Drive shown by a graduate in play (5)
I believe the answer is:
drama
'play' is the definition.
('drama' can be a synonym of 'play')
'drive shown by a graduate' is the wordplay.
'drive' becomes 'dr' (I've seen this in other clues).
'shown by' says to put letters next to each other.
'graduate' becomes 'ma' (abbreviation for Master of Arts**).
'dr'+'a'+'ma'='DRAMA'
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for drama that I've seen before include "Emotional situation" , "Theatrical play" , "Theatrical piece" , "Turbulent emotional episode" , "Plays as branch of literature" .)