Post Performance Questions 1. Why do you think Romulus Linney chose to adapt the novel A Lesson Before Dying for the stage? Are there elements in the novel that seem theatrical? The novel was also adapted into a film and aired on HBO. Compare the three versions. Give examples of how each medium was able to enhance the story in a way that would’ve been difficult in the other genres. 2. The play takes place in several locations that are pre-set at the beginning of the play. Why has the playwright chosen to have Grant walk into each of these pre-set scenes as opposed to doing set changes? Did you think this was an effective dramatic device? 3. What music has the sound designer incorporated into the story? How does the music set the mood of both the time and place? What are some of the ambient sounds in the play? How did these sounds impact your appreciation of the play? 4. In the Syracuse Stage production, Jefferson is not strapped into the electric chair at the end of the play. Why do you think Timothy Douglas, the director, chose not to incorporate this bit of staging in the play? Is Jefferson’s execution at the end of the play a powerful moment? 5. The tone of a play is set by many factors. In Syracuse Stage’s production, the lighting in each scene is crucial to the mood of the play. Describe the lighting in the play. How was it different from scene to scene? For example, how is the lighting different in the schoolroom from the storeroom? How did the lighting impact the last scene of the play? 6. Often when a work is adapted for another medium some story lines are sacrificed in order to preserve the larger story that is being told. This is often true when one adapts a novel into a play or film. A playwright or a screenplay writer has a limited amount of time to tell a story, whereas a novelist can write as many pages as necessary to tell the story. Were there plot lines or characters from the novel you would’ve liked to seen incorporated into the play? 7. How did the actors’ portrayal of the characters in the live play compare to how you imagined the characters while reading the novel? Casting is a significant part of any theatrical production. How did Syracuse Stage’s casting choices live up to your expectations of the characters? 8. Having seen the play, do you now have a deeper understanding of the novel or a greater appreciation for the story that Ernest J. Gaines was trying to tell?
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