Teaching Play Analysis: How a Key Dramaturgical Skill Can Foster Critical Approaches

This article describes the genesis and first two years of a new introductory theatre course offered for undergraduates, designed by the author. The course is offered as a model for teaching students to develop their own methods of play analysis based on techniques used by production dramaturgs. Dramaturgy, as a critical practice that interweaves scholarship and theatrical practice, provides basic principles at work in the new course. Students learn to analyze a play's structure using a variety of techniques. The article outlines the syllabus and gives specific examples of class discussion topics, assignments, and activities.