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High School Play Directing – Script Analysis

PART TWO of this Directing the High School Play series will focus on script analysis. At first, before the actors and the stage and the blockade and the lights and the sound and of course the audience, the director is alone with the play.

THE ONE WHO KNOWS

The script is chosen! Whats Next? All forms of works, from the gayest comedy to the modern absurd to the traditional classic, benefit from some level of analysis. It can help even if you feel like you are strictly a rehearsal director. Because, in the high school play, the director has to be “the one who knows”. That’s really what I mean by analysis: become the one who ‘knows’ the script from the inside out and backwards. In the professional world there are dramturgs to investigate, there are motivated actors who study their characters, there are stage directors to list the props.

Most of the time, all of those jobs need to be taken care of by the high school principal. And even if you are in a position to get the students to take care of things, or it is part of your class work, you will still have to push them, be the advisor, remain the ‘informed’. You have to know what the students are trying to achieve. If some of the work has been done before rehearsals begin, so much the better.

For me, script analysis is always a good starting point. If I don’t have a clear vision of the production, studying the script opens a lot of creative doors. When I analyze a script, I look for something that enhances the experience of everyone involved. Something that will help create a theatrical world.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN THE SCRIPT

Character details: What are the details of the character in the script? What questions should students be able to answer about their characters? What does each character want? Do you understand it? What changes happen to the characters? How do they sound? Where are you from? Are the details of the characters rich or thin?

Story details: What are the main plot points? Is the story logical or absurd? Are there gaps in the plot? Are there moments in the play mentioned but not dramatized?

The structure: What does the structure say about the work? For example: repeated dialogue, outside the ordinary choice of words, change of tenses. Is the structure trying to make a point? Does it reflect a certain gender, time period, or location? Are there words that can be pronounced or misinterpreted?

The conflict: What is the main conflict? How does each character react to the conflict?

Topics: Are they obvious? Subtle? More than one? Defining the themes will help you shape your vision of the play. How will themes influence blocking patterns? Can you create images that demonstrate the themes? Is there a recurring symbol?

Photos: What images come to mind when you read the work? What images can you create? The works are more than words, it is about the images that you can plant in the mind of the audience, the physical action of the characters. Is there a dominant color or texture?

The nitty Gritty: A list of accessories, sets, and costumes that are specifically mentioned in the script. What do you absolutely need for the show?

Investigate: If there is a specific time period, a specific historical event, specific pop culture references, all of these things need to be investigated. It will reflect choices of performance, choices of design, choices of direction.

The Biggies: What is the big problem you are trying to solve? What is the most important action in history? What is the biggest action of each character? What is the climax? The highest point? The low point?

A LITTLE DISCUSSION OF BEATS

Depending on the type of director you are, the script analysis may include defining the ‘beats’ in every scene. Some conductors are very specific in delineating the beats, others not so specific.

In my very limited theatrical experience in high school as a teenager, I never heard of ‘the beat’. No director has ever had that discussion with me. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that in my limited college theater experience I didn’t hear about ‘beats’ until my directing course. Although little by little I became aware of them, as a director I have always focused on other elements.

Is it necessary to mark beats? Do students need to know about them? This depends on your own experiences as a principal and the backgrounds of the students. If they’ve never heard of beat-making and you start down that road, it won’t end well. It is easy to get confused. Because the interpretation of a script for everyone may be different, the rhythms may differ. It seems similar to iambic pentameter to me – it’s something that can absolutely help, but it can also be a hindrance to the process.

Of course, you can introduce students to something new, it can be part of knowing your students’ theatrical backgrounds and goals for the production. Maybe you discuss the rhythms of a scene. If they’ve never done it before, they certainly shouldn’t do it alone.

A beat is: A single moment in the dramatic action of a scene. That means that the actor must take into account not only the physical action (the character crosses the stage to pick up the phone) but the action of the character (what the character is doing to get what he wants in the scene) and the emotional action ( what emotions are at stake) Look, it can get complicated! A rhythm has a beginning, a middle, and an end; it can be very short with just a couple of lines of dialogue, or it can cover the entire scene.

How do I know when the beat is over? The rhythm ends when there is a change in action (eg, characters change the subject, someone enters or leaves, a problem is solved, a new problem begins, a change of emotion).

How many rhythms do the scenes have? There is no set answer. Every time there is a change, there is a new rhythm.

Because they are important? It is important that directors and actors are on the same page when it comes to the pace and rhythm of a scene and the play as a whole. Marking beats helps to define the climax and to know the action of each act, each scene, each moment.

How do I mark beats in the script? Bars, brackets, stars, whatever works for you. Be consistent.

PART THREE in this series about Direct the high school play will focus on view. How do you use a vision to your best advantage in high school production?

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