1. Discuss your gut response to the play. You can start with whether you liked it or not, but remember that tells us more about you than the play. Move quickly to what stood out to you, what themes you felt were percolating, what surprised you, etc.
Write your answer here (3-4 sentences):
2. Based on what we learned in The Basics and Styles Lecture Videos, select ONE genre and ONE style that best fit the play. (No need to explain you can debate in the comments!)
a. Genre choose from Tragedy, Drama, Melodrama, Comedy, or Tragicomedy:
b. Style choose from Classicism, Romanticism, Surrealism, Expressionism, Absurdism, Realism, Selective Realism, or Theatricalism:
Plot Analysis
3. Write out the Conflict Statement for the play. Use the exact phrasing The conflict is between [protagonist] who wants [super-objective] and [antagonist] who wants [super-objective].
Remember: The protagonist must be an actual character, but the antagonist can be an idea or another side of the protagonist. Just be sure that the what the protagonist and antagonist want are in opposition!
Write your answer here (use phrasing above):
4. Write 2-3 phrases about what we learn in the Exposition about the Status Quo at the start of the play.
Write your answer here (2-3 sentences):
NOTE: The rest of the questions are about the parts of the Plot Analysis/Freytag structure discussed in the Plot Analysis Lecture Video. Remember that these must be in chronological order! (So, Inciting Incident happens early, Turning Point about halfway, Point of No Return about of the way/toward the end, and Climax and Denouement *very* close to the end!)
5. Pinpoint the exact quote or staging moment that is the Inciting Incident.
Remember: The protagonist must be there and the audience must ask themselves the CDQ.
a. What happened at this moment (1-2 sentences):
b. Direct quote and/or stage direction from the play (maximum 3 lines):
6. Write out the Central Dramatic Question.
Remember: this is the question that gets answered at the Climax, so it needs to be close-ended, usually a yes/no question that has to do with the conflict statement.
Write your answer here (1 simple, close-ended question):
7. Pinpoint the exact quote or staging moment that is the Turning Point.
Remember: This is usually about halfway through or a bit later. The protagonist must be there its usually when something significant happens that forces them to change their strategy.
a. What happened at this moment (1-2 sentences):
b. Direct quote and/or stage direction from the play (maximum 3 lines):
8. Pinpoint the exact quote or staging moment that is the Point of No Return.
Remember: This is also called the Oh Shit Moment. AKA the straw that breaks the camels back.
a. What happened at this moment (1-2 sentences):
b. Direct quote and/or stage direction from the play (maximum 3 lines):
9. Pinpoint the exact quote or staging moment that is the Climax.
Remember: The protagonist must be there because this is when the protagonist and antagonist collide and/or face off. It is also where the CDQ gets answered.
a. What happened at this moment (1-2 sentences):
b. Direct quote and/or stage direction from the play (maximum 3 lines):
10. Rewrite the Central Dramatic Question and the answer to it.
a. Re-write the (Actual) Central Dramatic Question here (same as in #5!):
b. Write the answer to that question here (very simple usually just yes or no):
11. Discuss the Denouement. Is there one? Fill out ONE of the below
a. If there was a Denouement, what happened during it (and if there was a line that would sum it up, copy it here, 2-3 sentences):
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