"Sinners" Project

Sock Puppet Theater:  “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”

Part 1:  Rhetorical analysis

Ah, rhetorical analysis.  For this part of the project, you will form groups of three.  In your groups, read the sermon aloud (as we did for “Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”)  LISTEN for nuances in language.  Stop every page or so (find natural breaks) and annotate for the following aspects:

• Thesis or claim

• Tone or attitude (toward both the subject and the audience)

• Purpose

• Audience and occasion

• Evidence (for the elements listed here)

• Logos, ethos, pathos (if you research Edwards, please include a bibliography in MLA format)

• Assumptions or warrants

• Style (rhetorical mode, rhetorical devices)

You may use your flashcards and AP lists for this activity.  Don’t rush this process; the rest of the activity depends on your understanding of this text.

Part 2:   Seminar discussion

The class will meet for a graded seminar discussion.  Together, we will come to an understanding of Edwards and this text.  As we discuss the sermon, continue your annotations using a second medium.

Part 3:  Literary Analysis

After we create new groups of three, each group will be assigned a role for the class production of Sock Puppet Theater:  “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

Group 1:  Scenery and Sock Puppets (this includes the acting)

This group will comb through the text for imagery.  The goal is to create functional scenery for the puppet show that clearly relates to the text.  After consulting with the directors and screenwriters, this group will craft the stage for the puppet theater. 

After careful research (complete with a bibliography in MLA format), the group will create a puppet for Edwards AND puppets to represent the congregation. 

Your group (plus a few others if necessary) will also be responsible for the “acting”.

Groups 2-9

Each group will be responsible for turning a section of the sermon into a script.  This script must not only deal with Edwards’ words, but with reactions from the congregation.  Explanatory notes and character directions must be included.  (Use Glossary and your Crucible text for definitions and examples)

You will meet together (with the directors and set designers) as a large group at times to ensure fluidity of your script.

Group 10:  The Directors

This group has the responsibility of ensuring the scripts come together seamlessly (tone, language, characterization, etc.).  In addition, this group will be responsible for binding the manuscript and writing a synopsis of the manuscript. It will also direct the play.  I will work with the group to determine specific roles for each group member. 

You will have three weeks to produce your masterpiece.  We will work out a class schedule, but you will need to manage your individual group as well.

Assessment will be based on the following elements:

• Individual annotations
• Group dynamics and problem solving
• Quality of the final product
• A self assessment of your work and an assessment of your group members’ work

You will have an audience… keep this in mind as you develop your production.

Glossary

A Page

A revised page that extends beyond the original page, going onto a second page. (i.e. Page 1, 1A, 2, 3, 3A)

Above-the-line

In film, those costs that occur before filming, this includes salaries of the talend and creative team (director, producer, screenwriter), plus any rights required for adapted scripts. Sometimes, above-the-line can also refer to the people included in the above-the-line payment category.

Act

A large division of a full-length play, separated from the other act or acts by an intermission.

Act/Scene Heading

Centered, all CAPS heading at the start of an act or scene. Act numbers are written in Roman numerals, scene numbers in ordinals.

Artistic Director

A theater company's chief artistic officer and usually the last stop before a play is selected for production.

Associate Artistic Director

An artistic officer of a theater company, frequently a director and often second to the Artistic Director, integrally involved with its artistic decisions.

At Rise Description

A stage direction at the beginning of an act or a scene that describes what is on stage literally "at rise" of the curtain, or more commonly in contemporary theater, as the lights come up.

b.g.

Abbreviation for "background" (i.e. In the b.g., kids are fighting).

Back Story

Experiences of a main character taking place prior to the main action, which contribute to character motivations and reactions.

Beat

A parenthetically noted pause interrupting dialogue, denoted by (beat), for the purpose of indicating a significant shift in the direction of a scene, much in the way that a hinge connects a series of doors.

Bill

The play or plays that together constitute what the audience is seeing at any one sitting. Short for "playbill."

Black Box

A flexible theater space named for its appearance.

Blackout

A common stage direction at the end of a scene or an act.

Book

The story and the non-musical portion (dialogue, stage directions) of a theatrical musical.

Bump

A troublesome element in a script that negatively deflects the reader's attention away from the story.

Cast

The characters who are physically present in the play or film. These are the roles for which actors will be needed. When we talk about a role in a stageplay as being double-cast with another, it means that the same actor is expected to play both roles. This happens in film as well (e.g. Eddie Murphy), but only rarely.

Cast Page

A page that typically follows the Title Page of a play, listing the characters, with very brief descriptions of each.

Center (Stage)

The center of the performance space, used for placement of the actors and the set.

Character

Any personified entity appearing in a film or a play.

Character arc

The emotional progress of the characters during the story.

