Opening of
DEATH AND THE MAIDEN

Play by Ariel Dorfman

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > FILM > PLAYS vs. FILM > STORYTELLING > VISUAL/VERBAL > DEATH & MAIDEN

'. . .I found the characters trying to figure out the sort of questions that so many Chileans were asking themselves privately, but that hardly anyone seemed interested in posing in public. How can those who tortured and those who were tortured coexist in the same land? . . . And how do you reach the truth if lying has become a habit?'

-- Ariel Dorfman

1. Sound: The sea

2. Image: PAULINA sitting in the living room

3. Sound: Car approaching

4. Image: PAULINA getting up, looking out window

5. Sound: Car braking right outside

6. Image: Car lights hit her

7. Image: PAULINA gets a gun from a drawer

8. First Line of Dialogue
   • Longest Line of Dialogue: 61 words
     [47 words more than THE PASSENGER]

   • Average line: about 15 words
     [9 words more per line than THE PASSENGER]