ASSIGNMENT #4 – PLAY IDEA WORKSHEET & VIEWING & READING OUR TOWN

PART I – COMPLETE THE PLAY IDEA WORKSHEET & UPLOAD TO DROPBOX FOLDER

Play Idea Worksheet is located in the Playwrighting Assignments folder within the ASSIGNMENTS folder.

PART II – READ SCRIPT & WATCH VIDEO OF OUR TOWN & WRITE A RESPONSE PAPER

Guidelines: Comment on plots, characters, theme, language, staging, acting, scenery, costumes, and lighting. 

Plot & Characters: Give a clear overview/synopsis of the plot. Ask and answer the questions, “What Identify the main character by asking and answering the question, “Whose story is it?” After choosing a main character, describe that character and other supporting characters.

Theme: Ask and answer the questions, “What is the play about? What is it saying to the audience?”

Language: How do the characters speak?Do you see/hear a difference from modern, everyday speech? Give examples.

Staging: Note the movement and stillness of people and things on the stage. How are are characters positioned in relation to one another? What stage pictures are created?

Acting: Is the acting contained or broad? Is it realistic or non-realistic? Is it credible? Can you get lost in the story? Is there are discrepancy between the actors and the characters?

Scenery: What are the scenic pieces? Does the scenery change? How much? What shapes, textures, colors are used? How does the scenery interact with the costumes and lighting? How does the scenery help dramatize the story?

Costumes: What costumes clothe the actors? What shapes do they make, what silhouettes? Do characters change costumes throughout the play? What shapes, textures, colors are used? How do the costumes interact with the scenery and lighting? How do the costumes light help dramatize the story?

Lighting: What is the lighting doing? What colors are used? When, if ever, is the light concentrated or broad, bright or dim? What direction does the light come from? How does the light help dramatize the story?

Conventions: What are the “codes of meaning” used by the production to communicate to the audience? Compare the conventions we discovered in Story Theatre and Small House of Uncle Thomas.

Sent you my friend’s work

Carly Kelly

February 23, 2021

Our Town Response

THR 101

“Our Town” is a play about a small town in New Hampshire. In the beginning of the play, the narrator talks about how when we learn about places in history, we learn about the big events only, but not about the people, how they lived their everyday lives, etc… The goal of this play was to give an insight on the people in the small town, their stories, and simply teach others about this town. Other than the narrator of the play, the characters consisted of citizens of the town: Dr. And Mrs. Gibbs and their children George and Rebecca, Mr. And Mrs. Webb and their children Emily and Wally, and some other side characters that help out carry out the narrative. The main character of the play is the narrator, as it is his story to tell about the history of the town, he walks us through the stages of the lives of George Gibbs and Emily Webb, who are a romantic couple in the story. George and Emily are teenagers that know each other from school in the play and end up getting married in the play. They are the most important characters in this play, but it also includes their siblings, their parents, the choir teacher in the town, and citizens of the town. This play says to the audience that although Grovers Corner isn’t a large town, with no remarkable attributes, it still had real people living real lives, and its legacy should live on.

The narrator of the play speaks in a very ominous way, while the parents in this play have very stern tones with their children. George speaks extremely nervously around Emily, and Emily’s voice is very hopeful, timid, and innocent. The actors, though, have voices very dramatized and different from modern/ everyday speech. For example, the men in the play speak as if they are more important/in charge of their wives/children, kind of how it used to be years ago.

The characters are positioned in a way that it is clear they are speaking to each other, but a lot of the times they are turned to the audience and sometimes even break the fourth wall. The stage creates a sort of hybrid between having a relationship with the audience and not breaking that fourth wall.

The acting, in my opinion, is pretty held and realistic. It isn’t very over the top or dramatized, which makes it much more realistic and credible. At points of the play, I got lost in the story, but not the whole time. It was hard to get lost since the play was based on a time so long ago, so I didn’t understand the way they were speaking or the references they were making all the time, like the choir scenes or the talk of agriculture school. The scenes that seemed for familiar though, like the wedding and the date between George and Emily, I got lost in people it was familiar to me. I thought of the actors did a good job of playing their parts, and I didn’t see any discrepancies.

There was little scenery in the play. There were not any backdrops in the play, which would have made the scenes hard to follow if it weren’t for the narrator. Props were present, but not any scenery.

The costumes were very outdated, which made sense because the play was based in the early 1900s. Everybody was dressed nicely, in suits or jackets or long dresses, the women wearing dresses with sinched waists and long wide skirts. The costumes are rarely changed through the play, except when Emily changes into her wedding dress and George into his tux. The costumes helped with the play because it gave the play that 1900s feel.

