Script Analysis

Directors spend a lot of time reading. They read a wide variety of scripts and all types of plays. They also read about the context and development of those plays, especially when they are preparing to direct the show. Some theatre companies have a separate dramaturg--the person who does historical and contextual research on the play--but many directors also take on this research task themselves.

This reading and research guides the director through the process of script analysis, critically and carefully examining the play’s elements in order to properly understand and interpret the text and put it onstage.

Terminology

• Characterization: The distinctive qualities of a character, including ways of speaking, behaviors, actions, motivations, and moment-to-moment choices in the piece.
• Diction: Refers to both the choice of words as well as clear enunciation in speaking and singing.
• Dramaturgy: The historical and literary study of the composition and production of plays.
• Metaphor: A literary device that applies a word or phrase to an object or action, when the two are not comparable.
• The Poetics: Ancient treatise by Aristotle that sets out the rules of dramatic poetry, including comedy and tragedy.
• Scene: A segment of action and dialogue between two or more characters within a play.
• Spectacle: Visually striking and impactful elements of a performance.
• Stage Directions: Information in the play, included by the playwright, that identifies staging, characterization, blocking, or technical requirements for a script.
• Subtext: The actual meaning behind a character’s words.
• Symbol: A literary device that uses a word or phrase to represent another, often abstract, idea.
• Theme: The underlying meaning and main idea of a work. Many plays and musicals have multiple themes.