1

How to analyze a script? The professionals method

** Note: the following script analysis process is ideal for when an actor
has difficulty connecting to a script. Sometimes you come across scenes/
scripts that you totally identify with and may not need to complete the
following process. It is entirely up to you.
Ive spent years collecting valuable tips and information from various
casting directors, actors, directors and schools on how to analyze a script.
So here is my method of script analysis which is a combination of them
all. Its very thorough, so if you have doubts about your character and
scene objective after this process then you need to take another look.
This script analysis process helps you make clear choices and stick to
them as well as completely understand your scene objective. Its intense
but will increase your emotional tool box and flexibility.
A huge tip Im a big fan of is ONLY USE PENCIL on your script (no pen). In
case you need to erase a comment and pencil is lighter so doesnt draw
your eye away from your dialogue.
What you need:
your script
pencil
highlighter
notepad
THE FACTS
1. Highlight your dialogue: literally the lines your character speaks only.
Dont highlight other characters dialogue nor the names of a character.

2
This helps you see the amount of dialogue you have at a quick glance. It
also helps you see the other characters dialogue and whats left for
direction.
2. Underline the facts: this literally means indisputable direction or
dialogue. Information that is not questionable. E.g. he wanders out of
the alley. Either he does or he doesnt. Totally indisputable. This step
highlights very quickly what information is left for interpretation. Thats
where the fun begins! You cannot play around with facts. If you do,
youre messing with the writing (tut tut!).
3. The 5 Ws: following on from underlining the facts write on a separate
piece of paper (or the script, whatever you prefer) WHO is in the scene,
WHERE you are (many actors tend to forget to play the where), WHAT you
are doing, and WHEN is it (WHY is totally interpretative, well come to
that later). Again, this is more basic indisputable information. E.g. Ben
and Cherry are standing in an alley having a conversation and it is night
time. Notice I didnt say theyre having a heated conversation as this is
interpretative. This step open doors of what is possible. It could be a cold
night outside a noisy nightclub. This would totally affect your choices.
THE FUN (INTERPRETATION)
4. Decide truth or lie: each line of dialogue needs to be determined
whether you think the character is speaking the truth or telling a lie. You
need to do this for ALL characters in the scene, not just yours. This helps
give you an overall comprehension of whats going on in the scene and
potentially what you think the other characters objective may be.
Whatever you decide can alter scene objectives and obstacles. Basically it
can totally change the dynamic of a scene.

3
5. Interpret: go through your dialogue and re-write it in your own words
(beside the lines on the script). This helps with understanding the subtext and whats not written in the scene (this is the exciting bit). As a
writer myself I always look forward to seeing how actors interpret my
words.
6. Emotions: choose one emotion that best describes what your character
is feeling in the whole scene. Yes their emotions and choices may
change throughout the scene but usually there is always one underlying
emotion that drives us through an entire conversation. Then go through
your dialogue line by line and again choose one emotion that sums up
your characters feelings in that moment. This helps understand miniobjectives (as in the Ivana Chubbuck technique) as we have a goal with
each line.
7. What if: Geoffrey Rush is big on this. Put yourself in your characters
shoes or hat and really imagine what if that happened to me
CHOICES
8. Objective: if youre analyzing an entire script then what is your overall
objective? The one goal that you wish to achieve throughout the whole
story. In other words what is your life goal? Then what is your objective
scene by scene? Each scene objective must contribute to the overall
objective. Choose three objectives and play around with each. Youre
looking for the objective that has the most effect on you. This is your
truth. Remember we are all uniquely individual so your truth may vary
from another actors. This is also the WHY in a scene. Why are you doing/
saying what you are? Probably the most important step.