The lighting was extremely dark throughout the play, which I am guessing was to show how little natural lighting there was in the town, which was expressed in the beginning of the play. There were some spotlights on characters, but centrally the lighting was not very strong.

The conventions in this play were similar to the conventions in the other two plays. For one, there was a narrator explaining what was going on throughout the entire play. The lighting and costumes, like in Small House of Uncle Thomas, really helped deliver the theme of the play. In addition, the acting out of small actions like pouring water, drinking a soda, etc… helped get across what was going on in the play, like in Story Theatre.

“Our Town” Response – Emma Morrison

Plot & Characters:

The major characters of this play are the Narrator, Emily Webb, George Gibbs, Mr. Gibbs, Mrs. Gibbs, Mr. Webb and Mrs. Webb. The play is set in a community named Grover’s Corners and is about the lives of these small-town characters. It opens with the narrator introducing the audience to the setting in the play. Emily Webb is the main character, and the audience watches her important life-events as she goes from a girl to a woman. How she falls in love with George, graduates high school, gets married and tragically dies in childbirth in the third act.

Theme:

The theme of this play is that people tend to take life for granted without appreciation for the small things in life. In the end, we look back at everything we have experienced and realize that we should have lived more in the moment. It is about understanding what parts of life are important and what parts are meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

Language:

There is formality to the way the characters are speaking which is appropriate to the period in which the play takes place. It is different from the modern language and helps to set the more “old-fashioned” tone of the play. It is both proper at times and more casual at other times where some slang is being used.

Staging:

There is no definite scenery in this play and minimal set design. The movement of the characters was also minimal and not a lot of props were used in the play.

Acting:

The actors use pantomime where they interact with imaginary objects and are able to convey to the audience what they are doing. The acting of the characters is fitting to the behavior of people in that time period.

Scenery:

There is no definite scenery in “Our Town” which shifts more of the focus of the audience to the characters themselves. This allows the audience to use their imagination and also makes the play more universal in that in can be performed on many other stages. There are also not a lot of props being used throughout the play which further makes the audience more attentive to what the actors are actually gesturing.

Costumes:

The characters wore costumes that were fitting to the time period in which the play is set which is sometime in the early 20th century. The Stage Manager is formally dressed which is true for the rest of the characters as well. The women in this play wear simple dresses, and all the costumes are neutral in color.

Lighting:

The lighting in the play is soft and blue tones were often used. In certain scenes where some of the characters were more important than others, the light would shift and point to them which helped the audience to concentrate their focus on these characters.

Conventions:

The Stage Manager is narrating the play and interacts with both the audience and characters. He also draws the town with chalk, so the audience understands the layout. The characters would also sometimes speak to the audience. Pantomime is used in this play as well where imaginary objects come to life through the characters acting. This can be seen when Emily helps George with his homework.

Danielle Buoniconti

Plot & Characters: The main character in the play is Emily Webb. She is George Webb’s next-door neighbor. They fall in love, and once they graduate from high school, they get married. Nine years later, Emily sadly dies in childbirth. The play tells Emily’s story and how it tragically ends in the third act.

Theme: The main message of the play is that we live life and fail to appreciate what it has to offer. Humans tend to focus on other things, rather than the more important ones. Characters in the play experience this. They never leave their small town and fail to experience adventure in their lives. Additionally, a theme of the play is small-town life. It is a simple, dull existence, and those who live there love the town, despite this. They are content with what it has to offer, and they choose not to leave it for places such as college. Another theme is home. The characters have a sense of comfort in their town. They do not feel a need to leave it. The circle of life is also a theme in the play. The play encompasses the cycle of life in three acts. It includes childhood, adulthood, love, marriage, and death.

Language: The characters speak with a slight northern accent, since they are from New Hampshire. It is also formal. The characters do not often speak with slang words. The professor, however, used the word, “ain’t.” Although the female characters are very proper and do not use slang words. They annunciate their sounds well. Overall, their language is quite different than modern, everyday speech. Most people today speak in a relaxed, comfortable manner. It is less rigid and strict language. The teenaged characters use phrases such as, “So long,” which modern teens would say, “Bye” or “See ya later.” Additionally, the teenaged girl says to her mother, “It was like silk off a spool.” Modern day teenagers do not use this type of language. They use similes but reference different things.

Staging: The stage is bare and still. There is minimal movement of characters as well. The characters often sit next to each other or stand facing each other.

Acting: The acting is contained and realistic for the time in which the play is set. The behavior of the characters seems suited to the time period (1901).

