Comparing Play Scripts to Performance: A Guide to Acting

Understanding the Script

• 🎭 A script is defined as the written version of a drama, play, movie, or TV show.
• 💡 When preparing to perform a script, actors first identify elements that are not meant to be read aloud.

Identifying Non-Verbal Cues

• 🗺️ Setting descriptions, such as "inside a house kitchen day," provide context for the scene but are not spoken by the actor.
• ➡️ Similarly, stage directions, like "She crosses the kitchen to the counter where the saucepan sits," are instructions for movement and action, not dialogue.

Incorporating Stage Directions

• 🗣️ Stage directions inform the delivery of lines, dictating tone (e.g., "loudly") or manner (e.g., "as though she is telling a secret").
• 🚶 They also guide physical actions within the scene, such as moving across a space or interacting with props.

Performance vs. Text

• 🎬 The performance of a script is shaped by the details within the text, even those not spoken aloud.
• 🎭 Heather's performance of "Ode to a Saucepan" demonstrated this by following stage directions for both vocal delivery and physical actions, resulting in a specific portrayal.
• 🚫 Saying every stage direction aloud during a performance would sound silly and disrupt the flow of the scene.