Act (drama)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

For other uses, see Act (disambiguation).

An act is a major division of a

scenes.[1][2] The term can either refer to a conscious division placed within a work by a playwright (usually itself made up of multiple scenes)[3] or a unit of analysis for dividing a dramatic work into sequences. The word act can also be used for major sections of other entertainment, such as variety shows, television programs, music hall performances, cabaret, and literature
.

Acts and scenes

An act is a part of a play defined by elements such as rising action,

scene normally represents actions happening in one place at one time and is marked off from the next scene by a curtain, a blackout, or a brief emptying of the stage.[1]

The elements that create the

dénouement, where everything comes together and the situation has been resolved.[4] These elements of the plot are the main things used to divide a play into acts and sometimes scenes. In some scenarios, the play may not end with a resolved situation; it may leave the audience on a peak and have a sequel to it, otherwise known as a cliffhanger
.

Though there is no limit to the number of acts in a dramatic work, some may have been derived from different interpretations of

Freytag's Pyramid.[6]

History

scenes.[7] In classical theater, each regrouping between the entrances and exits of actors is a scene, while later use describes a change of setting.[citation needed
]

Modern plays often have only one level of structure, which can be referred to as either scenes or acts at the whim of the writer, and some writers dispense with firm divisions entirely.[citation needed] Successive scenes are normally separated from each other in either time or place, but the division between acts has more to do with the overall dramatic structure of the piece. The end of an act often coincides with one or more characters making an important decision or having an important decision to make, a decision that has a profound impact on the story being told.[citation needed]

Contemporary theatre, in line with

operettas and most musicals are divided into just two acts, so, in practice, the intermission
is seen as dividing them, and the word act comes to be used for the two-halves of a show whether or not the script divides it into acts.

Varieties

One-act plays

Main article: One-act play

A one-act play is a short drama that consists of only one act; the phrase is not used to describe a full-length play that does not utilize act-divisions. Unlike other plays which usually are published one play per book, one-act plays are often published in anthologies or collections.[8]

Three-act plays

See also: Three-act structure

In a three-act play, each act usually has a different

dénouement
), often with the protagonists prevailing.

  • Act one: The conflict of the story is discovered. The
    dramatic premise
    and inciting incident (the incident that sets the events of the story in motion) occurs approximately halfway through the first act.
  • Act two: The main character encounters an obstacle that prevents the character from achieving his or her dramatic need. This is known as the complication. The main character reaches his or her lowest point, seems farthest from fulfilling the dramatic need or objective, and seems to have no way to succeed.[9]
  • Act three: The climax occurs as well as the resolution (dénouement), a brief period of calm at the end of a play where a state of equilibrium returns.[9]

Five-act plays

Shakespeare's plays generally use a five-act structure.

Until the 18th century, most plays were divided into five acts. The work of

Freytag's pyramid.[11][12]

A similar five-part structure is also used in traditional Japanese Noh drama, particularly by Zeami Motokiyo. Zeami, in his work Sandō (The Three Paths), originally described a five-part (five dan) Noh play as the ideal form. It begins slowly and auspiciously in the first part (jo), building up the drama and tension in the second, third, and fourth parts (ha), with the greatest climax in the third dan, and rapidly concluding with a return to peace and auspiciousness in the fifth dan (kyū).[13]

Other media

As part of a

commercials
.

In film, a number of scenes grouped together create a story. The three-act structure is commonly referred to in film adaptations of theatrical plays.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Baldick (2004)
  2. ^ Turco (1999)
  3. ISBN 978-1-84842-000-7
    .
  4. ^ "Resolution". literaryterms.net. January 23, 2016. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "The Internet Classics Archive | Poetics by Aristotle". classics.mit.edu. Archived from the original on February 26, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Freytag, Gustav (1863). Die Technik des Dramas (in German). Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved January 20, 2009.
  7. ^ Encyclopedia International. Encyclopedia International. Grolier. 1963. p. 46. Archived from the original on July 24, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2020. ACT, major portion of a play. It may have one or more components, called scenes. It derives from the Roman theater, which was influenced by the earlier Greek theater's practice of separating sections of the ...
  8. OCLC 896946798. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved August 9, 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  9. ^ a b c Cannell, S. J. (n.d.). What is the three-act structure? [Lecture transcript].
  10. ^ Snuggs, Henry L. (1960). Shakespeare and Five Acts: studies in a dramatic convention. New York: Vantage Press.
  11. ^ Bunting, Joe (August 22, 2022). "Five Act Structure: Definition, Origin, Examples, and Whether You Should Use It In Your Writing". The Write Practice. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  12. ^ Callaghan, Fija. "The Five-Act Structure: The Foundation of an Engaging Story". Scribophile. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  13. JSTOR 2385466
    .

Further reading
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