Listen to part of a conversation between a student and his theater professor.
Hi. Professor Davis. Sorry I missed the class yesterday. I was just getting over a cold.
That's alright, Andrew. Feeling better now?
Oh, yeah, fine. Um, I had a question though.For the mid-term, how much do we need to know like about the different acting styles?Since the last few chapters have been on writing our own material, scripts and stuff...well...will the exam be about that? Or about stuff in the earlier chapters? Like."um."
Oh, Andrew. Before I forget, I will get to your question, but, now, don't leave without taking the tickets for tomorrow's field trip.I have a last-minute meeting so I can't make it after all. But since you helped organize the trip, I'll let you hand out the tickets. I've got everything you need right here.
Sure, no problem.
And you don't need directions to the theater. You've been there before, right?
Yup.
Good. Oh, oh, also, please remind everyone about the reception afterward.It'll be an opportunity to ask Alan Altman about his acting in the play, which we can discuss in class next week.
Ok, HI tell them. It's really something! I mean, I know our acting professors must in plays all the time, but it isn't every day you get to see one right here in town.
Oh, you might be surprised.There's a calendar on the main bulletin board listing all the local productions that faculty are involved in.
Well, it seems like Professor Altman is a really popular actor. I just read his bio in the local paper.I know the critics always praise him, but I had no idea he was such a commercial success, too.And it said he just won an award last year for...uh...playwriting, wasn't it?
Well, there is a general playwriting category, but actually, his award was for script adaptation.He adapted a novel into a play.
Script adaptation?
Oh, it's a very specialized skill.Writing a play based on some other written work, novels, short stories.Now we've been studying original plays, which are pretty much based on the writer's imagination.But think about adapting a script...
Yeah, seems like it might be easier, like to start with something that's already written.
Well, actually think about it, transferring that material to a whole different genre, from narration to live dialogue.Imagination is a part of it, sure, but it also requires a lot of technical knowledge of about theater production, acting and so on.So Professor Altman, for example, he took a novel and made it into a play, dealing with all the different conventions that plays have.You know, like limitations of scene changes and...uh...well, it'd be a good thing to ask him about it at the reception tomorrow.
Yeah, sounds like an interesting topic.
Oh, and before I forget, the packet with the tickets has a list of the students' addresses.Since Ivan is picking you up first, you can direct the driver to the other students' dorms.
Sure. That was the plan.
Okay, good. Now, about the mid-term.