RECOMMENDED AGE GROUP: Adults and young adults
LEVEL: 4 (EOI Advanced Level 2)
CHARACTERS
Judge Comyn, O´Connor, the priest/the farmer, Mr Keane, the prosecution council and the narrator.
SYNOPSIS
Judge Comyn, O’Connor and a priest meet on a train journey. To kill time, O’Connor pulls up a pack of cards and Judge Comyn suggests they play poker. At first they play without betting anything, but as the game progresses they decide to put more excitement into it and start betting money. In the end the priest, who was new to the game and initially hesitant to participate, manages to win and promises to donate the money to an orphanage.
On the following day Judge Comyn finds out that O’Connor is to be judged in his court under the charge of obtaining money by false pretences through cheating at cards. However, neither the prosecutor nor the plaintiff, Mr Keane, can prove him guilty since O’Connor was neither the one who initially suggested starting a poker game -Mr Keane was-, nor was he the winner -the third player, a farmer, was-. O’Connor is thus declared not guilty and acquitted.
Right after coming out of court Judge Comyn sees O’Connor drive past the building. The priest is also in the car and waves at him. Mr Keane happens to be standing next to the judge and he identifies the priest as the farmer who had won their poker game. Judge Comyn then realises he was also tricked.
CHARACTER OBJECTIVES
Judge Comyn: good-natured and trusting man who refuses to believe he has been tricked.
O’Connor: cunning Irish man who organizes the game and the scam.
The priest/the farmer: O’Connor’s accomplice. He pretends not knowing how to play poker.
Mr Keane: plaintiff at court. He claims he was cheated at cards by O’Connor.
The prosecution council: He wants to prove O’Connor guilty of fraud.
The narrator: He/she presents the setting of every scene and provides information on the development of the story.
SCENE BREAKDOWN
Scene 1
The three main characters meet on a train. They start playing poker although the priest is initially reluctant.
Scene 2
The game continues and they start betting money. The priest wins the game mostly at the expense of Judge Comyn who writes him a check when they arrive at their destination.
Scene 3
Judge Comyn is in court when O’Connor is brought forward to be judged. Neither Mr Keane nor the prosecutor can prove him guilty of fraud. O’Connor is released.
Scene 4
Judge Comyn meets Mr Keane outside court. They both see O’Connor and the priest/farmer driving by. Judge Comyn finally realizes he was also cheated at cards.
RELEVANT INFORMATION: For each scene different students play the parts so that everybody gets a chance to participate and the work is shared.
Depending on the number of students, the narrator may or may not be included.
Your students have already worked on the short story "Sharp practice" by Frederick Forsyth and that will mean a clear advantage at the outset towards generating a comfortable work environment. In my opinion, basing your outline on this material has the strength for pupils performing this play of departing from a well-known starting point and being able to share a co-operative activity that will no doubt trigger individual and collective imaginative ideas. That is a powerful common ground which can foster varied forms of artistic expression when dealing with the different problems posed in the scenes. It goes without saying that you must already have a detailed plan designed, so that all the steps taken in order to memorise roles or getting into character are first drafted in writing and then polished in a spoken way for a later collective performance.
ResponderEliminarDeveloping your outline can provide meaningful responses to explore literature and transfer this literary matter on to a drama environment. So as to develop the scenes form a language viewpoint, students must look for suitable structures and lexis to facilitate the constructing, and communicating of meaning through the exploration of the characters’ reactions and relationships in the story as well as the study of other aspects of putting on a play, including some of the various dramatic techniques available. Of course with a little (great) help from their teacher too! The mind, body and emotions are given opportunities to connect and function together rather than separately, enabling adults and young adults in your case to make all-round sense of their experiences as learners.
Ignacoll: Ignacio Collados
Best Regards
This play can certainly be performed by students of 4th ESO and 1st Bachillerato as well. Mainly because from my point of view stories containing tricks, secrets and lies have always good effects on them. It has lots of potential not only because betting and playing cards can be fun but also because the ending is quite astonishing.
ResponderEliminarThe students will probably learn about scams and hustle. Therefore they will definetelly learn how to use this vocabulary in the right context. From my experience I will play several episodes from “The Real Hustle” ( the BBC tv series ) before presenting the play as a way to make it more modern. In that way I can see a common ground because the play and the tv series deal with the topic of tricks and distraction scams.
Performing this play can be a nice challenge and I can see it developed for a theatre competition.