Mastering Storytelling Elements: "The Frog Prince" Analysis

1. Storytelling Unit 25

2. FLT Today I am developing key elements. So that I can tell a story. I’ll know I’ve got it when I can identify these elements in the story, “The Frog Prince.”

3. Key Elements • Placement of Characters • Movement of Characters and Objects • “movement” vocabulary • Classifiers • Role shift • Continuity • Using specific time signs • Modifying verbs • Using other transitions

4. Key Elements • Character Development • Role shifting character’s reactions/comments • Role shifting character’s thoughts • Special Features • Repeated sequence of actions (in “The Frog Prince”) • Rhythmic Sign Movement (in “The Bridge of Magpies”) • Metamorphosis (in “The Magic Mirror of Rabbi Adam”)

5. The Frog Prince

6. Analyzing Key Elements How was the title of the story presented?

7. Analyzing Key Elements 1. How was the title of the story presented? TITLE fs-THE FROG PRINCE (Note the title is given left to right)

8. Analyzing Key Elements 2. Who are the characters in the story? How are they referred to throughout the story?

9. Analyzing Key Elements 2. Who are the characters in the story? How are they referred to throughout the story? • Youngest daughter/princess • PRINCESS • Frog • FROG (DCL:5 claw “frog throat”) • and later as YOUNG MAN • Father/king • KING/FATHER • Witch • WOMAN

10. Analyzing Key Elements 3. Give a general description of each character

11. Analyzing Key Elements 3. Give a general description of each character • Youngest princess • The most beautiful of all the sisters • Self-centered/condescending – she never intended to keep her promise • Squeamish- how she reacted to the frog sharing her bed and dinner • Frog • Insistent-he never gave up and got the princess to fulfill her promise • Ugly- the way he looked and moved (popped out eyes, puffed cheeks) • Prince • Young, handsome, in love – princess fell in love with him • Father • Fair, honest – he insisted his daughter fulfill her promise

12. Analyze Key Elements 4. What is the story about?

13. Analyze Key Elements 4. What is the story about? The story is about a princess and a frog. The princess made a promise to the frog that he could eat and sleep with her if he retrieved her golden ball. The frog did it but the princess returned home thinking she didn’t have to keep her promise. The next evening the frog showed up at the castle requesting she keep her promise. Having no other choice, she allowed the frog to eat and sleep with her for three days. On the third day, the frog, who had been cursed, became a young man. The two fell in love, married and lived happily ever after.

14. Placement of Characters Your story requires at least 3 characters. • Placing of two characters • Begin by placing the two most significant characters. Place the first character on the signer’s dominant side and then place the second character on the non-dominant side.

15. Placement of Characters • Adding a Third Character • To introduce a third character to the story, you need to first determine its relationship to the other two characters. If the third character deals primarily with the character on the left (character 2), then the character should come in from the left side, stay on the left, and exit from the left side.

16. Movement of Characters and Objects Your story must involve two different locations. There are ways to show characters or objects moving between the locations. • “Movement” Vocabulary • Signs like GO-TO, WALK, ENTER, LEAVE-from can be used to indicate movement in general. • The orientation and/or direction of the sign movements should correspond to where characters are placed. • For example: • If a character is placed on the left side of the narrator and you want to show the character entering the house of the character on the right, the sign Enter should move toward the right to show agreement.

17. Movement of Characters and Objects • Classifiers • Another way to show characters moving is to use a semantic classifier like SCL:1 “person running away” or “person pacing around the room.” Facial expressions should be added to the semantic classifier to tell how this person moved, i.e. slowly, anxiously, excitedly. • To show objects moving, use other classifiers like: • Locative classifiers to show a ball in the air • LCL:1 “trace the ball’s path through the air” • Locative classifier to show a book falling • LCL:S “ball bouncing across room” • Locative classifier to show a book falling • LCL:B “book falling” • Semantic classifier to show a chair being thrown across the room • SCL:V “chair thrown across room”

