Analysis

There are many different ways to analyze a scene for classroom study or performance: verbing, marking up the script, identifying subtext, making lists, and more. Some of these methods are easy and fast-paced, while some are more challenging or tedious. For younger or newer drama students, try introducing the concept of scene analysis by thinking like a detective solving a mystery. Look for clues and piece them together to solve the puzzle of the scene. Using the characters’ lines, stage directions, and text, students will figure out the who, what, where, when, and why of the scene. They’ll demonstrate how they discovered the information by using specific moments in the text as proof. First, read the scene at least twice, first as a pleasure read. You can have students read quietly by themselves, out loud in partners/small groups, or as a full class. Next, read the scene a second time to start delving into the details, looking to answer the questions below. Remember, they use the 5 W’s — who, what, where, when, why — as a questioning framework. Feel free to add additional 5W questions to your students’ analysis if you wish — these questions are a starting point. 1. Where does the scene take place? • A geographic location – New Jersey, Brisbane, Tokyo, New York City… • A general location – The jungle, an enchanted forest, a desert… • A specific location – Grandma’s kitchen, Mr. Kinkade’s classroom, Doune castle… 2. When is the scene happening? • A specific date, year, era, or time period. (Some shows are very specific. For example, the opening line of “Tune Up #1” from the musical Rent is “December 24th, 9 pm, Eastern Standard Time. From here on in, I shoot without a script.” Heathers: The Musical starts on “September 1st, 1989” in the song “Beautiful.”) • The time of day – Morning, afternoon, evening, night? • In relation to the rest of the show – Is this scene at the beginning or end of the show? • In relation to other scenes – What happened immediately before and/or after the scene? (This will be helpful when students get to the “why” questions.) 3. Who are the characters? • Basic information that we know about them – name, age, occupation, etc. • What do we know about them? Likes, dislikes, personality traits? • What is their relationship to the other character in the scene? Friends, family, a couple, enemies, coworkers, strangers? 4. What are the characters doing in the scene? (And why?) What are the characters feeling in the scene? (And why?) • In terms of what the characters are doing, start with what they are literally doing — washing the dishes, doing homework, going for a walk. What is the purpose of these actions? Do they relate to the scene somehow? • From there, consider what the characters are “doing” in a more interpretive sense. one character might be trying to convince another to do something, or a character might be saying one thing but meaning another. This is where proof from the text really helps! • The characters might come out and say something specific about how they’re feeling (“I feel sad”), or they might have [sadly] or [sniffling] as a stage direction to illustrate their emotions. Conversely, the characters might not be so direct in expressing their emotional state, so compare and contrast how your students interpret the characters’ feelings. 5. Why is this scene happening? Why is it important? • Something needs to happen. Some new information has to be shared or something has to change from the beginning of the scene to the end of the scene, otherwise it doesn’t move the plot forward. What moments in the scene stick out to your students? • Look back to the “when” questions and think about what happened before and after the scene. How does the action of this scene progress the plot of the show? 6. How do we know all this? Give proof, quotes, and examples from the text. After answering the questions, have students complete an exit slip: Describe the purpose of scene analysis in your own words. Take it to the next level:Character Analysis Exercise Script Analysis for Actors Script Analysis: Six Ways to Fill the Gaps Scene & Song Analysis Using Emojis

In Part 1 of our How to Use a Small Cast Play in Your Drama Classroom article, we shared two different analysis-based exercises that focus specifically on small cast shows. Now we’re going to focus on acting in and directing small cast shows. These shows allow students to work together in a more intimate setting with fewer peers. Both beginner and advanced acting students can do the acting challenge below. The directing challenge is great for an advanced-level drama class, or for a split-grade class, with the senior students taking on the director roles and the younger students as actors. If you’re teaching a director’s craft or similar class, directing a short small cast play (or scene from the play) could be your students’ culminating project. Students would be responsible for selecting, casting, rehearsing, and presenting their scene for an audience. In preparation for the acting and/or directing challenges, you may wish to have students complete one (or both) of our analysis-based exercises for small cast plays prior to casting and rehearsing the scenes. This will give them additional time with the script for a more thorough understanding of the text. If you need some small cast scripts for your drama class library, check out Theatrefolk’s top 10 plays for small casts or the Small Cast Script Bundle for some great options. 1. Acting ChallengeWith a small cast show, everyone gets featured and there’s nowhere to hide, so it can be an exciting challenge for student actors. In these shows students work closely with one another and get to know each other more deeply. There’s a lot riding on each actor to pull their weight in the show. It’s a lot of responsibility but also a lot of fun. Unless you have a very small drama class to begin with, you’ll need to divide students into small groups. If the show has multiple scenes, assign one scene from the play per group. If there aren’t scene cuts, you will have to assign a specific page or cut of the script to each group. Keep it to 1–2 pages if you’re doing this challenge in one or two class periods. (You will need to allot more class time if you want the students to perform the scenes off-book; otherwise, students will perform with script in hand.) If the play you’re studying has one common set throughout the show, let students know where the common entrances and exits are for continuity purposes. Have the groups cast their scenes with the students they have in their group, and rehearse and present the scenes. Perform the scenes in the order that they appear in the play. You may wish to film the performances so the groups can watch their performances back. Afterwards, have students compare and contrast the actors’ approaches to each character, the evolution of the characters from scene to scene, and how the show flows from scene to scene with the different actors playing each role. If you have an uneven students-to-characters-to-scenes ratio, you could have some students act as directors for some or all of the scenes. Which leads to… 2. Directing ChallengeSmall cast shows are a great opportunity for a student director to tackle, as there are fewer actors and characters to wrangle. Tagging on from the acting challenge, have a group of students act as directors for the various scenes from the small cast show. Decide if you want your directors to work independently or cooperatively. For staging, you can have each director create their scene as they wish in terms of blocking, stage layout, and performance style, or have the directors get together in advance and come up with a universal plan for the setup of the stage and how they’ll guide their actors. For casting, you can pre-assign casts for each director, or have the directors do a casting session, metaphorically duking it out to determine which director will work with which actors. Once the groups have been set, the directors will cast the scene with the actors they have, and block and rehearse the scenes. Then, the student actors will present the scenes in the order they appear in the show. You may wish to film the performances so the groups can watch their performances back. If you’re doing both the acting and directing challenges and have some scenes with a student director and some that are self-directed by the groups, have your students discuss how the rehearsal process worked for both types of groups. What were the advantages and disadvantages of having a director versus being self-directed? How might the processes be different with a larger cast show?

