Final answer:
The setting is where the main action of a play occurs, which can include various landscapes like battlefields or forests, and is crucial for storytelling. Both liturgical and secular dramas have historically utilized settings, from simple churches to elaborate open spaces, to enhance the narratives. Modern productions sometimes use the natural environment and minimal set design to focus on the language and actor-audience relationship.
Step-by-step explanation:
The main action of a play, including outdoor scenes of battlefields, forests, or cityscapes, takes place in the setting of the drama. This setting is integral for establishing the backdrop for the play's events and can range from very simplistic to elaborate designs depending on the production's style or period. In historical context, early liturgical dramas used churches as the main playing space, while the secular rebirth of drama brought settings of different landscapes and constructs into play, enhancing the storytelling aspect.
Productions that adhere to Original Practices might have little to no set design, using the environment, such as parks for outdoor Shakespeare, to create the scene. Scene design has a history of communicating time, place, and other storytelling elements to the audience, whether that's the illusion of a great battlefield or a ruined city as described in literature and playwriting.