18. Movement of Characters and Objects • Classifiers • By adding facial expressions, the speed and/or manner in which the object or person moves can be shown. • For example: • At extreme speed (“oo” mouth and eyes squinted) • Awkwardly (move your head sideways with “th” mouth) • Loudly as it hits a surface (use “pow” mouth)

19. Movement of Characters and Objects • Role Shift • Wandering Eye Gaze • One aspect of role shift that shows a character’s movement is called “wandering eye gaze.” This is done when the storyteller role shifts, slightly swaying from side to side with eyes wandering, while describing the character’s action – like “announcing to different people” or “walking down the road carrying a ball.” • Matching Actions • The movement of an object can be shown with role shift as well. Instrument classifiers can be used with role shift to depict the character handling an object like throwing, dropping, or passing it along. When two characters give or exchange an object, the storyteller role shifts both characters to show the object being given and received. We call this “matching actions.” • For example: role shift two characters throwing/catching ball • BOY rs:boy ICL “throw ball” LCL:1 “trace the ball’s path from boy to girl” GIRL rs:girl ICL “catches ball”

20. Maintain Continuity • What is continuity? Your story must have at least two different time frames • To maintain a sense of continuity as the story progresses, the passage of time needs to be indicated. • Using specific time signs • Some time signs tell us how much time has elapsed between scenes or events. • For example: • WEEK++ (for “week after week”) • ALL-NIGHT !MORNING! (for “the next morning”) • ONE-DAY (for “one day”) • NEXT NIGHT (for “the next night”) • EVERY-NIGHT, EVERY-MORNING (for “every night and every morning”)

21. Maintain Continuity • Modifying Verbs • Adding circular or repetitive movements to the verb indicates the action occurred over a period of time. • For example: • WOMAN STAND-cont WAIT-cont • RAIN-cont, WATER ECL “flood starting” • BOY GRIEVE-HEART, CRY-cont • Using other transitions • The following signs help to move the story forward by signaling the beginning of the next set of events. • For example: • FINISH (for “after that…” or “and then…”) • !WRONG! (for “unexpectedly” or “suddenly”)

22. Character Development This element focuses on how an ASL storyteller can effectively show the personality and/or moods of the characters. A good ASL storyteller develops characters not by using descriptive adjectives for a character’s personality or actions, but by role shifting to show how the character talks, reacts, thinks, and feels throughout the story.

23. Character Development • Role shifting character’s reactions/comments • The story teller can reflect a character’s personality throughout their reactions and comments by assigning a particular signing style to the character. • For example: • Changing, the size of the sign • Bigger signs can show the state the character is in – excited, drowsy, or in a drunken stupor • Changing the tempo of the sign • Sign slowly as a wise man would sign, or sign fast as a panicked person would sign • Exaggerating the sign to reflect strong emotions • A sign that is normally made on one hand is made with both hands

24. Character Development • Examples • A girl reacts to what she sees in her hand: • GIRL rs:girl LOOK-AT “own hand” - react with disgust - react with admiration -react with horror • A girl makes a comment to someone: • GIRL rs:girl NICE MEET YOU -say with sarcasm -say with excitement -say with anger

25. Character Development • Role shift character’s thoughts • The storyteller can show a character’s thoughts in order to give us a peek into the character’s reasoning, motivations, or plans. • One way to do this is breaking eye contact with the other character, shifting the eye gaze up and away and lowering the signing, giving the impression the character is not relating directly to the other character in the scene, as s/he “thinks out loud.”

26. Special Features Special features will be discussed as they appear in the stories that are shown in class.

27. The Frog PrinceSegment 1

28. First Segment (traditional opening) The story opened with what sign?

29. First Segment • (traditional opening) The story opened with what sign? • LONG-TIME-AGO

30. First Segment What was the sign/description for “castle”?

31. First Segment (placement) Where are the castle, the king, and the forest placed?

32. First Segment • (placement) Where are the castle, the king, and the forest placed? • The castle and the king were placed on the storyteller’s right side. The forest was placed on the storyteller’s left side (where the frog will come from).