Scenery: The scenery is quite minimal in the play. There is no curtain. The focus is mainly on the characters. The costumes and lighting align with the scenery in that they are all dark and grey. The backdrop behind the characters is often black, and nothing else can be seen. In fact, the narrator comments on the lack of scenery, when he says, “those who think they have to have scenery.” There are different purposes for the no definite scenery. For example, it is universal, and it can be easily recreated on other stages. The audience is left to use their imagination as to picture what the town looks like. The playwright designed the play in this manner so that an accurate picture of life is portrayed to the audience. There are few props. The playwright is also drawing focus to ordinary things in life with his approach to the scenery. Moreover, the lack of scenery highlights the dullness and simplicity of the town.

Costumes: The narrator wears dress pants, dress shirt, tie, and a vest. He also carries a cane. The female characters wear plain, simple long-sleeved dresses and boots. The mother characters wear aprons as well. The professor wears a suit and bow tie. The attire of the characters in the play is formal. The costumes help dramatize the story by displaying that the people are minimalistic and do not wear expensive, fancy attire.
Lighting: The stage is mainly dark. Lighting is minimal. There is enough light in order to be able to see the character’s faces however. The light that shines on the character’s faces comes from above them. It helps dramatize the story by contributing to the simplicity and basicness of the town.

Conventions: The play begins with a narrator explaining what the play is about and the layout of the town on a chalkboard. He is also the Stage Manager. Pantomime is another convention that is used throughout the play as well. Mrs. Gibbs begins to use it when she enters the kitchen to cook breakfast in the morning. The paper boy as well as the doctor uses this convention. These conventions are also applied in The Golden Goose. Narration is used in The Small House of Uncle Thomas as well.

MelodyVissman

Plot

&

Characters

: Give a clear overview/synopsis of the plot. Ask and answer the

questions, “What Identify the main character by asking and answering the question,

“Whose story is it?” After choosing a main character, describe that character and

other supporting characters.

Plot

First, the play starts off with the with the introduction from the narrator. He introduces the audience to the town and the main characters of the play. We can see what normal everyday life looks like for all of the characters. The mothers cook and clean, children going to school, and husbands going to work. It was traditional families whose children respects the parents very much. This leads us to the rising action of the play. The rising action of the play is when George and Emily start falling in love and going on a date together. This leads to them getting married even though they were both very nervous. Next it comes to the Climax/Turning point. After the couple got married it jumped 13 years ahead and Emily dies during childbirth. Emily wants to be able to relive a happy memory of a day in life while being dead and is trying her hardest to enjoy it. This leads to the falling action of the play. Emily realizes that time moves to fast, and she is just observing. She cannot really connect in the moment, so she decides to return to where she is meant to be. Last the resolution of the play, Emily realizes living humans do not understand what death is like and the narrator closes out the scene by saying tomorrow is a new day and everyone rests at some point.

Characters

· Narrator

· Mr. and Mrs. Gibs (George’s Parents)

· Mr. and Mrs. Webs (Emily’s Parents)

· Emily (

Main Character

)

· George

· Many other characters that add to the play, but are not main characters such as, the milk man, the paper boy, George and Emily’s siblings etc.

Main Character

To me the main character is Emily. Even though people may choose another character I believe Emily is the central character. It revolved around Emily wandering if she is “pretty enough” to attract mean. Then it led to her liking, dating, and marrying George. Then the death and climax revolved around her. Finally, the resolution of her excepting what has happened and wishing she could relive the happy times also surrounded her.

Theme:

1. I believe that this play was about the concept that life is short and life in the moment and apricate the little things in life. To me the play is saying to the audience and portraying to them how living and apricating life is important. Also, it was showing how their normal life is and what is expected.

2. Another theme could be tied into the idea above; Humans are Blind to the importance of life

Language:

The characters speak in a more mannered and old-fashioned tone. For example: when they would say things like “oh papa” or “it’s about dawn and the roosters are about to crow” or “there is the 5:10 train in town.” You can just tell by how they talk and the comments they make that it is more of an old-fashioned language.

Staging: Note the movement and stillness of people and things on the stage. How are

are characters positioned in relation to one another? What stage pictures are

created?

The staging was not still. People were moving around getting everything set up in the very beginning of the play and you could see the people change the scenes when they needed too. As for stage pictures the narrator lays out to the audience the houses, school, diner, outside the house, or the top of a hill at a graveyard.

Acting: Is the acting contained or broad? Is it realistic or non-realistic? Is it credible?

Can you get lost in the story? Is there are discrepancy between the actors and the

characters?

