Active Analysis Continued

Based on Bella Merlin's 'The Complete Stanislavsky Toolkit'

READ THE SCENE
Simply read the scene aloud with your scene partner(s). The first time you do this, take a neutral stance and allow your first instincts to read it as you wish. There is no right or wrong interpretation – in fact, don’t try to interpret it at all – just read it and listen to what comes out naturally.

DISCUSS THE SCENE
What might be happening in the scene? What might the scene be about? What clues are in the text that might give way to subtext and action?

IMPROVISE THE SCENE (without further reference to the text)
Physically work the scene through improvisation. This step will be repeated several times, incorporating different aspects. Be sure to do only one improvisation for each cycle, so that you can continually incorporate the text and discussion steps, making each improvisation richer and more dynamic.

DISCUSS THE IMPROVISATION
What was learned during the improvisation? How did being active in discovery change or enforce an idea about the character and situation? What worked? What didn’t?

COMPARE WITH THE TEXT
How does whatever happened in the improvisation compare to the actual words and incidents of the text?