Spring SAVY 2018, Day 2- Unpacking Adaptation (3rd/4th)
Students of Unpacking Adaptation, thank you for another great session! Much like Lucy traveling through the wardrobe, I was astounded by the ground we covered in so seemingly short a time!
We began our day with two variations on the Mutation Game, before revisiting some concepts explored last week. You created visual representations of Aristotle’s six elements of the drama: I never imagined Poetics could be adapted into pictures of skyscrapers and dinosaurs! We then used your newfound tools to unpack and adapt Shel Silverstein’s poem “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too.” Your powers of analysis, abstraction, and adaptation are growing!
We read the first chapter of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, before turning again to Aristotle for further exploration of the concept of story. You mastered the college-level idea that all plot-based narratives have three parts: Beginning, Middle, and End. We then took things further, exploring Joseph Campbell’s three-part structure (Departure, Initiation, and Return) before turning to Russian Formalism and the concepts of Fabula and Sjuzhet (which then allowed for a brief discussion about why some believe The Magician’s Nephew should be read before The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe… leading to an even more brief discussion about why your instructor believes it is import to watch Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope before watching Episodes I – III).
After reading half of the second chapter of Lewis’ text — and having been introduced to the Peversie children, Mr. Tumnus, and the fantastical world of Narnia — you imagined and constructed representations of the story’s Departure, Initiation, and Return thus far. We’re building a wonderful visual dictionary of your interpretations of this book. I’m excited to see where your imaginings take you.
Along the way, we added a plethora of terms to our word bank: We talked of nymphs and dryads, about what it is to be melancholy and what it means to be esoteric. You’ve quite the love of language and words, my friends (as we theatremakers must, what with Diction being so important to the Aristotelian form).
Thanks again for a great session. Enjoy your week. I look forward to seeing you next Saturday!
Best,
David