Diane Ciesla

SCRIPT ANALYSIS PAPER

4/22/24

TITLE OF PLAY:
PLAYWRIGHT:
YEAR WRITTEN:

SETTING /CIRCUMSTANCES OF SCENE:

Year (if different than year written):
Season, Month:
Day and Time:
Place – Country, City, Neighborhood, Room:
Conditions Surrounding – Weather:

1. AS YOU READ THE PLAY LABEL THE ACTS AND SCENES

EXAMPLE:
• Act 1 scene 1 - Morning of the wedding, bride has doubts.
Make sure they are short and concise. Use bullets.
An actor is like a soldier. The clearer and more concise the command the stronger and more precise the
execution.

2. MARK DOWN FACTS ARE ACTUALLY IN THE SCRIPT ABOUT YOUR CHARACTER. (What the playwright
says about you that cannot be refuted. Facts that you might say about yourself. Or facts that other characters say
about you.)

EXAMPLE:
ELLY (Eleanor) "bright, shining one."
• A talkative and excitable woman.
• Elly is pregnant by a man she says she does not love
• Elly’s contrary nature is leading her to a more rigid resolve to have an abortion.
• Is in advertising.
• Told her boyfriend Roger about being pregnant...he offered to marry Elly.
• Doesn’t think her abortion is a moral issue but a social issue.
• Needs to be convinced abortion isn't right. "I think if you're going to judge somebody, you are to be able to convince them to."

You will now be able to:

Make references about your character from the facts you have.
Fill in the gaps in your character’s life.
Consult other sources to deepen your understanding of your character and the period.

3. FILL IN THE GAPS OF YOUR CHARACTER’S LIFE THAT ARE NOT MENTIONED IN THE INFORMATION
YOU HAVE GOTTEN FROM THE TEXT (ABOVE). Below is an example of some of the questions you might ask
yourselves.
WHO AM I?
a. What is my occupation?
• type of work, hours of work
• income
• condition of work
• attitude toward organization
• suitability for work
b. What are my religious beliefs? prejudices?
c. What is my present state of mind?
d. How do I perceive myself?
e. What am I wearing?
f. Class: lower, middle, upper?
g. Education
• amount
• kind of schools
• marks
• favorite subjects
• poorest subjects
• aptitudes
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 h. Home life
• parent’s living- their earning power, separated or divorced?
• siblings?
• your marital status?
i. Place in the community: leader among friends, school?
j. Political affiliations?
k. Amusements, hobbies, books, newspapers, magazines read
l. What Are My Relationships?
• Relation to events, characters, and to things; whom do I want something from?
• Emotional relationships – attitudes towards
• Blood relationships – attitudes towards

See William Ball’s Check List for other questions that you might ask yourself in his book, A Sense of Direction The chapter on
Objectives is in your Modules.
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4. WHAT IS THE THEME OF PLAY? (Read the script for the story and theme. "How can you tell what road to take unless
you know where you are going?" The theme/premise will show you the road. Theme, thesis, root idea, central idea, goal, aim,
driving force, subject, purpose, plan, plot, author's concept, why an author wrote the play.)

EXAMPLE:
Great love defies even death. (ROMEO & JULIET)

It should be written in one concise sentence.

5. WHAT IS YOUR CHARACTER'S SPINE /SUPER OBJECTIVE IN THE PLAY? – (Broad overall objective driving force
for a character throughout the play. Provides a through-line and arc for the character. Your spine /super-objective has to be
so strong to your character that it will make them try to obliterate any obstacle in their path.)

EXAMPLE:
• Each character wants many things and progresses through many objectives, but these objectives are always mere
symptoms of deeper urges and more universal human desires.
• It is the difference between a character who wants to win a beauty pageant, and a character who sees winning that
pageant as the validation she has sought her entire life that she is beautiful.
• One is a superficial goal; the other is a glimpse into a character's heart. One is about a girl who wants to wear a
crown, the other reveals an insecure soul desperately seeking self-worth.

It should be written in one concise sentence.

6. WHAT DO I WANT/ NEED FROM THE OTHER PERSON (IN THE SCENE)?
What is my OBJECTIVE in the scene?
What do I want from the other person? The purpose of the scene, the goal, the end towards which we direct all our energies.
EXAMPLE:
I need him/her to validate/push for me/give me the thumbs up/ support me/vouch for me.

It should be written in one concise sentence.

7. WHAT IS MY OBSTACLE IN THE SCENE?

What is in the way of what I want/need? How do I overcome it?

OBSTACLES may either be physical or psychological, internal or external. Obstacles can be drawn from things in the
character's past, from specific character traits, from the events in the play, from the environment, the circumstances, the
furnishings, from relationships, etc.
By grappling with whatever is in the way (facing the obstacles) of what a character wants, an actor heightens and intensifies
their objective.

EXAMPLE:
The character’s innate insecurity.

It should be written in one concise sentence.

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8. WHAT DO I DO TO GET WHAT I WANT/ NEED IN THE SCENE?
How do I achieve my objective? What’s my behavior? WHAT ARE MY ACTIONS? TACTICS?
How does your character manipulate the world to get what they want?

Actions/tactics are physical expressions of our inner needs or desires? How do I get what I want/need?
What would I do “if” I were in these circumstances?

They should be stated in strong, positive, active, verbs and encourage action.
What are you going “to do” to your partner? Coax? Bully? Nudge? Bribe? Embrace? Seduce?

Actions/tactics change when your character has exhausted an action or tactic and needs to go on to another to get
what they need in the scene or they change when there is a very clear shift in the scene.

Write your action at the beginning of the sentence that starts that action or use 3-column sheet. (The 3-column sheet is
in your Modules.)

9. WHAT ARE THE IMMEDIATE CIRCUMSTANCES BEFORE (MOMENT BEFORE) THE SCENE AND WHAT DO I
THINK WILL HAPPEN AFTER? (What has just happened the moment before your scene begins? What do I expect or plan
to happen the next day or later on?)

Should be done in a couple of concise sentences.

You will get this information from the text or your imagination.