In the Shadows of the Attic

In the Shadows of the Attic-Scene 2

Due: 2/2/09

‘In the Shadows of the Attic’ is about two sisters, Katie and Sophie who find a Victorian ghost in their attic named Annabelle. Katie is the first one to discover Annabelle but as the story progresses onwards, Sophie gets more and more interested in her and more and more involved in the story. Katie is a ‘typical’ girl of her age. She is the older sister and is interested in boys, make-up and clothes. Sophie is tenacious, eager to find out about Annabelle’s past. She is mentally alert, very smart and a sympathetic character. On the other hand, Katie is not much of a sympathetic character. Both of them should speak in a modern way as they have been born more recently than Annabelle. Annabelle is quite a lonely person as she has been in the same attic for over a hundred years. But she is also quite romantic and sentimental. Her voice should be more ‘posh’ but not too over the top. Jane should have a slight accent to her voice. As she is very frightened in this scene, she should hesitate a lot using pauses. This will make her voice contrast with the others. She is very panicky so should be jumpy a lot.

Moving from scene 1 to scene 2, the lights should dim a bit and the music should go on. The music should be quite slow so it emphasises the sad atmosphere. As Annabelle starts showing the girls the flashback, they could move the trunk as she is doing so. The lights should come back on and the music should go off. The stage should have layers with platforms at different levels and the characters should be positioned in a way so no backs are facing the audience. For example:

As the scene is being acted out, each person should ...

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As the scene is being acted out, each person should focus on their own character and think about what they should do next. As the flashback is being shown, Sophie and Katie must appear as if they are interested. They could use hand gestures and point out at what they are being shown. Their facial expressions should look as if they are horrified at what had happened to Annabelle. They should not just sit there; they should react at the same time.

When Jane first appears, she should look very nervous and say her first line in a terrifying voice. As soon as she has said her first line, Annabelle should react quickly when it is her turn to speak. Jane should hesitate when replying as she is unsure of what to say. When Jane hesitates again at the end of her line ‘He...he said...,’ Annabelle should have a bit of curiosity in her voice wanting to know what her father had said about her. When Jane tells Annabelle what her father had said. Annabelle is very scared and cannot face her father so she speaks in a hurry. But Jane is as petrified as she is. When Annabelle says ‘Jane, you haven’t told me everything have you?’ Jane knows she is guilty so fixes her eyes on the floor as she speaks. She tells Annabelle about what she knows, still hesitating when speaking. Near to the end of the scene, Annabelle smiles to herself about a memory of her and William, but then quickly changes her character as she figures out what kind of situation she has put herself through. She makes a sudden decision without even thinking it through. Annabelle should shot up in bed at the thought of this as she is in a hurry to get out. Jane rushes around the room to pack Annabelle’s bag throwing clothes as she does so. Annabelle gets ready to leave via the window when she hears a noise from outside. Both of them should freeze in the position that they are in so it looks natural. At this point Katie and Sophie should also look very terrified. The father then speaks. His voice should be overbearing and quite powerful. After he has spoken, there should be a short blackout to indicate that the flashback has ended. Sophie gets up wanting to know what happened next. She should say her next line during the blackout which is, ‘What happened? What did he do?’ After she has said this line, the lights should come back on and show Annabelle in the middle drifting off into the shadows in a ghost-like way. Sophie tries to go after her with her hands in front of her shouting, ‘Annabelle!’ Katie should follow Sophie. The two girls are left looking at each other. While they stay in that position, the music should come back on and the lights should fade into scene 3.

By Zara Shaikh S9