finally, once you have written a first draft it is time to reread and edit. For the first draft, you shouldn’t strive to make it perfect, so there should be quite a lot of editing to do. It is important to leave a good amount of time for editing, because it is as important as actually writing. A high quality essay should go through a number of drafts before it is acceptable.

Drama is a very interesting topic. Drama is most times built on people’s tensions as it is used to keep them wondering what will happen next. For your theatre topics for research, you can consider these different informative, fun-filled and original research topics .

Theatre Research Paper Topics

As a university student, you may need to develop an awesome drama paper for your certificate. These are papers that talk about the basic features of theatre and its significance in society.

You may need to trace the history of theatre itself, as well as the trend of theatrical performances. You may also need to consider an in depth assessment of how theatre topics shaped the present. You can use these custom topics for your research:

Examine the role of women in medieval theater.
Examine the complexities in the history of European theatre.
Give a historical overview of the evolution of theatre from ancient Greece to the Mid 19th century.
Examine the influence of Aristotle on the drama of his time and after his time.
Account for the evolution of American drama.
Examine any three recorded theatrical performances of the 19th century of your choice and state the unifying factors.
Give a detailed overview of what ancient Greek theatre is all about.
Give a detailed review of how ancient Greek theater seems to be replicated today.
Examine the influence of Greek tragedy on the works of Shakespeare and his contemporary.
Redefine drama and theatre.
What distinguishes modern drama and pre-medieval drama?
Examine the significance of Antigone in Sophocles drama.
Examine the role of Canadian drama in the world.
Analyze the role of Bertold Brecht in drama.
Examine how the stylistics of Shakespeare negates that of Brecht.
Examine the differences between drama from the United Kingdom to that of Germany during the period of 14 to 18 centuries.
How has the medieval period Influenced Elizabethan drama?
What is the significance of Henrik Ibsen in Contemporary drama?
Examine the Differences between the stylistics of Bertold Brecht, Shakespeare, and Henrik Ibsen.
Examine what Greek comedy entails in comparison to the comedy of today.

Theatre History Research Topics

You may also require theatre essay topics for long research. These are historical topics that call for in depth research. As students, you can study the past to read more meanings to the present. In this section, you’ll find relevant topics to juxtapose the past and the present and how all these have influenced drama today. Consider:

Give a detailed analysis of the contemporary influences of The Wizard of Oz.
Examine the evolution and trends in horror movies.
Examine the evolution and trends of witchcraft movies.
How are emotions evoked in the drama of William Shakespeare?
Examine the subject of homosexual characters in a drama.
Examine the Influence of Greek drama in creating a symbol and perception of Jesus Christ.
Examine the stigma which Elizabethan actors were faced with
Account for the activities of William Blake.
What are the influences of George Orwell in the American drama Industry?
Compare and Contrast American drama and British drama.
Examine the role of symbols in Greek drama.
Analyze the significance of learning about the history and trend of drama.
Rationalize the role of Aristotle’s treatise on today’s drama.
Compare and contrast the Bollywood and Hollywood Industries.
Document the role of drama in the spread of racism before the end of slavery in America.
Examine the role of slaves in circus performances.
Examine any circus performance company of your choice and carefully detail their exploits.
Examine the evolution of tragic-comedy in drama.
Examine how the church has stopped drama before the 10th century.
Give an in depth overview of the complications in stage drama in a world dominated by films.

Theatre Essay Topics

As a college or university student, you may also need to create theatre essay topics for your classroom work. You may even need it for an assignment. Creating a good topic is essential to writing one of the best essays. You can consider any of these drama ideas for your essay:

Examine the life and times of Caryl Churchill.
What are the experiences of theatre houses with strict censorship?
Discuss the effects of the closing and reopening of American theatre houses throughout the centuries.
Account for the role of tragedy in Shakespeare’s books.
Account for the essence of “Squid Game” in the polarized world.
Account for the essence of “Squid Game” in demeaning humanity.
What are your reflections on the subject of realism?
Examine two plays of your choice and analyze them.
What do you think took Shakespeare’s plays to the global stage?
What is the influence of Spanish theatre on Latin American drama?
Examine the effects of globalization on theatre.
Examine the emergence of black actors on white-dominated stages.
What are the symbols in French theatre?
What are the reputable symbols of Italian theatre?
How has the Elizabethan theatre shaped drama today?
Criticize any performance of your choice.
Praise any performance of your choice.
Compare two or more performances of Macbeth by different themes: focus on their diction and costume.
Examine what a drama portfolio means.
Examine the distinguishing factors of modern theatres and Greek theatre.

