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by |
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Stacy Devaney, Ruth Homberg, Colleen Hubbard,
Kristin O’Neill, Siri White and Joseph P. Zoller |
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1. Reading the Play |
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2. Transliteration |
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3. Choosing A Theme |
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4. Setting and Characters |
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5. Translation |
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6. Polishing |
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Possible Themes |
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Western |
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Austin Powers |
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Friends |
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Survivor |
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“The Modern College” |
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Modern Themes (Friends, Survivor, Austin Powers,
College) |
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Offer Audience an Immediate Connection |
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Some Aspects of the Original Play May Not Fit |
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Historical Themes (Western, Gangsters) |
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More Easily Adaptable |
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May be Too Outrageous or Hokey |
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Gangstas! |
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But which one? |
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Mafia |
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Godfather |
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Guys and Dolls |
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20’s & 30’s |
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And which works best? |
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Farmer to Shopkeeper |
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Corn to Cans of Corn |
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Mercy to Priest |
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Character types are present in both genres |
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Original |
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Mischieffe: I beseche yow hertily, leve yowr
calculacion! Leve yowr chaffe, leve yowr corn, leve yowr daliacion! |
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Transliteration |
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Mischief: And I ask you heartily, leave your
calculations! Leave your chaffe, leave your corn, leave your conversations! |
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Translation |
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Mikey Mischief: Oh, yeah, confess your sins -
and don’t forget to leave your money in the plate on the way out! |
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Original: |
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Nowadays: Now, towchinge the mater of Mankinde,
Lett us have an interleccion, sithen ye be cum hethere. It were goode to have an ende. |
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Transliteration: |
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Nowadays: Now, concerning the matter of Mankind,
let us have a consultation, soon he might come here. It would be good to have a conclusion. |
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Translation: |
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Bobby Nowadays:
Guys, let’s have a meeting and figure out what to do about Mankind. |
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Audience Participation |
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Biblical Allusions |
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Symbolism |
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Language Transitions (“Sheesh”) |
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The Problem with Mercy… |
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“The stumbling-block in modern performance is
the role and language of Mercy.” (36) |
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Speech Length |
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“The importance of establishing two antithetical
languages at the beginning of the play is made clear when Mankind himself
is shown to be capable of speaking both dialects.” (39). |
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Beating with Broom |
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“labour is a defence against idle vice...” (44) |
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Obscenity and its Value in Comedy |
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The Less Sophisticated the Funnier |
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Everyone Loves a Good Dirty Joke |
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Awareness of Bodies Separates Us from Animals |
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Comedy and the Ritual of Death and Resurrection |
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Comic Hero Must Die and Be Reborn |
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Drama Concerns Your Average Guy |
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Biblical Themes Fit Better with Comedy than
Tragedy |
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Why Mocking Morality is Not Sacrilege |
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Comedy is a Release |
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We Learn From Our Mistakes |
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In Revelry We are Lost and Then Found |
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“Comedy desecrates what it seeks to sanctify.”
(39) |
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Notes