Many drama teachers look for large cast plays with huge ensembles so they can include every student who wants to participate. But sometimes you don’t need something that big. Maybe you have a new or fledgling drama program with only a few students. Maybe you’d like to feature your graduating seniors, or challenge your advanced acting students. Or maybe you just want something on a smaller scale. Whatever the reason, a small cast show is a necessity! With a small cast show, you can get laser-focused. Because there are fewer characters, students must go deeper and really get to the heart and soul of the characters and their journeys. Here are two analysis-based exercises focusing on small cast shows. These exercises can be done individually or in small groups. If you need some small cast scripts for your drama class library, Theatrefolk’s top 10 plays for small casts is a great place to start. 1. Small Cast Character AnalysisWith many analysis assignments, students are challenged to choose one character from a large dramatis personae list, and do an analysis of that character. With a smaller cast show, have students do an analysis of each character, not only examining each character and their personalities and choices, but also looking deeper at how they relate to the others in the show, as well as their journey through the play as a whole. Have students read through the play and create a character relationship map. Sketch or choose an image of each character and arrange them on a blank board or blank document. Identify the different kinds of relationships between the characters and use different coloured lines to connect the characters (red for love interest, green for friends, blue for relatives, etc.). Have students think of creative ways to indicate complicated relationships, such as “enemies to lovers” or “one-sided friendship.” Since the show is a small cast, each character should be connected to all the other characters in some way. If you’re working on a vignette-style small cast play, the character relationships might not be as evident, because the characters might not interact with each other directly. In this case, they can still make a character relationship map, they just have to approach it a little differently. Have students look for threads that tie the characters together: How are they similar in terms of how they think, what they’re going through, how they approach a problem or challenge? There also might be subtle hints in the text that aren’t immediately evident; for example, perhaps two characters mention that they have the same math teacher, or one character might be the sister of another character’s friend. For each connection, have students write a small explanation of how the characters relate to one another. 2. Small Cast Producer’s ChallengeAsk your students why they think a theatre company might want to do a small cast show. Have students think like producers and brainstorm reasons having a small cast show could be advantageous. For example: • Smaller cast generally means a smaller budget (and with producers, it always comes down to the bottom line of money) • Fewer actors to pay • Fewer costumes required • Less rehearsal time needed (possibly) • Often one unit set is all that’s needed • A more intimate and focused story • Plenty of stage time for each performer Then brainstorm reasons why having a small cast could be challenging: • Fewer roles to go around so fewer actors can be involved • You could double cast the show so more actors could be involved but that would take more rehearsal time • Could be more challenging to get audience members to come • Fewer characters means more lines, which will take longer to memorize Have students select a small cast show (or assign one for the entire class to focus on). Students will read the play and do a SWOT analysis illustrating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for the small cast show. Next, have students create an estimated budget for the small cast show. It might help students to compare a small cast show budget to a large cast show budget. You might have them do an online search for production costs for theatrical productions. Broadway Tour has a great article breaking down how much it costs to put on a Broadway show — it definitely isn’t cheap, even if the show has a small cast! Students will present their analysis and budget to the rest of the class. Make note of common ideas that come up and look deeper into unique ideas that other students may not have thought of. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming article about acting and directing exercises for small cast shows!

If you have a smartphone, it’s a guarantee that you’ve used emojis. Emojis are more than cute graphics on your phone — they’ve evolved into a unique visual language. While emojis themselves are a fairly new development (the first official emojis were invented in 1999 by Japanese artist Shigetaka Kurita), people have been using symbols to communicate for thousands of years. Students often have full conversations entirely with emojis. Emojis can give additional context and understanding to written language where tone isn’t always easily conveyed. In this exercise, students will pair up and analyse a short scene or musical theatre song using emojis. This exercise includes a warm-up, a full class introduction and discussion, partner work, and a full class analysis and discussion. Materials Needed Copies of a one-page scene from a play or lyrics to a musical theatre song, with each line/phrase/lyric numbered down the left. If possible, leave a fairly wide margin down the right-hand side of the paper, so students can write or draw emojis on that side. Alternatively, students can complete the assignment on their phone by making a numbered list (corresponding with the numbered line from the text) and putting their emojis next to the appropriate number for each line/lyric. Warm-Up or Bell Work Using emojis, make a timeline of what you’ve done today so far, hour by hour. For example, if you woke up at 7 am and drama class is at 11 am, you will choose five emojis, one to represent each hour of the day that you’ve been awake. Introduction As a full class, have students add emojis to the following sentences: • I’m sorry. • What do you think? • I’m not really sure. • I can’t believe he said that. • I can’t wait! Feel free to add additional sentences. Which emojis did your students choose for each one? Why? Did the emoji choice change the meaning of the sentence? If so, how? Exercise Instructions 1. Divide students into pairs. 2. Give each pair a one-page scene from a play or the lyrics to a musical theatre song. All groups will get the same scene/song. 3. Give a time limit to complete the assignment (or as much of it as they can complete within the timeframe). 4. Each pair will use emojis to represent the words, phrases, or emotions of the scene/song, line by line. Groups can use as many or as few emojis they wish, but they should aim for two to three minimum per line (unless it's a one-word line). Students can write or draw emojis on the right-hand margin of the scene/lyric page, next to the appropriate line. Alternatively, students can complete the assignment on their phone by making a numbered list (corresponding with the numbered line from the text) and putting their emojis next to the appropriate number for each line/lyric. 5. At the end of the time limit, discuss students' different interpretations of the emojis used, one line at a time. Here are some questions you might wish to ask: • Why did you use so many/few emojis for a particular sentence or phrase? • Did your emoji choice represent a literal word/phrase in the song, or did it have a more removed meaning? • For a particular sentence or phrase, did most students agree or disagree on an overall feeling/emoji choice? • Did any sentences or phrases have a large amount of disagreement on what emojis should be used? Which ones? What is causing the disagreement? Can students explain why they disagree and/or why they think their interpretation is correct? • How would you rate your understanding and/or enjoyment of the class work using emojis? 6. Each student will complete and submit an individual exit slip (found below). If you want students to submit their class work as well, have them either hand in the paper with the drawn/written emojis on the side, or take a screenshot of their work from their phone and email it to you (or upload it to your classroom webpage if you have one). Make sure students include both partners’ names on the emoji work, even though they will complete exit slips individually.

We are all about character analysis — it’s a great tool for helping students develop a deeper understanding of characters in plays that they are studying, performing in, or creating. Read on to find four mini exercises that your students can do to analyse a character and come up with interesting backstory details. It’s time to go younger! These exercises could be used as writing prompts as well. They can be completed live in class, via distance learning, or assigned as homework. 1. Character overview in the present :To get a stronger handle on your character, start by creating a character overview using evidence from the script. Check out the article A Quick Tip for Character Analysis for more details about this. These initial notes will help you develop a good foundational grasp on the character as they are in the present time of the play. Action** :** Take a piece of paper and divide it into four sections. In the first section, write down what other characters say about your character. In the second section, write down what your character says about other people. In the third section, write down any events that occur surrounding your character. In the fourth section, write down how these quotes and actions affect the action of play. 2. Childhood :Think about the character’s childhood. Using your character overview notes, think about how the character is now, and what events from their past might have made them this way. Was their childhood happy or sad? Easy or challenging? How do you think the character was raised? Did they have parents or parental figures? Siblings? Were they cared for? Neglected? Cherished? Seen but not heard? Were there any major events that affected the character? Action** :** Write a brief descriptive paragraph about your character’s childhood. If you can’t find specific evidence in the script, make up the details! If another classmate is studying the same character, compare your paragraphs after completing them. It’s interesting to see others’ interpretations of the same character. 3. School days :School has a huge impact on people. Did your character attend school, and if they did, were they a good student? What was their favourite subject? Did they have friends? Were they bullied? What did they wear to school? If they didn’t go to school, how did they spend their time? Action** :** Write a one-page journal entry, as the character, describing a typical day at school. What are you studying? What activities do you do? Who do you spend time with? 4. Likes and dislikes :What was your character’s favourite toy as a child? Favourite activity? Favourite article of clothing? Favourite food? Best friend? Favourite memory? What about their least favourites? How did these favourite and least favourite things affect your character in a lasting way? For example, perhaps a romantic hero grew up reading fairy tales and romantic poetry, which inspired them to search for their happily ever after in the present. Action** :** Create a list of 10 childhood likes and dislikes for your character. For example: toys, food, activity, memory, holiday/trip, book, sport, scent, flower, article of clothing. You can choose different likes/dislikes if you prefer. Then, circle the likes/dislikes that your character still has in the present. Choose one that stands out the most and write a brief descriptive paragraph about how and why your character came to like/dislike that thing.