Interesting Theatre History Topics

Interesting theatre history topics are topics that consider the fun and lighter part of the past in drama. These are topics that could border on present issues and how they relate to the last and past issues. For your comprehensive theatre historical research topics, you can consider the following:

How have social issues been challenged or discussed through drama?
Examine the significance of Dionysus on the history of drama.
Examine the myths in stage performances.
Examine the personages in Greek drama.
How does television drama share family virtues as expected in the UK?
What are the essential performance skills for a circus act?
What do you know about the adaptation of s cinematic performance to the screen?
Compare and contrast the relationship between acting and expression.
Examine the symbols in Chinese tragedy.
Critically examine the role of the depiction of disobedience in three Theban plays.
What is the usual pop culture which is frequent on television?
Examine the negro movement and its role in the drama.
How has theatre survived the restoration period?
Examine the role of drama in musical performances.
Evaluate the function of identity crisis in drama and acting.
Evaluate the metaphors and what they mean Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Examine how Shakespeare’s plays exhibited chivalry.
Examine how Shakespeare’s plays exhibited the priority in royalty.
What are the philosophies of theatre that have shaped it today?
Examine the evolution of drama and its changing significance in society.

Musical Theatre Research Topics

As students of theater, you may also need drama ideas relating to musical theatre research topics. These are topics that talk about the musical performance of plays. There were many of these centuries ago. One of the most important is opera. You can examine the following traditions and genres for your theatre class homework or essay:

Examine the purpose and significance of comic opera.
Compare and contrast farsa and fasta teatrale operatic performances.
Comment on the use of lights in opera performances.
Comment on the use of curtains in opera performances.
Examine the technical skills required for. effective opera performances
Identify the role of pop culture in opera.
Comment on the life and times of any two sopranos of choir choice.
Examine what operetta means.
How does ballet fit into musical performances, and what is its essence?
Evaluate the significance of musical performances in enjoying the drama.

Drama Topics for School Students

You may also need drama topics for teenagers for your drama class. If you have enrolled in a drama class as a student, you can try out some of these scenes. These could be graphic and romantic scenes. Depending on the event in your school, you can secure your spot in the national drama team by acting any of the following:

Tennessee Williams and Lucy Bailey’s Baby Doll.
Act any scene of romance in Shakespeare’s plays.
Act any three scenes of compassion in Henrik Ibsen’s play.
Act any three scenes of valor in Shakespeare’s plays.
Build on a comedy scene in Shakespeare’s play and make it funnier in the contemporary understanding of fun.
Play the role of divorce couples arguing over the children and exhibit the mental stress on the children.
Act the roles of violence in settling Political scores.
Read any historical horror story and act three scenes on stage.
Make entertainment with Halloween masks.
Play a role where you manipulate people into your perverted desires.
Play a role of a president refusing to leave power.
Take any three scenes in “Lights Over Tesco Park” by Jack Bradfield and Poltergeist Theatre and perform them to the best of your ability.
Perform any German drama of your choice.
Engage in a musical performance.
Perform without saying words, only gestures.
Perform No Quarter by Polly Stenham.
Perform scenes about the consequences of drugs.
Perform scenes about the cruelty of sexual violence.
Perform scenes about the need for religion for social order.
Perform scenes about the Russian revolution.

