How a Play Gets Made

Arts & Music · Performing Arts · ages 11-13

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Who picks which actor plays each part?
- The audience
- Casting, led by the director
- The ticket seller
What are the three acts of most scripts?
- Set-up, clash and fix
- Start, start and start
- Songs only, no story
Designers plan the set, costumes, light and sound on purpose.
Circle one: True False
Why does the same hero feel different with a new actor?
- Actors change height only
- New voice and moves
- Scripts rewrite themselves
A scene feels scary though the lines are plain. What may cause it?
- The price of tickets
- The length of the queue
- Dim lamps, dark cloth
Much of what you see on stage was invented in rehearsal, not written in the script.
Circle one: True False
A friend says only actors shape a play. What is your reply?
- Designers, director and rehearsal shape it too
- Actors shape nothing at all
- Plays have no directors
Two schools stage one play. One feels joyful and one feels gloomy. What explains it best?
- Different ticket prices
- Different street names
- Different staging choices by each team

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Casting, led by the director · Casting matches each role to the actor who fits it best.
Set-up, clash and fix · Stories open, collide, then resolve across three acts.
True · Nothing on stage lands by accident.
New voice and moves · Casting shapes the role, so a new actor sends a new feel.
Dim lamps, dark cloth · Look and sound carry messages the words never say.
True · Movement, timing and pauses are built by trying, not by reading.
Designers, director and rehearsal shape it too · Many hands decide what the audience finally sees and hears.
Different staging choices by each team · Design and casting choices repaint the same words.