SELECTION AND ADAPTATION OF PLAY

1. VAISHNAVI, MARCIANA & KEETHA

Purpose & Importance Of Selection And Adaptation Of Scripts For Young Children

To provide opportunity for children to enjoy and develop an appreciation for literature to help them in further study To make the young learners appealing and understandable to the actors in upper elementary and middle school and well into high school The adaptation of scripts follows the traditional story lines with minor modifications, a little added humor and age appropriate language, which make them more exciting for the story. To help students at this awkward and difficult age to develop confidence, creativity and a love of performing.

IMPORTANCE OF ADAPTATION OF SCRIPTS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

To develop students imagination To engage every child in the cast Improve students interpersonal skills

To develop students hidden talent

Increase language proficiency Boost students creativity Easy for children to learn and perform

FEATURES OF A SCRIPT
Character listed in the beginning Setting, explains where, when and other environmental details Dialogue is not in quotation Actions, stage directions are written in italics in parentheses Narrator describes what is going on

CHARACTERISTICS OF PLAY SCRIPT WRITING

Instructions for stage setting are written on the left of the page The name of the speaker is written on the left of the page Extra instruction is written in brackets Every time the setting of the play changes, a new scene is started At the start of each new scene, the setting is described Play scripts usually contain two (three) Acts Ellipsis () is often used to demonstrate that the person is Thinking or stuttering it can also be used to develop suspense. Some words can be written in a different in a different font to show that the reader has to emphasize that particular word. The names of the characters in the plays are recorded at the beginning of the play script A line across the centre of the page, is used to show that the setting is about to change

SCRIPT ADAPTATION
Scriptwriting: Adaptation Issues
Issues
Will you remove or combine characters?
Remove or combine so that audience can easily recognise the characters (the part they play and the plot they are involved in)

Will you tighten the timescale of your script in relation of the short story?
A story taking place over several days in several separate locations can be reworked to take place in a single day and in doing s become more dramatically effective, because the audience are pulled into the continuous action of the drama

HOW TO ADAPT BOOKS TO SCRIPT

Instructions Read the book few times
Able to recap in detail

Using 3- by- 5 cards, write the details of each scene on a separate card On more 3x5 cards, write down interesting lines of dialogues written in the book
Lines that must be heard on screen

Remove any scene that does not need to be there Decide if you want a straight adaptation or a loose one
Loose refers to modern movies based on shakespeare plays

Feel free to shift some points around or change motives

Since its adaptation, can be altered to make sense

Write the script

CRITERIA OF CHOOSING PLAYS AND DRAMA

CHOOSE PLAY TO FIT THE CAST SIZE

If directing a cast of twenty or more kids, make certain that we do not choose a play where there are only three characters with lines. Thus, look for scripts which are suitable to be used by a certain amount of students.

 Choose plays written especially for ESL classrooms. It should be short and repetitive and could involve the participation of a group of students.

STORYLINE
The storyline should be simple. The beginning, middle and ending part should be clear.

THE LANGUAGE USED IN THE PLAY

Choose a play that does not use harsh words. The sentences used should be simple and can be understood by the students. A teacher should not use texts which are beyond learners understanding.

THE PLAYS ARE MAINLY ABOUT CHILDREN

Many playwrights speak of the child world or the child space. A playwright who is unable to recall and on some level understand his own childhood is unlikely to be good at writing for young people. The simplest way to keep a play rooted in the child world is to have a child protagonist.

LENGTH
The length of the selected play should be suitable with the level of the students. A long play with a long script tend to make the students feel bored and confused.

THE SCRIPT
Script selection should be based on students potential. Select a script that challenges, but doesnt overwhelm the students.

A too challenging script probably isnt the right plan, and the weeks spent at rehearsal will bore, rather than engage the students.

SUPPORT PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Plays with emotions. The play should contain more than one emotion so that the students will be able to know when they are supposed to be sad or happy so that they could apply it in real life. Meeting our students needs giving them a chance to learn, grow and have new experiences.

MEET THE TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES

Include costumes, make-up, props lighting and sound. Select a play which requires props that can be found easily.

MORAL VALUE
In teaching young learners, the infusion of moral values is very important. Select a play which contains moral values. Teaching is not only about knowledge, it is also a part of educating and nurturing the moral within the students.