Asked to define “drama” the average teenager on the street might well answer that it is a rather fake sort of behavior in which people exaggerate beyond justification the emotions they are feeling.   In a high school English literature class, on the other hand, one might answer that “drama” is a work of either prose or poetry which depicts action and dialogue the author intends to be performed by actors on a stage before an audience.  A number of types, genres and styles of drama exist, but they all fall into two basic categories:  Comedy (the kind with happy endings) and Tragedy (the kind with sad endings). This art form has been a part of our lives in every culture for thousands of years and can have a surprisingly strong influence upon the formation of our attitudes toward real-life events and situations!   Folks today mostly know “drama” through the medium of TV and film, but live drama on the stage is as old as human culture.  How can you find out if what you are about to watch, or have been watching is “good” drama?   What deserves to be called classic drama?  What does not? How can you come to know the elements of “good” drama, “good” comedy, “good” tragedy?  Are there guides to that sort of thing?

Christian drama has been a strong cultural force since medieval times.  Townspeople often gathered on the major feast days of Christmas and Easter to view plays based on great Christian themes such as the life of Christ and other holy men and women.  Whole families -- men, women, teens and children -- made up the audiences, and all took great interest in what was being shown to them.  Many good books have been written about Christian-themed drama.  Great playwrights such as Shakespeare have used these themes and lessons from Christian and Catholic life to build truly classic dramas that  long outlast the cultural circumstance within which they were crafted; still entertaining, still teaching individuals and audiences hundreds of years later.  Many teachers and scholars have devoted much time to explaining the different genres of classic drama to the reading public.  Excellent editions with critical introductions and notes to ancient, medieval and modern plays and literary classics are a great way to learn about and to build a better appreciation for and knowledge about good drama.

Whether you are simply interested in reading good drama on your own, in honing your personal acting skills by performing plays with friends, or in learning what the elements of a great classic such as one of Shakespeare’s plays might be, you will find only the very best sources for these purposes at The Christian Book Corner .  Our online bookstore provides the finest available books on such subjects at handsome everyday discounts, relying on the most reputable suppliers of Christian critical editions of classic drama and scholarly works about drama for the interested reader.  All of our products here at t-CBC.com are “Chosen with care; chosen with Prayer.”