How to Read a PlayHow to See a Play

Reading vs. Seeing

When you read a baseball box score, you can understand everything that happened in the game, but it’s not the same as watching it unfold live in front of you!

Reading vs. Seeing

A blueprint contains all of the instructions you need to create and understand a building, but it does not give you the same experience as walking around inside it.

How Do You Approach A Script?

To Look for CLUES, start here: • Title• Cast of Characters• Opening Stage Directions• What characters say about

themselves• What characters say about

each other

An Excerpt from “The Heart of Darkness”By Joseph Conrad

. . . Who was not his friend who had heard him speak once?' she wassaying. 'He drew men towards him by what was best in them.' She lookedat me with intensity. 'It is the gift of the great,' she went on, andthe sound of her low voice seemed to have the accompaniment of allthe other sounds, full of mystery, desolation, and sorrow, I had everheard--the ripple of the river, the soughing of the trees swayed bythe wind, the murmurs of the crowds, the faint ring of incomprehensiblewords cried from afar, the whisper of a voice speaking from beyond thethreshold of an eternal darkness. 'But you have heard him! You know!'she cried. When you read a novel, the author fills in most of the details

for you, telling you what characters and locations look like, how the people sound, and even what they’re thinking.

Opening Scene from Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things

(The Museum. Silence. Darkness.)(Large white box of a room. Wooden floor polished to a high shine. Several hallways feed off in different

directions.)(A young woman stands near a stretch of velvet rope. She has a can in one hand and stares up at an enormous

human sculpture. After a moment, a young man [in uniform] steps across the barrier and approaches her.)ADAM: … you’ve stepped over the line. Miss/Umm, you stepped over…EVELYN: I know. / It’s “Ms.”ADAM: Okay, sorry, Ms, but, ahh…EVELYN: I meant to. / Step over…ADAM: What?/ Yeah, I figured you did. I mean, the way you did it and all, kinda deliberate like. / You’re not

supposed to do that.EVELYN: I know. / That’s why I tried it…ADAM: Why?EVELYN: …to see what would happen.ADAM: Oh. Well… me, I s’pose.EVELYN: “Me?”ADAM: No, I mean, I’m what happens, I guess. I have to to walk over, like I’ve done, and ask you to take a step

back. Could you, please?/ Step back?EVELYN: And if someone doesn’t?/ What then?ADAM: …you’re not going to step back?

When you read a script, you have to fill in most of the details yourself – these are decisions that the actors and director must make.

What do you need to have Theatre

• Actors• Audience• An understanding of the ephemeral and

immediate• Conflict (action)• A Heightened Vision (intense and

concentrated version of the world)• A sense of theatrical time

Visit to a Small PlanetAccording the article we read, each play is its own distinct world with its own distinct rules. The rules of the play do not have to match the rules of the real world that we live in day to day. Different directors may created different worlds for the same script. There is no right answer.Following, you’ll see five different approaches to A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Each director asked some of the same questions you read in this article. What do you see about their answers?

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

One Play Five Designs

1 Play

5 Planets

So…

How do we begin taking a play from page to stage?

Aristotle’s (384-322 B.C.)

6 Parts of a Play

In order of importance:1. Plot2. Character3. Thought/Theme4. Diction/Language5. Music6. Spectacle

This is from Poetics – one of the most

important documents in

Western theatre.

Ingredients to Plot• Plot

– Exposition (background story – it may be revealed at any time throughout the play, but it is the events that occurred before the action of the play)

– Point of Attack (the point where the play begins)– Inciting Incident (the event that sets the action in motion) – Complication (any new element that alters the course of

action)– Discovery (new information)– Reversals (when the action takes a radically different

direction)– Climax (the point of highest conflict)– Denouement (the resolution)

Plot Structure

Point of Attack

Climax

Denouement

Plot = ordering

of incidents in a

play

The complications, discoveries a

nd

reversals m

ake up the:

A story is made up of all the events surrounding a set of characters. A plot is the specific events from that story that are chosen for this particular play.

