Adaptation of Frankenstein to a Screen Play

Perks: For the chapters you will adapt into a play, you will not need to do a reading log/logs. To write your play, you must jump right to the chapters you have been assigned.

Your Task:

You will work in a group of two or three  to adapt assigned chapters  into a scene of a screen play based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  Be sure to follow the guideline for your adaptation.

Guidelines:

Be sure to

1. Captures the essence of each chapter. When a chapter is turned into a scene, it should still convey a similar if not the same main idea and message.
2. Provide a character description when necessary
3. Provide a clear setting, stage direction ( including how the character is supposed to say the line or lines), logically connected dialogues
4. Provide time-appropriate narrations between dialogues
5. Omit scenes that are irrelevant to your intended main idea or message or characterization. You do not need to include every detail from the novel.
6. Select passages that highlight, dramatize, characterize and depict
7. Follow the format of a dramatic play that includes all the dramatic elements

Teams and schedules

Teams	Chapters for Adaptation	Scene Sequence	1st Draft Due	2nd DRAFT Due
Akira and Shuzel	1-3	Scene 2	June 2	June 4
Jesiree and Jalon	4-6	Scene 3	June 2	June 4
Cassie & Mykai	7-8	Scene 4	June 2	June 4
Ashely     & KAREN	9-11	Scene 5	June 2	June 4
Amberlyn and Romelo	12-14	Scene 6	June 2	June 4
Chacity and JULEISSY	15-17	Scene 7	June 2	June 4
Judzia , Aditya and Arianna	18-19	Scene 8	June 2	June 4
Jasmin and Brian	20-21	Scene 9	June 2	June 4
Samia  and Evan, Audre	22-23	Scene 10	June 2	June 4
Natalina and Cheyenne	Letter 4 & Chapter 24	Scene 1 & Scene 11	June 2	June 4

Objectives: Students will adapt assigned chapters into a dramatic scene.

Aim: How do we use author’s purpose to guide our the adaptation?  How does each assigned chapter relate to the book  as a whole? How does the meaning of this chapter contribute to the overall theme of the book?

Do Now: Discuss the overall themes of the book and the author’s purpose.

Mini Lesson

1. How does the plot advance  in this chapter?
2. How does Victor Frankenstein’s character develop in this chapter by the new details of the plot?
3. What’s a critical moment in this section that mark the new development of the book?
4. What particular speech or action or thought in this chapter signal a change in Frankenstein ?
5. Which details portray the relationship between Frankenstein and other characters?

Independent Practice

1. Identify the setting and use it for stage directions.
2. Identify the the author’s voice for narration.
3. Identify the potential parts for monologues and dialogues.
4. Identify the sentences that preceding or following the dialogues as stage direction. Find the verbs and adjectives in the sentences.

Wrap Up: Read the dialogue you have written. Does the scene convey similar ideas as the chapter? Why and how different is it between your scene and the original chapter?

Homework: Complete the adaptation of the chapters.

See a sample adaptation based on a passage from Act One by Moss Heart:

Playwright terms	Adaptation of a Passage (Example)It was a Sunday afternoon and I remember it well. The moment was not accompanied by any such sensible thought as, “Why, I could write a better play than any of these myself.” I was simply bored to distraction by the trash I had been thumbing through all day, and without thinking too much about it, I simply sat down at a battered typewriter that I had rescued from the ash-heap of  a Brooklyn relative’s largesse and wrote on a piece of paper, “Act One, Scene One.” By twelve o’clock that night Act One was completed and the next morning I took it into the office with me. Some demon of mischief was already at work, however, for on the title page I did not put my own name, but instead strung together the first three names of some of the boys on the block and listed as the author of the play “Robert Arnold Conrad.”The next morning I handed the act to Mr. Pitou, and with a proper edge of the casual in my voice said, “I read an act of a play last night that I think is very good. You ought to read it.”“Who wrote it?” asked Mr. Pitou. “A fellow named Robert Arnold Conrad,” I replied. “He’s a friend of mine.” “All right, I’ll read it this evening. Put it in my briefcase,” he said. And that was that.
Setting	Spring 1924.Pitou Theatrical Office on the 8th floor of the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street near Broadway.
Stage directionsStage directions suggested in the memoir in italics.Stage directions invented by the playwrights not in italics.	The next morning. Pitou’s office. Pitou is at his desk reading the newspaper. Moss enters with a cup of coffee for Pitou and acts overly casual.
Character	Augustus Pitou, Jr., theatrical producer.Moss Hart, office boy, 21 years old.
Narration( underlined parts)	It was a Sunday afternoon and I remember it well. The moment was not accompanied by any such sensible thought as, “Why, I could write a better play than any of these myself.” I was simply bored to distraction by the trash I had been thumbing through reading all day, and without thinking too much about it, I simply sat down at a battered typewriter that I had rescued from the ash-heap of  a Brooklyn relative’s largesse and wrote on a piece of paper, “Act One, Scene One.” By twelve o’clock that night Act One was completed and the next morning I took it into the office with me. Some demon of mischief was already at work, however, for on the title page I did not put my own name on it, but instead strung together the first three names of some of the boys on the block and listed as the author of the play “Robert Arnold Conrad” as the author of the play.
Dialogue	MOSSI read an act of a play last night that I think is very good. You ought to read it. PITOU Who wrote it?   MOSS A fellow named Robert Arnold Conrad. He’s a friend of mine.   PITOU All right, I’ll read it this evening. Put it in my briefcase.
	(Setting)Spring 1924.Pitou Theatrical Office on the 8th floor of the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street near Broadway.Characters: Augustus Pitou, Jr., theatrical producer. Moss Hart, office boy, 21 years old.     ( Narration)HART It was a Sunday afternoon and I remember it well. I was bored to distraction by the trash I had been reading all day, and without thinking too much about it, I sat down at a battered typewriter and wrote on a piece of paper, “Act One, Scene One.” By twelve o’clock that night Act One was completed. I did not put my own name on it, but instead strung together the first three names of some of the boys on the block and listed “Robert Arnold Conrad” as the author of the play.   (Stage Direction) The next morning. Pitou’s office. Pitou is at his desk reading the newspaper. Moss enters with a cup of coffee for Pitou and acts overly casual.   (Dialogue)MOSS I read an act of a play last night that I think is very good. You ought to read it. PITOU Who wrote it? MOSS A fellow named Robert Arnold Conrad. He’s a friend of mine. PITOU All right, I’ll read it this evening. Put it in my briefcase.

 Lesson 2

Objectives: Students will use point of view writing method to convert a passage into a scene.

Aim: How do we turn a chapter where there is barely any dialogue into a scene?

Do Now: How can we turn a narration into a dramatic scene?

Mini Lesson-

To turn a narration into a scene, we may consider the following-

1. Select critical verbs to indicate action
2. Select possible interactions between characters to describe an encounter
3. Use monologues to express a character’s direct speech
4. Use narration to describe the situation in which the character is in.
5. Capture the moments to show a change in a character

Independent PRACTICE

Try all the above for adapting your assigned chapters.

Homework: The 1st draft based on all assigned chapters is due on Wednesday.