33. The Frog PrinceSegment 2

34. Second Segment What transition sign was used to begin the body of the story?

35. Second Segment • What transition sign was used to begin the body of the story? • ONE+DAY

36. Second Segment (placement and movement) In which direction did the princess go with her ball and how did she move?

37. Second Segment • (placement and movement) In which direction did the princess go with her ball and how did she move? • The storyteller shows the princess walking toward his left side in the direction of the forest: • WALK, ICL “princess walking swaying body with ball in hand,” SCL:1 “girl wandering through the woods,” GO-THROUGH “woods.”

38. Rehearse Character Movement • Rehearse the scene with an attitude of enjoyment. • puffed cheeks, pursed lips, relaxed face WALK, ICL “princess swaying body with ball in hand,” SCL: 1 “princess wandering through the woods;” GO- THROUGH “woods,” TREES-PASS-BY.

39. Rehearse Character Movement • Rehearse the scene with an attitude of tiredness and weariness. • Open and close jaw, strained eyes WALK, ICL “princess swaying body with ball in hand,” SCL: 1 “princess wandering through the woods;” GO- THROUGH “woods,” TREES-PASS-BY.

40. The Frog PrinceSegment 3

41. Third Segment (placement) Where were the frog and the princess placed?

42. Third Segment • (placement) Where were the frog and the princess placed? • The frog was placed on the left side, and the princess on the right side.

43. Third Segment (movement) How did the ball, the princess, and the frog move about this scene? What is the attitude?

44. Third Segment • (movement) How did the ball, the princess, and the frog move about this scene? What is the attitude? • Ball: LCL:1 “thrown high in air,” LCL:S “bouncing on ground and off tree,” LCL:1 “going down well,” ROLL • Princess: WALK, SCL:1 “bend over well,” WALK, SIT, RUN, ZOOM-AWAY-right • Frog: SCL: bent V “frog diving, jumping, sitting” NOTE: The storyteller used a certain signing tempo, attitude, and mood to match the movement of the characters and the ball.

45. Third Segment (continuity) How were these signs WAIT and NONE modified to show the passage of time?

46. Third Segment • (continuity) How were these signs WAIT and NONE modified to show the passage of time? • Small circular movements were added – “At the well, the princess waited and waited” (WAIT-cont) for the frog to return, and when he still didn’t come (NONE-cont), she went to sit.”

47. Third Segment (character development) How did the princess and the frog react toward each other and how was it portrayed?

48. Third Segment • (character development) How did the princess and the frog react toward each other and how was it portrayed? • (princess’s thoughts before frog appears) _______cond __________nod OPEN-VISION ME ICL “gets ball back,” ME PRESENT-TO CLOSE-VISION • (princess’s thoughts upon seeing the frog) disbelief !FROG! • (frog asking the princess with a look of concern) _____________concerned WHAT-MATTER YOU CRY…

49. Third Segment • (Princess’s thoughts and response to frog’s inquiry) ______________disgusted (thought) ME CRY, ASK-me !(wh)SICK!...(response) ME BALL IX-dir “down well” LOST IX-dir “down well” • (frog’s comments) _____________________cond __________________ SUPPOSE ME ICL “give ball to you” …PROMISED ME US-TWO, _________________q ICL “give ball to you” YOU. • (princess’s thoughts and reaction) ______________________________________ (thought) ME BCL “reacting in disgust” LOOK-AT, BCL _disgusted _disbelieving ___________not serious “hands out” IMPOSSIBLE…(response) ME PROMISE “shoo-shoo”

50. Third Segment • (Princess’s thoughts and reaction when seeing the ball rolling toward her) ______________surprised _delighted TRUE+BIZ, ICL “picks up ball” !EXCITED! • (frog’s comments and reaction when princess leaves him behind) ______________________despair ____________ YOU FORGET ME, YOU PROMISE ME…DEPRESSED, SAD, _________________sad LOOK-AT-down (1h) QUIET.