4
9. Obstacles: identify the obstacles scene by scene. If youre not sure how
to do this then please read my other post on How to identify obstacles?
This is an important step because they raise the stakes of the scene.
10. Go for it: the most popular three words I ever use to direct actors.
Youve done a lot of script analysis so now is the time to really test the
waters. After a performance I ask my actors from a scale of 1 to 10 (10
being the highest risk taking) what would you rate your performance? Be
honest. If its around 5 then you still have plenty of room to raise the
stakes. If you come in at a 9 youve left very little room for the emotional
roller-coaster. However, sometimes a scene calls for high stakes right at
the beginning.
The next direction I would give if I wanted an actor to raise the stakes is to
imagine a gun being held at your head. This is a life and death situation
and you need to find a way or connection to raise the stakes.
Finally, which is usually the most effective, when an actor finishes a scene
I give them very little time to analyze it with their head as this is not
instinctive. I ask the actor to do the complete opposite of what they just
did and go straight back into the scene. Go! This puts an actor on the
spot and encourages them to go with their gut instinct as they have no
time for anything else. Its in this third take that I see miracles happen.
Beautiful performances that give me goose bumps! But to get to this
step its really important for actors to have done their preparation and
know their lines frontwards and backwards.
Dont skip any of the previous steps. They all have validity in helping you
make choices. This script analysis process also increases your flexibility.

5
So when you go to your audition youre as ready as youll ever be for
whatever direction the casting director throws at you. And who knows?
You may introduce a new idea to the director or writer that theyd never
contemplated before. Very exciting!
One more thing
PAGE ZERO
John Jarratt is big on this one and with good reason. If you dont have a
previous scene to the one youre working on that clearly tells you what
your character just did you need to come up with page zero. More
interpretation, yay! What just happened to your character right before
the scene starts? This choice will determine the dynamic you enter the
scene with and drive it from there.
FINISH THE SCENE
Following on from page zero make a clear choice at the end of the scene
too. What happens to your character next? If you decide or are directed
to stay in the scene then make your choice, stick with what youre feeling
and keep acting until you hear cut. IT IS NOT UP TO AN ACTOR TO DECIDE
WHEN TO CUT A SCENE! This may sound simple but Ive seen many
actors finish their scene, fall out of character and say how was that?
Noooo! I was so into that moment and youve just cheated me!! If ever
Ive learnt anything from interviewing many casting directors over the
years its that sometimes they see the most beautiful moment out of the
whole scene right at the end when an actor finishes their dialogue. Stay
in character until you hear cut!

6
Script Breakdown: Script and Scene Analysis
by PETER D MARSHALL
A) Director as Story-Teller
There are many facets of a Directors prep on any film or TV show from
location scouts and creative meetings to casting and scheduling.
But the first, and most important part of your job, is to understand the
script what the story is about; the themes; the story points; the
characters.
A director is a story-teller, and to be a good story-teller, you need to
understand every detail about the story you are telling. Theres an old
expression that says if it doesnt work in the script, it wont work on the
set and boy is that true! Understanding the story requires a lot of work
on your part because you need to rip the script apart to find out what it is
about, what works and what doesnt.
B) Script Structure
Here is the traditional Three Act Structure of any story:
ACT ONE THE SET-UP (Boy Meets Girl)
ACT TWO CONFRONTATION (Boy Loses girl fights to get her back)
ACT THREE RESOLUTION (Boy Gets Girl)
NOTE: There has been a lot of debate lately on script structure how
many acts there are in a script! Because this is not a writing course, (and
every story ALWAYS has a Beginning, Middle and End), I will refer to all
scripts as having the traditional Three Act Structure. Even Television

7
scripts follow the Three Act Structure they are just divided into Act
Breaks because that is where the commercials go.
Here is a general guide to the physical structure of TV scripts:
1) Half-Hour Episodic TV (22-25 pages and Two Acts)
2) One-Hour Episodic TV (50 65 pages and Four Acts)
3) Two Hour TV Movie (100 110 pages and Seven Acts)
Television scripts can also be broken down further by using a Teaser and a
Tag. So a one-hour TV Script could be divided up like this:
a. Teaser
b. Act One
c. Act Two
d. Act Three
e. Act Four
f. Tag
C) Script Analysis
When you first get your script, find a nice quite place and just read it
through once from start to finish. Your first pass is to get an idea of what
the story is about, where it takes place and who the characters are. This is
when you form your first impressions of the story and it is probably the
only time you will ever enjoy the script as a story because from now on
its all work!!
Then, read the script again (and again, and again) and start making
notes and jotting down the answers to the following questions:

