VCE Drama (Year 12) · The Language of Drama · 13m read

Dramatic Elements, Conventions and Performance Styles

Dramatic elements, conventions and performance styles are how devised drama is built. The solo performance examination and the written exam both expect you to use and analyse them precisely.

Learning objective: Apply and analyse dramatic elements, conventions and performance styles, including transformation of character, time and place, and the use of symbol.

By the end of this lesson you can:

• I can define and use dramatic elements such as tension, contrast, climax and mood.
• I can apply conventions such as transformation, direct address and heightened use of language.
• I can identify performance styles and explain how they shape meaning.

Elements and conventions are building blocks. Tension, contrast and symbol are the bricks; conventions like transformation and direct address are the techniques for stacking them into a structure that holds an audience.

Dramatic elements and conventions

DRAMATIC ELEMENTS (commonly used in VCE Drama): climax, conflict, contrast, mood, rhythm, sound, space and tension.
• TENSION — anticipation that keeps the audience engaged.
• CONTRAST — opposites side by side (loud/silent, still/chaotic) to highlight meaning.
• SPACE — how the performance area is used and transformed.

CONVENTIONS are recognised techniques of non-naturalistic and devised drama:
• TRANSFORMATION OF CHARACTER — the actor shifts between roles.
• TRANSFORMATION OF TIME AND PLACE — moving the action without set changes.
• TRANSFORMATION OF OBJECT — a prop becomes something else (a scarf becomes a river).
• DIRECT ADDRESS — speaking straight to the audience.
• HEIGHTENED USE OF LANGUAGE — poetic, rhythmic or stylised speech.
• SYMBOL — an object, sound, movement or image that stands for an idea.

Performance styles

• NATURALISM/REALISM — lifelike behaviour and settings; the audience observes through a "fourth wall".
• NON-NATURALISM — stylised and theatrical; uses transformation, symbol and direct address.
• EPIC THEATRE (Brecht) — makes the audience think critically: placards, direct address, songs, breaking the fourth wall (the "alienation" or "distancing" effect).
• PHYSICAL THEATRE — the body tells the story through movement, tableaux and ensemble work.
• Other influences include absurdism, verbatim theatre, commedia dell’arte and contemporary eclectic styles.

Devised work is usually NON-NATURALISTIC and often eclectic — blending styles deliberately.

Worked example (Medium)

In a solo performance, an actor uses a red scarf first as a baby’s blanket, then as blood from a wound, then as a flag. Analyse this choice.

1. Convention. Transformation of object; the scarf becomes a symbol.
2. Meaning. Linking birth, violence and nationalism suggests how a life can be consumed by conflict.
3. Effect. The audience follows the transformations and reads the connection as the character’s journey.

Answer: Through transformation of object, the red scarf becomes a recurring symbol, connecting birth, injury and patriotism and inviting the audience to see how war shapes an entire life.

Common mistakes

• Using "symbolism" without saying what is symbolised Symbol is only meaningful when linked to an idea. Fix: "The empty chair symbolised the absent father."
• Calling every non-realistic moment "Brechtian" Epic theatre has a specific political purpose and techniques. Fix: Use "non-naturalistic" unless the choice aims to make the audience think critically through distancing techniques.

Practice questions

1. An actor steps out of a scene and speaks directly to the audience. This convention is:

   1. Transformation of object
   2. Direct address
   3. Naturalism
   4. Climax

   (1 marks)

2. Explain how contrast could be used to heighten tension in a devised scene.

   (3 marks)

Summary

• Dramatic elements: climax, conflict, contrast, mood, rhythm, sound, space, tension.
• Conventions: transformation (character, time and place, object), direct address, heightened language, symbol.
• Styles: naturalism, non-naturalism, epic theatre, physical theatre and more.
• Always link a choice to its meaning and effect.