The acting to me was a little bit of both broad and contained. They had to use pantomime for most props however, the gestures were not extremely dramatic. To me the play was realistic and everything that happened in this play could happen in real life. It is very easy to get lost in the story because everything the actors do is very believable and easy for the audience to except. I do not see a discrepancy between the actors and the characters everyone blended and played their parts very well.

Scenery: What are the scenic pieces? Does the scenery change? How much? What

shapes, textures, colors are used? How does the scenery interact with the costumes

and lighting? How does the scenery help dramatize the story?

The scenic pieces were general little things like a table and chairs. Everything else they used in the play was imaginary. For example, doors, sinks, a school, a house. The scenery never really changes too much. They use the narration and the mind to create the scenes. The props, if used, were neutral colors like brown, black, or white. The scenery allows for any type of lighting and for it to almost blend if lighting was not being used. The scenery dramatizes the play in a way where it makes the actors and audience use their imagination and skills. Made for a great play.

Costumes: What costumes clothe the actors? What shapes do they make, what?

silhouettes? Do characters change costumes throughout the play? What shapes,

textures, colors are used. How do the costumes interact with the scenery and?

lighting? How do the costumes light help dramatize the story?

The costumes of the characters are old-time dresses and or skirts for the lady’s and nicely dressed outfits for the men. The look and style of the costumes never really change it is the style of that era.

Lighting: What is the lighting doing? What colors are used? When, if ever, is the light

concentrated or broad, bright or dim? What direction does the light come from?

How does the light help dramatize the story?

The lighting has many functions during this play. The light was dim or fades out when the next scene was ending. Also, the lighting would be dark, or blue was it was around death or sadness. It showed when it was morning or night, for example, when it was dawn, and everyone was getting ready to wake up the lighting went from darker to light. The light helps dramatize the story because it shows the different moods of the characters or situation. The light was bright during happy moments like the wedding and dim during sad moments like the death of Emily.

Conventions: What are the “codes of meaning” used by the production to

communicate to the audience? Compare the conventions we discovered in Story

Theatre and Small House of Uncle Thomas.

· Narration – the play is run mainly by narration. He explained to the audience what was happening or what has happened. For example, in the beginning the narrator is explaining the what is in the town and where things were. He also would tell the audience how much time has passed and what the current situation was.

· Pantomime – In the play they did not really have any props and had to act out everything. For example, the milk man was not actually carrying milk and they had to act like he was handing the stuff for real. Also, the milk man had a horse that did not exist and had to pretend to pet him and walk with him. Another example would be the paper boy throwing imaginary paper into yards. The entire play was filled with pantomime like this.

· Imaginary things – the audience has to believe and except all of the things the actors were portraying. They had to except that even though the props were imaginary that they were real and exist. Also, they had to except the location even when the stage did not change.

· Addressing the audience – The entire play the narrator is addressing the audience to make sure they know what is happening.

· Past/Present/Future – This play takes place, I believe, in the past. In the very beginning of the play the narrator makes everyone know that some of the characters were dead. The play was showing how the order of things happened in these family’s lives.

PLAY IDEA WORKSHEET

Due ________________________________________

Your name. _________________________________________           Date. ______________

WORKING TITLE. This should indicate what your play is essentially about. Keep simple and clear. This may change as you write the play, but will help focus your writing at the start.

CENTRAL CHARACTER. Give him or her a first and last name and write a brief description of the character.

CENTRAL CHARACTER’S DOMINANT NEED. Keep it simple. For instance: “to get Alexa to love him,” or “to get her father to treat her as an adult.”

OTHER MAJOR CHARACTER(S). Names, dominant need (one each), and brief description. The dominant need of at least on other character likely is the obstacle/opposition that provides the conflict for the play.

SETTING. Brief description of where the play takes place.

OCCASION. Why are the characters brought together in this setting? One-sentence.

MAJOR CONFLICT AS IT PLAYS OUT IN ACTION. One-sentence. How does the central character struggle against the major obstacle to get what he or she wants? Describe the struggle in terms of the action. 

RESOLUTION. In one sentence, how is the central character’s conflict resolved? How does the conflict come to a head in a climax, a “point of no return”? What is the outcome, the aftermath of the climax?

HOW THE CENTRAL CHARACTER CHANGES BY THE END. Brief statement. How does the central character see the world differently by the end of the play?

DRAMATIC PREMISE. What message are you, the playwright, saying with the play? This may be stated as in dialogue of the script (explicit) or demonstrated in the action (implicit). It should be a brief, simple statement. The play itself is the best expression of the premise, but a written premise will help focus your writing.