Introduction TH166 – Theories of Play Production Summer 2010 Lesson #2 – Script Analysis Introduction and Chapter 1 – The First Reading

 Analysis – the process of identifying separate elements of the play  Interpretation – the process of clarifying and communicating our understanding of the identified elements

 From Wikipedia...  the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it.  From Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary...  A resolution of anything, whether an object of the senses or of the intellect, into its constituent or original elements; an examination of the component parts of a subject, each separately, as the words which compose a sentence, the tones of a tune, or the simple propositions which enter into an argument. It is opposed to synthesis.

 A purposeful, systematic, interpretive reading.  A process of multiple readings, reading each time with specific purposes and asking increasingly complex questions about the text.

 A sequence of multiple readings  First Impressions (Chapter 1)  Gathering information  Given Circumstances (Chapter 2)  Theatrical Contract (Chapter 3)  Interpretation  Character (Chapter 4)  Conflict (Chapter 5)  Conflict Analysis Applied to a Scene (Chapter 6)  Supplemental Research (Chapter 7)  Synthesis (Chapter 8)

 Plot  Character  Thought (Idea)  Diction (Dialogue)  Music (Song)  Spectacle (Production Values) Six Elements of Drama