Greek Chorus: Raisin in the Sun

For the final part of the Drama course, we read A Raisin in the Sun. We studied the different roles women have had over the years.  For the last Action Project, we wrote a Greek Chorus. A Greek chorus has two parts, The commentary and the prologue. We were challenged to pick a heroic character from A Raisin in the Sun and write about their high points and their downfall from being a hero. I picked Mama because it was easy to find different times where she would have a high and low point. they were We spent time working on the two parts and got to look at a lot of examples of the two parts for reference. That was incredibly helpful because it gave me an idea of how the chorus should look. One of the things I struggled with on this project was figuring out the wording for all of the parts of the dialogue when the chorus would speak. It was difficult to make sure the dialogue from the book flowed with the dialogue from the chorus. The main idea from my chorus was that you should always honor the wishes of those who you love wishes.  One of the things I thought was easy was picking a scene and hero character. It was simple to chose a hero because there are so many in the play. I really enjoyed this action project.

Lost in 1426

For the second action project in the Drama course, we had to write a script with three characters in it: ourselves, Nora from A Doll's House, and a historical woman of our choice. We have been studying the roles of woman in society from different time periods and have been researching how woman were treated in a marriage. One of the things that I struggled with was the recording of the script. It was very hard for everyone to concentrate and not make a mistake so we wouldn't have to start all over. I had to do a lot of trimming of the audio so it would sound perfect. I really enjoyed my script that I wrote because I worked in some comedy and I touched on the point of woman and their roles. Please take a look at my script and listen to the reading of it.

Script: 

ACT 1

SETTING

France, 1426. The countryside, it’s midday and the sun is high in the sky. There is a field with flowers. It is hot and there is a large castle in the very far distance.

AT CURTAIN

Scene 1:

MF and N wake up in a long flowery field unsure as to what is going on or where they are. MF is a young girl with brown curly hair, she is wearing a t-shirt, shorts and Vans. Nora is a young woman, about 26. She is wearing a blue dress with a white collar with a pair of white flats. The two do not know one another.

MF:

(gets up and looks around) Wait… what just happened?

N:

(gets up as well and looks around)

Where am I?

MF:

Who are you? (points and looks at N)

N:

Nora… who are you?

MF:

MF… why are we here? Do you know whats going on? (searching around)

N:

Not a clue! Do you?

MF:

If I knew, would I have asked you? (glaring)

N:

No need for so much attitude.

MF:

(sighs and rolls eyes)  Whatever, we need to find out where we are and why we are here. (checks phone) ugh no service.

N:

Good idea, I think I see a town over there, let’s head that way. (she points and walks towards the town)

MF:

Alright… wait, what is that? (looks and points)

N:

Where? (confused and looks around unsure of where she is looking)

MF:

There! (she grabs Nora’s head and turns it)

N:

It looks like a horse, with a person on it! Hey help us! (waving arms)

MF:

Help! Please!

J:

(rides up and stops her horse) Hello, what can I do for you?

MF:

Hi, yes, we are lost and have no idea where we are, and my phone isnt working. (points at phone)

J:

Your… phone?

MF:

Yeah, you know? IPhones? Texting, tweeting, calling? Anything?

(J looks at MF and Nora, confused)

MF:

Ugh forget it. Can you help us? (annoyed)

J:

Of course! Lets go back to my home and I’ll help you. Hop on!

(N and MF get on the horse and ride towards J’s house)

Scene 2:

(at Joan’s house, sitting at a small wood table drinking tea and water )

MF:

So where are we exactly? Is this like some sort of old- timey convention or something? Cause this is pretty lame. (glaring at J)

N: (glaring at M)

Ignore her, could you please just tell us where we are? We would really appreciate it.

J:

oh this is no convention or whatever you are calling it. You’re in France! (smiles)  

MF:

What the hell am I doing here! (standing up and knocking her chair over)

N:

What year is it?

J:

1426 of course!

N and MF:

(eyes wide) WHAT?!

J:

You guys are funny! Now what are you guys doing here?

MF:

I just took a nap at my house and now I’m here! This is insane. Am I being punked? Come out Ashton Kutcher! This isn’t funny! (looking around the house)

N:

( turns towards M quickly and angry) Shut up! Oh my.. my children… my husband… well ex-husband.. they aren’t even alive yet!

