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Transcript

Creative Activity

Night at the Museum

Setting

  • Bedroom
  • Police Station
  • Doctor's Office

In the play, the family members were under a very strict set of rules; they couldn't make noise when turning on the light switch, clatter plates, etc. In this game, you change position as the night guard walks by, but you can't let him hear or see you moving.

Design Elements

There is no specific time in which the play takes place. Normally, simple setting is used and sometimes doubles as different places.

With the simple setting, a lot times lights are used to create isolations and many times are used to show that the family can see Billy when no one else can. The show can be done on a small stage and one set can be used for the different locations. There aren't many props and the show relies more on the acting and story as opposed to design elements.

Target Audience

The show is mainly designed for mature audiences and an older age range.

Minor Characters

Five Kinds of Silence

Detective

Lawyer 1

Policeman

Lawyer 1 is Susan and

Janet's lawyer.

The detective interviews Susan after she kills Billy.

The policeman is the one who discovers Billy's body at the scene.

Lawyer 2

Psychiatrist 1

Psychiatrist 2

Psychiatrist 1 is Mary's

psychiatrist

Lawyer 2 is Mary's lawyer

Psychiatrist 2 is the doctor for Susan and Janet

Police Investigator

The police investigator goes with Mary to investigate the family's home after Billy's death

* These characters can be divided and be portrayed by two actors. Originally, one actor plays Policeman, Detective, Lawyer 1 , and Psychiatrist 1 , and another actor plays Police Inspector, Lawyer 2, and Psychiatrist 2

Main Characters

Billy

Mary

Father

Mother

Billy is an abusive husband and father. He loves his family, shows his love by beatings and strict rules that cuts his family off from the rest of the world. In his childhood, Billy was neglected and abused. This is the only kind of family love he has ever known. He shows characteristics of a murderer and takes pleasure in having the control and having things his way. He has an assertive personality that causes fear in his family's hearts, even after his death.

As a young girl, Mary lost her mother and her father became an alcoholic. He was abusive and neglectful to Mary, but constantly apologizes for his behavior. Mary wants nothing but love from her father and no matter how horrible he is, Mary forgives him. She reacts the same to how Billy treats her. She has memories of when the two were young and happy, but as time wore on, she got use to the apologies and believes that he truly loved her.

Playwright: Shelagh Stephenson

Susan

Oldest Daughter

At age 36, Susan is the oldest daughter of the family and is the one who shoots and kills Billy. She was sexually abused from a young age all the way into adulthood. She has a temper and talks back to those who try and understand her situation. Having no connection to the outside world, Susan is somewhat independent and determined.

Janet

Youngest Daughter

Janet is the youngest member of the family, age 34, and the most troubled by her situation. She was emotionally distressed by her father and whenever he would go on tirades, she was left in tears. Emotionally trying to cope with her father's death, Janet still loves her family dearly.

McIntosh High School's Production.

Won Region One Act

Billy: Best Actor

Susan: Best Actress

Mary & Janet: All Star Cast

Cast Breakdown

3 Female

1 Male

7 Ensemble roles ( gender doesn't matter)

Synopsis

Shelagh Stephenson

Billy is an abusive and controlling father and husband. After tormenting his family for years, his daughters shoot and kill him. As they are taken in by the police, they retell their story of growing up with a monster. They are constantly haunted by Billy's ghost, who still has control over the family. All the while the wife and daughters explain what they've endured, Billy tells his side of the story, how he grew up, and tells the audience that he loved his family so much, it made him the man he was. With his memory ever present, the rest of the family tries to move forward and start their lives over.

Shelagh Stephenson was born in Northumberland in 1955 and studied drama at Manchester University. Her writing career started out by writing radio dramas, including Darling Peidi, The Anitomical Venus, and Five Kinds of Silence. Her first stage play, The Memory of Water, premiered in 1996. Stephenson has gone on to write more stage and radio plays. She adapted Five Kinds of Silence (published by Samuel French) for a stage play in 2005, and her stage play, The Memory of Water, into a movie called Before You Go in 2002 starring Julie Walters.

Major Works

Radio Plays

Darling Peidi

The Anatomical Venus

Five Kinds of Silence (Writer's Guild Award for Best Radio Play & Sony Award for Best Original Drama)

Life is a Dream

Nemisis

Stage Plays

The Memory of Water (Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy)

Five Kinds of Silence

An Experiment with an Air Pump (Peggy Ramsy Award)

Ancient Lights

Mappa Mundi

Enlightenment

The Long Road

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