The following exercise has a straightforward premise: watch a movie musical and analyze it! This written exercise helps students practice skills including analytical and critical thinking, observation, problem solving, and creative thinking. Start by choosing a movie musical to analyze. You may select a movie for your students to view together in class, or let them each select one for approval and watch it at home. You may wish for all students to analyze the same movie musical, or have every student sign up for a different one. For this exercise, please ensure students select a live-action movie musical, rather than an animated film. Here are some suggestions: Mary Poppins, The Greatest Showman, Into the Woods, La La Land, The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Across the Universe, Mamma Mia!, Moulin Rouge, Sweeney Todd, Dreamgirls, Grease, A Star is Born, The Sound of Music, White Christmas, The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes… there are lots of options! Students will select five of the following ten questions to answer after watching the movie musical. Alternatively, you can make this an independent study project (ISP) and have students answer all ten questions. Students will answer in full sentences, and yes, grammar and spelling counts! Distance learning: This assignment can be adapted for distance learning by having students watch their selected movie musical at home, complete the questions, and submit them electronically via email, Google Drive, Dropbox, or a similar program/app. Questions:1. Summarize the plot of the musical in one paragraph. Then, summarize the plot of the musical in one sentence. 2. What was your favourite song from the musical movie? • What character(s) sang the song? • What was the purpose of the song in the musical? • If the song were a monologue, how would that affect the plot? • If the song were omitted, how would that affect the plot? 3. Identify a scene from the musical that could only happen the way it did because it was done in a movie. Describe in your own words what happened in the scene. How might you adapt that scene for the stage? 4. List five advantages of doing a musical movie over doing a musical on the stage. (For example, you can do multiple takes if you make a mistake.) 5. List five advantages of doing a musical onstage over doing a musical movie. (For example, hearing the audience applaud a wonderful moment.) 6. Would you rather watch a musical movie or a live musical in a theatre? Why? 7. Choose five characters from the musical movie. Identify the actors who play those characters. Re-cast those characters with five different actors (current or past). Who did you select and why? 8. What year was the movie musical made? • Is it based on a stage musical, or is it an original creation? • Is it based on anything, or adapted from anything (such as a book or musical album)? • If it’s based on a stage musical, what year was the musical itself written? • Has the musical been performed on Broadway, the West End, etc.? When? • Are there any different film or stage versions or adaptations to your chosen movie musical? Are there any sequels or prequels? • What are they, and when were they made? 9. Critical Eye: Did you notice any mistakes, editing errors, or inconsistencies in the movie musical? Describe what happened. (If you didn’t notice any, skip this question.) 10. Why do you think people enjoy watching movie musicals?

The exercises listed below can be adapted to distance and online learning opportunities. Students work individually (rather than with partners or in groups). Group work and discussions can be completed using video conferencing programs (such as Google Hangouts, Skype, or Zoom). Written work can be submitted electronically via email or uploading to Google Drive or similar. Performances can be done live via video conferencing programs, or filmed on a smartphone or digital camera and uploaded to a service such as YouTube or Vimeo (privacy settings can be adjusted to accommodate your school’s internet safety policies). Check out our round-ups of exercises for Vocal and Physical Performance and Monologue and Individual Performance as well. Playwriting ExercisesPlaywriting exercises are great because they can be completed anywhere a student has access to a computer or tablet. They can also dictate their writing using speech-to-text software. Playwriting assignments can be submitted electronically, and feedback can be added and sent back, or given verbally/in person using video conferencing programs. 1. A Character is Not a Whole Person 2. A Picture Tells A Thousand Words: Cross-Curricular Drama Classroom Project 3. Brainstorming in the Drama Classroom: Coming Up With More Ideas Than You Need 4. Exploring the Greek Chorus Students will write their own Greek chorus, narrating an everyday activity. Students can also perform their piece if you wish. 5. Same Character, Different Choice 6. Shakespeare’s Words: Iambic Pentameter 7. The 5 W’s and Playwriting 8. Tips for Giving Feedback to Student Playwrights Focus on Feedback Form exercise 9. Top 3 Ways to Write a Character Specific Voice 10. Using Statistics as Scene Starters Focus on Serious Statistics – A PSA Project exercise Written Drama and Analysis ExercisesLike playwriting exercises, students can complete written drama exercises anywhere they have access to a computer or tablet, and submit their work electronically. 1. Brainstorming as a Group: Add Three 2. Dealing With Difficult Characters: 3 Tips for Success Focus on Tip #3: Your character is not “you” list 3. Do You Know Your Character? 4. Ensembles Are Characters Too! Focus on Tip #1: Character profile 5. Making Assumptions About Characters 6. Nine Questions Actors Need to Ask Themselves 7. Prompting Creativity in the Drama Classroom 8. Question of the Day 9. Questioning Your Character (Without Judgment) 10. Same Lines, Different Meanings Note – partners aren’t necessary to complete these exercises 11. To Research or To Not Research? 12. What Does My Character Want? 13. What’s the Difference Between What Characters Want and Need? 14. What’s Your Character’s Signature Gesture?

The following exercise gives students the opportunity to pitch their dream show to the rest of the class. This is a great exercise to do with students after you’ve polled your class. Now that they’ve identified which shows they are interested in working on, they are going to take the next step: discovering what it takes to get the ball rolling towards actually producing a show. This exercise combines students’ theatrical knowledge with a useful technique taught in business class: SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. A SWOT analysis is used to specify the objective of a business venture or project, and to identify and evaluate different internal and external factors (both positive and negative ones) to achieve the objective. In this exercise, the objective of the project is to select the best possible show for your drama class to produce. Students will select partners and decide on a show that they wish to produce. As a team, they will complete a SWOT analysis, identifying the following aspects of their show: • Strengths: Characteristics of the show that give it an advantage over other shows. • Weaknesses: Characteristics of the show that place it at a disadvantage relative to other shows. • Opportunities: Elements in the environment (the class itself, the school, the stage, etc.) that the class could exploit to its advantage to produce the show. • Threats: Elements in the environment (the class itself, the school, the stage, etc.) that could create obstacles for putting on the production. Students will fill out the following table with answers to each section:

