"James Thomas has written a great resource book for anyone creating theatre. The information is detailed, clear, and easily applicable to text analysis for actors, directors, and designers." --Barbara Anger, Ithaca College "This book has been overwhelmingly effective in meeting the goals I set for this course."---Perry Crafton, West Texas A&M University

James Thomas, Professor of Theatre and Head of the PhD for Scholar-Directors at Wayne State University is a graduate of St. Ambrose College (BA), Villanova University (MA), and the University of Texas at Austin (PhD). Thomas has also taught theatre at Mount Holyoke College, Marquette University and Florida State University, where he was Associate Dean of the School of Theatre. His recent directing credits include "Six Characters in Search of an Author" and "Cymbeline" at Detroit's Hilberry Theatre, and "Ah, Wilderness!" and "The Skin of our Teeth" at the Bonstelle Theatre. His research has been published in "Theatre Journal, Theatre Topics, " and "Contemporary Theatre Review." He is also translator of the books of Russian director Anatoly Efros and Director of Wayne State University s Study Abroad Program with the Moscow Art Theatre School. He is currently at work on a directing textbook featuring Stanislavsky s Method of Active Analysis.

Preface Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1: Action Analysis Chapter 2: Given Circumstances Chapter 3: Background Story Chapter 4: External and Internal Action Chapter 5: Progressions and Structure Chapter 6: Character Chapter 7: Idea Chapter 8: Dialogue Chapter 9: Tempo, Rhythm, and Mood Chapter 10: The Style of the Play Chapter 11: Postmodernism: A Case Study A Final Word Appendix A: Further Questions for Script Analysis Appendix B: Effective Analysis of the Mise-en-Scene Bibliography Index