Part 72 (2/2)
The lamp is knocked over.
Black darkness accompanied by shrieks._
_II. In red glow of semi-circular opening appear Imp and two mutes.
Humorous talk of their job, guarding this ventilator of h.e.l.l.
The Poet's face appears, followed by Manager's and Actress'.
Both Heaven and h.e.l.l have refused them admission.
Explanations by Imp--they are not truly dead.
Renewed quarrels--Actress shows she loves neither one.
She returns to earth.
They pursue her.
Imp is ordered to close ventilator.
Black darkness again._
_III. Moonlight in the apartment.
Actress, Poet, and Manager where they fell on the floor.
They arouse--each believes the others ghosts.
Explanations--light;--the men's quarrel renewed and dropped forever.
Poet and Manager plan to make a play of the nightmare.
Actress is wildly jealous of their new-found friends.h.i.+p.
She cajoles each--then quarrels ferociously with each.
They are proof against her and prepare to go.
She demands a part in the play, gets it, and stamps off to her room.
Poet and Manager depart cheerily planning._
Obviously _General John Regan_ is offered not as a scenario, but a summary. All the other so-called ”scenarios” are planned only to suggest to the writer or somebody fully acquainted with the content of his mind on the subject what, in broadest terms, may be done with the material.
They are all too broadly referential, too vague, to be of real use to a manager or actor looking for a play to produce.
What, then, is the work a real scenario should do? It must show clearly just what is the story, slight or complicated, which the play is to present. It must make the reader understand who the people of the play are, their relations to one another, and anything in their past or present history which he must know if the play at the outset or in its course is to produce upon him the effect desired by the writer. It must tell him where the play takes place--that is, what the settings are, and in such a way as to create atmosphere if anything more than a mere suggestion of background is desirable. It must let the reader see into how many acts the play will break up, and into what scenes if there be more than one setting to an act. Above all, it must make perfectly clear what is the nature of the play--comedy, tragedy, tragi-comedy, farce, or melodrama, and whether it merely tells a story, is a character study, a play of ideas, a problem play, or a fantasy. Proportioning and emphasis as already explained in chapters V and VI will, if rightly understood, bring out correctly in a scenario all these matters of form and purpose.
A good scenario begins with a list of the _dramatis personae_, that is, a statement of the names and, broadly, the relations of the characters to one another. If the ages are important, they may be given. Without a list of _dramatis personae_ a reader must go far into the scenario before he can decide who the people are and what are their relations to one another. As the following scenario shows, he may easily guess wrong and is sure to be uncertain:
SCENARIO. _As the curtain rises Nat is seated at the right of centre table, planning an attack upon a fort of blocks with an army of wooden soldiers. A drum lies on the floor beside him. Enter Benny, a bag over his shoulder. They salute each other and throughout use frequent military terms in their talk. Benny has just returned from the village and he gives an account of his trip and his purchases. Mention is made of the probable war with Spain. Benny then surprises Nat with a letter from Harold, which proves to contain an announcement that war has been declared and that Harold has enlisted. The two are proud and delighted at the thought of their hero. They recall his former discontent on the farm, the day of his departure to seek his fortune in the city, his statement that he was ”no soldier”--now so gloriously disproved.
Harold enters in the midst of their preparations for dinner. He is gaunt and shabby and has a nervous hunted air. He receives their plaudits sullenly. He explains that he is away on a week's furlough and answers their questions concerning the regiment and his plans with nervous impatience...._
In this next so-called scenario who is Professor Ward? What is his relation to Phronie? What is her age? What is the age of Keith Sanford and what are the relations of each of these to Professor Ward himself? A good list of _dramatis personae_ would clear all this at once.
THE EYES OF THE BLIND
ACT I
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