a few notes for telling
The Lighter
"money."
--The whole beginning is designed to get and keep attention.
"Hut Two Three Four," done like a soldier (use your arms!), pulls
the attention.
The grotesqueness of the witch compells attention-- her lip should get a
reaction!
The word "Money" is very compelling-- this is actually the key
to several con games.
(In a way, the Witch is playing a con game.)
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"Listen to me........take all the gold you want"
- "Get money!" gets the attention again.
- Witchy voice is all very well, but keep it mild or it's distracting.
This is explication, and has to be clear.
- Try to think of the three chests as three verses of an old song-- enjoy
the repetition, enjoy the build, don't run away from it. Make each one
as clear and enjoyable as possible. "Take all the gold you want"
ties it all up.
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Eyes as big as ferris wheels.
I have taken liberties . It's actually "eyes as big as millstones"
and "eyes as big as the Round Tower." Everybody in Denmark knows
how big the Round Tower is-- it's like "Big as The Empire State Building"
when I was a kid. (I don't know what it is now.) And in Andersen's day,
there were still mills and millstones to be seen. The key is to enjoy the
build, and when possible, to get a reaction. The reaction means, they're
seeing it!
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"Oh No, no money for me... all I want..."
With exaggerated innocence. The fox, having secretly eaten the farmer's
chicken, says to the farmer's offer of dogfood "Oh, no, none for me,
I'm watching my weight you know."
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"Lighter."
Well, of course it's not a lighter, it's a tinderbox. But Andersen's
listeners knew what a tinderbox was, and how it worked; it was kind of old-fashioned,
but you didn't have to stop and explain. (Sort of like a horse-and-plow
for us.) I like not stopping and explaining. A lighter, too, is flint and
steel; why not? Maybe a Zippo, for that old-fashioned quality.
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"Blank blank blank"
Use your imagination.
Whatever you think such a soldier would want to buy.
What would you want to buy?
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PULL
ME UP...... HAVE YOU GOT THE LIGHTER
Throw your head back grab the "rope" around your waist, and holler
up the tree.
Bend down, put your hands to your mouth, and as the witch, holler down the
tree.
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Curse.
or maybe the soldier says "Damn." He is a "real soldier,"
after all.
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Schlopp
This should be Punch-and-Judy like. Quick, loud argument, played for laughs.
The historical question of witches is best left alone, here.
"And that was the end of her." He walks briskly away from the
incident, so should you.
The soldier is an archetype, like something off a Tarot card. He acts completely
in charecter. This is dream-material. It is a strong world classic, like
Shakespeare and Stravinski and Stagger-Lee.
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That's all I can do for right now. You're on your own!
If you really need help, email me.
Tim Jennings
PO Box 522 Montpelier VT 05601
tim@folktale.net