One approach to character development is to identify the difference between what characters want and what they need. Sometimes students get the two mixed up. Which is more important? Do plays always identify both for a character? Make sure you get the downloadable PDF with the discussion questions, activity list, and exit slip. What is a need?A need is something that a person must have in order to thrive. Without it, that person will suffer either physically or mentally. Ask students: What do you need in your life to thrive? What do you need to be happy? What do you need to be physically healthy? What do you need to be mentally healthy? If any of these things were missing, what would happen to you? Some examples of needs are: Physical needs: air, water, food, warmth, rest, health Safety needs: shelter, security Self needs: confidence, independence, respect, education, control over one’s choices Relationship needs: friends, family, love, community Purpose needs: personal growth, mental growth, spiritual growth, place in the world What is a want?A want is a choice. A desire which a person may or may not be able to get. Life will continue if a person doesn’t get what they want. Wants are also individual. Every human being may have some of the same needs, but every human being will not have the same wants. Wants depend on a person’s environment, upbringing, background, and viewpoint. For example, we all need to eat. We need to eat in order to live. But the choice of what to eat leans toward want. We can want pizza for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We can want to eat only fruits and veggies. We can want to eat caviar and expensive steak. Life will go on though, if we don’t get that. Another example would be to look at relationships. We need caring relationships in order to thrive. We may want a certain type of personality or physique in a partner. But if we don’t get the 6ft body builder, life will go on. Ask students: What is one thing you want right now? What is one thing you want this year? What will happen to you if you don’t get these things? Want vs Need in a Theatrical ContextWe almost always ask students to identify a character’s want. What does your character want? How do they strive to get what they want? What tactics do they use? Conflict is often described as the obstacle that impedes a character from getting what they want. Another way to analyze a character is to examine want vs need. Generally, a want is something that a character expresses at the beginning of a story. It’s the catalyst. They think that what they want is the only goal. In fact, it’s when the character understands their need that they realize what will bring health, happiness, or well being. At the beginning of The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy wants out of Kansas. She wants to be in a more exciting place. By the end, she realizes that she needs to be surrounded by her family and friends. At the beginning of Star Wars Episode IV, Luke wants adventure and something external. By the end, he realizes that what he needs is trust (in himself, others, and the force), which is something internal. This change between want and need gives characters their journey. There is a difference between where they start and where they end. This change also gives an actor a rich palate to play with in terms of character development. Activities • Take a fairy tale and identify the main character’s want and need. • Look at the first and last appearances of a main character in a play. • What are they doing in the first scene? Can you determine the character’s want? • What are they doing in the last scene? Has the character changed? Have they identified their need? If so, what do they need? If not, why not? • Have students write their own scenes that explore want vs need. This will help them solidify the difference between the two. One suggestion is to explore relationships as that’s a good place to start. For example: • A teen wants the approval of her mother. She needs to realize that mom is selfish and doesn’t have her daughter’s best interest at heart. • A teen wants the approval of a group. She needs to find self-confidence. • A girl wants a boy to like her. She needs to realize that the boy is using her because she has a car and he doesn’t. • A boy wants on the basketball team because his brother was on the basketball team. He needs to find his own path and not follow in his brother’s footsteps. • Divide students into groups and have each group brainstorm character wants/needs from a variety of source material. Look at movies they’ve seen, stories, plays they are studying in class, etc. • Take a character with a defined want at the beginning of a story and a defined need at the end. Have students tableaux the want and the need. How do these two elements look visually? What changes? • Can you identify a character who misuses the word need? Is there a character who is in denial about what they need? Think of a story in which a character is unable to recognize what they need, and thus, the story ends tragically.

Do your students know how to annotate a script for analysis? Script analysis gives every actor a foundation to build on for character development. Teach these steps to your students and they’ll begin rehearsals with confidence. Where do we start? Give students a sample text to work with. We’re going to go through five steps any student can use to analyze a text. This activity uses monologues, but you can do the exact same work with dialogue. Then make sure students make any annotations in pencil. Why pencil? Because nothing we do with script analysis should be set in stone. We change our minds, we rethink things over and over as we familiarize ourselves with the material. And once you get into rehearsal you never know how the director’s vision will change your approach to the text once again. Think of this type of script analysis as your starting point. Click below for a lesson plan version of this activity along with annotated examples of two monologues. Step One: Cross out stage directions.Stage directions in a script can come from a variety of places. Sometimes they’re added by the playwright to give you a sense of their intentions, sometimes they’re based on the blocking of the original production, other times they’re added by the publisher/editor to help clarify something for the reader. Don’t ignore them completely, especially if they are connected to a line of dialogue (if a character says “sit down” and the stage direction says “BRENDA sits” then that’s something you probably shouldn’t ignore), but for the purposes of script analysis, tell students to cross them out. They can always restore them later because they’re using pencils, right? Task: Read through your monologue/scene and cross out any stage directions. Step Two: Mark any significant shifts in tone or character development.Tell students that they are going to identify moments where a character changes, either internally or strategically, and use these changes to create a dynamic performance. Use a symbol or mark to identify this change, like a slash (/) or even a double slash for emphasis (//). DARCY: Maybe I’m special, ever think of that? Huh? Maybe he likes me. // Me. These marks go any place in the text where there is a change. For example: • A change in mood or emotion • A change in language • A change in tactic • A change in status • An entrance or exit Look at the following line. Ask students: Where is the change in tone or character development? FRANK: I can’t believe you keyed my car. Why would you do something like that? Frank goes from reflecting on the damage to the car to demanding information. First he’s in disbelief. Now he wants answers. So we identify the change between the two thoughts. FRANK: I can’t believe you keyed my car. // Why would you do something like that? The reason for the change would be explored in rehearsal, but during the analysis stage, have students make choices based on what they read. You may find that students struggle to find the changes or shifts in their dialogue. Have students practice with two random sentences in their text and put the change marks between the two sentences. DARCY: Moving too fast? // You bet I am. Have students ask themselves: What shift does the character make between these two sentences? If they can come up with a clear answer, then the marks stay, if not they go. With the above example, it doesn’t seem like there’s a change. The two sentences reference the same thing (moving too fast) so the marks do not belong. Take them out! Emphasize to students that there is no one right or wrong way to do this kind of work. This isn’t science, it’s art. Two actors preparing for the same role may mark their scripts up completely differently. And they’re both right! They’re both bringing their own interpretation to the role. Task: Read your monologue (or scene) and identify the shifts in mood, emotions, language, tactics, status, and entrances/exits with a specific mark. When your students eventually stage the text, these markings will serve as guideposts. They will help make their character dynamic. They’ll help with line interpretations and blocking choices. They’ll lead students toward an interesting well-rounded performance. Step Three: Mark significant words.Ask students: What are the most important words in a text? What would be the purpose of identifying important words? Highlight that we want to identify the most important words that carry meaning, intention, and energy. Use a symbol to identify significant words in the text, for example a “>” on top of the word.

