COMPLETE[PLAY] The Devil is an Ass by Ben Jonson - thw

[ToddHW]

Act 3 done, ready for final PL. I love the way the character voices go together - some speaking very quickly to prevent others interrupting and others speaking slowly and making the others wait upon every word.

Stage directions done perfectly. I cut out one "aside", I think, and moved a couple others forward.

Thanks, Todd

[Kitty]

hurray, I got to listen to the first assembled act I agree, Todd, the fast-talkers and slow-talkers are excellently mixed here. It's especially a great chemistry in the lengthy dialogue with Algy (Everill) and Brad (Meercraft) But the whole sounds totally cool. Considering it was not an easy text/language to handle, we all did great.

Here are a few suggestions for correction:

> at 4:57: p. 301: "to get so much law...as thou hast conscience" - here Meercraft should really cut off Gilthead in his sentence, so I would cut out the pause here

> at 5:31-5:35: p. 301: "Why I do mean it boy but what I do must not come easily from me" - this part could be a little bit amplified as I barely hear what he is saying here

> at 17:15: p. 306: "There, [turns them out on the table] they are just a hundred pieces" - I would put the narrator after "pieces" as only then the audience will know what "them" means

> at 31:49 and 32:16 and 32:36: p. 312: Pug aside - shouldn't we put in Pug here since you set it at the beginning of the speech ? that was in fact the ones I mentioned in my previous post.

Other than that, excellent job, Todd ! Wonderfully entertaining so far.

Sonia

[ToddHW]

I made all the corrections you suggest. Ready for spot PL.

Thanks, Todd

[Kitty]

I made all the corrections you suggest. Ready for spot PL.

oh that was fast ! excellently edited, all of it. Totally PL ok now. The third Act is DONE

Sonia

[ToddHW]

(Our previous narrator is back!)

Thanks, Todd

[ZamesCurran]

I've noticed that you are bottle-necked on the narrator. Would you like me to read one or two of the acts? (The stage directions really don't need vocal consistency between acts.) (And I'd really like to be part of a Jonson play....)

[sawasawaya]

Stage Directions, Act 2

https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/devilisanass_stagedirections_2.mp3

length: 7:20
volume 89.2 dB

Note:

At 4:05, I recorded both versions
"Meercraft whispers [to] him"
and also
"Meercraft whispers him" (as in the text)

so Todd can choose which he prefers, but at 6:36, I only recorded one version:

"Engine whispers [to] Meercraft"

and forgot to do one without the "to."
If that's important I can tack that on.

(Free today for file cleaning..., still at it.)

[ToddHW]

Thank you!

Todd

[ToddHW]

I've noticed that you are bottle-necked on the narrator. Would you like me to read one or two of the acts? (The stage directions really don't need vocal consistency between acts.) (And I'd really like to be part of a Jonson play....)

Thank you for the kind offer but as you can see above our narrator is hard at work on the remaining acts.

I will be launching a new Jonson once this is cataloged.

Thanks, Todd

[Kitty]

yay, glad to see another act is in Thank you so much, Sawa

at 6:36, I only recorded one version:
"Engine whispers [to] Meercraft"
and forgot to do one without the "to."
If that's important I can tack that on.

I think "whispers him" was an archaic way of saying it. We encounter it often in these old plays. But both mean the same thing, so it's not that important.

Here are a few suggestions for corrections, but actually only one of them is really a textual error:

> at 0:28: maybe repeat "Act 2" before launching into "Scene 1". Can't really remember how it was done for the other acts, and Todd could also copy it from the very beginning of the intro, so it's optional if you want to repeat it

> at 2:25: (p. 286) "Pug aside and exit" - maybe this could have been left in one stage direction, as he is probably saying this while exiting Todd, any thoughts on that ?

> at 3:59: (p. 290) "Exit Mrs Fitzdottrel" - you say "Mister"

> at 5:21: (p. 293) "aside and exit" - here as well, I think some of the final lines he may say while exiting. Maybe you could only record it once more together and without Pug, since he was already speaking. Todd will later check where best to place it. This is a tricky one indeed We need to check how it will sound later on assembled

(Free today for file cleaning..., still at it.)

great to hear that good luck

Sonia

[sawasawaya]

New file for Act 2
https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/devilisanass_stagedirections_2.mp3

7:23
89.3 dB

I inserted a repeat of "Act 2" at 0:28, as you suggested.
I fixed Mr --> Mrs. at 3:59 (Whoops!)

On the two instances of "Pug aside and exit," that was the first question I had about how to do the stage directions.

On page 17 of this thread I asked if "John Doe aside and exit" should be recorded as such, or as "John Doe aside" (to insert before he starts speaking) and "exit" (for when he's finished and leaving).

Todd wrote that he preferred it to be separated. I've checked my original raw file recording of Act 2 (done before I got Todd's answer) and I'd recorded it both ways, so I still could clean up the "combined" versions and re-insert them, but there are similar instances in other acts for which I only recorded the separated version.

I'll re-do it if necessary...

(Still file cleaning, making progress.)

[Kitty]

New file for Act 2
https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/devilisanass_stagedirections_2.mp3

thank you, that was fast !

Todd wrote that he preferred it to be separated.

oh ok, I must have missed that discussion, I'm sorry. Well if the big boss already sanctioned it, then I can safely mark this PL ok.

Yay and that means, Act 2 is ready to be assembled.

Sonia

[ToddHW]

New file for Act 2
https://librivox.org/uploads/toddhw/devilisanass_stagedirections_2.mp3

thank you, that was fast !

Todd wrote that he preferred it to be separated.

oh ok, I must have missed that discussion, I'm sorry. Well if the big boss already sanctioned it, then I can safely mark this PL ok.

Yay and that means, Act 2 is ready to be assembled.

Sonia

Stage directions were perfect. And Act 2 is now ready for final PL.

Thanks, Todd

[Kitty]

Stage directions were perfect. And Act 2 is now ready for final PL.

this sounds so cool Oh but wow, some sentences were really hard to understand. A big compliment for all the actors who waded through this undertaking.

I enjoyed every minute of this. Some of the best highlights for me in this act were: Brad as ever energetic Meercraft, Todd as pining and overly dramatic aspiring lover, Tomas in his very funny scene where he is crying over his supposed unfaithful wife, Sandra as the voice of reason amid all the silliness in her household and Rob enthusing over his friend Dicky Robinson.

But you were ALL great.

Here's only one small detail which could maybe be corrected, if you agree, Todd:

> at 39:21: (p. 296)

Meercraft“[...]When he has put on his lord’s face once, then--"
Fitzdottrel: “Sir, for these things [...]”

for me, the pause here is a bit long and lets Meercraft’s final “then” hover on too long before Fitzdottrel cuts him off

The rest absolutely well assembled.

Sonia

[ToddHW]

I will fix the pause tonight.

I too admire everyone's ability to make it so well through this difficult to read scanned text - you will be glad to know that the next Jonson comes from Gutenberg.org.

Thanks, Todd