Reading Drama Study Guide: GED Language Arts, Reading (page 6)
Practice exercises for this study guide can be found at: The
word drama refers to a story that is specifically intended to be
performed, whether on a stage in a Broadway playhouse or on a
screen in a movie theater or on the television in your living
room. By performed we mean that the story is acted out by real
people—actors—who portray characters within the story and speak
the words that are written by the playwright or author of the
play. Drama shares many of the same elements as fiction, as does
poetry. You will remember that one large difference between
fiction and poetry is that fiction is intended to be read off
the printed page, while poetry is intended to be spoken aloud.
In the same way, drama is not intended to be read off the
printed page but to be acted out in front of an audience. That
audience might consist of living people who are sitting in a
playhouse, watching live actors perform the story, or it might
consist of the people who w