We’ve all seen those reviews. The ones that rip the theatre production up one side and down the other. They criticize the scenery and the script. They suggest that the leads take up basket weaving, since acting isn’t their thing. It’s enjoyable because we’re not the one being criticized. But it can also make you feel queasy, like you ate too much fried food. It’s not that nice to read about the total destruction of others. When it comes to writing a theatrical review, that kind of lambasting isn’t necessary. Cruelty is not something we want to teach students when it comes to analyzing a piece of theatre. There is a difference between being critical and being cruel. How To Write a Play ReviewFollow these steps with your students. Step One Start by discussing the definition, purpose, and objective of a review in a professional theatre context. • What is a review? A review is a subjective but educated response to a piece of theatre. The professional reviewer should have a strong background in theatre so that their opinion is informed, objective, and credible. • What is the purpose of a review? A review gives a potential audience member context for a production. Most people want to know if they should spend their hard-earned money on a ticket. Is this show any good? If it is, what makes it good? If it’s not, what makes it falter? • What should we learn from a review? A review should describe the situation of a play without giving too much information about the plot. It should address the production elements individually and how they work together as a whole. It should express an opinion supported by thoughtful analysis. Step Two Ask students: What’s the difference between a well-written review and a poorly-written one? Highlight the following: • Is the reviewer able to discern the vision of the production and the execution of that vision? • Is the reviewer able to analyze the production in terms other than like/dislike? • Is the reviewer able to see the production’s value and/or appeal despite their subjective response? • Does the reviewer support their views with examples? If they don’t like an actress’ performance do they explain why? Do they offer evidence to support their opinions? • Does the reviewer let their personal opinion of a play colour their review? • Does the reviewer acknowledge the audience’s reaction, particularly if it differs from their own? Step Three Have students compare and contrast three reviews of the same show by different reviewers. A Broadway production would give you a wide variety. Look for different types of reviews as well (e.g., YouTube video, longstanding newspaper review, blog post). Decide if you’ll have students research and choose their own reviews (if devices are allowed or you have access to computers) or if you’ll choose the reviews and share them on a screen. Note: If you have a class with little theatre experience and want more buy-in, use a movie as your source material. Go through the reviews and have students reflect on the following in their journals or on a separate piece of paper: • Is the review positive or negative? How do you know? • Is the reviewer objective or subjective with their review? How do you know? • How did this reviewer use (or not use) their expertise to share their experience of the play? • Did they explain why they liked or didn’t like something? • Do you like when a review is overly critical? Why or why not? • What does each review tell you about the reviewer? Step Four Now it’s time to practice! Have students use a specific play review formula like this one. Click below for a Play Review Worksheet with the same categories. • Introduction: Set up the play. Who is the playwright? What company is putting on this play? What is the context of the production (school show, community theatre, touring show, Broadway)? • Execution: How is the play executed? What is the director’s vision? What is unique about the interpretation? What’s the style? How do the individual parts fit together to make a whole? • Specifics: Is there anything unique about this production? Who is the director? What else have they done? Who are the leads? Is this a premiere or a remount? • Opinion: Is the production successful in its execution? Why or why not? Is there something out of place within the individual parts (lighting, sound, set, costuming, vision, acting)? What stands out? Does the acting bring the play to life? Does the vision suit the intention of the play? • Recommendation: Is this play worth seeing? Why or why not? What about when you’re going to see a show? How do you approach a show knowing you’re going to write a review? You can have students practice with school shows, shows from other schools, recorded versions of professional plays. The more they practice, the more comfortable they will be with expressing criticism in a constructive manner. How should students prepare before, during, and after the show?

Your first reaction to using Close Reading in the Drama Classroom might be – Ugh! There’s no way my students will sit still for that. This is the only time they get up and get moving. Fair enough. But if you’re doing any kind of script analysis in class, think about incorporating Close Reading into your program. Diving into a script – any script, from Shakespeare to modern to absurd – and figuring out what’s being said, how it’s being said, word choice, punctuation, sentence structure, sentence meaning, why it’s being said, what’s the author’s intention – these are the actions of analyzing a script. They become the building blocks of character development. They help a director form their vision. They are also the actions of close reading. To close read is to look at a text in-depth. It is a detailed specific reading of a text – usually a short text (like a monologue). During the process, students read the text three times, discuss the piece, answer questions. They have to draw conclusions and make inferences as to what the writer is trying to say. To read a text closely is to be an active reader – that is what we want from our students. We want them engaged with what they are reading, thinking about what they are reading, understanding what they’re reading. Close reading helps students to get to know that text inside and out. But how do we make close reading active? Close Reading CAN be Active. After you close read a text, you want to apply the information in some way. And the best way to do that is get students on their feet. Use a culminating activity to visualize what you’re learning. For example, let’s look at the title “Death of A Salesman.” In a Close Read, the first time through we’re looking at WHAT is happening. There is a lot happening in this title – “Death” and “Salesman.” We know what’s going to happen to the Salesman. We know that the Salesman is probably the main character. And we know that the play is probably not a comedy. Question: Who is the salesman? For the second read, we’re looking at HOW the text happens. The structure, the punctuation, the word choice. And there’s some specific word choice here. “A” Salesman. Not “The” Salesman. Does that mean this character isn’t very important? He could be anyone. He’s not even named. He’s just his job. Question: Why does the author identify the main character as “a” salesman? For the third read, we’re looking at the WHY. Why is the author presenting the theme this way? Why does the author tell us the end of the play before it happens? One possibility is because death is inevitable. It’s not going to matter that we know ahead of time. The tragic events of the play still hold weight, even though we already know the ending. Question: Based on the title, can you draw a conclusion as to why the author gives away the end of the story? So then, what is the culminating activity? Visualize and physicalize the title before anyone has read one word of the play. • Tableau it. What images come to mind in the death of a salesman? • Make the title move – how do you physicalize someone who is just “A” Salesman and not “The” Salesman? How do they get lost in a crowd? • Create a stage picture that shows the inevitability of death. To learn more about Close Reading in the Drama Classroom, preview my course over at The Drama Teacher Academy. You’ll find a step by step guide to the Close Reading process, exercises, handouts and on-feet activities specifically designed for the drama class.