Character name

When any character speaks, his or her name appears on the line preceding the dialogue. In screenplays, the name is tabbed to a location that is roughly in the center of the line. In playwriting, typically the name is centered, but with the advent of screenwriting software that automatically positions the character name correctly, it has become acceptable to use a similar format for character names in stageplays.

Complication

The second act of a three-act dramatic structure, in which "the plot thickens," peaking at its end.

Conflict

The heart of drama; someone wants something and people and things keep getting in the way of them achieving the goal. At times, the obstacles can be common to both the hero and villain, and the ultimate goal a laudable one for both parties.

Continuing Dialogue

Dialogue spoken by the same character that continues uninterrupted onto the next page, marked with a (cont'd) in a stage play.

Continuous Action

Included in the scene heading when moving from one scene to the next, as the action continues.

Courier 12 pitch

The main font in use in the U.S. by both publishers and the Hollywood film industry.

Coverage

The notes prepared by script readers at literary agency, film production company, theater company or script competition. Coverage is typically divided into three sections: plot synopsis, evaluation / discussion of the quality of the writing, and a recommendation that either passes on the script or kicks it on to the next level. Typically, coverage is for internal use and almost never shared with the writer.

Designer

Theater professional whose job it is to envision any of the following elements in a play: costumes, sets, lights, sound or properties.

Development

The process of preparing a script for production.

Development Hell

The dreaded creative death malaise that occurs when the development process lasts too long.

Dialogue

The speeches between characters in a film or a play.

Director

In a stageplay, the individual responsible for staging (i.e. placing in the space or "blocking") the actors, sculpting and coordinating their performances, and making sure they fit with the design elements into a coherent vision of the play. In a musical, there will typically be a separate musical director responsible for the musical elements of the show. In a Dramatists Guild contract, the playwright has approval over the choice of director (and the cast and designers). In film, the director carries out the duties of a stage director and then some (e.g. choosing the shot list), with considerably more say-so over the final product.

Downstage

The part of the stage closest to the audience, so named because when stages were raked (slanted), an actor walking toward the audience was literally walking down. Called "Down" for short.

Draft

A version of a play. Each draft of rewrites/revisions should be numbered differently.

Emphasized Dialogue

Dialogue that the playwright wants stressed, usually identified with italics.

Event

What precipitates a play. For example, Big Daddy's birthday is the event in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Exposition

The first act of a dramatic structure, in which the main conflict and characters are "exposed" or revealed. Also, any information about the characters, conflict or world of the play.

Extension

A technical note placed directly to the right of the Character name that denotes HOW the character's voice is heard. For example, O.S. is an extension that stands for Off-Screen.

f.g.

Abbreviation for "foreground" (i.e. In the f.g., kids are fighting).

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FLASHBACK

A scene from the past that interrupts the action to explain motivation or reaction of a character to the immediate scene.

Font

The look of the printed text on the page. For screenplays, Courier 12 point is the standard (a fixed font which in practical terms means that an l or an m, although the m being wider, occupy the same width of space). For stageplays, while Courier 12 point is often used, Times Roman and other proportional spaced, clearly readable fonts are also acceptable.

Formula

More commonly used in the world of film than for describing the stage, it usually refers to a "sure-fire" method of structuring a script (i.e. it must include certain elements and arrive at a certain ending). For example, there have been a slew of movies where a group of misfits are thrown together and ultimately become the David that slays Goliath on the athletic field (e.g. The Bad News Bears).

Genre

The category a story or script falls into - such as: thriller, romantic comedy, action, screwball comedy

Header

An element of a Production Script occupying the same line as the page number, which is on the right and .5" from the top. Printed on every script page, header information includes the date of a revision and the color of the page.

Hook

A term borrowed from songwriting that describes that thing that catches the public's attention and keeps them interested in the flow of a story.

INT.

Indoors.

Intermission

A break between acts or scenes of the play to allow for set changes, and for the audience to go to the bathroom, stretch and buy concessions.

Interrupt

When one character cuts off another character's dialogue, sometimes marked with an ... but better marked with an em dash (--).

Left

On stage, the actors' left, assuming they are facing the audience. Short for Stage Left.

Line Reading

When a director or playwright gives an actor a specific way to perform a line of dialogue.

Logline

A "25 words or less" description of a screenplay.

M.O.S.

Without sound, so described because a German-born director wanting a scene with no sound told the crew to shoot "mit out sound."

Manuscript

A script before it has been published.

Manuscript Format

The ideal submission format in the United States and in a number of other countries, with character names centered and CAPS before their dialogue, and indented stage directions.

Match Cut

A transition in which something in the scene that follows in some way directly matches a character or object in the previous scene.

Multiple Casting

When an actor plays more than one character.