J:

(confused) You mean to say you didn’t know you were here?

MF:

Not at all. This is terrible! My phone doesn’t work, my friends and family aren’t even alive yet. This is the worst day ever.

J:

(looking excited) Did Jesus send you here?

MF:

(raises eyebrows at J) Excuse me, who?

J:

Jesus, (whispering) did he send you?

MF:

(to N) Is she serious

N:

I think so…. (confused)

J:

(Bringing three plates full of food to the table) I haven’t told anyone this, but  Jesus sent me a message.

Scene 3

(It is darker now. around 7 o’clock. They are still gathered around the table and have just finished eating dinner. Nora is clearing the table along with Joan while Maddie sits with her legs crossed. Once the dishes are done, they all move back to the table to finish the conversation)

MF:

umm… (turns to N and whispers) I think this chick is crazy we need to get out of here. (turns to J laughing) You’re kidding right.. tell me you’re kidding please

N:

(whispering) let her finish! (turns back to J) go on…

J:

He told me to go to the King and help him fight the war…

MF:

oh my god this is insane. (throws hands in the air and rolls eyes)

J:

Forget it, we can talk about it later. Now, about you guys being stuck here, Nora, you said your ex- husband wasn’t alive, you got a divorce? How!

MF:

It’s not like it’s hard… (confused)

N:

(sighs) In my time period it is. I had to leave, I had to get out of that house. He treated me like a child and I just could not stand it anymore. I loved him, but not enough to stay.

MF:

(sympathetic) I am sorry. He seems like a jerk. Good job leaving him.

J:

You couldn’t have stayed for your children? T hey need you, it’s your job. (appalled)

MF:

No it isn’t! Women can do things men can do and vise versa.

J:

Not as well…

N:

I agree with Maddie (gesturing towards MF) , I just wanted to leave to be able to do things on my own. I didn’t want to live in his shadow anymore.

MF:

This is a pointless conversation because she is only going to believe what she knows as normal around this dump.

N:

Don’t be rude. (glaring at MF)

J:

It’s ok. You two look like you could use some sleep it’s getting dark out.

M:

(looks out window) Wow you can literally see all of the stars. It’s beautiful.

N:

(looking as well) wow it’s incredible.

J:

Well, we can figure out how to get you two home tomorrow.

MF:

Sounds good. (walking away but stops) Hey Joan? Thanks for helping us. Who knows where we would be right now if we hadn’t found you. I know this was crazy cause I bet two strangers claiming they come from 2 completely different time periods coming into your house does not happen everyday.

N:

(smiling) We really appreciate it.

J:

Glad to be of service. Now follow me and I can show you where you can sleep.(leads them to a room and points to separate areas for them to sleep in.)

(MF and N and J lay down and close their eyes)

N:

Good night you two

MF:

Night.

J:

Good night.

FIN

Recording: 

Dearest Kate,

In the first unit of the Drama course, we read The Taming of the Shrew written by Shakespeare. In this course,we will focus on different plays and talk about the hidden themes in each one. The Taming of the Shrew is about a rude and annoying woman who is the shrew who becomes tamed by her shrewish husband. The play follows her marriage and her sister who is the perfect sweet, innocent girl. Throughout the book,Kate's husband, Petruchio, causes her to lose her personality. For the Action Project in the first unit, we wrote  a sonnet addressed to one of the characters in The Taming of the Shrew. t I wrote my sonnet to Kate telling her to either stand up to Petruchio and have him treat her as an equal or drop him. One of the things that I mainly struggled with when writing this sonnet was being able to come up with words that rhyme. This was difficult because we had to have at least two rhyming words in each quartet we wrote and we also had to incorporate four vocabulary words and a quote from the play. It was hard to work those things in and still be able to make the sonnet flow. Once I figured out the beginning, it gradually got easier to write my sonnet and I am very pleased with the way it came out.

Dearest Kate,

you were so full of merriment

until you met that swine

your relationship is woman under man

which was always his plan

“ What duty they do owe their lords and husbands.”

he demands things of you

you were such a strong shrew

yet you became his slave-of-a wife

you are being run by a knave

and you have become a bondmaid

you need to be treated as equal

please don’t let this play have a sequel

you are more than what he claims   

so you must stop playing these games