Read the given text and answer the questions that follow.  THE PLAY’S THE THING

Takes place in a castle by the beach in Italy.

FIRST ACT

Ornateguest room in a very nice beachside castle. Doors on the right and left. Sitting room set in the middle of the stage: couch, table, and two armchairs. Large windows at the back. Starry night. It is dark on the stage. When the curtain goes up we hear men conversing loudly behind the door on the left. The door opens and three tuxedoed gentlemen enter. One turns the light onimmediately. They walk to the center in silence and stand around the table.They sit down together, Gál in the armchair to the left, Turai in the one onthe right, Ádám on the couch in the middle. Very long, almost awkward silence. Comfortable stretches. Silence. Then:

GÁL: Why are you so deep in thought?

TURAI: I’m thinking about howdifficult it is to begin a play. To introduce all the principal characters in the beginning, when it all starts.

ÁDÁM:I suppose it must be hard.

TURAI: It is – devilishly hard.The play starts. The audience goes quiet. The actors enter the stage and the torment begins. It’s an eternity, sometimes as much as a quarter of an hour before the audience finds out who’s who and what they are all up to.

GÁL: Quite a peculiar brainyou’ve got. Can’t you forget your profession for a single minute?

TURAI: That cannot be done.

GÁL: Not half an hour passes without you discussing theatre, actors, plays. There are other things in this world.

TURAI: There aren’t. I am a dramatist. That is my curse.

GÁL: You shouldn’t become such a slave to your profession.

TURAI: If you do not master it,you are its slave. There is no middle ground. Trust me, it’s no joke starting a play well. It is one of the toughest problems of stage mechanics. Introducing your characters promptly. Let’s look at this scene here, the three of us. Three gentlemen in tuxedoes. Say they enter not this room in this lordly castle, but rather a stage, just when a play begins. They would have to chat about a wholelot of uninteresting topics until it came out who we are. Wouldn’t it be mucheasier to start all this by standing up and introducing ourselves? Standsup. Good evening. The three of us are guests in this castle. We have just arrived from the dining room where we had an excellent dinner and drank two bottles of champagne. My name is Sándor Turai, I’m a playwright, I’ve been writing plays for thirty years, that’s my profession. Full stop. Your turn.

GÁL: Stands up. My name isGál, I’m also a playwright. I write plays as well, all of them in the company of this gentleman here. We are a famous playwright duo. All playbills of good comedies and operettas read: written by Gál and Turai. Naturally, this is myprofession as well.

GÁL and TURAI: Together.And this young man … 

ÁDÁM: Stands up. This young man is, if you allow me, Albert Ádám, twenty-five years old, composer. I wrote the music for these kind gentlemen for their latest operetta. This is my first work for the stage. These two elderly angels have discovered me and now, with their help, I’d like to become famous. They got me invited to this castle. They got my dress-coat and tuxedo made. In other words, I am poor and unknown, for now. Other than that I’m an orphan and my grandmother raised me. Mygrandmother has passed away. I am all alone in this world. I have no name, I have no money.

TURAI: But you are young.

GÁL: And gifted.

ÁDÁM: And I am in love with thesoloist.

TURAI: You shouldn’t have added that. Everyone in the audience would figure that out anyway.

They all sit down.

TURAI: Now wouldn’t this be the easiest way to start a play?

GÁL: If we were allowed to do this, it would be easy to write plays.

TURAI: Trust me, it’s not thathard. Just think of this whole thing as …

GÁL: All right, all right, all right, just don’t start talking about the theatre again. I’m fed up with it. We’ll talk tomorrow, if you wish.

1. Which prosodic feature would most effectively convey Gál’s thoughtful tone when he says, “Why are you so deep in thought?” 

2. What kind of intonation is most appropriate for Turai’s reflective statement, “I’m thinking about how difficult it is to begin a play”?

How should a performer use stress in Turai's line, “It is – devilishly hard”?

What is the most effective pitch for Ádám’s line, “I suppose it must be hard,” to show agreement without strong emotion?

When Gál says, “Not half an hour passes without you discussing theatre, actors, plays,” which tone would best reflect his annoyance?

How should Ádám deliver the line,“This young man is, if you allow me, Albert Ádám, twenty-five years old, composer” to reflect his nervousness?

What does Turai mean when hesays, “You shouldn’t have added that. Everyone in the audience would figure that out anyway”?

Which prosodic feature should Ádám use when he says, “I have no name, I have no money” to evoke sympathy?

Foritem nos. 9-15, read the following text and answer the questions that follow.

