Educating Rita Coursework Task
Imagine you are directing a production of Willy Russell’s play, Educating Rita.
Prepare the text of a talk you will give to the actors playing the roles of Frank and Rita, explaining your rationale for your choices.
In this talk, you will need to explain to the actors the underlying motivations and reasons for their performance, and what you wish the audience to perceive during the course of the play.
You can prepare notes on the following scenes:
Act 1, Scene 1
Act 2, Scenes 4 and 5
In your notes, comment on the following:
· The dramatic function(s) of your chosen scene(s)
What does this scene need to ‘do’ in the overall context of the play and your performance?
· The state/development of the characters in your chosen scene(s)
What does the audience ‘know’ about Frank and Rita? What remains to be known? How have the characters developed over the course of your passage?
· Russell’s use of language to reveal characters or create dramatic tension
Select some ‘key lines’ for each character, and analyse Russell’s’ language (and its effects)
· The underlying themes/ideas of the play that are revealed
How is Russell’s “social comment” being made?
· The dramatic effect on the audience
How is the audience meant to react/feel during this scene? Why?
Remember, you are not giving specific directions (“Frank should be jumping up and down, shaking his head about wildly”) to your actors—rather, you are explaining your perceptions and insights into the play.
