How To See A Play

Question 1

The basics of how to see a play… (5 things)

Answer 1

1. Arrive 15-30 minutes BEFORE start of show
2. Don’t forget your tickets!
3. Theater is a social event, so dress accordingly
4. TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES!!!
5. During the show, there is an unwritten agreement between actors and audience (You can respond or react however you feel like)

Question 2

Before the play you should… (preliminary work)

Answer 2

Familiarize yourself with:
· the play or musical itself (have a general idea about what you are seeing)
· The program or playbill you receive when you go to your seat
· The physical surrounding within the theater

Question 3

During the play you should take in…

Answer 3

· The visual and aural spectacle: lighting, sound/music, costumes, acting
· Language of the play: style of dialogue, dialect

Question 4

Performance Analysis

Answer 4

· How the story and characters are intertwined
· Idea - specific choices made by the actors and designers (An actor’s appearance, A looming set piece or stark set design)

Question 5

Understanding Specific Performances (There are 3 KINDS OF Given Circumstances)

Answer 5

Previous Action, Environmental Facts, and Polar Attitudes

Question 6

Define given circumstances

Answer 6

Everything that delineates or defines the special world of the play

Question 7

Define Previous Action (also known as EXPOSITION)

Answer 7

Any action mentioned in the play’s dialogue that reveals any incident or action that took place BEFORE the current action of the
play.

Question 8

Define Environmental Facts (There are 6 types…)

Answer 8

1. Geographical Location
2. Time - Date, year, season, time of day
3. Economical Environment
4. Social Environment
5. Political Environment
6. Religious Environment

Question 9

Define Polar Attitudes

Answer 9

Beliefs held by a character that are in direct opposition to the world in which they live

Question 10

This opposition creates…

Answer 10

CONFLICT

Question 11

Conflict creates…

Answer 11

DRAMATIC ACTION

Question 12

Conventions vs. Common Sense

Answer 12

An agreement between artist and audience to do things a certain way for the good of all
- Time can pass between acts of a play
- In scenic design – when a setting is in a room of a house, a door in that house leads to another part of the house and not backstage.
- Musicals – actors sing their emotions