The Stage Manager essentially plays
the role of the audience’s guide
. He breaks through the fourth wall—the imaginary barrier between the audience and the action on the stage—to facilitate a dialogue between the audience and the content of the play.
Is the Stage Manager a resident of Grover’s Corners?
The stage manager begins and concludes the play, and coordinates it throughout all three acts. He is both part of the world of Grover’s Corners and outside of it: he describes himself as
a resident of the town
and acts as various townspeople such as Mr.
What does the Stage Manager say is eternal in our town?
The something “eternal” that the Stage Manager refers to is
the way in which people affect others when they are on earth and the memories that they create
. These memories live on, beyond the time when people die.
How old is the Stage Manager in our town?
Goes from
age 16 to 20
, (and is 32 in the final act appearance). It is a 16 of 1901 which is a sincere and naïve age. He is an idealist and a romantic. The love story with him and Emily is the spine of the action of the play.
What does Simon Stimson represent in our town?
Stimson’s
misfortunes to explore the limitations of small town life
. … Stimson appears in the group of dead souls in Act III, having committed suicide by hanging himself in his attic. He is perhaps most notable for his short speech in Act III, when he says that human existence is nothing but “[i]gnorance and blindness.”
What symbolic gesture does the stage manager make at the end of the play?
People don’t appreciate the time they have on earth and appreciate the little things in life. What two symbolic gestures does the Stage Manager make at the end of the play? What does each gesture suggest? One symbolic gesture was
when he winds his watch
.
Who is the stage manager our town?
Our Town, a 2003 television film adaptation starring
Paul Newman
as the Stage Manager.
Why does Wilder begin our town with the stage manager?
Wilder deliberately makes the Stage Manager’s location in the play ambiguous, because it is precisely this ambiguity that allows the
Stage Manager to bridge the gap between the audience and the characters onstage
. The Stage Manager essentially plays the role of the audience’s guide.
Who do stage managers work with?
Stage managers typically provide practical and organizational support to
the director, actors, designers, stage crew and technicians
throughout the production process. They also are the director’s representative during performances, making sure that the production runs smoothly.
Why are there no props in Our Town?
Finally, in both Our Town and the shorter plays, Wilder
required the actors to employ a pantomime technique
(the soda shop scene in Act II, for example), rather than using the realistic stage props so common at the time.
What happens to Emily in Our Town?
Emily has died from giving birth to her second child
. She goes to the cemetery plot where her body will rest.
Why did Thornton Wilder write Our Town?
Wilder’s principal message in Our Town—that
people should appreciate the details and interactions of everyday life while they live them
—became critical at a time when political troubles were escalating in Europe. World War II was on the horizon when the play hit theaters in 1938.
What did Emily say about life in our town?
“Live people don’t understand
,” Emily says. Sitting with the dead, now one of them herself, Emily remarks how distant she feels from the living. Even so, Emily says, she still feels like one of the living, and against the advice of the other dead souls, she decides to go back and relive one happy day from her life.
Who was Simon Stimson in our town?
Simon,
the town drunk and choir director
, is the sore thumb that sticks out in Our Town’s perfect tableau of small town life. His drinking problem is by far the most serious problem we see in Grover’s Corners, yet none of the townspeople makes an effort to reach out to him.
What does the moon represent in our town?
The moon in Our Town symbolizes
beauty and the eternal
. This is a bit of a stretch though, because the moon itself may just be the moon.
What is the theme of Act 3 in our town?
The dead souls
in Act III emphasize this theme of transience, disapproving of and chastising the living for their “ignorance” and “blindness.” The dead even view George’s grief and prostration upon Emily’s grave as a pitiable waste of human time.
