create an "alternate ending" dramatic script with descriptive stage directions (similar to the book) for, "The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail". Include on the MLA formatted reference to the part of the story that the play picks up from.
English 11A Combo Portfolio Offer
Would you like to write less portfolios this semester? If so, please follow these steps:
1. Webmail me to let me know that you want to take advantage of this offer.
2. Once you do that, I will drop all unnecessary portfolio dropboxes from your gradebook.
a. Please note that you’ll still see these dropboxes in your lessons but you’ll be allowed to move forward in your Course Tree without submitting anything into them .
3. When you get to the Alternate Ending portfolio drobox in Unit 4, you will submit a completed version of the attached Getting Started Template(provide below) into the Rough Draft Dropbox.
4. After getting your webmailed writing conference feedback from me on that Getting Started template, you will create and submit the final draft of your Combined Portfolio Project.
5. This final draft should be an Alternate Ending to the play we read in Unit 3, which is The Night Thoreau Spend in Jail.
a. Prior approval (via webmail) is required to write an alternate ending for a different play.
b. This final draft should be in script format and should include all elements provided in the Getting StartedTemplate below.
Getting Started On Your English 11 Dramatic Scene Template– Combo Portfolio Option
The literary piece that I will be creating an alternate ending for is:
My portfolio will start after the following line in that literary piece:
The MLA for the original literary piece that I am creating an alternate ending for is:
The characters in my new ending will be: (Include the names, ages, clothing, physical attributes, relationships and/or connections to other characters, personality traits, etc. for each character.)
The setting of my scene will be: (Be sure to include both time and place)
To communicate setting details to the audience, the following props should be used: (For example, you may use a billboard advertising an old movie to show what era your scene is set in or you may require a couch and television set to show what room of the house your scene occurs.)
The tone of this scene will be: (Your tone will guide how your dialogue is to be delivered by your actors. For example, is your tone sarcastic, hopeful, remorseful, exciting, tragic, etc.)
The mood of this scene will be: (Mood is how you want your audience to feel as a result of watching your scene. Some examples are frightened, sad, happy, angry, etc.)
To help set the mood and tone of this scene, the following sound effects and/or music should be used:
To enhance the setting, tone, & mood of this scene, the lighting cues that should be implemented are:
What theme, message, or main idea will the dialogue in your script deliver?
What body language, facial expressions, and voice inflexions do you want your actors to use when delivering their lines?
What actions and events will take place?
How will you signify the beginning and the end of your scene?
For further clarity, here is a sample of what the final combo portfolio product might look like…
English 11 A
12-27-2013
Unit 4 Lesson 12
Combination Portfolio
An Alternate Ending to The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
“Don’t die! Not again, God—don’t let him die! (The whole stage fades into darkness.)” (Lawrence & Lee 96)
(The bell tower chimes four times. The air is chilly with a shallow fog. The attention is brought back to the prison cell. Bailey is lying asleep on his cot. Henry is also asleep but is having a nightmare fit. In his sleep, Henry yells and makes a commotion. Sam hears the noise and comes running to the cell where Henry and Bailey are kept. All of the characters are dressed back into their customary clothes. Sam starts talking to Henry who is shaken in his nightmare.)
SAM: What’s all the noise down here? Is that you Henry? Wake up!
HENRY(Henry yells out, half awake but still dreaming.): I won’t take it!
SAM: Wake up. I have some good news for ya.
HENRY(Henry awakes fully in a cold sweat.): Oh, hey Sam. Is it still night?
SAM: No, the clock just stuck four. I came to check on the noise I heard.
HENRY: You had something to say?
SAM(Sam clears his throat): Oh yeah. I came here to tell you that yer tax was paid. You are good to go now.
HENRY(Henry starts getting a little enticed.): Who paid? Was it Mr. Emerson?
SAM: No
HENRY: My mother?
SAM(Sam gets a little frustrated.): No.
HENRY: Mrs. Emerson?
SAM(Sam raises his voice in full frustration, trying to keep a secret.): Now stop tryin’ to squeeze the truth juice out of me. It ain’t my place to tell.
HENRY(Bailey starts to wake from the noise in the cell.): One day—One day I’ll still find out who paid that cursed tax.
BAILEY: What happened? Why is Sam here?
SAM: Henry’s tax has gotten paid up. It is by law for him to leave.
HENRY(Henry starts showing his stubbornness to Sam.): I’ve made my decision not to. So many men are selfish these days. I’ll leave only on one condition.
SAM(Sam asks worriedly.): And what would that be?
HENRY: See to it that Bailey gets his trial right now. I’m not talking about in a few months or weeks—right now.
SAM(Sam shows frustration again.): You know that ain’t in my power to do so.
HENRY(Henry lies back on his cot and turns away from Sam.): Not going Sam.
SAM(Sam, breathing deeply, replies in a suffering matter.): Well, I’ll try to do everythin’ I kin, but I’m not promisin’ anythin’.
(Sam starts walking away. The lights dim and the next scene starts.)
________________________________________
(The bell tower chimes nine times in the morning. The morning sun fills the cell room with warm rays. Henry and Bailey are both awake and talking to each other. Sam was walking away from the judges and selectmen.He is on his way walking joyously to tell Bailey and Henry some good news.)
BAILEY: Thanks for standing up for me.
HENRY(Henry slightly gets agitated.): World is already full of greedy and selfish people. I just couldn’t go. It wouldn’t have been right.
BAILEY: You know….you could still go. I shouldn’t be a part of your problems.
HENRY: I won’t. It’s my choice.
SAM(Sam comes in, out of breath.): Well…I got what you wanted. Bailey’s trial will be at noon TODAY!
HENRY: A man is happy only when he is under a master, not when he himself is a master of himself. Thank you Sam.
(The lights dim and the next scene starts.)
________________________________________
(The bell tower chimes three times in the afternoon. The sun is brightly shining. It’s a warm summer day with a small breeze. Bailey’s trial started at noon and recently came to an end. Bailey and Henry are both outside and free. Both are happy for each other, all the way down to their bones.)
BAILEY(Bailey shouts with joy.): Can you believe it? I’m actually A FREE MAN NOW. Thanks TO YOU Henry. I wouldn’t have been free without you.
HENRY(Henry holds his own shoe in his hand.): We need to look after each other. I’m so happy for you….for us!
BAILEY(Bailey starts getting a little giddy.): Wait till my ma finds out about everything. Especially sitting inside the cell with an educated man like yourself.
HENRY: Don’t rush or fight with life. Don’t learn how to write or else you’ll be writing many books before you know it. The trouble isn’t worth it.
BAILEY: Where you going now?
HENRY: Someplace where I could learn from nature without the influence of man.
BAILEY(Bailey puts his hand on Henry’s shoulder.): Well, I don’t think I’ll meet another soul compared to yours. I will miss you.
HENRY: You don’t have to meet someone else. Become the person that is influenced by no other. Be yourself. Stand out. That’s what we are here for on this Earth.
(Henry starts walking away while Bailey is warmly waving back. Both of their faces are lit with the bright sunlight which gets brighter and brighter. The whole stage dims.)
Works Cited
Winner, Kathryn. “The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail.” <em>LitCharts.</em>LitCharts LLC, 13 Oct 2015. Web. 25 Oct 2016.
