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Pre-production research is integral for any director
preparing to create the world of a play. Using an investigation
model which includes defining the storyline, concept, character
throughlines, genre, creating a unit breakdown, and completing design
research a director may thoroughly examine the relationship between
the characters and the world in which they live. This project entailed
completing a twelve point written investigation* of the script as
well as designing the ground plan and set dressing for the production
I will direct in Spring 2005 in conjunction with my honors thesis.
Many people in the theater shy away from the phrase
script analysis because they think it has a dry, academic ring that
implies cold, factual, scientific examination of a script and leaves
no room for artistic interpretation and subjective feelings. This
is quite opposite from the truth. Rather, script analysis (or investigation)
is the objective foundation for the director's subjective feelings
about a play. It allows the director to become consciously aware
of the inner structure of the play and forces him to find its strengths
and weaknesses. It is vital that the director internalizes this
information by the time he interacts with his collaborators on the
production: the producers, designers, and actors.
There is no set format to a director's script analysis.
The model I used was based on the twelve point investigation created
by Vincent Murphy, a nationally respected director and Artistic
Director of Theater Emory. In it, he examines the script in the
following categories: Storyline, Concept=Idea, Throughline, Genre,
Unit breakdown, Impressions, Biographical research, Environmental
facts, Previous action, Dialogue analysis, Aristotelian structure
of plot, and Deconstruction: opening and closing mood. Figure 1
is a graphic representation of the structure of all scripts. It
was taken from Play Directing: Analysis, Communication, and Style
by Francis Hodge, 5th edition, c 2000.
The Storyline is the most condensed and informative
piece of a director's investigation. It requires the director to
decide what the story is about in 25 words or less. It is not a
plot summary; rather it is a distilled and concise statement of
the purpose of the play. This is the story about building lives
on assumptions and our human need to know where we come from and
what our legacy is. The Concept=Idea is where individual production
values influence the overall perception of the production. The concept
can change every time the play is produced, even by the same director,
but the storyline is unique to the play (though often directors
will not agree on a single storyline). I have chosen to state the
concept as the idea that architecture and marriage and relationships
can somehow come together and mirror each other. Falling in love,
making a building: it is all about taking chances on whether or
not they have the content to weather time. The Throughline is the
trajectory of each character's development from the beginning of
the play to the end. This play is unique in that it has two separate
sets of characters. The same three actors are intended to play two
characters each: young professionals Walker, Nan, and Pip in 1995
of Act One and their respective parents, Ned, Lina, and Theo in
1960 of Act Two. Because of this, the throughline actually extends
beyond each character to the ones that influence them as well. This
is Walker's story. It is his neurosis and curiosity that drive the
first act; it is his ridiculous assumptions about his father that
make the second act so poignant. The relationship between the two
acts is left to the audience. How does the past affect the present,
or, more specifically, how are the choices (and chances) of the
fathers visited upon the sons? The Genre is simply defining the
dramatic category in which the play exists. It sounds simple enough,
but correctly determining the genre of the play is vital to understanding
the play. The genre of this play is 'a puzzle in two acts' as one
former director described it. There are clues, there is exposition,
but there are no answers-unless, like Walker, you need them. That
is to say, you need to feel like you have it all figured out. The
secret of this play's success lies in the work the playwright requires
of the audience. The Unit breakdown is the sectioning of the script
into smaller, thematically titled elements. It is a useful process
because it forces the director to clarify the important objective
for each unit. These objectives are then used as shorthand for their
block of the scene and give information about the scene when coaching
turns to staging. Sample Unit Breakdown: Act/Unit Pg Characters
Title 1.1 5 Walker Begin 1.2 7 Nan, Walker Lost cause 1.3 8 Nan,
Walker Drop the suburban alacrity 1.4 10 Nan, Walker Is it 'Sanity
Regained'? 1.5 13 Nan, Walker See the infernal glow Impressions
are the images that the director first associates with the play
after the very first reading. They are key images that he can relate
to the designers in defining his concept for the production. Wet;
Cold; Metallic; Early morning fog; Sharp angles; Diffused light;
Muted, cold, neutral colors; Frozen moments in time, Ice sculptures.
These images affect all areas of design: Set, Lights, Costumes,
Sound, and Properties. They dictate color palettes, choice of shapes
and lines, and tone and color of lighting. Figure 2 is the drafted
ground plan of the set I designed for the Spring 2005 production
of Three Days of Rain. It corresponds to the scale model accompanying
this poster.
Special thanks to my mentor, Dr. Michael Evenden of the Theater
Studies department for his time and energy during the course of
this project. Special thanks to the Georgia Shakespeare Festival
at Oglethorpe University for allowing me to assist and observe director
Sabin Epstein during the preparation and performance of What the
Butler Saw . This material is based upon work supported by a Student
Inquiry Research Experience award from the Office of Undergraduate
Studies, Emory College.
Storyline Concept=Idea, Throughline Genre, Unit breakdown, Impressions,
Biographical research, Environmental facts, Previous action, Dialogue
analysis, Aristotelian structure of plot, Deconstruction: opening
and closing mood.
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