From the cutthroat halls of “The West Wing” to the boozy nightclubs of “Casablanca,” drama has the power to transport us into a different place, time, and perspective (if only for a little while). But how has drama evolved from the days of Greek mythology and ritual to modern cinema? Here’s how storytellers have made the most of the genre over time—and how you can, too.
For film, TV, and theater, drama is a genre of storytelling that is more serious (rather than humorous) in tone. Stories largely revolve around compelling characters facing a central conflict, and are filled with emotional, often cathartic narrative moments. Dramas are created across various mediums, including theater, film, and television.
What are the origins and evolution of drama?
Theater: Drama originated in ancient Greece, where it was an integral part of religious festivals. The word “drama” comes from the Greek “dran,” meaning “to do” or “to act,” emphasizing its performative essence. Thespis, the first recorded actor, added dialogue to Greek rituals and songs known as dithyrambs in the sixth century B.C. Aristotle’s fourth-century “Poetics” explored concepts like characterization, unity of action in plot, and spectacle, making it an influential text that’s considered one of the earliest dramatic works.
Theatrical practices continued throughout the medieval period mainly through liturgical dramas, or religious plays performed in churches that eventually evolved into secular shows in public spaces. A renewed interest in dramatic texts during the Renaissance revitalized the genre and transformed it into what it is today.
Film: With the development of the motion picture industry, cinema emerged as a branch of drama that transformed it into a visual spectacle. The film genre and its subgenres, like melodrama, romance, and thriller, encourage nuanced yet profoundly relatable and emotional performances, and prominent filmmakers across eras continued to move the dramatic needle.
Charlie Chaplin brilliantly proved that comedy and satire could be balanced with sentiment. Akira Kurosawa changed how filmmakers viewed the use of camera movement and shot composition, demonstrating how cinematography can add to a film’s dramatic elements. Alfred Hitchcock refined the art of suspense and anticipation to push film to new dramatic heights and thrills. New Hollywood saw the rise of groundbreaking filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, Barbara Loden, Martin Scorsese, Joan Micklin Silver, and Steven Spielberg. Whether the vastness of space or the intricacies of all-too-human relationships, these legends of the screen explore the drama in every element of existence.
TV: The rise of television offered the opportunity to create rich, complex narratives infused with intricate character development taking place over extended periods. These longer-form stories further demonstrated the genre’s adaptability and its enduring focus on human emotions and relationships—from the very first TV drama, WGY’s “The Queen’s Messenger,” all the way to every twist-filled project in the Dick Wolf universe.
Drama’s evolution from ancient Greece to modern cinema and TV shows that despite (or perhaps because of!) its transformations, the genre continues to captivate audiences with its timeless exploration of the human condition.
Characteristics of drama
Serious tone: Drama generally has a serious tone, with stories, plots, and conflicts carried out with greater weight. For example, consider the gut-wrenching “Manchester by the Sea,” which steeps its dramatic elements in intensely realistic themes like alcoholism, trauma, grief, and dysfunctional relationships.
Compelling characters: The greatest dramas revolve around compelling, well-written characters. These vehicles invite the audience into a story world and allow them to relate and emotionally invest in the outcome. Just imagine “Breaking Bad” without Bryan Cranston’s meticulously created Walter White to get an idea of the importance of characters in drama.
Conflict: Conflict is created when a character deeply wants something, but formidable forces stand in their way. The juxtaposition of desire and obstacle provides the pulse to every great drama. “Intention and obstacle,” explained screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, the mind behind great dramas such as “The West Wing” and “The Social Network,” “that’s what you’ve got to cling to. Somebody wants something. Someone standing in their way of getting it.”
Tension: In dramas, the narrative pacing of the way the plot unfolds directly affects how audiences feel. Proper setup provides narrative information in a way that builds powerful edge-of-your-seat tension. Structures like Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey or Freytag’s Pyramid are often used to lay out a plot in the most dramatic way.
Emotional stakes: Story worlds are created through mise en scène, or the visual elements that take place before the camera. This can solidify or fracture the suspension of disbelief, making the emotional stakes more or less realistic.
How to Make Audiences Suspend Their DisbeliefLet’s explore some dramatic works across various mediums that showcase the power of the genre.
“Fences” (August Wilson, 1985)
Two years after premiering at the Yale Repertory Theatre, “Fences” was brought to Broadway and won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. The play centers on Troy Maxson, a former baseball-player-turned-garbage collector, who struggles with his unfulfilled dreams and projects his frustrations on his son, Cory. The play intricately explores themes of racial discrimination, generational conflict, and the quest for personal dignity.
“Casablanca” (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
The best movie dramas have found ways to work within the genre’s characteristics while subverting expectations to groundbreaking effect. Take “Casablanca”: Beyond its layered political metaphors and plot lines, the film is, at its heart, a romantic drama. As a romance, it subverts the classic “happily ever after” trope with an ending focused on heroism over romance.
“The Sopranos” (HBO, 1999–2007)
The trailblazer for the modern dramatic TV series, “The Sopranos” follows a New Jersey mob boss as he navigates his organized crime family, personal family dynamics, and psychological and existential problems. Characters like Carmela, Christopher, and Junior evolve meaningfully throughout the show, with no character being purely good or evil.
Knowing how to manipulate drama’s characteristics through direction, writing, cinematography, and performance is what produces memorable dramatic works.
1. Deeply understand the characters.
Would “Mad Men” be nearly as impactful without its exploration of Don Draper’s narcissism and shame? Characters’ desires and motivations are at the heart of drama, so strive to understand who they are down to meticulous detail.
2. Control narrative information.
Nothing increases audience attention more than anticipation. Drive the stakes by encouraging the audience to ask questions—they’ll have to continue watching to discover the answers. Just be sure to respect the audience’s intelligence and ability to connect the dots: “Game of Thrones” fans were champing at the bit during Seasons 1–6 but immensely disappointed at the final seasons, in no small part because the show started telling rather than showing narrative information.
3. Identify key dramatic moments.
The best dramas have a handful of key dramatic scenes or moments. Know where those moments are in the plot and carefully build up to them to create catharsis. Think of the bear attack in “The Revenant,” or the father-daughter confrontation in “The Whale.”
4. Create obstacles.
Most great dramas rely heavily on obstacles, whether that’s an antagonistic character, environment, institutional power, or even the protagonist’s own inner enemy. The greater the obstacle, the more that’s required from the protagonist to achieve what they want. Antagonists like the monstrous Anton Chigurh in “No Country for Old Men,” the abusive Terence Fletcher in “Whiplash,” or the ice-cold Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” are essential to making these films dramatic classics.
