Short Note : One-act Play

One-act Play

A one-act play is a dramatic work consisting of one act. A one-act play is generally limited in the number of characters as well as the changes of scene. In a one-act play, a single incident is presented without any complicating sub-plots. It is a general rule that a one-act play has only one or two characters. The normal playing time of a one-act play is from fifteen to forty minutes. The climax of such plays usually occurs in the closing moments of the play. Thus, it is a short play of one act that concentrates only on one theme and practices economy in style, setting, and plotting. The writing of such plays has received impetus in Europe and the United States from the "Jittle Theatre Movement," which aims at producing experimental, non-commercial plays. Riders to the Sea is a one-act play. The characteristics of a one-act play as found in Riders to the Sea are given below:

(1) Riders to the Sea has only one act.

(ii) It deals with a slice of life instead of an entire life.

(iii) Though short, it has the beginning, the middle, and the end—the exposition and complications, the climax, and the denouement.

(iv) It has few characters.

(v) There is economy in the use of words in the play.

(vi) Though short, it arouses the catharsis of pity and fear in us.

(vii) Though brief, it has observed the unities of time, place, and action.

(viii) There are no subplots in the play.

One-act Play