Drama Thesis Topics

As students of drama, you may likewise need drama thesis topics for your project or paperwork. You can even need them for your essays. You can consider these awesome topics to create one of the most relevant pieces in the theory of drama. You can choose any of these custom and available topics:

Interrogate the growth of Latin American dramatic culture in the UK.
Discuss the growth of Hollywood in the world.
Discuss the growth and evolution of Bollywood in the world.
Examine the role of pornography in the industry.
Discuss the role of Canadian musical performances in the international space.
Examine how the standards in the industry have changed if any.
Elucidate how drama is used to advance feminist ideas.
Comment on science fiction and its falsity to reality.
Briefly examine any Hollywood thriller of your choice.
Examine the issues of sexual exploitation in Hollywood.
How was drama used as propaganda in the Soviet Union?
Examine how China used drama during the cultural revolution.
Examine the role of subtitles in helping non-language speakers relate to drama from any culture.
Examine how modern drama brings back terror and trauma through collective pain.
How has black lives matter influenced drama?
Comment on any two theatre or circus groups of your choice and why they haven’t stopped.

Running Late On Your Drama Writing?

With all these custom topics online, you can carefully carry out precise research for your drama paperwork or essay. You can also use these to create the best submission ever in your school.

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Essays About Drama: Top 5 Examples and 5 Prompts

The word drama covers many meanings and subjects; if you are writing essays about drama, discover our guide with interesting essay examples and writing prompts featured here.

What is drama to you? Many know it as a situation or event in which emotions run high. For others, the grand, intricate stage plays of Shakespeare and others of his time come to mind. Regardless, these and all other definitions of drama share one thing in common: emotion.

In all its forms, from theatre to television to cinema to even day-to-day interaction, drama is always centered around emotion, tension, and conflict- things we experience daily. Drama is, quite literally, our life, complete with all its imperfections, troubles, twists, and turns.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers

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1. The History of Drama by Homer Stewart

2. why the news is not the truth by peter vanderwicken, 3. drama reflection essay (author unknown), 4. kitchen sink dramas by rodolfo chandler, 5. love yourself, not your drama by crystal jackson, 6. shakespeare’s theater: an essay from the folger shakespeare editions by barbara mowat and paul werstine, 1. what is drama, 2. types of drama, 3. the history of drama, 4. is the world over-dramatized today, 5. a dramatic incident of the past.

“Perhaps the most theatrical form of drama was opera which is still popular in today’s society. Broadway is certainly a sight that attracts thousands of people annually. In addition, the playwrights of today are striving to make the theatrical experience meaningful to the lives of viewers so that it is not just simply “pleasant entertainment”. Many themes that drama plays in modern times focus on are social problems, tragedies involving the elements of love and hate and as well as social problems that affect the inhabitants of today.”

Stewart gives readers a brief history of drama and its subjects. In different eras, the plays were based around themes and ideas prevalent in those times; for example, the Romantic Period focused on the “experiences of ordinary people.” He also references several playwrights, including Friedrich von Schiller and Percy Bysshe Shelley. In modern times, drama is centered around critical social issues while still managing to be engaging and entertaining.

“Pulitzer turned them into stories with a sharp dramatic focus that both implied and aroused intense public interest. Most newspapers of the time looked like the front page of the Wall Street Journal still does. Pulitzer made stories dramatic by adding blaring headlines, big pictures, and eye-catching graphics. His journalism took events out of their dry, institutional contexts and made them emotional rather than rational, immediate rather than considered, and sensational rather than informative.”

Vanderwicken criticizes the state of news today, saying that many stories are dramatized and outright fabricated to make them more entertaining. He attributes this to Joseph Pulitzer of Pulitzer Prize fame, who introduced He also gives historical examples of instances where the media has exaggerated – news today is too dramatic, and it must change.

You might also be interested in these essays about Macbeth .

“I felt that this learning experience is a very huge step because it takes us from doing a play which is very immature in to something that is big and has maturity in it. It helps me to practice in fluency, public speaking and mostly self-confidence. In the play I developed my ways of acting and how to put emotions in to the character, in which those emotions were not really me.”

This essay describes lessons one can learn from performing drama, such as confidence and speaking fluently. The author also reflects on an experience performing in drama, where the author learned to be more expressive, speak better, and become more hardworking. There is also a brief discussion on the elements of drama, including plot and setting. Drama is important and can teach you essential skills and lessons.

