WorksheetsILE
Total questions: 10
Worksheet time: 5mins
The main conflict that plays out in the clip from the opera version of Ile is between
Captain Keeney and the ice.
Annie and Captain Keeney.
Captain Keeney and his crew.
Annie and the ship’s crew.
The opera version of Ile addresses the playwright’s directions for the setting by
staging the performance in an actual ship’s cabin.
staging the performance on the deck of a real ship.
using a few small props on a bare stage.
making the stage look like a ship’s cabin.
In the opera version of Ile, characters sometimes move to the back of the stage and turn their backs
to the audience. This indicates that they
have left the cabin to go up on deck.
are angry with the other characters.
want to ignore the captain’s problem.
are plotting a mutiny against the captain.
In the opera’s dialogue between Annie Keeney and Captain Keeney, the ideas that are most
important to each character are given emphasis when the
character strides forcefully across the stage and uses dramatic gestures.
character stretches out key words such as home and ile, singing them louder.
music suddenly stops.
music becomes softer.
O’Neill’s stage directions describe Captain Keeney as “a man of about forty, around five-ten in height
but looking much shorter on account of the enormous proportions of his shoulders and chest.” In
casting Keeney for the opera version of Ile, the director chose an actor who
is shorter and stouter than the character described in the stage directions.
is taller and leaner than the character described in the stage directions.
perfectly matches the character described in stage directions.
has a less powerful presence than the playwright described.
The opera’s setting and music help create a mood that can best be described as
bleak
hopeful
uplifting
menacing
In the opera, the captain’s voice is strong and powerful, but he softens it when he
insists that he needs more oil.
speaks to a crew member.
asks Annie if she knows him.
tells Annie he will turn back.
In the opera, when news comes that the ice to the north has broken up, the music
suddenly stops.
slowly softens.
gets louder and faster.
becomes mournful.
Annie’s state of mind at the end of the opera is expressed by
discordant music and her maniacal laughter.
soft, sad music punctuated by Annie’s sobbing.
her refusal to answer her husband’s questions.
pleasant, hopeful music and her delighted laughter.
The photograph of the performance of Ile at the Mystic Seaport Museum shows that the director
stayed true to the playwright’s staging directions.
made unconventional casting and staging choices.
made unusual costuming choices for the characters.
used the setting to create a stuffy, cramped atmosphere.
