Activated Script Analysis

An Integrative Approach to Play Analysis through Creative Expression and Devised Theatre

Elizabeth Brendel Horn

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781032125404
• eBook ISBN: 9781000869088
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism in Drama

Activated Script Analysis engages theatre students in traditional formative script analysis through a fusion of devised theatre and various modes of creative expression, dispelling the notion of script analysis as an isolated pen-to-paper task and reimagining it as a captivating and collaborative process.

This book uses diverse, contemporary plays to model the script analysis process for each of four Theatrical Elements: Given Circumstances; Character; Setting; and Structure. By considering each of these elements, readers can uncover patterns and themes within a dramatic text. Woven throughout the study of each theatrical element are "Connections": Personal Connections, which encourage readers to explore a theatrical element within their own lives, as though their lives were a script; Play Connections, which make abstract ideas presented in script analysis concrete through theatre-based play; Professional Connections, which examine how a theatre professional might analyze a script within their own work; and Performative Connections, which provide the opportunity for students to explore a theatrical element through performance using devised theatre strategies. At the end of each chapter, readers are given the opportunity to analyze a text through the lens of a Theatrical Element and to express their findings through a variety of digital, written, visual, and performance-based modes of expression.

Activated Script Analysis is designed for undergraduate theatre students and educators, to be used as the primary text in Script Analysis coursework or as a supplemental text in Acting or Directing courses.

The book includes access to downloadable templates and example videos, available at www.routledge.com/9781032125398.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• 1 Defining Script Analysis
• 2 Given Circumstances
• 3 Character
• 4 Setting
• 5 Structure
• 6 Conclusion
• Appendix A: Suggested Plays
• Appendix B: Defining Script Analysis Interactive Notes
• Appendix C: Given Circumstances Template
• Appendix D: Given Circumstances Template Example:A Raisin in the Sun
• Appendix E: Character Template
• Appendix F: Character Template Example:Mary Jane
• Appendix G: Setting Template
• Appendix H: Setting Template Example:somebody's children
• Appendix I: Structure Template
• Appendix J: Structure Template Example:Hype Man
• Appendix K: Rubric: Template
• Appendix L: Rubric: Written Response or Creative Expression
• Appendix M: Rubric: Production Team Final Project
• Appendix N: Rubric: Devised Response Final Project
• Appendix O: Sample Outline for Devised Response Final Project
• Glossary
• Index