“In the late 1950s in Britain, the “Kitchen Sink movement”, which is also known as “Kitchen Sink realism” occurred. This cultural movement stemed from ideas about working class activities. A typical writer of kitchen sink dramas is John Osborne, for example his drama “Look back in anger” which aroused many strong opinions when it was first performed as a drama. It is set in a small flat in the west midlands, which is typical of working class people.”

Chandler describes a period in drama where “kitchen sink dramas” depicted working-class stories. He uses John Osborne’s “Look Back in Anger” as an example, briefly describing the play. Jimmy, one of the characters, was known as an “angry young man,” This term was later used to describe young people critical of the social and political state of the world.

“We learn to recognize co-dependence, narcissism, and toxicity for what they are rather than making excuses because we liked the look of someone. In other words, we grow up. We stay in love with our own toxic patterns and keep the cycle of damage going, or we recognize the collateral damage of all our drama and start wanting better for ourselves. We make choices. We experience consequences. If we grow up, we’ll even connect the two.”

Jackson’s essay discusses drama from another perspective, the drama that comes with love life. She gives readers tips on how to care for yourself better and look past all the tension, confusion, and drama that comes with dating. If we look at potential partners from a deeper, more constructive point of view, we can avoid toxic relationships and have a healthy love life.

“When performance required that an actor appear “above,” as when Juliet is imagined to stand at the window of her chamber in the famous and misnamed “balcony scene,” then the actor probably climbed the stairs to the gallery over the back of the stage and temporarily shared it with some of the spectators. The stage was also provided with ropes and winches so that actors could descend from, and reascend to, the “heavens.””

In their essay, Mowat and Werstine discuss the conventions of performing Shakespearean drama during his time, including the performance of some scenes in different areas of the theater and men playing women’s roles. They also discuss how the theaters they performed in, such as the Globe Theatre, enhanced the plays’ dramatic effect.

5 Prompts for Essays About Drama

The word drama has many meanings and is used differently, as seen in the essay examples above. In your essay, give the word’s etymology, explain the different sides of drama, from theatre to school life, and give examples of how they exemplify the meaning. Explain how they are all connected as well.

Drama in the context of theatre has four primary forms: comedy, tragedy, tragicomedy, and melodrama. Discuss each type of drama and elaborate on its characteristics. If you wish, compare and contrast them as well. Be sure to give examples of plays when explaining them.

In your essay, you can also discuss the different periods in the history of drama. Explain what occurred in these periods, how drama changed, and their effects on modern drama. You need not explore too many periods; just make sure you write about key developments and explain them adequately.

In the world today, the resilience of survivors is glorified and dramatized, while we see media outlets making headlines out of mere gossip and celebrity news. From this, it can be argued that society is centered around making a drama out of nothing. Why is this the case? Discuss your opinion on this issue- feel free to research if you need inspiration.

Look back to a past event marked by tension, emotion, and drama. Narrate the events and explain how they made you feel- did you learn anything from them? This can be either your own experience or just an event from history or the news. You can read this essay for further inspiration.

Note: drama can mean different things to different people, so what you consider “dramatic” is up to you.For help picking your next essay topic, check out our top essay topics about love .

The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

What this handout is about

This handout identifies common questions about drama, describes the elements of drama that are most often discussed in theater classes, provides a few strategies for planning and writing an effective drama paper, and identifies various resources for research in theater history and dramatic criticism. We’ll give special attention to writing about productions and performances of plays.

What is drama? And how do you write about it?

When we describe a situation or a person’s behavior as “dramatic,” we usually mean that it is intense, exciting (or excited), striking, or vivid. The works of drama that we study in a classroom share those elements. For example, if you are watching a play in a theatre, feelings of tension and anticipation often arise because you are wondering what will happen between the characters on stage. Will they shoot each other? Will they finally confess their undying love for one another? When you are reading a play, you may have similar questions. Will Oedipus figure out that he was the one who caused the plague by killing his father and sleeping with his mother? Will Hamlet successfully avenge his father’s murder?

For instructors in academic departments—whether their classes are about theatrical literature, theater history, performance studies, acting, or the technical aspects of a production—writing about drama often means explaining what makes the plays we watch or read so exciting. Of course, one particular production of a play may not be as exciting as it’s supposed to be. In fact, it may not be exciting at all. Writing about drama can also involve figuring out why and how a production went wrong.

