Topic: Coppelia

Anthony De Luca

Date: 2018-04-19 19:49 EST
Cast

Doctor Coppelius - James Willis Swanilde - Merethyl Benoit Franz - Christian Benoit Coppelia - Pearl Fand Burgomeister - Darren Shaw (NPC) Swanilde's Mother (Burgomeister's Wife) - Julianne Dodd (NPC) Chinese Doll - Katy Lonergan (NPC) Spanish Doll - Eeva Cohen French Doll - Josette Wheeler Prayer - Anya De Luca

Anthony De Luca

Date: 2018-04-19 19:51 EST
Synopsis Act I

The story begins during a town festival to celebrate the arrival of a new bell. The town crier announces that, when it arrives, anyone who becomes married will be awarded a special gift of money. Swanhilde and Franz plan to marry during the festival. However, Swanhilde becomes unhappy with Franz because he seems to be paying more attention to a girl named Coppelia, who sits on the balcony of a nearby house. The house belongs to a mysterious and faintly diabolical inventor, Doctor Coppelius. Although Coppelia spends all of her time sitting motionless and reading, Franz is mesmerized by her beauty and is determined to attract her attention. Still upset with Franz, Swanhilde shakes an ear of wheat to her head: if it rattles, then she will know that Franz loves her. Upon doing this however, she hears nothing. When she shakes it by Franz's head, he also hears nothing; but then he tells her that it rattles. However, she does not believe him and runs away heartbroken.

Later on, Dr. Coppelius leaves his house and is heckled by a group of boys. After shooing them away, he continues on without realising that he dropped his keys in the melee. Swanhilde finds the keys, which gives her the idea of learning more about Coppelia. She and her girlfriends decide to enter Dr. Coppelius's house. Meanwhile, Franz develops his own plan to meet Coppelia, climbing a ladder to her balcony.

Act II

Swanhilde and her friends find themselves in a large room filled with people. However, the occupants aren't moving. The girls discover that, rather than people, these are life-size mechanical dolls. They quickly wind them up and watch them move. Swanhilde also finds Coppelia behind a curtain and discovers that she, too, is a doll.

Dr. Coppelius returns home to find the girls. He becomes angry with them, not only for trespassing but for also disturbing his workroom. He kicks them out and begins cleaning up the mess. However, upon noticing Franz at the window, Coppelius invites him in. The inventor wants to bring Coppelia to life but, to do that, he needs a human sacrifice. With a magic spell, he will take Franz's spirit and transfer it to Coppelia. After Dr. Coppelius proffers him some wine laced with sleeping powder, Franz begins to fall asleep. The inventor then readies his magic spell.

However, Dr. Coppelius did not expel all the girls: Swanhilde is still there, hidden behind a curtain. She dresses up in Coppelia's clothes and pretends that the doll has come to life. She wakes Franz and then winds up all the mechanical dolls to aid their escape. Dr. Coppelius becomes confused and then saddened when he finds a lifeless Coppelia behind the curtain.

Act III

Swanhilde and Franz are about to make their wedding vows when the angry Dr. Coppelius appears, claiming damages. Dismayed at having caused such an upset, Swanhilde offers Dr. Coppelius her dowry in return for his forgiveness. However, Swanhilde's father tells Swanhilde to keep her dowry and offers to pay Dr. Coppelius instead. At that point, the mayor intervenes and gives Dr. Coppelius a bag of money, which placates him. Swanhilde and Franz are married and the entire town celebrates by dancing.

((As always, this is the place where you can post for your characters, if you so desire. Hope you all have fun with it!))

Winter Pearl

Date: 2018-05-07 23:56 EST
Some people say, ‘The play’s the thing,’ and for some that is true. I found myself getting lost in the role of Coppelia. When I was in my tween stage, I spent a lot of time making my way through Uncle Eregor’s collection of films. A favorite of mine was and still is a story about a magical car, ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.’ The leading female role is that of Truly Scrumptious. The performance of her dancing like a wind up doll on music box helped me to get a very good idea of how Coppelia should move and dance. I pretended that I could hear gears in motion as I bent my elbows and knees. I had bit of fun with flopping forward as if hip gears had failed to work properly. Success! I could hear giggling in the crowd during the comedic moments. Dancing still gives me as much pleasure, now, as it did when I got my first pair of toe shoes. There is a freedom and joy in it that one does not always find in other activities.