ABSTRACT
Defining the core action of a production may be the director's most influential decision, matched only by choosing the ensemble and building an atmosphere of trust among its members. The core action of a play is the director's sense of what drives the play: a combination of the actors' actions, the playwright's intentions, the space, the language, rhythm, and tempo, to name but a few of the many elements of a play in production. Story is the sum of all narrative facts that occur or are alluded to in the text. Story includes not only all the events that occur on stage, but also all the events that occur offstage, as well as past events discussed or implied during the play. Plot is the playwright's selection and arrangement of events for portrayal on stage. Story is chronological, whereas plot follows the playwright's logic for the drama: how he or she wishes to see events unfold.