What’s the difference between plays, productions, and performances?

Talking about plays, productions, and performances can be difficult, especially since there’s so much overlap in the uses of these terms. Although there are some exceptions, usually plays are what’s on the written page. A production of a play is a series of performances, each of which may have its own idiosyncratic features. For example, one production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night might set the play in 1940’s Manhattan, and another might set the play on an Alpaca farm in New Zealand. Furthermore, in a particular performance (say, Tuesday night) of that production, the actor playing Malvolio might get fed up with playing the role as an Alpaca herder, shout about the indignity of the whole thing, curse Shakespeare for ever writing the play, and stomp off the stage. See how that works?

Be aware that the above terms are sometimes used interchangeably—but the overlapping elements of each are often the most exciting things to talk about. For example, a series of particularly bad performances might distract from excellent production values: If the actor playing Falstaff repeatedly trips over a lance and falls off the stage, the audience may not notice the spectacular set design behind him. In the same way, a particularly dynamic and inventive script (play) may so bedazzle an audience that they never notice the inept lighting scheme.

A few analyzable elements of plays

Plays have many different elements or aspects, which means that you should have lots of different options for focusing your analysis. Playwrights—writers of plays—are called “wrights” because this word means “builder.” Just as shipwrights build ships, playwrights build plays. A playwright’s raw materials are words, but to create a successful play, they must also think about the performance—about what will be happening on stage with sets, sounds, actors, etc. To put it another way: the words of a play have their meanings within a larger context—the context of the production. When you watch or read a play, think about how all of the parts work (or could work) together.

For the play itself, some important contexts to consider are:

The time period in which the play was written
The playwright’s biography and their other writing
Contemporaneous works of theater (plays written or produced by other artists at roughly the same time)
The language of the play

Depending on your assignment, you may want to focus on one of these elements exclusively or compare and contrast two or more of them. Keep in mind that any one of these elements may be more than enough for a dissertation, let alone a short reaction paper. Also remember that in most cases, your assignment will ask you to provide some kind of analysis, not simply a plot summary—so don’t think that you can write a paper about A Doll’s House that simply describes the events leading up to Nora’s fateful decision.

Since a number of academic assignments ask you to pay attention to the language of the play and since it might be the most complicated thing to work with, it’s worth looking at a few of the ways you might be asked to deal with it in more detail.

There are countless ways that you can talk about how language works in a play, a production, or a particular performance. Given a choice, you should probably focus on words, phrases, lines, or scenes that really struck you, things that you still remember weeks after reading the play or seeing the performance. You’ll have a much easier time writing about a bit of language that you feel strongly about (love it or hate it).

That said, here are two common ways to talk about how language works in a play:

How characters are constructed by their language

If you have a strong impression of a character, especially if you haven’t seen that character depicted on stage, you probably remember one line or bit of dialogue that really captures who that character is. Playwrights often distinguish their characters with idiosyncratic or at least individualized manners of speaking. Take this example from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest :

ALGERNON: Did you hear what I was playing, Lane? LANE: I didn’t think it polite to listen, sir. ALGERNON: I’m sorry for that, for your sake. I don’t play accurately—anyone can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life. LANE: Yes, sir. ALGERNON: And, speaking of the science of Life, have you got the cucumber sandwiches cut for Lady Bracknell?

This early moment in the play contributes enormously to what the audience thinks about the aristocratic Algernon and his servant, Lane. If you were to talk about language in this scene, you could discuss Lane’s reserved replies: Are they funny? Do they indicate familiarity or sarcasm? How do you react to a servant who replies in that way? Or you could focus on Algernon’s witty responses. Does Algernon really care what Lane thinks? Is he talking more to hear himself? What does that say about how the audience is supposed to see Algernon? Algernon’s manner of speech is part of who his character is. If you are analyzing a particular performance, you might want to comment on the actor’s delivery of these lines: Was his vocal inflection appropriate? Did it show something about the character?

