Introduction to Play Analysis

by Cal Pritner, Scott E. Walters

Fusing a variety of influences, this text takes students through progressively complex levels of play reading in which they: respond to a first reading; gather information from the play (including given circumstances); interpret the characters and relate them to the conflict; and synthesize perceptions that have been revealed through analysis.

Genres: Theatre, Nonfiction, Textbooks

137 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2004

Reviews

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book introduced me to a few new tactics when reading plays (example: reading a play in one sitting so as to ingest it like an audience would), but most of these tactics (example: look up words you don’t know, take notes in margins, do external research) didn’t apply to me as I’ve already been doing most of these things. If I taught a freshman acting class in high school i would use this book, as I assume this book is used mostly in a classroom setting and less for leisurely reading like I used it for.

Also, they said not to read the plays they reference until you finish the book, but I didn’t and half of the book washed over me because I couldn’t reflect on what they were talking about or asking questions in reference to.

[Bridget]

Not going to lie, this book was really annoying haha. I read it for Acting 1 and honestly my least favorite part about doing theatre is having to score scenes/plays and analyze them the way this book asks you too.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and straightforward text on how to analyze and really understand a play. This text was used in a class about analyzing plays for production. It is very easy to read and understand.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of a process.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise breakdown of how to effectively read plays good for anyone working in theatre.