The following are the ideas discussed in the class.
The main difference between a drama and theatre is that drama is a written version of plays, while theatre is an animated rendition of play texts.
Both drama and theatre tell the story of plays, but the story exists only on paper in drama, and only onstage during theatrical performances.
Drama is the printed text of a play, in other words, a drama refers to the script of a play.
The British theater Guide defines drama as “a branch from theater based on a representation of an event written in prose or pantomime that is meant to duly enact and illustrate an event or situational conflict through acting.”
The term “drama” is derived from the Greek word, ‘dran’ meaning 'to do' or 'to act'.
As with novels or other written literary work, the people enjoying the drama have different interpretations to the context.
In a drama, there is direct interaction between the author and the reader.
The term ‘theater is derived from the Greek term theasthai (to behold). Theatre refers to the actual production of the play on the stage. This requires a stage, actors, background, costumes, lighting, sound effects and most importantly an audience. In fact, a space to perform, actors, and the audience are three of the most basic requirements of theater.
Theater is a collective effort of the playwright, director, actors, technicians and many other people. Here, there is no direct interaction between the audience and the playwright. Theater can present another interpretation of the play. For instance, the interpretation we get from reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth might be different from the interpretation presented by a theater performance of Macbeth.
1. Drama is the script of a play. Theater is the onstage production of a play.
2. There is direct interaction between the reader and dramatist. There is no direct interaction between audience and the dramatist.
3. Interpretation of the play depends on the reader. Interpretation of the play depends on the artists.
4. Drama is an abstract entity. Theater is a physical entity.