Adapting the Novel "Day After Night" — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

Adapting the Novel "Day After Night"

Name: Mikaley Osley
Major: Theatre and English
Hometown: Centennial, CO
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: SURE
Funding: SURE

Abstract

Anita Diamant’s novel Day After Night sheds light on post World War II, highlighting the displacement of Jewish refugees as they flee to Israel and establish statehood. The desire was to bring this story to life on the stage by adapting the novel into a play. In doing so, it was necessary to delve into the historical, political and religious worlds of the time. In order to transfer the story into a script for the stage, the text was studied on a basic level, focusing on the art of adaptation by reading books of the time period and their respective scripts, discovering what was changed and kept to maintain the plot structure and character arches. Additionally, the vernacular was pertinent for altering their speech while staying true to the character’s personality. In order to better understand the story, research was conducted on the historical affects of World War II, specifically the aftermath of the Holocaust, exploring what happened to the Jewish people immediately after the war was over. The majority of media portraying these historical events rarely includes the consequences; the public knows what happened during but not after. The purpose of this script was to present this forgotten, ignored history to a larger audience, opening their eyes to the issues of the past and the affect they have on the present. The political groups created at this time, such as the Zionists, ignited current political issues like the Palestine/Israeli conflict and escalated the animosity between the Arab and Jewish people. The research was compiled into a dramaturgy packet, or “educational packet”, for the designers, director, and actors to enhance the knowledge of the participants, enabling them to better portray an accurate story on the stage. The packet covers a variety of subjects such as defining religious terms, explicating on historical events, describing the typical diet, containing lyrics for songs, and reciting the aims of the different political groups. By adapting the novel into a script, it provides a creative outlet for this lost piece of history, giving it a voice, and thus utilizes the past for awareness and discussion in regards to today’s issues.

Poster file