Gilman Shakespeare Festival 2014
Promptbook Instructions
Please assemble your promptbook in the following order and be prepared to
turn it in on performance day.
a. Cover page
b. Introductory Page
c. Set Design (Elevations and Ground Plan or Description
d. Company Report
e. Prompt Pages
f. Costume Drawings/ Descriptions and Justifications
g. Character Reports (one per actor)
h. Photographs of Key Moments in Tableaux
i. Video of Key Moment in Tableaux
Procedure:
1. At your first rehearsal, your acting company should carefully read through
and study your scene.
a. Circle any unfamiliar words
and define them using the Arden version of the text, C.T. Onions’ A
Shakespeare Glossary, or the notes in your copy of the play.
b. Paraphrase any difficult lines.
2. Decide how you want to stage the scene and then draw the stage set.
a. First do a free form
drawing, and then do scale drawings, both an elevation and a ground plan.
b. For a finishing touch, write a key line from your scene under the set
design.
3. Complete the promptbook pages.
a. You may make cuts in your
scene by crossing out lines, but Shakespeare’s words must appear in their
original sequence without changes in their meaning. In the margin briefly
justify the reasons for your cuts.
b. Make production notes for the way you want the scene to be played. These
notes should include the following information: pauses, tone of voice,
gestures and facial expressions, notes or diagrams of action and movement.
4. Decide how you will costume your players.
a. Provide a drawing or
description of each of your character’s costumes.
b. Provide a justification for selecting them. (If you do the scene in modern
dress or in another time period, explain your reasons.)
5. Each student in your company will complete a character
report for the character that he is portraying explaining his character’s
objectives and motivations in the scene.
6. Each company must turn in a company report
which describes your group’s understanding of the scene and your
interpretation of how it fits into the overall design of the play.
7. Special Extra Credit will be given to those groups that turn in their
promptbooks in electronic form!
8. Special Double Extra Credit will be given to students who include
digital pictures and/or video of key moments in your performance.
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