A Midsummer Night's Dream
Storyboard Text
- Are we all here?
- On the dot. This place seems perfect to use, since we can use the grass as a stage. We can also use the tree over there as a backstage.
- Before we start, we have to recognize that there are some parts of the play that just won't work. First, Pyramus must draw a sword to kill himself, which the ladies cannot abide. What should we do?
- I think we should take out all the parts with killing.
- What about the lion? Won't the ladies also be afraid of it?
- I'm afraid of it, that's for sure!
- The rude mechanicals are gathered in the woods to rehearse their play Pyramus and Thisbe for Theseus' and Hippolyta's wedding. The role of each member is as follows: Bottom as Pyramus, Flute as Thisbe, Starveling as Thisbe's mother, Quince as Thisbe's father, Snout as Pyramus' father, and Snug as the lion.
- Let him say his name and tell everyone he is Snug the joiner. Make it so that the audience can see half of Snug's face through the lion's neck. Then, he should say something like, "I am not a lion, I am a man."
- I'm not a lion, right?!
- Before they start to rehearse, Bottom questions how they will be able to avoid the fact that Pyramus ends up killing himself. In fact, that is not the only suicide in the play. Thisbe also eventually does the same thing. As a solution, Starveling proposes that they just completely eliminate all parts that include killing. They will write a prologue for the play so that the audience is assured no one will be hurt.
- Quick! Look in the almanac!
- We also need moonlight in the play, since Pyramus and Thisbe meet by moonlight.
- Another essential component to the play is the role of the lion, which will be played by Snug. Snout asks about how the audience will react to it, being concerned that the ladies would be afraid. After all, it is not like anyone would be able to differentiate between a human and a lion.
- One of us will perform as the wall. Make sure he has plaster, or loam, or lime with him. He can also hold his fingers like this so that Pyramus and Thisbe can whisper to each other.
- Also, we need a wall on stage, because the story says that Pyramus and Thisbe talk through a hole in a wall.
- As a solution, Bottom says that they don't need a prologue dedicated to telling the audience that Snug is not actually a lion. Instead, they should just have Snug tell the audience in a compelling manner that he is a man just like all other men, and that he would never even think about "hurting" the ladies.
- Quince recognizes that Pyramus and Thisbe meet by moonlight, and so in order for the play to be more true to the story, they need it. Then, Bottom wants them to consult an almanac, a book that contains dates and statistics for things such as astronomical data. Revealing that the moon is intended to shine on the night they perform, they intend to keep the windows open. If that doesn't work, Quince suggests that they have someone holding a lantern to represent the moonshine.
- The last evident problem is the situation with the wall, the obstacle that blocked yet sustained Pyramus and Thisbe's love. Deciding that one of them will be playing the part of the wall, Bottom suggests that whoever ends up playing the wall will have to hold their fingers apart so that Pyramus and Thisbe can whisper to each other.
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