Notes

Ideas about a screenplay shared with a screenwriter by someone responsible for moving the script forward into production, which the screenwriter is generally expected to use to revise the screenplay. A similar paradigm exists on stage, with notes coming most often from the dramaturg or director. A key difference between stage and film is that the playwright still owns his script and has final say on revisions. Writer can hire consultants to receive feedback (notes) to help improve the script, prior to submitting it to an agency, production company or theater.

Numbered Scenes

Numbers that appear to the right and left of the scene heading to aid the Assistant Director in breaking down the scenes for scheduling and production.

Off

Short for offstage. Typically written as (off) next to a character name when a character speaking dialogue is offstage while she speaks.

One-Act Play

Technically, a play that has only one act, but in more common usage, a play that is not an evening unto itself but instead usually runs no more than an hour. A common arrangement is to produce three half-hour long one-acts on the same bill.

Parenthetical

Also known as a "wryly" because of the propensity of amateur screenwriters to try to accent a character's speech -- as in BOB (wryly) -- an inflection to a speech noted by a writer. Of course, in stageplays, all stage directions (at least in Manuscript Format) are in parentheses, but "directing off the page," as it's often called, is equally frowned upon.

Play

Sometimes known as a stageplay, it's a production which is meant to be performed on stage in front of a live audience.

Playwriting

The craft or act of writing scripts for the stage (i.e. the live theater).

Polish

In theory, to rewrite a few scenes in a script to improve them. In practice, a screenwriter is often expected to do a complete rewrite of a script for the price of a polish.

Producer

The person or entity financially responsible for a stage or film production.

Proscenium

A type of stage in which the actors play opposite the audience, from which they are separated. Most high school auditoriums are prosceniums.

Reading

A "performance" of a play in which the actors are script-in-hand. It could either take place around a table (called a "table reading") or with some blocking or staging (a "staged reading").

Resolution

The third act of a dramatic structure, in which the conflict comes to some kind of conclusion: the protagonist either gets it or doesn't.

Reversal

A place in the plot where a character achieves the opposite of his aim, resulting in a change from good fortune to bad fortune.

Revised Pages

Changes are made to the script after the initial circulation of the Production Script, which are different in color and incorporated into the script without displacing or rearranging the original, unrevised pages.

Right

On stage, the actors' right, assuming they are facing the audience. Short for Stage Right.

Scene

Action taking place in one location and in a distinct time that (hopefully) moves the story to the next element of the story.

Scene Heading

A short description of the location and time of day of a scene, also known as a "slugline." For example: EXT. MOUNTAIN CABIN - DAY would denote that the action takes place outside a mountain cabin during daylight hours.

Screenwriting

The art of writing scripts for a visual medium.

Script

The blueprint or roadmap that outlines a movie story through visual descriptions, actions of characters and their dialogue. The term "script" also applies to stageplays as well.

Script cover

What protects the script on its travels between the writer and its many potential readers. The Writers Store carries a number of acceptable covers.

Set

The physical elements that are constructed or arranged to create a sense of place.

Setting

The time and place of a play or screenplay.

SFX

Abbreviation for Sound Effects.

Simultaneous Dialogue

When two characters speak at the same time, written in two columns side by side.

Stage center

More commonly known as Center Stage, it is the center of the performance space, used for placement of the actors and the set.

Stage Directions

In a stageplay, the instructions in the text for the actors (e.g. entrances, exit, significant actions or business) and stage crew (e.g. lights fade). Also, in a musical, the person who directed the non-musical elements of the show may be credited with "Stage Direction" to distinguish him from the Music Director, who will be credited with "Music Direction."

Stage Left

On stage, the actors' left, assuming they are facing the audience. "Left" for short.

Stage Right

On stage, the actors' right, assuming they are facing the audience. "Right" for short.

Suggested Setting

A setting on stage in which a few set pieces or lighting or other technical elements take the place of elaborate set construction.

Synopsis

A two to three page, double-spaced description of a screenplay.

Technical Demands

The extent to which a play requires specific lighting, sound, sets, etc. Plays with minimal technical demands are easier and less expensive to produce.

Ten-Minute Play

A complete play, with a beginning, middle and end, designed to play in ten minutes.

Thrust

A stage configuration in which the playing area protrudes into the audience; the actors have audience on three sides of them.

Ticking Clock

A dramatic device in which some event looming in the near future requires that the conflict reach a speedy resolution (hence, the ticking clock).

Title Page

A page of the script that contains the title and the author's contact information.

Touring Play

A play with minimal technical demands that is meant to be easily packed up and moved from one performance space to another.

Tweak

A minor change made in a scene or portion of a screenplay or a stageplay.

Upstage

The part of the stage farthest from the audience, so named because when stages were raked (slanted), an actor walking away from the audience was literally walking up. Called "Up" for short.

Workshop

A developmental "production" of a play, with a significant amount of rehearsal, but with less fully realized production values (e.g. set) than a full production.