or, “Dipping the Toe Before Diving in the Deep End” Do you use close reading in the drama classroom?Close Reading is an analysis tool. Students read a text multiple times for in-depth comprehension, striving to understand not only what is being said but how it’s being said and why. Close reading takes a student from story and character to drawing conclusions on author intention. Close reading prompts students to flex their thinking skills: • It teaches students to engage with a text. With each particular read, students have to annotate/make notes. • It teaches students to be selective. We can’t highlight everything in the text, only the most important elements. • It teaches students to make educated decisions. All conclusions and opinions have to be backed up with a text example. Why should you use close reading in the drama classroom?The act of close reading fits hand in hand with script analysis. You want your students to get in the habit of reading scenes and monologues multiple times. You want your students to focus on different aspects of a text – it’s not just about the content, it’s about sentence structure and punctuation. Structure analysis is a helpful tool for character development. Close reading is a text dependent exercise – you don’t use research to support an answer, you use the text. When student actors and directors make decisions about their character or their vision, we want them to support their decisions with examples from their script. How do I prepare my students to close read?Before you even bring a single text into the classroom, use these exercises to prepare your students for the process. The Reader Find out what your students think about the act of reading and then dramatize it. 1. Ask your students: What do you like about reading? What do you hate about reading? How do you feel when you read? How do you feel when you get to the end of a book – satisfied? Frustrated? This can be an oral discussion or written in their journals. 2. Next, students create a character based on their thoughts and feelings about the act of reading. If they personify their thoughts and feelings about reading, what kind of character comes to light? Are they human, animal, monster or alien? What is this character’s primary emotion – to make people feel good about reading or to humiliate? What powers does this character have? How do they move and speak? Do they live alone or do they have a big family? 3. Divide students into groups. They are going to create a scene in which each student will play their Reading Character. So if they’ve created a character who is a blob and speaks in clicks and whirs, that’s what they have to do in the scene. Emphasize that they’ll have to find a way to communicate. The group is going to dramatize a party, meeting or event where all of the different reading characters would be in the same room. Decide on a purpose for coming together. Decide how they would react to each other. Do the monsters get together and bully the others? Do the positive reading characters just treat everything positively? The length of each scene is one minute. 4. Discuss with students afterward – what was it like to see reading as a character or to be their reading character? If they have a negative relationship with reading, what can they do to change that? If they don’t want to change, ask why. Physicalize Annotation Part of the close reading process is to annotate and make notes about what you’re reading. When you’re reading a text multiple times, it’s easy to forget your thoughts from one read to the next. Students need a system to identify the what, the how and the why. Click below for a PDF version of this exercise that includes a annotation handout. The handout suggests four marks students can use when annotating a text. Then try this exercise. 1. Divide students into pairs. Give each pair the Annotation Handout. As a pair, they’re going to annotate a monologue together. I’ve included one to use. 2. Each pair will read the monologue three times (focusing on the what, the how and the why) and with each read annotate accordingly, using the Handout as a guide. 3. Next, each pair will prepare the monologue to present. Partner A will read the monologue dynamically: they have to bring a character to the read, they have to be emotionally and vocally present. At the same time, Partner B will physicalize their annotations as follows: • Underlined text – Partner B lies on the ground in front of Partner A. • Starred text – Partner B presents “jazz hands” behind Partner A. • Questions – Partner B stands beside Partner A and use their shoulders, arms, and hands to shrug in a questioning fashion. • Brackets – Partner B stands behind Partner A and puts their arms around Partner A in an open hug. (Physicalized brackets) Will this look silly? Absolutely. That’s ok. Take any chance you can to have a little fun with this technique. The purpose behind this exercise is to show students what it looks like when a passage is over annotated. If one group has Partner B running from lying on the floor to jazz hands to brackets and back again – this shows you and the class that the pair wasn’t being selective or specific in their annotation choices. Start Small When you begin the close reading process, take baby steps. Start small. Use the process with the title of a play. (Death of A Salesman). Use a single line from the first scene. Find a production photo from the play and analyze it: • What is happening: What details can you see in the photo? What are the relationships? • *How is it happening: * How has the director blocked the moment? Is there a power struggle? Who has the higher status? How are lighting, set and costuming used? • Why is it happening: Why has the director chosen to present the scene in this way? What conclusions can you draw about the play by what you see in the picture? Close reading is a dense, focused process. It can also take your students’ script analysis skills to the next level.

How do you take a monologue (meant for one person to deliver) and act it out as a group? How do you create an Ensemble Monologue? Analyze the MonologueHere’s a monologue from my play Funhouse. “GIRL: You’re not good at this you know. I’ve had better. Much better. Sneakier. Sit beside me at lunch, pretend to be my friend. Bolder. They try to drag me into the bathroom. Meaner. Spit at me. Knock books out of my arms. Pinch me. Treat me like a piece of garbage, think it’s funny to try and make me eat garbage, be garbage, and I should be so grateful for any attention that comes my way – oh sure let’s go in the dark ride, gee what a great idea! Oh look who’s waiting for me with what, rotten eggs to rub in my hair? What a surprise! How funny! (as others) Why aren’t you laughing? It’s just a little egg. It’s just a joke. (mocking serious) But I thought you were serious. I thought we were all going to be best friends. (dead serious) I won’t eat garbage for you, friend.” So the first task is to analyze the monologue. • What’s the subject? • What do we know about the subject? • Who is talking, and who are they talking to? • Why are they talking? • Where does the monologue take place? • What images are in the monologue? If you’re doing this exercise with a class, divide them up into groups and have them answer these questions. At first read, it’s easy to see that the topic of the monologue is bullying. The Girl in the monologue is talking to another person, probably a girl. She also takes on the voices of other bullies. The Girl is standing up to one of her bullies. We don’t know where the Girl is, but she does talk about going “in the dark ride” which suggests a carnival or sideshow. The big image for the piece is garbage. Being treated like garbage, being forced to act like garbage – the suggestion is that if you’re garbage, you’re less than human. The Girl is standing up for herself and declaring herself human. Already there’s a lot to work with here. What seems daunting at first (how do I act out a monologue with a group??) becomes clear through question and answer. Visualize the SubjectThe subject here is bullying. Discuss the different types of bullying with students. Then visualize the subject: what are the pictures, scenes, and tableaux that visualize this subject? Have students create ten second scenes that illustrate bullying. Have students create tableaux in small groups. Create one huge tableaux. Be LiteralThere is a story here in the monologue. You could literally stage it – one girl delivers the monologue to another, possibly a group of girls with others as bystanders. How do those listening to the Girl react? Are they proud? Are they scornful? Are they bullied themselves? Be AbstractDon’t be afraid of the abstract! There is a very strong image of garbage in this monologue. To be bullied is to feel like garbage. Why not explore this in your scene? Brainstorm with your students how to use the image of garbage in your piece. For example: What if everyone was dressed up as garbage, acting very non-human (perhaps zombie-like) at the beginning of the monologue? As the monologue progresses, this garbage takes on more and more human characteristics, until they too stand tall and proud with the girl at the end. Vocal OptionsJust because the piece is a monologue doesn’t mean only one person gets to speak. What if the entire group delivered the monologue? Decide which lines are spoken in unison and which by individual speakers. You can create a lot of impact by how you deliver the lines as well: a shout, a whisper, a plead, a punch. Note: If you choose to deliver the monologue as a group, don’t just present the whole piece in choral formation. Think about the visual impact of your work as well the aural impact. This exercise is an excellent example of Project Based Learning. It takes theatre in one form and teaches students how to apply it to another form. It teaches students to visualize words, a very important skill for staging theatre.

