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Develop a concept
A character’s super-objective is
the need that governs all needs.
What is needed to resolve the
character’s central conflict?
Hodge approach
From Hodge and McLain’s PLAY DIRECTING:
Analysis, Communication & Style, 7th edition
Character is ACTION
Characters are SIMPLE or COMPLEX
Character is revealed in ACTION
Action traits
Functional traits
Superobjective
PLOT
A collection of action points
from beginning to end.
These allow the director to
chart the progress of the
plot in a detailed way.
A common system of
identifying such units is to
describe French scenes.
Divide the play into units
Break down the play into workable units of
action. Sometimes you can find a break where
an entrance or exit occurs, while at other times
it is a change in subject. A one-act play typically
has between 6-15 units, but not always.
Describe the Essential Action
Number the units in the scene or play and give
a nominative phrase as a title for each unit.
The Prologue of Oedipus Rex might be
described with the following—
“Something is rotten in Thebes”
Describe the action
Express the action of each line (speech) by using
the initial of each character followed by a
present tense verb.
For example: In the closet scene of Hamlet, when he
first accuses Ophelia, you might write:
“H threatens O”
Summarize the action
Summarize the action of each unit with a
compound sentence.
Atmosphere
– pace and tempo (speed or rate)
– rhythm (a pattern of tempos)
– atmosphere (mood)
DIALOGUE
STYLES OF DIALOGUE
– Realistic
– Abstract
– Naturalistic
– Formal or informal
– Colloquial
– Dialect
Diction and Grammar
Characters are shaped by the way they speak.
How does language distinguish characters?
SUBTEXT
“Because a play is not readily afforded the luxury of
third person narration like a novel, what a character is
really thinking is often not explicitly stated. Great
playwrights, like Chekhov, are masters of subtext.”
What does subtext tell us?
PLAY DIRECTING
Analysis, Communication and Style
By Francis Hodge and Michael McLain