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OUR CLASSES
SCRIPT ANALYSIS
Exceptional acting begins long before rehearsal.
One of the defining characteristics of a professional actor is the ability to prepare independently. Before stepping into a rehearsal room, the actor must know how to read a script deeply, ask intelligent questions, make specific choices, and develop a clear process for bringing a character to life.
At Maggie Flanigan Studio, Script Analysis teaches actors how to do that work. More than simply analyzing a play, students develop a practical, repeatable methodology for preparing theatre, film, and television scripts with clarity, specificity, and imagination.
Learning to Read Like an Actor
Every script contains a remarkable amount of information. The actor's responsibility is learning how to uncover it.
Working with texts ranging from Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Ibsen to racially diverse American realists, contemporary playwrights, and new works, students learn how to approach dramatic literature as both artists and storytellers.
Rather than searching for quick interpretations, actors develop the ability to read closely, think critically, and allow the script itself to guide their creative process.
A script is not simply dialogue. It is a blueprint for human behavior.
Preparing for Rehearsal
Many young actors are told to "break down the script" without ever being taught how. Script Analysis provides a detailed process for approaching the first rehearsal with confidence and preparation.
Students learn how to:
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Break scenes into playable beats
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Identify actions, objectives, and obstacles
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Analyze relationships and circumstances
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Recognize dramatic structure
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Build specific, actable choices
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Prepare characters for theatre, film, and television
The emphasis is always on developing choices that emerge from a careful reading of the text rather than personal assumptions or generalized interpretation.
Preparation becomes both disciplined and creative.
Understanding the Story
Actors do not perform in isolation. Every character exists within the larger architecture of the story.
Script Analysis helps students understand how their individual work contributes to the vision of the playwright, director, and production as a whole. Through this broader perspective, actors become stronger collaborators and more thoughtful creative partners.
Students develop the confidence to engage intelligently in rehearsal conversations, communicate clearly with directors, and contribute meaningfully throughout the creative process.
From Classical Text to New Plays
Throughout the semester, students repeatedly prepare assigned characters as though they are walking into their first rehearsal or first day on set.
As the course progresses, actors expand their analytical process to include:
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Period and historical research
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Non-naturalistic and experimental texts
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Contemporary dramatic literature
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New play development
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Workshop processes
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Collaborating with living playwrights
Students learn how to ask thoughtful questions, adapt to evolving scripts, and approach unfinished material with imagination, flexibility, and professionalism.
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
“Louisa has an unmatched ability to help you nurture your “hunting” skills when you are working with a script. Script Analysis Class gives you the tools you need to form your personal process from the first read of a new script all the way through the rehearsal process.”
Logan Ricket
“I now use what I learned in the script analysis class whenever I get a new script, monologue, or sides, and these skills always lead me to discoveries and bring a greater depth to the story and the character I am attempting to portray.”
Alexis Ebers
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Developing the Professional Actor
Script Analysis is designed to work alongside Acting II, giving students the opportunity to immediately apply the principles of character development and script interpretation within their scene work.
The class also provides valuable insight into the way directors, playwrights, and dramaturgs approach dramatic storytelling, allowing actors to enter rehearsal with greater confidence, stronger preparation, and a deeper understanding of the collaborative process.
Preparation is not separate from acting. Preparation is acting.
Script Analysis develops the disciplined habits that allow actors to create truthful, specific, and compelling work throughout a professional career.
Script Analysis is an essential part of Maggie Flanigan Studio's conservatory curriculum and is strongly recommended alongside Acting II.
JESSICA HOLT
Jessica Holt received her MFA in Directing from the Yale School of Drama, and holds an MA in Performance Studies from UC Berkeley. She has trained with Liz Diamond, Ron Van Lieu, Robert Woodruff, Peter Francis James, Christopher Bayes, Walton Wilson, Karin Coonrod, May Adrales, David Chambers, Jane Nichols, Jeanie O’Hare, Richard Seyd, and Paula Vogel, as well as many other artists.
SCRIPT ANALYSIS
Exceptional acting begins long before rehearsal.
ACTING STUDIO NEW YORK NY
The Maggie Flanigan Studio is the leading acting studio in New York City where professional actors train for long careers. The acting programs at the drama school are based on the Meisner Technique and the work of Sanford Meisner. The two year acting program includes acting classes, movement classes, voice and speech for actors, commercial acting classes, on camera classes, cold reading, monologue, playwriting, script analysis and the Meisner Summer Intensive.
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