Who is the most interesting person you know? Who is the most interesting person your dad knows? Who is the most interesting person your boss knows? It could be a specific story, a whole history or a certain personality trait. That’s the interesting thing about being interesting – it’s never going to be the same quality across the board. This exercise takes a look at the question “What makes a person interesting?” and explores it in a theatrical context. After your students question someone about their most interesting person, they’re going to dramatize that person in a monologue. The more students can hone in on the specifics of “being interesting”, the easier it will be for them to write interesting characters. Exercise1. First, pick a person. The only rule is that it can’t be a classmate or someone your own age. Consider talking to a parent, a relative, a teacher, your boss, a neighbour, a family friend. 2. Ask that person the question: ‘Who is the most interesting person you know?’ The answer could be someone they know currently, or someone they knew growing up. 3. Get the basic details on this person: What do they look like? What did they sound like? The more you know, the more you’ll be able to visualize this person. 4. Get the details on what makes this person interesting: is there a specific story related to this person? Is it their everyday behaviour? Make sure you write it down. 5. Based on what you know, write a monologue in the voice of this person. 1. Decide who they’re talking to. 2. Decide where they are when they give their monologue. 3. Decide the one thing they want to share with the person they’re talking to. 4. Decide their emotional state. 6. Once the monologues are complete, divide students into small groups and have them read the monologues aloud. 7. Afterward, have students write a reflection on the exercise. What was it like to learn about an “interesting person?” Do you think the person was interesting? Why or why not? What was it like to try and write a monologue for this person? What was it like to hear other monologues on this topic? Which one did you like best and why? Bonus After everyone writes their monologue, have them prepare a presentation. They have to perform their monologue, in character with full costume and props.

Whether you’re performing your first role or your fortieth, Theatrefolk has a great roundup of guides to help you prepare for your role, to analyze the script from a few different angles, and to really make the most of the part you’ve earned! We start with basic foundations of script analysis, and work through activities to help develop your character, understand their relationships, and fill in the gaps. 5 Steps to Building a Foundation• Script analysis gives you a foundation to build on for character development. Follow this guide and you can begin rehearsal with confidence, ready to take on whatever challenge comes your way. Get familiar with your character, get familiar with the text. It’s time to explore. Exploring Your Script with Action Words• In this guide we’re going to look at exploring your script through action words (“verbs” for you English majors.) The idea is to find the “action” in your dialogue. We’re talking about visualizing action, injecting movement and life into your performance. Try a Relationship Activity• This activity will help you uncover a great amount of detail on your character and their relationship with the other characters in the play. Six Ways to Fill the Gaps• The first few Script Analysis guides focused on finding the information that the playwright has left for you in the script. But sometimes there is little to no information about your character. This when you, as an actor, really get to stretch your creative muscles. This guide provides tools and techniques to fill in the gaps about your character. Each guide comes with a free PDF download for easy reference – or to use in your classroom!

Character analysis can be done in many forms: • You can analyze a character in a play you’re studying. • You can analyze a character you’re playing in a production. • You can analyze a character in a play you’re writing. This Character Analysis Exercise will work in all three circumstances: Analyze a character students are studying, playing, or writing about! Have students do this exercise once they’ve either read the play at least once or they’ve written a first draft and are ready to dive deeper into character development. The goal of the exercise is for students to learn about a character through the eyes of others. Instruction1. Entry Prompt • Students enter and respond to the prompt in drama journals or on a separate piece of paper. • Describe yourself (both your public self and your private self) using the five senses. What is your look, sound, texture/feel, smell? Have them identify a specific food for taste. 2. Activity: Mirror Monologue • This is a nonverbal exercise. It is suggested that everyone goes at the same time, so that no one is singled out. You can have students facing in different directions so that they are in their own space and not looking at others or being looked at. • Say to students, Imagine you are standing in front of a mirror. When do you look in the mirror? What do you do when you look in the mirror? The goal is to get students to start a simple action. You may want to give some suggestions: Do you brush your teeth? Do you check what your clothes look like? Do you wash your face? Do you wear contacts? What are you doing? • Say to students: How do you see yourself? When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Do you see yourself as confident? Make a pose or gesture that shows that. Do you see yourself as insecure? Make a pose or gesture that shows that. • Say to students: How do you think others see you? When others look at you, what do they see? Make a pose or gesture that shows how others see you. • Bring students back to neutral, and change the tone of the moment with an upbeat game or improv. • Afterward, discuss the exercise. What was their experience? 3. Character Analysis • In the same way that we can reflect on how we see ourselves and how others see us, we can do with characters. What can we learn about a character through the eyes of others? • The first step is for everyone to choose the character they’re going to analyze. Students who are doing this as a rehearsal exercise should choose their own character. • Divide students into small groups. Have each person in the group share their opinion of their chosen character. What do they think of them? Why did they choose them? What do they like about this character? What don’t they like about this character? • Now that students have had a chance to verbalize their thoughts, have them write them down. Give students the Character Worksheet (download below) and have them record their thoughts on their chosen character. • Next, students will choose a second character. They will now go through the script and identify everything this second character says about the chosen character. • • What words do they use? • What attitude is behind the words? • What is the emotional context behind the words? • Have your students highlight in their script how the second character responds to the chosen character. Again, have them focus on the words they use, the attitude behind the words, and the emotional context of those words. • Bring the students back into groups. Have each person share what they’ve learned about their character from analyzing the second character. Are they surprised? How does this second character see their character? • Now that students have had a chance to verbalize their thoughts, have them write them down. On the Character Worksheet students will answer the question, “How does this second character see your character?” They are to use the text to support their answers. • Bring everyone together and discuss the exercise.

