list the features of one act play
Answers
The one-act play is to the full-length play what the short story is to the novel. Percival Wilde defines the one-act play as “an orderly representation of life, arousing emotion in an audience” (Wilde 41). Bernard Grebanier provides this definition: “A one-act play is an elaboration of a single, significant incident” (Grebanier 172). Because the playing time of a one-act is about twenty to sixty minutes, the playwright has the challenge of creating an engaging plot, enticing characters, and resolution to the conflict in a relatively short amount of time.
Answer:
A Creative Genre-Study on One-Act Plays
by Danielle Angie
In the past few decades, the world of English education has evolved tremendously. Starting with the Dartmouth Conference of 1966, Language Arts teachers have been moving away from the traditional preoccupation with grammar and correctness in student writing, and moving towards a more meaningful and creative approach to composition. Teaching using a focus on genre has been an important result of this new wave of instructional thought. Using genre studies in English education not only propels students to delve deeply into a specific form of literature, it allows them to collectively and individually expand on their existing knowledge while understanding the relevance between what they learn in the classroom and the bigger picture of their lives.
Advocates of a genre-study approach, such as Randy Bomer and Lucy McCormick Calkins, stress that genres are based on what we learn in our societies. Bomer writes, “Genres are conventions, and that means they are social –socially defined and socially learned” (Bomer 119). Basically, to be a part of a culture is to be familiar with many different genres, ranging from restaurant menus to Saturday Night Live sketches. Implementing genre study into an English class automatically puts students at ease, as the connection between the classroom task and its place in the real world is identifiable. The use of genre study is also incredibly valuable in the classroom when students create collaborative writing. Playwriting is a form of literature that is collective in many ways. Though professional playwrights rarely work with a co-author, the beginning student dramatist needs teacher and peer collaboration while crafting a play. While many young people are familiar with short stories and novels, the short play may be foreign territory. This chapter will explain the benefits of using the genre-study method to guide students in the exploration of collectively writing one-act plays.
Many teachers may be hesitant to create a genre study focused around one-act plays. After all, how many state exams will ask students to craft a play? With the increasing pressure to have students “perform,” to have them score well on a standardized test, more teachers are focusing their curriculum around techniques that will enable students to meet government-imposed standards. I argue that even in this frenzied wave of testing, there is still a need to provide students with lessons that are not only educational, but creative and fun. A genre-study of one-act plays is just this. When students read and write short plays, their literacy and writing skills, as well as their understanding of literary elements, such as character, plot, conflict, and theme, increase. Besides, later in the chapter is an assignment, based on the New York State Regents Exam, which incorporates an excerpt from a one-act play into essay writing.
As stated earlier, the classroom creation of one-act plays should most always be done collectively, in groups. Stephen and Susan Judy, English professors in Michigan , stress the positive effects of classroom drama study in their text, The English Teacher's Handbook. Writing short drama in groups allows students to expand upon their natural desire to interact with one another in a purposeful manner. They will share and discuss ideas, compromise, and, hopefully, enjoy themselves. Because plays are virtually all dialogue, writing them provides students with an opportunity to find fresh new ways of using language. By experimenting with dialect, students will increase their understanding of how writers create believable characters. Drama can also help students to become more imaginative (Judy and Judy 208-10). In a genre study, before writing, students will read, listen to, and watch several plays, not only to familiarize them with the genre, but to serve as models to guide them in their own writing. Ultimately, though, it will be the students, using their imaginations, who will create the plays.