8
1) what is the PLOT? (what is the story about)
2) what is the THEME? (what is the message)
3) what is the LOGIC? (does the story make sense)
4) what is the EXPOSITION? (what are the characters doing/thinking)
5) what is the COMPLICATION? (what is the drama in the story)
6) what creates the TENSION? (what will happen next)
7) what is the MAIN QUESTION? (what problem is to be solved)
8) what is the MAIN ACTION? (what event hooks the audience)
9) what is the CAUSE OF THE ACTION? (what happens to the main
character)
10) what is the RESULTING ACTION? (the answer to the main question)
11) what is the CONCLUSION? (how does the story end)
12) who is the PROTAGONIST? (the main character)
13) who is the ANTAGONIST? (could be one or more characters)
14) who is the MOST INTERESTING CHARACTER? (not always the main
character)
15) where does the story TAKE PLACE? (location, time period)
D) Scene Analysis
Once you have an understanding of what the story is about, you then
need to analyze each individual scene in the script.
1) what is the INTENT of the scene? (what is the scene used for
dramatically)
2) what are the PLOT POINTS? (points that move the story forward)
3) what is the CLIMAX of each scene? (what is the turning point)
4) what is the RESOLUTION? (how is the theme resolved)
5) what is the CONCLUSION? (how does the scene end)

9
4) what are the important LINES OF DIALOGUE? (contain story points)
5) which character CONTROLS the scene? (who pushes the story forward)
6) what are the BEATS/UNIT CHANGES? (where does the story change
directions)
E) Other Structural Elements
Here is a partial list of some other elements you need to look for during
your script breakdown:
1) foreshadowing
2) recurring motifs
3) scene transitions
4) counterpoint
5) repetition
6) contrast
7) clarity of information
8) action and stunts
9) comedy scenes
10) special effects (explosions etc)
11) visual effects (CGI, green screen etc)
12) locations
F) In Conclusion
Your script breakdown will be a never-ending process. Each time you read
the script, you find out something different about the story or the
characters.

10
The script will constantly evolve. It will change because of the your
creative notes writer changes actor changes producer changes
network changes location availability and on and on and on
As long as you know what the story is about and where the story is going,
you can adjust to all the changes.

11
The "Basic" Plots in Literature
Example Questions That Can Be Answered Using This FAQ
Ive heard there are only 7 (or 5, 20, 36) basic plots (or themes) in all of
literature. What are they?
People often say that there are only a certain number of basic plots in all
of literature, and that any story is really just a variation on these plots.
Depending on how detailed they want to make a "basic" plot, different
writers have offered a variety of solutions. Here are some of the ones
weve found:
1 Plot | 3 Plots | 7 Plots | 20 Plots | 36 Plots
1 Plot:
Attempts to find the number of basic plots in literature cannot be
resolved any more tightly than to describe a single basic plot. FosterHarris claims that all plots stem from conflict. He describes this in terms
of what the main character feels: "I have an inner conflict of emotions,
feelings.... What, in any case, can I do to resolve the inner problems?" (p.
30-31) This is in accord with the canonical view that the basic elements of
plot revolve around a problem dealt with in sequence: "Exposition Rising Action - Climax - Falling Action - Denouement". (Such description
of plot can be found in many places, including: Holman, C. Hugh and
William Harmon. A Handbook to Literature. 6th ed. New York: Macmillan
Publishing Co, 1992.) Foster-Harris main argument is for 3 Plots (which
are contained within this one), described below.
3 Plots:

12
Foster-Harris. The Basic Patterns of Plot. Norman: University of Oklahoma
Press, 1959. Foster-Harris contends that there are three basic patterns of
plot (p. 66):
"Type A, happy ending"; Foster-Harris argues that the "Type A" pattern
results when the central character (which he calls the "I-nitial" character)
makes a sacrifice (a decision that seems logically "wrong") for the sake of
another.
"Type B, unhappy ending"; this pattern follows when the "I-nitial"
character does what seems logically "right" and thus fails to make the
needed sacrifice.
"Type C, the literary plot, in which, no matter whether we start from the
happy or the unhappy fork, proceeding backwards we arrive inevitably at
the question, where we stop to wail." This pattern requires more
explanation (Foster-Harris devotes a chapter to the literary plot.) In short,
the "literary plot" is one that does not hinge upon decision, but fate; in it,
the critical event takes place at the beginning of the story rather than the
end. What follows from that event is inevitable, often tragedy. (This in fact
coincides with the classical Greek notion of tragedy, which is that such
events are fated and inexorable.)
7 Plots
7 basic plots as remembered from second grade by IPL volunteer
librarian Jessamyn West:
[wo]man vs. nature
[wo]man vs. [wo]man
[wo]man vs. the environment
[wo]man vs. machines/technology

