Script Analysis for Actors, Directors, and Designers applies directly to the experience of theatrical production. You will immediately be able to incorporate the concepts and processes you learn into both your practical and creative work. Whether you are an actor, a director, or a designer, you will benefit from clear and comprehensive examples, end-of-chapter questions, and summaries meant to stimulate their creative process as they engage in production work. Based on the premise that plays should be objects of study in and of themselves, Script Analysis for Actors, Directors, and Designers teaches an established system of classifications that examines the written part of a play. This fourth edition will include in-depth analysis of unconventional plays, which are more frequent on amateur and professional stages. These plays present unique analytical challenges that the author teaches you the unusual ways in which the subject matter operates in unconventional plays.

Table of Contents:
Preface: New in This Edition, This Book and Its Point of View; Acknowledgments; Introduction: What is Formalist Play Analysis?, Action Analysis, Dramatic Writing, Reading Plays; CHAPTER 1-ACTION ANALYSIS: Events, Sequence of External Events, Reviewing the Facts, Seed, Sequence of Internal Events, Three Major Climaxes, Theme, Super-Objective, Through-Action, Counter Through-Action, Action Analysis and Non-Realistic Plays, Questions; CHAPTER 2-GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES: Time, Place, Society, Economics, Politics and Law, Learning and the Arts, Spirituality, The World of the Play, Given Circumstances in Non Realistic Plays, Questions; CHAPTER 3-BACKGROUND STORY: Technique, Identification, Background Story in Non-Realistic Plays, Questions; CHAPTER 4-EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ACTION: External Action, Internal Action, External and Internal Action in Non-Realistic Plays, Questions; CHAPTER 5-PROGRESSIONS AND STRUCTURE: Progressions, Structure, Progressions and Structure in Non-Realistic Plays, Questions; CHAPTER 6-CHARACTER: Objectives, Actions, Adaptations-an Aside, Conflict, Will, Values, Personality Traits, Complexity, Relationships, Character in Non-Realistic Plays, The Score of a Role, Questions; CHAPTER 7-IDEA: Idea in the Words, Idea in the Characters, Idea in the Plot, The Main Idea, Idea in Non-Realistic Plays, Questions; CHAPTER 8-DIALOGUE: Words, Sentences, Speeches, Special Qualities, Theatricality, Dialogue in Non-Realistic Plays, Questions; CHAPTER 9-TEMPO, RHYTHM, AND MOOD: Tempo, Rhythm, Mood, Tempo, Rhythm, and Mood in Non-Realistic Plays, Closing Notes on Non-Realistic Plays, Questions; CHAPTER 10-THE STYLE OF THE PLAY: Given Circumstances, Background Story, Plot, Character, Idea, Dialogue, Atmosphere, Questions; A FINAL WORD; Appendix-Further Questions for Script Analysis; Bibliography; Index