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Determining the Goals of the Play

Module 5.1

An effective way to determine the goals of a play and the motivations for individual characters is to divide the play into the following components:

That portion of the play that exposes the following necessary information to the audience:

1. Exposition

Locales & Time (the specific place and time of each scene)

Character (the names, types, and relationships of the characters)

1. Exposition

Antecedent events ( What important action has occurred before the opening of the curtain)

Form & Type (Comedy? Drama? Tragedy? Melodrama? Romance? Epic? Mystery? Satire? Burlesque Farce? Fantasy? Absurd? Social Drama? High comedy of manners? Etc.)

1. Exposition

Specific incident (The earliest incident in the play that arouses strong audience interest and exposes the basic conflict)

Protagonist (The person about whom the play is written)

Antagonist (The person or force opposing the protagonist)

2. Point of Attack

The high point of suspense when a decision must be made – the turning point

3. Crisis

The moment of highest interest for the audience – the final answer to the basic conflict. In a one-act play the crisis and climax are often the same

4. Climax

Action which occurs between the climax and the final curtain.

5. Resolution or Falling Action

Personal reaction to the theme, mood, style, dialogue, character development, plot construction, entertainment value, and literary value.

6. Evaluation

The theme is generally considered to be the idea that is basic to the thought of the play – is the central idea being presented by the author. Usually the theme can be summarized in a sentence; for instance, “The theme of Agamemnon is that pride, taken to excess, leads to destruction.”

Theme