Play Handout:

Complete the following after reading your play.

You will also need to research into your play / context / playwright

1. Read the play in its entirety (never read act 1 then have 2 days in between) to
understand its fluidity – MANY TIMES

2. First time, just read it and then note what you remember, notice

3. List making:
a. Go through the play and write down what my character says about other
people
b. What do all the other characters say about my character
c. What does my character say about themselves
d. Cannot add your own opinion – needs to be factual and in quotes. Write the
quote and page number.

4. Then look at your notes after the first reading and see how they differentiate. Your
initial thoughts versus the actual facts of the play.

5. Lists help actors to approach the character without bias

6. Read what happens immediately before and immediately after your monologue –
what has happened just before is really important as we know context. If you don’t
know why you are saying something, you have not dug deep enough into the text.

7. Unit your play – change of intention (character desires), pace, etc.

8. What does my character stand to lose and what do they stand to gain? This is about
stakes!