How language contributes to scene and mood

Ancient, medieval, and Renaissance plays often use verbal tricks and nuances to convey the setting and time of the play because performers during these periods didn’t have elaborate special-effects technology to create theatrical illusions. For example, most scenes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth take place at night. The play was originally performed in an open-air theatre in the bright and sunny afternoon. How did Shakespeare communicate the fact that it was night-time in the play? Mainly by starting scenes like this:

BANQUO: How goes the night, boy? FLEANCE: The moon is down; I have not heard the clock. BANQUO: And she goes down at twelve. FLEANCE: I take’t, ’tis later, sir. BANQUO: Hold, take my sword. There’s husbandry in heaven; Their candles are all out. Take thee that too. A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, And yet I would not sleep: merciful powers, Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature Gives way to in repose!

Enter MACBETH, and a Servant with a torch

Give me my sword. Who’s there?

Characters entering with torches is a pretty big clue, as is having a character say, “It’s night.” Later in the play, the question, “Who’s there?” recurs a number of times, establishing the illusion that the characters can’t see each other. The sense of encroaching darkness and the general mysteriousness of night contributes to a number of other themes and motifs in the play.

Productions and performances

Productions.

For productions as a whole, some important elements to consider are:

Venue: How big is the theatre? Is this a professional or amateur acting company? What kind of resources do they have? How does this affect the show?
Costumes: What is everyone wearing? Is it appropriate to the historical period? Modern? Trendy? Old-fashioned? Does it fit the character? What does their costume make you think about each character? How does this affect the show?
Set design: What does the set look like? Does it try to create a sense of “realism”? Does it set the play in a particular historical period? What impressions does the set create? Does the set change, and if so, when and why? How does this affect the show?
Lighting design: Are characters ever in the dark? Are there spotlights? Does light come through windows? From above? From below? Is any tinted or colored light projected? How does this affect the show?
“Idea” or “concept”: Do the set and lighting designs seem to work together to produce a certain interpretation? Do costumes and other elements seem coordinated? How does this affect the show?

You’ve probably noticed that each of these ends with the question, “How does this affect the show?” That’s because you should be connecting every detail that you analyze back to this question. If a particularly weird costume (like King Henry in scuba gear) suggests something about the character (King Henry has gone off the deep end, literally and figuratively), then you can ask yourself, “Does this add or detract from the show?” (King Henry having an interest in aquatic mammals may not have been what Shakespeare had in mind.)

Performances

For individual performances, you can analyze all the items considered above in light of how they might have been different the night before. For example, some important elements to consider are:

Individual acting performances: What did the actor playing the part bring to the performance? Was there anything particularly moving about the performance that night that surprised you, that you didn’t imagine from reading the play beforehand (if you did so)?
Mishaps, flubs, and fire alarms: Did the actors mess up? Did the performance grind to a halt or did it continue?
Audience reactions: Was there applause? At inappropriate points? Did someone fall asleep and snore loudly in the second act? Did anyone cry? Did anyone walk out in utter outrage?

Response papers

Instructors in drama classes often want to know what you really think. Sometimes they’ll give you very open-ended assignments, allowing you to choose your own topic; this freedom can have its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, you may find it easier to express yourself without the pressure of specific guidelines or restrictions. On the other hand, it can be challenging to decide what to write about. The elements and topics listed above may provide you with a jumping-off point for more open-ended assignments. Once you’ve identified a possible area of interest, you can ask yourself questions to further develop your ideas about it and decide whether it might make for a good paper topic. For example, if you were especially interested in the lighting, how did the lighting make you feel? Nervous? Bored? Distracted? It’s usually a good idea to be as specific as possible. You’ll have a much more difficult time if you start out writing about “imagery” or “language” in a play than if you start by writing about that ridiculous face Helena made when she found out Lysander didn’t love her anymore.

If you’re really having trouble getting started, here’s a three point plan for responding to a piece of theater—say, a performance you recently observed:

Make a list of five or six specific words, images, or moments that caught your attention while you were sitting in your seat.
Answer one of the following questions: Did any of the words, images, or moments you listed contribute to your enjoyment or loathing of the play? Did any of them seem to add to or detract from any overall theme that the play may have had? Did any of them make you think of something completely different and wholly irrelevant to the play? If so, what connection might there be?
Write a few sentences about how each of the items you picked out for the second question affected you and/or the play.

