Performing and Designing from a Script

Bringing a script to life

When you perform from a script, the words are already written by a playwright, and your job is to bring them to life for an audience. This is different from devising, where a group makes its own piece from scratch. Working from a script means reading it closely, understanding the story and the characters, noticing the stage directions, and finding the subtext, the meaning that sits beneath the lines. Then, through rehearsal, you decide how to move and speak, and how the set, costume, lighting and sound can support the play. This module walks through interpreting a script, the rehearsal process, the vocal and physical skills a performer uses, and how every choice should serve what the writer intended rather than simply showing off.

Script performance words

Learn these five terms before you rehearse a scripted scene.

Match each performance skill to what it controls

From a script against devising

Working from a script is not the same as devising. Know how they differ.

What is the actor showing?

A character says the words I am fine, but the actor plays the moment so the audience can see the character is really upset. What is the actor showing?

• The subtext
• The stage directions
• The blocking
• The interval

Serve the play, not yourself

Every choice a performer or designer makes should have a reason that comes from the text. It is tempting to add a big gesture, a loud voice or a striking set just because it looks impressive, but a choice that does not fit the scene pulls the audience away from the story. The strongest work asks a simple question of each decision: does this help the audience understand what the writer intended and what the character feels? A quiet, still moment can be far more powerful than a grand one if that is what the scene needs. So read the script for its meaning first, then choose the vocal, physical and design ideas that carry that meaning, and be ready to explain why each one is there.

Pick the true facts about scripted work

Select every statement about performing from a script that is true.

• A script gives the lines and the stage directions
• Subtext is the meaning beneath the lines
• Vocal and physical skills bring a character to life
• Stage directions should always be ignored
• A good choice is one that looks impressive but means nothing

Order the rehearsal process

Put the stages of rehearsing a scripted scene in a sensible order.

• Read the script and understand the story
• Work out your character and their subtext
• Block the moves around the stage
• Learn the lines and refine the performance
• Perform for an audience

Complete the script facts

The written text of a play is the _____. The notes from the writer on movement and setting are the stage _____. The meaning beneath the lines is the _____. Planning where actors move on the stage is _____.

A musician reading from a score

Think of a musician handed the written music for a piece they have never played. The marks on the page tell them which notes to play, but two musicians can read the very same page and make it sound completely different: one gentle and sad, another bright and urgent. The page sets the notes; the player brings the feeling. A written play works in just the same way. Two actors can be given the identical lines and yet create two very different characters, because the words on the page are only the starting point. The skill is in how you say them, how you move, and what you let the audience sense beneath the surface. The text is the map, and the performance is the journey you make across it.

Tap the vocal skills

Tap every item below that is a vocal skill, not a physical one.

• projection
• pace
• tone of voice
• a hand gesture

The scripted drama run

Answer each one correctly to keep your lives. Choose the best answer.

Make the performance choice

Read each situation and choose the best answer.

• A stage direction says the character sits, but you would rather have them stand. What should you consider first?
• You want the audience to feel that a character is nervous. Which choice helps?
• You are designing the set for a scripted scene. What matters most?

Build a performance point

Choose the word for each gap to complete one accurate point about performing from a script.

Explain how to perform from a script

A friend has to perform a scene from a script and does not know how to prepare. Explain clearly how to perform and design from a script.

• Explain what a script gives you, including the stage directions
• Explain what subtext is and why it matters
• Explain the vocal and physical skills a performer uses
• Explain how the rehearsal process works
• Explain how design choices should serve the play