by Thornton Wilder

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by Thornton Wilder
Our Town

• A PowerPoint by Jennifer Bufkin

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Characters
Emily
George
Stage Manager
Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs
Mr. and Mrs. Webb
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Emily

• Ordinary girl in a small town at the turn of the
  century.
• Bright, charming, somewhat naïve
• Marries George
• Dies in childbirth
• Allowed one more day

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George
All-American boy Baseball player Wants to be a
farmer Marries Emily Becomes a widowed father
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Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs

• Parents of George
• Dr. Gibbs is the town doctor
• Mrs. Gibbs dies of pneumonia
• Mrs. Gibbs is Emily guide to the afterlife

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Mr. and Mrs. Webb

• Parents of Emily
• Mr. Webb is the editor of the local newspaper
• Mrs. Webb mother of two children who die young

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Stage Manager
Omniscient God-like character Narrator Plays
roles within story without really being a part of
the story
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A Play in Three Acts
Act I The Daily Life
Act II Love and Marriage
Act III - Death
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Act I - The Daily Life

• Children go to school
• Milkman delivers the milk
• Babies are born
• Mothers attend church choir

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Act II - Love and Marriage

• George and Emily graduate from high school.
• They fall in love.
• Marriage unites two families.

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Act III- Death

• Emily dies giving birth to her second child.
• She joins family and friends in the cemetery.
• Given the chance to re-live one day.
• Realizes we never appreciate what we have until
  its gone.

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Representational Sets

• Minimal sets
• Tables, chairs, and ladders to represent houses
• No props
• Lighting and sound important

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Setting
Grovers Corners, New Hampshire
Representational Settings
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Grovers Corners, NH

• Fictional town
• Represent life in all small towns
• Set at the turn of the 20th century
• Family, home, and church are the centers of the
  community.

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Thornton Wilder wrote Our Town in opposition to
the realistic plays being produced at his time.
He wanted something that was a throwback to the
old style of theatre where the audience was
forced to use their imagination and become a part
of the play.
The Play
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