This list of ideas can help you begin to develop an analysis of the performance and your own reactions to it.

If you need to do research in the specialized field of performance studies (a branch of communication studies) or want to focus especially closely on poetic or powerful language in a play, see our handout on communication studies and handout on poetry explications . For additional tips on writing about plays as a form of literature, see our handout on writing about fiction .

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Carter, Paul. 1994. The Backstage Handbook: An Illustrated Almanac of Technical Information , 3rd ed. Shelter Island, NY: Broadway Press.

Vandermeer, Philip. 2021. “A to Z Databases: Dramatic Art.” Subject Research Guides, University of North Carolina. Last updated March 3, 2021. https://guides.lib.unc.edu/az.php?a=d&s=1113 .

Worthen, William B. 2010. The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama , 6th ed. Boston: Cengage.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How to write a good drama essay?

Essay paper writing

Thinking about the cultural heritage of a country, people usually remember music, paintings, costumes, and even cuisine, but often forget about drama. This art has taken various forms in different countries, and most nations have a great history of its development.

For ages, it has evolved from being merely entertainment for masses to something a lot bigger and more valuable. It started reflecting the real life, presenting both beautiful and ugly sides of it, teaching people important lessons, educating them, delivering certain messages, and raising public awareness.

Therefore, if you were assigned a drama essay, you have a wide variety of topics to choose from and viewpoints to consider. While picking the topic might not be the biggest issue, as you likely know a few plays you might want to review, the writing part might be a little tricky. Let us walk you through it though.

Drama essay outline

There is nothing special about the structure of dramatic essays. Its main elements are:

Introduction. Start with a hook phrase, provide a few sentences with some background information on the topic, and end the introductory paragraph with a thesis statement showing the purpose of your paper.
Body. If you are writing a typical 1-2-page essay, the body will likely consist of about 3-5 paragraphs, each with its own main idea and supporting sentences.
Conclusion. The main task of this section is to restate the thesis statement, briefly overview the discussion you had in the body, and leave your readers some food for thought.

Drama essay format

The question of formatting always concerns students because it constitutes a considerable part of the overall grade. If you are a school student, you will likely be asked to use APA or MLA style. But if you study at a university, then the choice of formatting styles can be wider. Therefore, it is better to clarify which one would be the most suitable with your professor before you start working on your essay.

Drama essay help: best tips

Drama studies, the same as numerous other courses, require their students to work on different kinds of tasks, and many of them involve essay writing. Even though you are familiar with various types of papers and have certainly worked on a wide range of topics, the most frequent task you may be assigned is usually an analysis paper. No matter how many essays you have prepared before, drama writing assignments will be a unique, unusual, and unexpectedly enjoyable experience that will fascinate you each time.

As most professors try to help their students relish each drama essay assignment and approach it creatively, they often leave minimum instructions to follow. While some people see it as an opportunity to learn in comfort and recognize the limits of their own perception, others freeze in confusion, having no idea what to do next. It is completely natural to feel baffled when you are used to staying within limits set by teachers but are suddenly given so much freedom for experiments and action. It is just important to come out of this perplexed state and make a clear plan like this one:

Choose a play

Obviously, a drama analysis essay cannot be done if there is nothing to analyze. Therefore, it is important to pick the play first. Teachers can provide their students with a list of plays to choose from, and as you have no time to watch them all and then pick one, read brief descriptions of them on the Web, and go with the play you liked the most.

If you have no list, the situation gets a bit more complicated, but there is no need to worry, as you can create such a list on your own. Focus on the topic you are currently studying on the course, and search for plays that would have the needed time frame, country, exact theatre, or team of actors. Make your own little research on these plays to figure out what they are about and make the final decision on what you are going to analyze.

Think of the assessment criteria

The type of paper you are working on implies that you need to analyze certain aspects of the play you will watch, and it is crucial to decide what those things will be. If you have to focus on technical attributes of the play, then lights, quality of music, costumes, and decorations are the nice assessment choices. However, writing about drama, you will more often be asked to put the emphasis on something spiritual or emotional. In this case, it is better to examine acting itself, as well as the role of crewmembers, their involvement, language, feelings, and contribution to the play. You can always look up the criteria, but it is better to come up with a few on your own, write them all down, and make sure they all will be suitable for your essay on drama.

