This clear, concise and practical guide provides actors with a structured and effective method for breaking down and understanding a performance script. It offers a flexible approach that works with plays from any period or genre, with television and film scripts, and even when preparing for your audition. Inside, you'll find the tools you need for every step of the process, from making sense of the whole script, to breaking it down scene by scene, through to detailed line-by-line analysis. There are strategies for exploring character arcs, objectives, beat shifts and subtext, as well as practical exercises and sample scenes from leading playwrights to help you put the concepts into action. Also included are worksheets you can use and reuse on all your future projects. Wherever you are in your acting career, this book is your essential working companion – giving you a method for tackling any script, and providing the foundation to take your performances to the next level. The Compact Guides are pocket-sized introductions for actors and theatremakers, each tackling a key topic in a clear and comprehensive way. Written by industry professionals with extensive hands-on experience of their subject, they provide you with maximum information in minimum time. 'A small but mighty guidebook for actors... easy-to-follow... Wayth's style is clear, engaging and personable, and her questions are thought-provoking and make it easy for actors to develop playable objectives for individual scenes or even individual lines... a step-by-step process laid out as succinctly as in this guide is invaluable' Broadway World'Succinct and readily accessible... A useful compact guide for both teachers and students when approaching and exploring script reading for character development and subsequent performance' Word Matters (Journal of the Society of Teachers of Speech and Drama)'This level of thought and analysis encourages the actor to explore the possible intentions and complexities contained within the writing whilst also giving them the chance to see different options and choices in the playing of it... I particularly enjoyed Wayth's use of different contemporary plays. The selection is considered and engaging, not reliant on treading a well-worn path... The simple ideas and detailed text examples make this a surprisingly useful resource to help any reader unlock a script' Drama Magazine