Comparing and Contrasting a Stage and Film Version of the Same Play

A stage play is a form of literature consisting of dialogues between characters who through their actions controlled by a script convey a story to the audience. Film, on the other hand, is a series of still images which when shown on a screen creates an illusion of moving images to the audience. A play is meant to be performed on the stage before a live audience who are usually seated in an auditorium. It is much harder to accomplish what picture the intentions of the playwright in a play but in a movie that element is overcome because there is a better attempt to meet the expectations of a movie.

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To contrast, we must recognize how the play or film preserves the original script of the play by paying attention to what was changed and what remained the same during dialogue, the changes in scenes, costumes, or the setting. Plays always stick to the original version of the play because the audience has most likely seen the play in a book and like to hear and watch word by word the actors convey during the play. In the case of a movie, the audience has not seen the script, so it is hard to establish whether dialogue between characters has strayed or not.

Stage plays are expected to comply with the play in the sense that description of clothes worn by characters must be incorporated in the costumes. The costumes contribute to the mood and also helps to enhance the character traits of an actor. The actors of a play must be all together in scenes and what is done live must be able to be done in the background. Movies may defy this particular trait and be able to create illusions showing something happened in the film which in reality never happened. This is called fiction.

The comparison and contrasts between a stage and film version of the same play, for instance, Hamlet that was authored by William Shakespeare is a story that was both produced as a theatrical play and also films in different versions but still the same story. There is comparison drawn out between the actual play and the film version of Hamlet and includes; the way the play and

The movie begin. In the play, the first scene shows us guards standing guard at the castle with a friend of Hamlets, Horatio. They are waiting for the ghost of Hamlets father which arrives twice but does not speak. The scene ends with them discussing how they should get Hamlet to try and speak with his fathers Ghost to try and find out who murdered him. The Hamlet movie begins in a different scene showing King Hamlets funeral with Gertrude standing beside the coffin.

The two first scenes in the movie and the play differ yet the story remains the same. This leaves behind a fact to explore about movies which are; they can be produced from the same play but have different versions of setting and scenes. Plays cannot afford the change in version but are repeated over and over again the only change being theaters and location. Actors in a play cannot have more than one roles whereas in movies a character can be able to juggle more roles than one. Movies are more economical in terms of character roles whereby a street circus can be hired for only a day and their roles end. For plays, a set of actors has to be full at every performance of the play that is in the season.