You may have seen Freytag’s

plot diagram before…

Character

• Physical or Biological: external appearance, such as species, sex, age, color, weight, height, hair color, eye color

• Social: The character’s place in his or her environment, such as economic status, profession, family, relationships, and so on

• Psychological: the inner workings of the mind that precede the action. This element is probably the most important, as most drama arises from conflicting desires, goals, and objectives

• Moral/ethical: Moral choices and decisions; values; what characters are willing to do to get what they want (when the book says that this is mostly implicit, they mean that most characters won’t just say, “I value this” or “I believe this is a moral choice.” We learn by reading and watching.)

How do we learn about Characters?

• What does the playwright tell us about the character in the stage directions?

• What does the character say?• What do other characters say about the

character?• What does the character do?

Types of Characters

• Protagonist: the character who moves most of the action forward, often the character who changes the most

• Antagonist: the character who provides the main obstacle or conflict for the protagonist

• Raisonneur: the character who represents the voice of the playwright

• Foil: a character who is designed to draw attention to a specific characteristic of the protagonist either by similarity or contrast

• Confidant: a character that was part of the Neoclassical Ideal (more on this later) – they thought it wasn’t realistic for a person to talk to themselves in a soliloquy, so they introduced a confidant who was largely someone for the protagonist to talk to.

Thought/Theme

• The basic meaning of the play – what’s it about and who is it for?

• Look for clues– Title– Dialogue– Epigram– Allusion– Monologues– Imagery– Prologue/Epilogue– Character– Climax

This whole list is described in your

book… check it out!

Diction/Language

• The words in the play – the specific words that are chosen and the way in which they are arranged and by whom they are said

Music• Not just literal music, but also the sound,

rhythm and melody of the language. Read the snippets of text on the next slide out loud to yourself. How does the music of each line inform the meaning? Do you learn anything about the characters? About the planet of the play?

Alexandre-Marie Colin: The Three Witches from "Macbeth"

Music Alexandre-Marie Colin: The Three Witches from "Macbeth"

You common cry of curs! Whose breath I hateAs reek of the rotten fens.

- Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

But Soft! What light through yonder window breaks?It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

-Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

My anger is too bridled. And my sadness – there is a cap on it, so it cannot get out. Lorenzo, who plays the harp, in the dark, you might think. Lorenzo, with kisses like Mediterranean apples, you might think. But no. It is I: Lorenzo, the unfeeling.

-Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl

Watch me close watch me close now: who-see-thuh-red-card-who-see-thuh-red-card? I –see-thuh-red-card. Thuh-red-card-is-thuh-winner. Pick-thuh-red-card-you-pick-uh-winner. Pick-uh-black-card-you-pick-uh-loser. Theres-thuh-loser, yeah, theres-thuh-black-card, there-thuh-other-lower-and-theres-thuh-red-card, thuh-winner.

-Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks

Spectacle

• All of the visual elements of the production– Set– Lights– Costumes– Dance– Movement– The Actors Themselves

Check out a few great examples of spectacle…

Spectacle

• It is important to Aristotle (and to me too) that when you read, you keep the spectacle of the play in your imagination. What do you see? What do the characters look like? How is the environment created? What iconic images can be used as metaphors?

Alexandre-Marie Colin: The Three Witches from "Macbeth"

Spectacle

Spectacle

Seeing a Play

• When you SEE a play, you tend to focus on…– Spectacle– Music – Language

• When you READ a play, you tend to focus on…– Plot – Character– Idea

But they all work together to create the planet of the play you’re seeing!

When does your Theatre Experience Begin?

• The Theatre itself– Program– Physical Surroundings– Pre-show Announcements

Some productions begin creating the planet before the play even begins.

When you go see a play, keep your eyes open for all the details – someone

worked hard on them!

Important Ideas to Seeing a Play• The play’s conventions have to be clear!

