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Hi there! I am Studyfin, your learning buddy. Let's learn how to read and understand a play together!
A play is a story written for actors to perform on a stage. Unlike normal books, a play has a special structure that tells us who is speaking and what they are doing.
Plays are split into big parts called acts, like chapters in a book. Inside each act, we find smaller parts called scenes, which change whenever the location or time changes.
Character tags show who is speaking. Stage directions are words in parentheses or italics that tell the actors how to move, speak, or feel.
Read this short script and identify the four main drama structures used here: ACT I Scene 1: The School Playground SARA (excitedly) I found the missing key! TOM (gasping) Where was it?
- Find the biggest unit of the play. Here, 'ACT I' tells us we are starting the first major part of the drama.
- Look for the location and time setting. 'Scene 1: The School Playground' tells us exactly where the action takes place.
- Identify who is speaking. 'SARA' and 'TOM' are character tags written in capital letters.
- Find the clues that tell the actors how to behave. '(excitedly)' and '(gasping)' are stage directions written in parentheses.
