2024-2025 Undergraduate/Graduate Catalog

TH 253 Script Analysis for the Theatre

The goal of theatre is to tell stories of the human condition, hold a mirror up to society, provoke thought and self-reflection, question the world around us, and develop an audiences’ sense of empathy – all while entertaining. The larger goal of Script Analysis is to look at how we mine the text in order to take the words given to us by a playwright and put them on stage so that they, in turn, have the power to impact an audience in these ways.  

Course Objectives

1. Read and analyze plays from a variety of authors and time periods.

2. Investigate circumstances, facts, actions, themes, characters, and literary devices within a script. 

3. Contemplate and discuss how various analytical discoveries might translate into the design, direction, and performance of a play.

4. Apply research to provide contextual understanding of the play, playwright, time period and social issues.  

5. Develop an overall understanding and practical approach to translating a play from the page to the stage while remaining truthful to the author’s intent. 

6. Apply what is on the page to the stage to:

  • impact an audience and encourage them to take action.
  • provide a lens in which to promote diversity of thought.
  • educate audiences on experiences outside themselves.
  • promote healing, create empathy, and uplift humanity.

Example Course Material and Context

Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen – Issue of marriage equality, women’s rights, societal conventions and expectations

The Flick by Annie Baker – Racism, economic inequalities, sexuality, mental health

August Osage County by Tracy Letts – Mental health, substance abuse, emotional trauma, economic depression

Sweat by Lynn Nottage – Racism, economic inequalities, political oppositions, judicial inequalities

Zoot Suit by Luis Valdez – Racism, economic and judicial inequalities

Kinky Boots by Harvey Fierstein – Gender identity, sexuality, economic inequalities

Credits

3

Prerequisite

None

General Education

  • Study Area I

  • Course meets Equity, Justice, and Inclusion Requirement

Offered

  • Fall and Spring