Script Analysis, adapted from From Page to Stage by Rosemary Ingham
Answer all of the following questions using only the script. Be as specific as possible,
quoting whenever possible.
Where does the play take place? Be as specific as possible—what country, city, place, building, room, etc . . .
How does each character describe the place they are in, if they say anything at all. Use quotes to back up this answer.
Is there any special significance to the place they are in?
When are they? In what day, month, year, century, season, time of day, etc . . .?
Is there any special significance to when they are? Is it a holiday, a celebration, a special event, etc . . .?
Who are they (in the play)?
If they are, how are they related?
What are their roles in life? Include jobs and professions as well as social and economic classes.
What do they say about each other? Use quotes for this answer.
What do they say about themselves? Use quotes for this answer.
What role does religion play in their lives? Which religion? What are their attitudes about their religion?
What are the prevailing attitudes toward sex, family, marriage, and ethical conduct? Do they live within or rebel against these attitudes.
What happened before the play begins (limit your facts to information given in the dialogue, but be sure to listen carefully; much of what you discover will come from casual clues, which can occur in a variety of contexts). Be sure to use quotes to back up your answer.
Who is the protagonist? What are his/her primary actions (what does he/she do to make him/her the protagonist?)
Who is the antagonist? What are his/her primary actions (what does he/she do to make him/her the antagonist?).
What are the functions of the other characters?
What kinds of dialogue do the characters speak? Use quotes to back up your answers.
Do they speak realistically, like we do—think syntax, grammar, the vernacular. Use quotes to back up this answer.
Do they speak more or less like we do, but more refined in a more naturalistic sort of style?
Do they speak in very educated terms, think speech from the turn of the century, very structured and formal, a literary sort of speech?
Is it in verse, like you might find in poetry?
Answer the following questions considering the play as a whole and the characters as a group.
Write a paragraph that summarizes the play.
Write one sentence that summarizes the play.
Break the play into sections or short scenes, placing the breaks where they come naturally in the script (where one “scene” ends and another begins). Construct an action chart for the play .
Identify and describe what you believe the play’s theme is. Back up your answer with a quote from the play.
Before creating our own concept, we need to understand what the original performance looked like.
Historical
What is happening at the time your play was written and during the time period the play was written in? How does this affect the play?
Political
Is the play saying anything political? If so, can this be transferred?
Social and Cultural
Where is the play set? Does the society and culture of where the play is written come out in the writing?
Playwright
Who is the playwright? Give some background about her and anything significant about her style of writing.
Theatre Form
What theatre form or period was your script written in? E.g. Classical tragedy? Melodrama, Elizabethan Theatre? How does this influence your play?
Themes and Ideas
What are the main themes and ideas of the play?
The link below is a connection to a concepts page
https://grade10theplay.weebly.com/concept.html
The Task:
In your group, discuss the concept of the production in relation to the intended audience. With your concept in mind, negotiate with your teacher and your group on how to edit your script to the recommended time (if necessary) and still keep the spirit of the play.
What do you need to consider?
Do our ideas show a unified concept to the production?
Do they all support a central theme or issue?
Does it have a framing device or context in which it is set? This could also be a style, genre or World Theatre.
Will it appeal to your audience?
How will it be brought to life through lighting, sound staging, costume, makeup, props etc
How will you edit the script to the required length (30 -45mins)? What are the most important scenes to leave in that will allow for all member of the cast to show their skills? Will you rewrite the language to fit your concept?
Write down the ideas shared by all group members including your teacher about the production concept in your Process Journal on your shared Google Drive.
Note any changes or development to this concept as it occurs throughout the process.
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