Have you ever listened to a singer who hits all the right notes but there’s still something missing? When you sing, especially in a musical, there are necessary elements. Having proper technique. Being able to breathe is immensely important. But the best singer is not always the one with the most polished technique. The best musical theatre performer is the one who finds the heart of the song. The heart of the character. The one who makes the song mean something. Makes it personal. Audiences connect to heart. They connect to personal stories. And if the person singing does this, that’s far more meaningful than a note held till next Tuesday. It’s not just about the notes. So, how do singers connect to the song beyond the notes? Ask questions!Analyze what you’re singing. Ask and answer questions about the character and the song. The more you know, the more you can draw from, the more depth you can create. A held note becomes an emotional connection if you can relate it directly back to the character. Start with these questions: Where is the character physically?And this doesn’t necessarily mean are they in the hall or the kitchen. This could mean: • Where are they in their life? • Where are they in relation to the other characters? • Where are they right before they open their mouths to sing this song? Example: ‘No One is Alone’ from Into the Woods. The baker has just lost his wife and must deal with raising his child alone. In ‘Close Every Door’ from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat Joseph has just been thrown into prison, with no hope of getting out. Where is the character emotionally?Musicals happen because they take characters to a point where they can’t do anything else but sing. So what is the emotional ‘why’ for the character that they have to break out into song? Example: ‘I Feel Pretty’ from West Side Story. Maria has no choice but to burst out in song because she’s so happy and so in love. And even in something as frothy as “You Can’t Stop the Beat’ from Hairspray each character has an emotional standpoint. Also ask yourself this: Does the character change their physical and emotional state by the end of the song? What does the character want?Is your character they trying to make a decision? Do they want to share their feelings about another character? Do they want happiness? A new life? Their old life back? This goes hand in hand with knowing the physical and emotional state of the character. Knowing what the character wants and communicating that in the song is the easiest way to connect to an audience. Example: After a boy runs away from her, Elphaba in Wicked sings ‘I’m not that Girl’ (as in the girl that boys like) but what she wants more than anything is to BE that girl. In ‘I could have danced all night’ from My Fair Lady Eliza wants her spectacular night (and her new turn in life) to go on and on and on. In ‘Music of the Night’ The Phantom (The Phantom of the Opera) wants Christine to love his music and love him. It’s so important to sing the want in the song, not just the notes that make up the song. What’s going on in the song?What is the story of the song? Make sure you understand what’s being said. What’s happening in the story up to this point. Sometimes musical numbers rely on metaphor and it’s easy to catch someone who is only spouting words without any thought behind them. Can you write a one line description of the song? Who is the character singing to?Is it a specific person? Is it to the audience? If it’s the audience that’s fine, but think about what the character is trying to communicate to the audience, or get the audience to do. Be specific, and ‘no one’ is not an answer. Example: When Annie sings ‘Tomorrow’ she is singing to her dog, but also to herself. She is convincing herself and the audience not to give up, there’s always tomorrow. Song Analysis‘Somewhere That’s Green’ from Little Shop of Horrors is a song that has some very funny lyrics and traditionally Audrey has a very funny voice so it’s easy to get trapped into focusing on those aspects when singing the song. It’s easy to play Audrey simply as a dope. But that’s pretty boring for you, and certainly boring for the audience. There is a lot of character in the song, and more importantly a lot of heart. There is a lot for a singer to connect to, and in turn bring that connection to the audience. At this point in the musical, we know Audrey works at Mushnik’s Skid Row flower shop and have met her abusive motorcycle riding dentist boyfriend Oren. Right before the song, Audrey reveals she might have feelings for the main character Seymour. Seymour is the completely opposite of her boyfriend. Click here to read the lyrics to the song. Based on what you read how would you answer the following questions? • Where is the character physically? • Where is the character emotionally? • Does the character change their physical or emotional state? • What does the character want? • What’s going on in the song? • Who are you singing to? Where is the character physically?: Audrey lives in the city, in ‘Skid Row.’ She is as far away from somewhere that’s green as humanly possible. She is in the middle of an abusive relationship (black eye, arm in a cast) She reveals that she likes Seymour and dreams about being with him in an ideal place. She’s never shared these thoughts before. Where is the character emotionally? Audrey is unhappy but doesn’t think she deserves better. (She sings about this in ‘Suddenly Seymour’ – Nobody ever treated me kindly, daddy left early, mama was poor. I’d meet a man and I’d follow him blindly…) coupled with this is a belief of how happy she’d be in her dream. Pure unhappiness and pure happiness all at the same time, that’s what makes her sing. Does the character change their physical and emotional state? Yes. She goes from the reality of her situation, to the dream of the white picket fence and then back to the reality of her situation. At this point in her journey, she can’t believe that she’ll ever escape. What does the character want? Audrey wants the white picket fence. She wants the suburb, the green grass, the TV dinner, and most importantly, the guy who will treat her right. What’s going on in the song? Audrey describes her ideal life. It highly contrasts her real life. Who is the character singing to? Crystal, Ronnette and Chiffon are in the moment with Audrey as are her audience. Audrey is also singing to herself. She needs to convince herself to keep up this dream of hers, despite her reality. Do this exercise with your students

“Shakespeare is too hard… Shakespeare is too old… I can’t relate to Shakespeare….” It’s one thing to tell students that they should study Shakespeare, it’s another thing to get them engaged in the plays. The language barrier alone is a tough barrier to overcome. Try this Pre-Study exercise with your students. It’s for Romeo and Juliet, but you could follow the template for any Shakespeare work. Before you even say the word “Shakespeare” give students the I would never… exercise. I would never….1. Give students the I would never…. Action Sheet. Download the sheet at the end of this post. 2. Ask students to rank the actions from worst to least with #1 being the worst. Some of the actions are: • Kill someone purposefully • Love someone who doesn’t love me back • disobey my parents • crash a party So if “kill someone purposefully” is something a student would absolutely never do, (one would hope!) it’s the worst action and therefore is #1. 1. After students rank the actions on their own, divide them into groups and have them discuss their answers. Where do they agree? Where do they disagree? Why might they disagree? I did this exercise with a class in which many of the students were Muslim. For them disobeying their parents ranked 1 or 2. This astonished the Caucasian students and made for a great discussion 4. Bring the class together to discuss the actions. Ask students what they would think of a play that has every one of these actions in it. Have them brainstorm what type of play it would be, who the characters would be, where and when it would take place 5. End the discussion by telling students that the play in which all of these actions occur is a Shakespeare. See if anyone can guess the play 6. If they don’t get Romeo and Juliet, reveal this to students. Ask students how they view Shakespeare based on these actions? 7. Have students write a reflection about the exercise and their view of Shakespeare after learning about the actions that take place in one of his plays.

Characters come alive in the smallest details: a favourite food, a favourite type of music, a fear of spiders, an allergy to plums, a scar from a fall at two years of age, a love of reality television. These details make a character three dimensional and human. They make a character specific. The details may seem mundane, but think about what defines you as a person. Is it the grand events in your life, or the day to day? Small details add a layered richness beyond the world of the story. Sometimes you’ll find a place to work them into your writing, and sometimes you won’t. But coming up with details have to be a part of your character development process when working on a play. The more you know about your characters, the deeper the well you have to draw from, the more specifically you can write for them. This character development exercise will allow you to create the details of the small for your characters. What’s In Your Bag?Empty out the bag you use most regularly, whatever you take with you when you go out. If you don’t carry a bag, think about how you carry what’s necessary – what’s in your pockets? First, look at the bag itself. • Write a short paragraph about the bag. Why did you choose it? How long have you had it? Do you need a new one? Secondly take out all the items and lay them out on a table. Write down everything in your bag and then analyze the items as a group: • What’s your opinion on the amount of things you carry every day? • Is everything functional in your bag? • Is there anything in your bag that shouldn’t be there? • Do you carry anything that comes with a memory or an emotional attachment? Lastly, analyze three items in your bag. • Why do you carry this item? • What purpose does it hold in your life? • Is there any emotional feeling or memory attached to this item? Why or why not? Once you’ve answered all the questions, look back at what you’ve written. What does your bag say about you? Are you surprised by any of your answers? Why or why not? Apply this exercise to a character Now, apply the same process to the main character. It could be a character in a play you’re studying, or a character in a play you’re writing. 1. Give this character a bag. • Describe the bag. What does the bag look like? How old is it? • Why does the character carry this bag? Is this character the type of person who can’t leave the house without a huge bag? • If the character definitely wouldn’t carry a bag, create the reason why. 2. Once you’ve established the bag itself, make a point for list of the items in the bag. • What does this character carry on a regular basis? • Is there anything job related in the bag? • Based on what you know of the character, what items are expected? • Think of one unexpected item that would be in the bag. 3. Take three items and analyze them. • What does the item say about the character? • Why is it in the bag? • Is it functional for the character? Why or why not? • Does it have an emotion or a memory attached to it? 4. Look at what you’ve written. What does this bag tell you about this character? Bonus If you want to go further, write a monologue or scene that takes place in the world of your story involving this character and their bag. Exploring the world of the small in your characters is always going to give you a wealth of material to work with.