Inherit the Wind Response_Paul Ahn
The first thing I noticed when I started to read the script to “Inherit the Wind” was that the script does not only contain the dialogues was each characters but also contains the concept and ambiance of the act. Its purpose I’m sure is to aid actors but it also helped me feel the atmosphere the script writer wished to convey. For example “It is important to the concept of the play that the town is visible always, looming there, as much on trial as the individual defendant.” fore tells me to focus on the reactions of the crowd and how they would interact with each characters almost as if the crowd themselves is one character. As the story moves on the comparison between the town folks belief and there admiration of Mr. Brady is recurring subject in the beginning of the play as they blindly idolize Mr. Brady similarly as they blindly follow their beliefs. Assuming that since a great man like Mr. Brady comes into accuse Mr. Cates it must be that Cates must have done something wrong.
In contrast to the crowd Mr. Drummond is one of the few voice that is against Mr. Brady and his somewhat obnoxious but poignant ways of confronting Mr. Brady is well explained throughout the script with set actions. For example, in the process of choosing the juries Mr. Brady jeers at Mr. Drummond’s fashion choice of suspenders but Mr. Drummond comes back successfully that humors the crowd. Mr. Drummond’s confidence and his sarcastic humor towards Mr. Brady is emphasized by well timed cocking of his suspenders. The script describes the timing of this action and one can see that it is not only the dialogues that matter but also the gestures and the right costumes. During their confrontation the script also includes the right way for each characters to react. The actors of course will automatically know how to react by their common sense by reading their script but it seems just as important to tell the actors the exact psyche the director wants in each of the characters. “ DRUMMOND snaps the suspenders jauntily. There is amused reaction at this. BRADY is nettled: this is his show and he wants all the laughs. The JUDGE pounds for order.”
As this description shows, the script describes the gestures, reactions, and the psyche of the characters. The crowd being described as one character.
The play itself is mostly based upon a trial so naturally there are a lot of events and confrontations that staged upon the courtroom and what is interesting is that a court hearing is in it self a theater or a spectacle since there is a script that each side prepares and there is a crowd to watch (where some of them are entertained). It is of course however that real life trial might not be as dramatic as media might make it out to be, but nevertheless it is a scene and it is an event. Each of the accused and the accuser interacts with the Jury and the crowd. Sometimes the crowd cheers and sometimes they jeer making them a crucial part of the atmosphere that will eventually determine the outcome of the trial (decision of the juries). The speeches or the defense each defendant and accuse give to the jury (Not sure about the exact terms but I’m describing the two lawyers on the opposite sides as defendant and accuse, in this case Mr. Drummond and Mr. Brady) is in itself a monologue. When Mr. Drummond pleas to the jury that this trial is not just about their belief being violated but more crucially about the freedom to think and question, he is delivering a monologue to an audience.
All in all the script of “Inherit the Wind” was a great and satisfying one to read. It also gave insight to the actual structure of scripts and gave me the basic idea on how actors would read the scripts and practice with it accordingly to the atmosphere or concept of the entire play.