Drama Production Portfolio: The Real Inspector Hound
Imagine you are a theatre director.

You are tasked with directing The Real Inspector Hound.

As a director, you have to have a clear interpretation of the play, and you must also figure out how to portray your interpretation to the audience through the use of actors, staging and production elements, like sets, costumes, props, and lighting.

This assignment thus asks you to first explain your interpretation of the play in a director’s statement, then asks you to describe how you will stage the play for an audience. The assignment is both interpretive and creative.

Here are the elements you need in your production plan:

1) Director’s Statement
In about two pages, describe your interpretation of the play:
Identify the important themes (remembering the difference between theme and topic). How does the play show this theme?
Explain the mood of the play.
What is the world of the play? If it helps, compare this play to other plays, films, TV shows, or pieces of art.
You do not need to have a formal thesis here, but be sure you state coherently what this play is about. Be sure you explain your interpretation by pointing (with quotes, summary, or description) to moments and features of the play itself.
2) Production plan
In this section, you show what your play will look like. Write about two pages total, covering each of these sub-headings in well structured paragraphs. You do not need to quote the play directly, but you do need to be specific in describing your vision.

Characters
Who are the main two characters? Describe them. What are their main objectives? What conflict is keeping them from reaching their objectives? What is the relationship like between them and with the other characters? Describe the actors will you need to cast in these roles.

Setting
What will the set look like? Realistic or not? What time period? What furniture and props? How will the actors move around the stage?

Key moment
Identify what you believe is the key moment in the play that shows what your production will be like. Summarize what happens at this moment. Explain how you will stage it, and why it shows what your take on this play is.

[Optional – you may include another sub-heading on other production elements: costumes, lighting, any other pieces of the physical world of the play. This is not required, and you would still only be required to write two pages total in the production plan section.]