– Conventions are the rules of the planet that the director, designers, actors and audience have to agree to believe in

• Conventions should be clear (that doesn’t mean that the production has to let you in on all the rules right from the beginning, but the fact that you’re going to learn about the world as you go along is one of the conventions… and that has to be clear!)

• Conventions should be consistent within themselves (unveiling rules as you go along is okay, but suddenly changing the rules for no reason might make the audience turn against you)

• Conventions should support the plot and the world of the play (don’t do something just because it’s cool… do it because it helps tell the story… and if it’s cool… bonus!)

What is a Genre?

• Genre– A French word meaning “category” or “type”– Oldest and best-know genres are:

• Tragedy• Comedy

Tragedy

• From the Greek word “Tragoidia” meaning “Goat song” since their original theatre was part of a religious rite that included singing a song and sacrificing a goat.

MMAAAAA!!

Tragedy

• Considered by Aristotle and many others throughout history to be the highest form of theatre– The protagonist is upper class, superior– The protagonist is imperfect

• The Greek word hamartia is an archery term meaning “to aim and miss” – the character tries to do what s/he thinks is right, but, through some flaw, misses the mark.

– Reversal (peripeteia) – changes of fortune– Realization (anagnorisis) – change from ignorance to

knowledge, often a realization of the character’s own fault in bringing about his/her downfall

Tragedy

• Considered by Aristotle and many others throughout history to be the highest form of theatre– Pity and Fear – the people of the city see the

misfortunes of the characters and they don’t want those misfortunes to happen to them

– Catharsis – the audience experiences a release of tension and purging of the fear and pity and keeping the city working

– Late point of attack – the plot begins fairly late in the story, so there is a lot of exposition

– Unity of Place – the action all takes place in one location

Tragedy

• Think about the rules of tragedy as laid out by Aristotle. Now think about stories from today that you might consider tragedies. What ingredients of tragedy have changed? What ingredients have remained the same?

Comedy

• “A play which deals with ordinary life in a predominantly funny way and then ends happily.” (22)

• Comedy of situation• Comedy of character• Comedy of ideas

Check in with your book for detailed descriptions of each of these!

And watch out for banana peels!

Sidebar: Commedia dell’Arte

• The 1st mention of Commedia dell’Arte was in 1560• By 1600 there were Commedia troupes touring across

Europe• The companies of 10-12 people shared responsibilities

and profits… and yes… they allowed women on stage!• Their performances were largely improvised, but they

were based on set scenarios, outlines and characters• Actors worked out repetitive comic bits called Lazzi• The term “slapstick” came from these shows, when

they would use an actual stick to make a slapping sound during bits of physical violence

• Almost all characters were maskedCLICK HERE for a modern

day example of lazzi

Sidebar: Commedia dell’Arte

STOCK CHARACTERS – actors would play the same type of character in each scenario. Some of those common characters were:• Inamorati - Young lovers (no

masks, Tuscan)• Capitano - The Captain

(Spaniard)• Pantalone - The Merchant (of

Venice)• Dottore - The Doctor

(of Bologna)• Zanni - The Servants

Forms of Comedy

• Farce: largely physical and exaggerated, lots of slamming doors and running around

• Burlesque: racy, raunchy jokes and variety acts• Satire: pointing out and laughing at

the absurdity of social norms• Domestic Comedy: laughing at the

events of daily life in the home• Comedy of Manners:

incongruities that arise from misdirected adherence to an accepted code of behavior

Melodrama

• “Music Drama”• Very popular in the 19th Century, especially

among the working classes. The overblown stories and spectacle as a means of escape from their dreary lives

• Good and evil are clearly defined, and (spoiler alert) good always wins

Musical Theatre

• Made in America – musical theatre as we know it came to be right here in America – that might be the only form of theatre for which this is true!

• Emotions so strong, you just gotta sing and dance!

Genre

• The book gives us a pretty limited list of genres… what are some other genres you can think of?

I have no idea what this image has to do with genre, but it

came up in my Google image search… so here ya go.