Read the script DISGRACED by Ayad Akhtar. Paper will be based on this script. Following the guidelines and looking at the example provided for you in the attached files, write a brief paper that has t
- HOW TO WRITE A PLOT SUMMARY
PLOT: the sequence of events, or arrangement and order of scenes in a play.
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The goal of a plot summary is to give readers a basic understanding of what happens in the play, which includes introducing them to characters and essential plot points – that is, the main events of the play. Try to avoid specific details, such as a characters' appearance, unless it plays a pivotal role in advancing the story.
A good plot summary answers basic questions of who, what, where and when and does not necessarily deal with why things happen. A plot summary is a recounting of the major plot points in the order in which they occur in the play.
A synopsis is different from a plot summary. A synopsis tells is something abut the story of the play.
For example, a synopsis of American Buffalo might read like this, taken from the Seattle Repertory Theatre website:
“During one long day in a run–down junk shop, three men of great ambition and low morals plan a heist of a customer's valuable coin collection. When the con goes awry, it’s every man for himself. This fast paced drama is all aggression and testosterone, with characters wielding words like weapons to intimidate, cajole and manipulate each other.”
A plot summary for American Buffalo might start off like this:
American Buffalo, by David Mamet, opens with Don, the owner of a junk shop in Chicago, and Bobby, his young helper, talking about a poker game Don participated in the previous evening. Teach, a middle-aged hustler from the neighborhood, bursts into the shop in a rage over an encounter at a local diner with two female friends, Ruthie and Grace.”
And then it would continue on in that same vein hitting all the major points of the plot: that is, the events that happen onstage.
A plot summary for a play will be unique to that particular play, so there is no word minimum or maximum. Follow the guidelines given here, and look at the example that is posted in Bb under INSTRUCTIONS AND GUIDELINES. Remember to focus on introducing characters, briefly setting the scene and relating major plot points (events), leaving out minor ones.
It is expected that this will be your original work based on your reading of the play. Do not use outside sources.
