Drama is an interpretive art. As a consequence, the actors, director, producer, and other people involved in a performance all affect the outcome and meaning of the play. In this assignment, students will select one of the following plays, cast three actors to perform in the play, and script stage directions for their interpretation of the play.
Select one of the following plays
Page 1: Casting Dramatis Personae (3 paragraphs)
Select three actors to fill three roles in the play. Write a paragraph for each actor explaining how that actor will play the role you have cast him or her in. You may make reference to previous roles he or she has played. Actors may be currently living or dead. For instance, I have always thought that Tommy Lee Jones should be cast as Macbeth and Susan Sarandon as Lady Macbeth. In defending my casting of them in these roles, I would point to past roles they have played, their physical appearance, or other features that would indicate how I think they would fit these roles.
Macbeth - Tommy Lee Jones
Jones is a large, swarthy man, who, while intelligent, often plays roles that are more earthy or straightforward rather than complex and sophisticated. This lack of sophistication coupled with brute strength seems suited for the role of Macbeth. Macbeth is a character who is dogged and determined, who is slow to begin but persistent once he has begun. This bulldog determination can be seen in Jones’ character role in The Fugitive and U.S. Marshals. This strength of will and non-sophistication is also seen in Jones’ role in Space Cowboys., where he played a retired astronaut who sacrifices himself to save the rest of the crew. Macbeth's ambition and dogged pursuit of his destiny suits Jones movie persona and his refusal to allow anything to divert him from his task. Jones also can couple this strength of character with melancholy as can be seen in his performances in Men in Black, especially in Men in Black II and Men in Black III. Jones's portrayal of Hawk in Space Cowboys, who is dying of pancreatic cancer and sacrifices himself to save the rest of the crew is similar in tone to Macbeth's realization of the futility of his actions as seen in the "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy and his acceptance of his destiny. While Hawk's body is seen on the surface of the moon facing the earth, suggesting that he has achieved his goal of reaching the moon, his death also parallels Macbeth's death, which occurs off-stage. While Hawk's death represents a final triumph, Macbeth's death reveals the danger in unchecked ambition.
Page 2: Scripting Stage Directions
Script a section from the play. Write a detailed script for the section you have chosen. Include
- Description of setting (in italics with actor roles capitalized)–see the introduction to Trifles. Do not use any description that may be included in the text. You are to create your own description of the setting for the section of the play that you are scripting.
- Dialogue: Copy dialogue from play
- Character glosses (Director’s notes): include short descriptions, gestures, indications of tone within the dialogue to indicate how the lines are said, or what the character is doing while saying them. These glosses appear italicized in brackets and are included within the dialogue. You can find examples within the plays, but do not use the glosses given in the text. Instead, you will create your own glosses.
The following video will help you to review the elements of drama for how you will script your stage directions:
While you should copy the dialogue exactly as it appears in the text, you must create your own character glosses or director’s notes (the material that appears in brackets and italics which indicates what actors are doing while saying lines or suggest how lines are said). To aid you in copying dialogue, I am including links below to the texts of the plays. Remember, these web sites contain director’s notes. You must not use these director’s notes but must create your own.
