the setting, characters, dialogue, actions, themes, and textures- How to read a playo Start with the title; understand what t is going to be abouto Cast of characters; personalities the order will set the level of importance for that charactero Stage directions; everything that is not dialogueo Given circumstances Facts about the world of the play that are giveno Themes- Plot: the order of incidents in the play. Composed by actionso Linear/climactic plot: cause and effect. Ex: DOASo Episodic plot: what happens in one episode doesn’t affect another. Ex: family guyo Cyclical plot: begin and end in the same place- Story: sets the scene and is what actually happened; exposition (things that happen before the play begins)o Point of attack: point in the story where the playwright begins the plot. o Complications or obstacleso Climax: point of the greatest dramatic tension. Ex: in DOAS, it’s the fightbetween Willy and Biffo Denouncement: falling action or resolution- Types of characterso Protagonist: desires sustain the dramatic action (Willy)*o Antagonist: creates complications for the protagonist (Willy/society/Biff)*o Raisonneur: speaks for the author, other than the protagonist. (Biff)o Foil: contrast to another character (Charley)*o Stock characters: common and predictable types that reappear- Dramaturgyo Dramaturgs: good at analyzing plays; interested in context and conversationo Different situations: Literary managers- Full time position, they maintain script library for theatre, and help with the season selection Production dramaturgs- Hired for one play- Do a lot of research on the playwrights, context for the play, major productions, context for this production, and visual images- Communicating with the production team: directors, actors,designers, marketing- Communicating with the audience: lobby display, program notes, pre- and post- show talk backs New play dramaturgs- Working with the playwrights- Listen ask questions, help developo Adaption vs. Translation Adaptation is when, for example, a story is turned into a play production Challenges of adaptation- Stories are written with description- Plays are described with dialogue and setting (how do you get thoughts on the stage)- Play setting needs to be clear- Size of the cast- References of specific places Translation is a form of adaptation – is helps to understand the truemeaning- Plays are translated into different forms such as from old English to contemporary ways for better
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