Description
Taylor & Francis Ltd How to Read a Play Script Analysis for Directors by Damon Kiely
How to Read a Play outlines the cruicial work required for a play before the first rehearsal, the first group reading or even the before the cast have met. Directors and dramaturgs must know how to analyze, understand and interpret a play or performance text if they hope to bring it to life on the stage. This book provides a broad range of tools and methods that can be used when reading a text, including:Lessons from the past. What can we learn from Aristotle, Stanislavsky, Meyerhold, Vakhtangov, Brecht and Harold Clurman? This section establishes the models and methods that underpin much of a director's work today. A survey of current practices in Western theatre. A combination of research, interviews and observation of practical work addresses the main stages in understanding a play, such as getting to know characters, sharing ideas, mapping the action and grappling with language. A workbook, setting out twenty one ways of breaking down a play, from the general to the particular. Contributions, reflections and interjections from a host of successful directors make this the ideal starting point for anyone who wants to direct a play, or even devise one of their own. This wide range of different approaches, options and techniques allows each reader to create their own brand of play analysis. Table of Contents : Forward by Anne BogartIntroductionLessons from the pastAristotleKonstantin StanislavskiVsevolod Meyerhold Yevgeny VakhtangovBertolt BrechtHarold ClurmanA Survey of Current PracticesDigging into the Script on Your OwnReading the Play for the First TimeMoving Past First ImpressionsGoing beyond the Words on the PagePreparing for Design Meetings and Casting SessionsSharing your Read on the PlayDiscovering the World of the PlayGetting to Know the CharactersGearing up for Rehearsing with ActorsGrasping the Given CircumstancesMapping the Action Grappling with the LanguageReading a Play without a Script: Notes on DevisingWhat do you start with?What are you analyzing?What is a play?Workbook ChapterThe First Steps in PreparationGetting Ready to Talk to DesignersGetting Ready to Cast the PlayGetting Ready for RehearsalChecking Your Handle on StructureA Final Gut CheckAppendicesCharacter BiographiesFrench Scenes: List VersionFrench Scenes: Chart VersionDirector BreakdownMoment ChainStreetcar Punctuation Write UpThe Tempest Punctuation Write UpBibliographyList of InterviewsBiographies of Interviewees