What is one advantage of silently reading a play as opposed to listening to an audio recording?
Read the following scene from Trifles.MRS. PETERS. She was piecing a quilt. (She brings the large sewing basket, and they look at the bright pieces.) MRS. HALE. It’s log cabin pattern. Pretty, isn’t it? I wonder if she was goin’ to quilt or just knot it? (Footsteps have been heard coming down the stairs. The Sheriff enters, followed by Hale and the County Attorney.) SHERIFF. They wonder if she was going to quilt it or just knot it. (The men laugh, the women look abashed.) COUNTY ATTORNEY (rubbing his hands over the stove). Frank’s fire didn’t do much up there, did it? Well, let’s go out to the barn and get that cleared up. (The men go outside.) How would a film version most likely emphasize the men’s emotions during this scene?
Read the following scene from Trifles.MRS. HALE (resentfully). I don’t know as there’s anything so strange, our takin’ up our time with little things while we’re waiting for them to get the evidence. (She sits down at the big table, smoothing out a block with decision.) I don’t see as it’s anything to laugh about. MRS. PETERS. (apologetically). Of course they’ve got awful important things on their minds. (Pulls up a chair and joins Mrs. Hale at the table.)How would an audio recording most likely convey the characters’ emotions during this scene?
Read the following scene from Trifles.MRS. HALE (stiffly). There’s a great deal of work to be done on a farm. COUNTY ATTORNEY. To be sure. And yet . . . (With a little bow to her.) . . . I know there are some Dickson county farmhouses which do not have such roller towels. (He gives it a pull to expose its full length again.) MRS. HALE. Those towels get dirty awful quick. Men’s hands aren’t always as clean as they might be. COUNTY ATTORNEY. Ah, loyal to your sex, I see. But you and Mrs. Wright were neighbors. I suppose you were friends, too. What is one possible disadvantage of hearing the characters’ voices as opposed to silently reading the scene?
Read the following scene from Trifles.MRS. PETERS. But I’m awful glad you came with me, Mrs. Hale. It would be lonesome of me sitting here alone. MRS. HALE. It would, wouldn’t it? (Dropping her sewing). But I tell you what I do wish, Mrs. Peters. I wish I had come over sometimes she was here. I— (Looking around the room.)—wish I had. MRS. PETERS. But of course you were awful busy, Mrs. Hale—your house and your children. MRS. HALE. I could’ve come. I stayed away because it weren’t cheerful—and that’s why I ought to have come. I—I’ve never liked this place. Maybe because it’s down in a hollow, and you don’t see the road. I dunno what it is, but it’s a lonesome place and always was. I wish I had come over to see Minnie Foster sometimes. I can see now—(Shakes her head.) How would a film version most likely emphasize the women’s emotions during this scene?
Read the following scene from Trifles.COUNTY ATTORNEY (with the gallantry of a young politician). And yet, for all their worries, what would we do without the ladies? (The women do not unbend. He goes to the sink, takes dipperful of water from the pail and, pouring it into a basin, washes his hands. Starts to wipe them on the roller towel, turns it for a cleaner place.) Dirty towels! (Kicks his foot against the pans under the sink.) Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies?MRS. HALE (stiffly). There’s a great deal of work to be done on a farm. What is one possible disadvantage of hearing the characters’ voices in the theater as opposed to silently reading the scene?
Read the following scene from Trifles.COUNTY ATTORNEY. Here’s a nice mess. (The women draw nearer.) MRS. PETERS (to the other woman). Oh, her fruit; it did freeze. (To the Lawyer). She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break. SHERIFF. Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves. COUNTY ATTORNEY. I guess before we’re through she may have something more serious than preserves to worry about. HALE. Well, women are used to worrying over trifles. (The two women move a little closer together.) In a film production, where should the camera focus if the director wants to emphasize the men’s emotions?
What is one advantage of reading a play as opposed to watching or listening to it?
Read the following scene from Trifles.SHERIFF. Nothing here but kitchen things. (The County Attorney, after again looking around the kitchen, opens the door of a cupboard closet. He gets up on a chair and looks on a shelf. Pulls his hand away, sticky.) COUNTY ATTORNEY. Here’s a nice mess. (The women draw nearer.) MRS. PETERS (to the other woman). Oh, her fruit; it did freeze. (To the Lawyer). She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire’d go out and her jars would break. SHERIFF. Well, can you beat the women! Held for murder and worryin’ about her preserves. What would be one advantage of reading this scene as opposed to watching or listening to it?
How are stage and film versions of a drama similar?
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