Music and Storytelling

The manual cinema adaptation of Frankenstein performed at the Court Theater was something very new to me. I was expecting there to be a live performance, but to my surprise the company did not execute the show with dialogue and acting. Instead they worked with overhead projectors, shadow puppetry, live film and many other moving parts to tell the story on stage and on screen. I could tell that there was a lot of work put into the production of this show and I was pleasantly surprised with the execution and how well I was able to understand the plot with little previous knowledge of the original story. When we first arrived, I was afraid that I would not be able to keep up with the story, but the use of music definitely helped. This is why, of all the the intricate parts of the play, the  automatic soundtracks and live music ensemble was the element that caught and kept my attention the most. Being that this performance had no audible dialogue, the music helped me to know when the atmosphere of the story was changing, how the characters interacted with each other, and when something very important was happening. It sets the tone for the entire scene and guides the audience towards what emotions they should feel at that point in the story. Music whether it be in movies, television shows, or plays like this one, has always been something that helps to enhance storytelling for me.