The Professors: Approaching Storytelling from a Narrative and Visual Perspective
Date
2020-05
Authors
Plunkett, Cole
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Abstract
The Professors is a collection of three short stories—with adapted screenplays for each— about the unordinary and sometimes extraordinary lives of a group of professors. Within the collection are the stories “Bridal Crowns”, “Reset”, and “The Quinzicals”. Prose and screenwriting exist on opposite ends of the literary spectrum, so this collection provides a look into how they can work within their unique parameters to portray the same story.
Narrative, point of view, and stream of consciousness were the focus for crafting the short stories. With these elements, each story brings its unique, perhaps eclectic, structure. “Bridal Crowns” exists in a frame structure, bouncing from the present and the past of Mathew Brown. “Reset” has a poetic feeling to its nonlinear structure, while also briefly changing point of view. “The Quinzicals” is linear, however three narrators exist to tell the story of Quincey Quinzical.
Adaptation of the short stories into screenplays is achieved without dialogue. The adaptability of each of the stories varies widely. “Bridal Crowns” adapts in nearly the exact same structure in the screenplay as the short story. The structure of “Reset” is forced to be altered drastically in the screenplay, based on the nonlinear structure of the short story. “The Quinzicals” becomes almost an entirely different story in its adaptation, even becoming another character’s “story” altogether.
Adaptation of the short stories into screenplays is achieved without dialogue. The adaptability of each of the stories varies widely. “Bridal Crowns” adapts in nearly the exact same structure in the screenplay as the short story. The structure of “Reset” is forced to be altered drastically in the screenplay, based on the nonlinear structure of the short story. “The Quinzicals” becomes almost an entirely different story in its adaptation, even becoming another character’s “story” altogether.
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Keywords
narrative, action, adaptation, stream of consciousness, point of view, Honors College
Citation
Plunkett, C. (2020). The professors: Approaching storytelling from a narrative and visual perspective (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.