戏剧是演员将某个故事或情境，以对话、歌唱或动作等方式表演出来的艺术。戏剧有四个元素，包括了「演员」、「故事（情境）」、「舞台（表演场地）」和「观众」。「演员」是四者当中最重要的元素，他是角色的代言人，必须具备扮演的能力，戏剧与其他艺术类最大的不同之处便在于扮演了，透过演员的扮演，剧本中的角色才得以伸张，如果抛弃了演员的扮演，那么所演出的便不再是戏剧。

戏剧的表演形式多种多样，常见的包括话剧、歌剧、舞剧、音乐剧、木偶戏等。由于文化背景的差别，不同文化所产生戏剧形式往往拥有独特的传统和程序，比如西方戏剧、中国戏曲、印度梵剧、日本能乐、歌舞伎等。

Drama is the specific mode of narrative, typically fictional, represented in performance. The term comes from the Greek word δρᾶμα, drama, meaning action, which is derived from the verb δράω, draō, meaning to do or to act.

The term "the drama" refers to "the dramatic branch of literature; the dramatic art". The term "drama" can refer to any kind of dramatic performance, including film, radio play, television play, and closet drama, however, this article is concerned solely with the enactment of a play in a theatre, performed by actors, on a stage, before an audience. Unlike other forms of literature the structure of dramatic texts is directly influenced by this collaborative mode of production and a collective form of reception.