6.2: Performance of Drama
- Page ID
- 273700
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This section outlines the importance of thoughtfully selecting a dramatic piece for oral interpretation. While popular scripts may seem appealing, they often come with audience expectations that limit creative interpretation. Instead, performers should choose lesser-known works with rich characters, engaging language, emotional depth, and a clear dramatic arc. Since drama lacks a narrator, performers must use vocal and physical expression to define characters and communicate the story. Careful character analysis, consistent nonverbal mannerisms, and distinct focal points are essential to delivering a compelling and clear performance.
- Evaluate and select appropriate dramatic literature for oral interpretation based on originality, emotional impact, and suitability for performance.
- Analyze dramatic characters and apply vocal and physical techniques to portray them with clarity, consistency, and depth.
- Demonstrate an understanding of performance strategies such as managing multiple characters, using focal points, and conveying character traits through nonverbal and vocal expression.
Performance of Drama
One of the first challenges to using drama in oral interpretation is selecting a piece. It is tempting to many beginners in oral interpretation to use a script from a popular movie scene or television show because it is familiar to them. However, literature that is popular with the masses may not always be the best fit for oral interpretation because audience members familiar with the work already have expectations in their minds of what the characters should be like. If the performer deviates from those expectations, the audience is often disappointed or thinks the performer is simply imitating something that has already been done. So, challenge yourself to find unique and compelling pieces with which the audience may not already be familiar.
You can use the following standards when selecting a drama piece for an oral interpretation performance:
- Do you identify with the main character, theme, conflict?
- Can you envision yourself portraying the main character (voice, face, body)?
- Will the audience be somehow moved by the main character(s)? Will they care about their conflict?
- Does the language of the script engage you as a reader?
- Is there a wide variety of levels with which build to the climax or shape of the performance?
- Does the ending leave us with a strong resolution?
Since character is so critical in drama, aim to give detail and depth to each character you emulate in a dramatic interpretation. There is no narrator present to describe the setting and reveal character feelings, relationships to others, and backstories, so the words and lines from the characters themselves are critical to the entire piece. A performer must carefully analyze the characters of a drama script and show the depth of those characters through carefully controlled physical mannerisms of the voice and body, and it is crucial that these characters are consistent and distinct throughout the performance so that the audience can discern between them. For example, you may choose to slow down the voice of an old man (rate), while a cheerleader character may speak with a louder-than-usual volume. For a talking pig character, you may bend over significantly at the waist (posture) while a young child character would be constantly moving with excitement. When selecting a work of drama for performance, performers should choose pieces with a manageable number of characters for their skill level. The characters’ nonverbal mannerisms should be unique, and focal points should be used to add further distinction to these characterizations. If a work has more than a few characters, it may become too difficult for a performer to communicate the differences between them.
Activity 1: Piece Selection Criteria Checklist
Objective: Apply evaluation standards to select a suitable dramatic piece.
Instructions:
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Choose three short dramatic texts (from books, plays, or original works—not from film or TV scripts).
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Use the checklist below to rate each piece on a scale of 1–5 (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree):
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I identify with the main character, theme, or conflict.
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I can visualize portraying the main character physically and vocally.
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The script’s language engages me.
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The piece has emotional or dramatic range.
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The ending offers a strong resolution.
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The audience is likely to connect with the characters.
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Based on your results, select the most suitable piece for performance and explain why in a short paragraph.