Aplitscript

Desdemona sits, brushing her hair and preparing for bed.
Emilia enters and asks about Othello

as Othello lurks about the room (shadow near the back of the room).
Enter Emilia
Emilia: (sits by Desdemona) How are you, Desy? I noticed Othello looks less angry today.
Desdemona: Hell be back soon. He told me to go to bed and have you leave.
Emilia: Me? Leave?
Desdemona: Thats what he said. Can you get my pajamas, please?(Emilia stands and moves
to get Desdemonas nightgown, but starts to put the sheets on the bed instead) We cant irritate
him.
Emilia: (putting bed sheets on the bed) I wish you guys had never met.
Desdemona: I disagree. I love him so much that even when hes at his worst, I still need him
near me.
Emilia: I put sheets on the bed for you. (sits down by Desdemona again)
Desdemona: Okay. (leans in) Emilia, if I die tonight, wrap me in one of those sheets.
Emilia: (holds Desdemonas arm) Jesus, Desdemona! Dont talk like that!
Desdemona: You know, my mom had a friend who was in love once. He, the guy, turned out to
be crazy, and ended up strangling her. Its said that when you pass by her grave, you can still
hear her sing the song of willow, their love song.
Emilia: (leaning back and pointing away) Uh, should I go get your nightgown now?
Desdemona: No, dont worry about it. (Emilia waves Desdemona off and gets up to get the
nightgown)
(Desdemona singing) The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree,
Sing all a green willow.
Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee,
Sing willow, willow, willow.
The fresh streams ran by her and murmured her moans,
Sing willow, willow, willow;
Her salt tears fell from her, and softened the stones-
[noise] (Emilia drops the nightgown)
What was that?
Emilia: (retrieving the nightgown) I think it was just the wind.
Desdemona: Maybe you should go.
Emilia: (sitting by Desdemona again) Are you crazy? Im not leaving you here alone.
Desdemona: [pause] Tell me, Emilia, how do people find it in themselves to do this to each
other? To cheat?
Emilia: Well, I suppose there are some who can find it within themselves.
Desdemona: Would you do that?
Emilia: Why do you ask? Wouldnt you?
Desdemona: By Heavens light, no!
Emilia: Oh, I wouldnt, either. Not in the light ,[aside] but I might in the dark.
Desdemona: Would you really do something like that, even for all the world?
Emilia: The worlds such big prize for such a small sin.
Desdemona: Honestly, I wouldnt really do that.
Emilia: Honestly, I think I would. I wouldnt do it for flowers or gowns, but for the world? I mean,
if it benefited Iago, wouldnt it be wrong not to?
Desdemona: Damn me to hell if I ever did such a thing!
Emilia: Damn you? All the way to hell? Not innocent Desdemona! [pause] I think its okay to be
a little promiscuous sometimes.
Desdemona: I dont think anyone would do that, though.
Emilia: Yes. they would. But I think its their husbands faults if they do.
Desdemona: What do you mean?
Emilia: Well, say theyre not performing or they screw other women or theyre too jealous and
treat us badly, we deserve to get revenge. After all, women have wants and needs, too.
(standing and pacing back and forth) You see, men make this like a sport to use us and change
us. They want both the Christian wife and the sinful mistress. But dont women want the same
from men? But, you know what? Whatever. Let them go off and have their fun. Its their fault we
act out like this anyway.
[a new noise] (Desdemona stands)
Desdemona: What was that? Maybe you should go. (pushing Emilia out of the room) Goodnight.
Emilia Exits
Key:
Black: Stage Directions, notes
Red: Desdemonas lines
Blue: Emilias lines
Reflection:
~What scene you picked and why:
Elizabeth: We picked the scene between Emilia and Desdemona in part due to the
number and gender of the characters and also because of the content; the list of reasons why a
woman would be allowed to cheat on her husband was very interesting coming from Emilias
character.
~What genre(s) you picked and why:

Chandler: We decided to pick horror/suspense because the scene we did (IV. iii. pg.
211-219) is a foreshadowing of Desdemonas death, which in itself is very morbid and serious.
Desdemona has a premonition of her death, sensing that Othello will strangle her. In our
minds, this scene was malleable enough to fit in with a horror/suspense theme. To increase the
seriousness of the situation, we added creepy music and horror sound effects: slamming doors,
breaking glass, creepy music for Elizabeth to sing to, etc. I think that the scene translated well
into a suspenseful script dripping with dramatic irony, which is why we picked that genre.
~What roles each person did:

Chandler: I played Emilia because I thought it would be interesting to portray such a
raunchy character, for lack of a better word. Emilia is very comforting to Desdemona and
worried for her safety, but she is also a little abrasive and spouts off some quite controversial
statements for that time period. She has a very vibrant personality filled with passion and vitality.
I thought it would be quite a challenge for me to play someone so outspoken, raw, and angry.
Im not really like Emilia (Im more like Desdemona), so I thought it would be fun to change
things up and play a character so different from me.
Elizabeth: I played Desdemona because her part included singing, and Chandler
wouldnt sing. Thats pretty much it. Also, I wanted to play her because I find her interesting in
her innocence and perfection.
~What you learned overall from this project and activity; how did it help you with the
scene?
Elizabeth: I learned about the overall tone of the various scenes as taken from different
perspectives. When performing the scene, I found that I learned more about Desdemonas
character and why she forgave Othello so quickly. She seemed to take the fault as more in
herself than anything else. I also found that Emilias character tended to be less forgiving, and
that she was more progressive than was socially acceptable in Elizabethan England.
Chandler: Doing this project allowed me to visualize the scene better and atmosphere of
the setting. It also provoked more insight into the characters, as I had to ponder how Emilia
would talk, her intentions, and her actions. Shes very assertive and progressive, as Elizabeth
said above, but shes also incredibly caring. She loves Desdemona so much and wants to
protect her more than anything. I visualized her talking to Desdemona in a soothing and
comforting way, not mocking or angry at her. Emilia is worried, no doubt, but shes trying to stay
calm and be there for Desdemona. Emilia goes on rants about men and has very controversial
viewpoints, but these arent directed at Desdemona. Because of all this, Elizabeth and I had to
make several changes to the script as we started to truly realize how the characters would
interact and I think that allowed us to understand the entire scene better as our knowledge of
the characters increased.

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Desdemona sits, brushing her hair and preparing for bed.

Emilia enters and asks about Othello

~What genre(s) you picked and why:

~What roles each person did:

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