AMANDA AND THE DUCHESS

Summary: Since Léocadia’s death,the Prince, who was in love with her, has been inconsolable. At a shop called Réséda Soeurs, the Duchess, who is the Prince’s aunt, has met a young shop assistant, Amanda, who looks amazingly like Léocadia. The Duchess wants Amanda to help her set the Prince free from the memories which haunt him.

A crossroads in the castle grounds, a circular bench around a small obelisk…evening is falling…

AMANDA: I still don’t understand. What can I do for him, ma’am? I can’t believe you could possibly have thought…And why me? I’m not particularly pretty. And even if someone were verypretty—who could suddenly come between him and his memories like that?

THE DUCHESS: No one but you.

AMANDA, sincerely surprised Me?

THE DUCHESS: The world is so foolish, my child. It sees only parades, gestures, badges of office…that must be why you have never been told. But my heart hasn’t deceived me—I almost criedout at Réséda Soeurs the first time I saw you. To someone who knew more of her than just her public image, you are the living likeness of Léocadia.

A silence. The evening birds havenow taken over from the afternoon birds. The grounds are filled with shadows and twittering.

AMANDA, very gently Ireally don’t think I can, ma’am. I have nothing, I am nothing, and those lovers…that was my fancy, don’t you see?

She has got up. As if about to leave, she has picked up her small suitcase.

THE DUCHESS, gently also, and very wearily Of course, my dear. I apologize.

She in turn gets up, with difficulty, like an old woman. A bicycle bell is heard in the evening air; she gives a start.

Listen…it’s him! Just show yourself to him, leaning against this little obelisk where he first met her. Let him see you, even if it’s just this once, let him call out, take a sudden interest in this likeness, in this stratagem which I shall confess to him tomorrow and for which he will hate me—in anything but this dead girl who’ll take him away from me one of these days, I’m sure…(She has taken her by the arm.) You will do that, won’t you? I beg you most humbly, young lady. (She looks at her, beseechingly, and quickly adds:) And then, that way, you’llsee him too. And…I can feel that I’m blushing again from saying this to you—life is just too mad! That’s the third time I’ve blushed in sixty years,and the second time in ten minutes—you’ll see him; and if he could ever (why not him, since he’s handsome and charming and he wouldn’t be the first?) if he could ever have the good fortune, for himself and for me, to take your fancy for one moment…The bell again in the shadows, but very close now.

AMANDA, in a whisper Whatshould I say to him?

THE DUCHESS, gripping her arm

Simply say: “Excuse me, Sir, can you tell me the way to the sea?”

She has hurried into the deeper shadows of the trees. Just in time. There is a pale blur. It is the Prince on his bicycle. He passes very close to the pale blur of Amanda by the obelisk. She murmurs.

AMANDA: Excuse me, Sir…

He stops, dismounts from the bicycle,takes off his hat and looks at her.

THE PRINCE: Yes?

AMANDA: Can you tell me the wayto the sea?

THE PRINCE: Take the second turning on your left.

He bows, sadly and courteously, gets back on the bicycle and rides away. The bell is heard again in the distance. The Duchess comes out of the shadows, very much an old woman.

AMANDA, gently, after a while He didn’t recognize me…

THE DUCHESS: It was dark…And then, who knows what face he gives her now, in his dreams? (She asks timidly:) The last train has gone, young lady. In any case, wouldn’t you like to stay at the castle tonight?

AMANDA, in a strange voice Yes,ma’am.

It is completely dark. The two of them can no longer be seen in the shadows, and only the wind can be heard in the huge trees of the grounds.

THE CURTAIN FALLS

Source: Jean ANOUILH, Léocadia (end of Scene II). Published by LA TABLE RONDE, 1984 52

When Amanda says, “I still don’tunderstand. What can I do for him, ma’am?” which prosodic feature would best reflect her confusion and doubt?

What tone should Amanda use when she says “Me?” to reflect her surprise?

When the Duchess says, "Noone but you," which prosodic feature should convey her conviction?

In the silence after “the evening birds have now taken over,” how might prosody be used to enhance the mood ofthe scene?

What prosodic feature would best convey the Duchess’s desperation when she says, “You will do that, won’t you? I beg you most humbly, young lady”?

What is this extract from the play about?

                       The Duchess thinks of a trick

The director positions the actors on the stage. On a diagram, the director represents Amanda with the letter A and the Duchess with the letter D. 

Put an A and a D on the following diagram of the set to show approximately where Amanda and the Duchess are when the Prince arrives.