Outline, write, and revise

When you feel ready for writing about drama, create proper working conditions for yourself, and prepare an outline first. Find a place where nothing will bother you, turn off your phone, and take everything you need for writing. Look up how to structure the work, check out the outline provided above, or find a suitable sample and check how it is organized.

You can either use a similar structure or outline the drama paper on your own using the data you have. Think about the purpose of the work, the information you want to present, and the way you will shape your discussion. Start writing a drama review only when the outline is ready and make sure to proofread it when you finish.

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Drama: A Graphic Novel

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Act IV-Intermission

Act VII-Final Act

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Identify three lessons applicable to tween girls that Drama communicates. Use quotes, character, and/or plot analysis to demonstrate how Telgemeier communicates these lessons.

Choose a pair of characters that act as foils for one another. Use compare and contrast to name the specific ways that they foil each other. What thematic message does Telgemeier form through this foiling?

Do you think that Drama provides a realistic portrait of contemporary tween life in America? Why or why not? Cite important quotes, characters, and plot points in your answer.

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Home / Essay Samples / Literature / Literary Genres / Drama

Drama Essay Examples

Exploring the themes of knowledge and time in stoppard's 'arcadia'.

Arcadia, a play written by Tom Stoppard, is overwhelmed with futuristic thoughts and ideas that create intricate conflicts between characters. The leading difficulty is how the audience is forced to attempt to understand them. They have to try to grasp ideas from an array of...

The Analysis of Susan Glaspell's Play "Wastes of Time"

Susan Glaspell's play Wastes of time delineates the connection among married couples, with the dedication and loyalty basically in wedded life. As the play opens we see a presuming scene an untidy kitchen that reflects something fishy how the lady are being pushed in the...

The Theme of Justice in the Oresteia by Aeschylus

Throughout the trilogy, The Oresteia, there is a central theme of justice portrayed by Aeschylus. In each of the three plays, justice stems from the ancient guidelines but soon evolves into a more civil justice defined by Athena, with the intention to stop the people...

Comparsion of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus and Its Film Adaptation by Ralph Fiennes

Although Ralph Fiennes’ film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus sticks largely to the facts as reported in the original story, it differs noticeably from Plutarch’s Life of Coriolanus in terms of how the play tends to compress some events in order to increase the dramatization. Furthermore,...

Analysis of the Main Themes in the Play Our Town

Our Town is a play that was first published in 1938, set in the early 1900s in Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire. It is centered around a small town of people who are very old-fashioned and set in their ways, going through life without appreciating it....

A Theme of Gender Equality in Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Marie Shear stated, “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” There are no truer words when it comes to the story portrayed in the short drama, Trifles, written by Susan Glaspell. This play emphasizes the gender roles placed onto women and illustrates the...

Analysis of the Character of Volumnia in Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

In Coriolanus, Volumnia is a strong, powerful mother who has raised the seemingly perfect soldier. She is constantly talking of the joys of war and how she hopes to see her son wounded. These wounds and the admiration that comes with them are a place...

The Issue of Patriarchy and Gender Inequality in Trifles

During the 20th century, women’s roles were limited marriage and motherhood, and housewives, which caused domestic dependency which resulted in daily lives being rules by patriarchy since men did not see them as equals. During the years leading up women’s suffrage in the United States,...

The Role of Gender in Trifles by Susan Glaspell

In Susan Glaspell’s short play Trifles, the reader is met with the ongoing case of John Wright’s murder. One moral that the play depicts is that women and men see things differently. According to the male characters, the women only care about issues that have...

Review of the Book the Mystery of Flight 2222 by Thomas Neviaser: the Story of Survival, Hunger and Fear

The Mystery of flight 2222 by Thomas Neviaser is a twisted book full of mystery, drama, and action. This book is very interesting and the story keeps surprising you with twists and turns. It’s a story about survival, hunger and fear. The interesting thing about...

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