13
[wo]man vs. the supernatural
[wo]man vs. self
[wo]man vs. god/religion
20 Plots:
Tobias, Ronald B. 20 Master Plots. Cincinnati: Writers Digest Books,
1993. (ISBN 0-89879-595-8)
This book proposes twenty basic plots:
Quest
Adventure
Pursuit
Rescue
Escape
Revenge
The Riddle
Rivalry
Underdog
Temptation
Metamorphosis
Transformation
Maturation
Love
Forbidden Love
Sacrifice
Discovery
Wretched Excess
Ascension
Descension.
36 Plots

14
Polti, Georges. The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. trans. Lucille Ray.
Polti claims to be trying to reconstruct the 36 plots that Goethe
alleges someone named [Carlo] Gozzi came up with. (In the following list,
the words in parentheses are our annotations to try to explain some of
the less helpful titles.):
Supplication (in which the Supplicant must beg something from Power in
authority)
Deliverance
Crime Pursued by Vengeance
Vengeance taken for kindred upon kindred
Pursuit
Disaster
Falling Prey to Cruelty of Misfortune
Revolt
Daring Enterprise
Abduction
The Enigma (temptation or a riddle)
Obtaining
Enmity of Kinsmen
Rivalry of Kinsmen
Murderous Adultery
Madness
Fatal Imprudence
Involuntary Crimes of Love (example: discovery that one has married
ones mother, sister, etc.)
Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized
Self-Sacrificing for an Ideal

15
Self-Sacrifice for Kindred
All Sacrificed for Passion
Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones
Rivalry of Superior and Inferior
Adultery
Crimes of Love
Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One
Obstacles to Love
An Enemy Loved
Ambition
Conflict with a God
Mistaken Jealousy
Erroneous Judgement
Remorse
Recovery of a Lost One
Loss of Loved Ones.

16
101 themes
Convention and rebellion
Dangers of ignorance
Darkness and light
Death inevitable or tragedy
Desire to escape
Destruction of beauty
Disillusionment and dreams
Displacement
Empowerment
Emptiness of attaining false dream
Everlasting love
Evils of racism
Facing darkness
Facing reality
Fading beauty
Faith versus doubt
Family blessing or curse
Fate and free will
Fear of failure
Female roles
Fulfillment
Good versus bad
Greed as downfall
Growing up pain or pleasure
Hazards of passing judgment
Heartbreak of betrayal
Heroism real and perceived
Hierarchy in nature
Identity crisis
Illusion of power
Immortality
Individual versus society

17
Inner versus outer strength
Injustice
Isolation
Isolationism - hazards
Knowledge versus ignorance
Loneliness as destructive force
Losing hope
Loss of innocence
Lost honor
Lost love
Love and sacrifice
Man against nature
Manipulation
Materialism as downfall
Motherhood
Names power and significance
Nationalism complications
Nature as beauty
Necessity of work
Oppression of women
Optimism power or folly
Overcoming fear, weakness, vice
Patriotism positive side or complications
Power and corruption
Power of silence
Power of tradition
Power of wealth
Power of words
Pride and downfall
Progress real or illusion
Quest for discovery
Quest for power
Rebirth
Reunion

18
Role of men
Role of Religion virtue or hypocrisy
Role of women
Self inner and outer
Self-awareness
Self-preservation
Self-reliance
Social mobility
Technology in society good or bad
Temporary nature of physical beauty
Temptation and destruction
Totalitarianism
Vanity as downfall
Vulnerability of the meek
Vulnerability of the strong
War glory, necessity, pain, tragedy
Will to survive
Wisdom of experience
Working class struggles
Youth and beauty
Beauty of simplicity
Capitalism effect on the individual
Change of power - necessity
Change versus tradition
Chaos and order
Character destruction, building up
Circle of life
Coming of age
Communication verbal and nonverbal
Companionship as salvation