This movie scene was not only made with the purpose of demonstrating the conflicts Sor Juana faced having to deal with many religious prohibitions, but it was also written as in demonstrating the fact that even though Sor Juana faced a colossal quantity of criticism throughout her life, there were still a limited amount of people, as represented by Sister Emeline in this movie scene, who were capable of believing and sanctioning her as a role-model who deserved recognition and acceptance as an intellectual in society.
Movie Scene
*Stage directions will be higlighted throughout text!*
Description of scene and scenery: setting is inside the convent, in Sor Juana`s room which is represented and purposely arranged with simple and small objects including a smaller bed (to represent the fact that little of her time was spent sleeping) and a cramped wardrobe( to emphasize the fact that as a nun she didn't have a variety of clothes), all with the purpose to make her private library seem even bigger.
*Scene begins with Sor Juana Ines in her regular religious clothing sitting in her drawer, very dark room with only a lamp illuminating the scene (reflector needs to be located on top of scene so that the light present in the room is natural). She is writing a poem and while she is writing it, make sure actress whispers every word to herself as if showing Sor Juana is trying to think of the best possible words to write down:
-"From that day on, we would all know and embrace, the beautiful features hidden in every woman's face." (Actress representing Sor Juana needs to be extremely attentive and concentrated. Actress also needs to write slowly so that the words she whispers seem to match the words of the poem she is supposedly writing.)
Suddenly, there would be an abruptly knock on the door, Sor Juana quickly gets all of her books and throw them under the bed and cover the library with a blanket (actress`s face should look worried and desperate, reflector`s light is now moved to the door in order to accentuate the presence of another person in the seen).
Sor Juana opens the door carefully and peeks into the little space between the door and the wall, when presumably she recognizes the individual knocking and opens the door(Actress should be very careful when opening the door so that the in angle the camera is in, the person knocking is not immediately revealed causing suspense).
When the person comes in, its revealed the identity of another nun who seems to be very afraid and who is still wearing her daily clothes. (Light is moved to the center of the scene as the other nun and Sor Juana approach the interior of the room.)
-"Sor Juana, even if someone could see me in the hallways, I had to come here at this exact hour, I had to talk to you about the book." (Actress should look worried as if she was relieved for getting in the room, but as if she had something very important to discuss.)
-"Sister Emeline, you scared me! I was writing a poem when you knocked, I thought that maybe it was the priest and that maybe he would try to convince me to stop writing once again. But what is it about the book you want to talk about?" (Actress` face needs to look relaxed and relieved as if the presence of Sister Emeline was actually a good thing.)
-"I wanted to talk to you about how incredibly reading this book has helped me expand my vocabulary and my interpretations! I swear, that since I started reading about the literary components of ancient writings and how to identify them, I started relating much more to the Bible and observing in it things I have never observed before!"(Sister Emeline`s character should look very excited and proud of her reading, she should also hold the book in the air so that the camera can capture the title of the book.)
-"I am very contented and proud of you Sister Emeline! I know most of the sisters here don`t understand the purposes of seeking for knowledge and that they will never be able to embrace the fact that understanding what surrounds us, isn't a sin, it is a right all of us women and men have. " (Sor Juana`s face needs to look kind of disappointed, actress should sit down in the chair next to her drawer and make a hand gesture as if telling the sister to sit down on her armchair in the left corner of the room, light should slightly move to the left so that both characters are very visible.)
-"Well.. I also wanted to talk to you about that sister.." (Sister Emeline`s character needs to stand up and approach Sor Juana in order to call more attention in what she is going to say, light needs to move with her to the center of the scene where Sor Juana is sitting in the chair near the desk).
-"What is it sister? Please stop giving me feelings of anxiety, you did it twice already this evening, are you reading suspense books I am not aware of?" (Sor Juana`s face needs to seem anxious and actress needs to stands up in order to get closer to Sister Emeline as if she was expecting to hear a secret or confession).
-"Sor Juana, it is just that I have been wondering these days... (actress` face should look reflective) "I know I was also once part of the majority who didn`t understand you or your passion for knowledge, but now..(small silence to cause suspense) "now that I have met the hidden treasure you have right behind you covered with this grey blanket, this concealed giant library full of stories, conquests and learning. I feel as if all of the other sisters should have the chance to at least get to discover it too." (Sister Emeline`s face should look convincing and the light should now be majorly focused on the blanket secluding the library from the public.)
-"Sister Emeline, most of them wouldn't even consider coming here, the reason for why this fascinating stunning library needs to be hidden here is because all of them seem to think that knowledge is a sin, when it is really something that can make us a better, informative and astute version of ourselves." (Actress should pull the blanket off the library and the marvelous bibliotheca is revealed fascinating Sister Emeline who at this point is mouth-opened. Light is still focused on the library but is moved a little bit towards the characters in order to illuminate the final conversation between Sister Emeline and Sor Juana.)
-"Sor Juana, thanks to you I am a strong believer of the day in which learning while at the same time serving God, will be something to be proud and not ashamed of. I have learned with you how to give knowledge a chance and how to utilize it in my religious manners and I know that amongst all of them, even if being a minority, there are still some sisters here in the convent who will no longer turn a blind eye on this magnificent treasure which is education and will be able to perceive how important knowledge is for us, so I beg you, please lets try to at least change this." (Sister Emeline remains looking straight into Sor Juana`s eyes in order to fortify her argument. Camera and light are now focused in Sor Juana in order to capture her reaction.)
- “I never thought it would be possible to see someone here in this convent opening their minds to knowledge and now I know it is, so even though I think it is impossible to convince other sisters that it is our right as women, daughters and servants of God to have access to knowledge, I will call upon a meeting tomorrow, here in my room, at this exact same time and hopefully we will help other blind eyes to see what is right in front of their view, covered by an old blanket.." (Sor Juana gets up and accompany Sister Emeline who is now moving towards the door, the light is now moving with them towards the exit of the room, Camera is now focused on Sister Emeline who looks confident and reliable. )
-“Remember to fix your room and rest, tomorrow there will be about 40 women here with us, I promise.." (Sor Juana`s face demonstrates she is convinced and proud, while she opens the door, Sister Emeline slowly goes out leaving Sor Juana alone in the room. Light is now very dull in order to indicate the fact that it is already late at night. Sor Juana gently grabs the books she had previously thrown under the bed afraid the priest would once again visit her in attempt to stop her from writing. She goes down to her knees, put her elbows lightly in her bed and prays in silence with a hopeful face. Light starts to get darker, darker and darker until everything fades and nothing but nightfall is perceived on the scene.)
*SCENE 20 ENDS, actors need to change clothes and prepare themselves for the next scene, there is change of scenery (from Sor Juana`s room to the convent`s courtyard) and also the addition of three reflectors to the scene since the next scene will be filmed during the morning and it should obtain as much light as possible.*
Movie Scene
*Stage directions will be higlighted throughout text!*
Description of scene and scenery: setting is inside the convent, in Sor Juana`s room which is represented and purposely arranged with simple and small objects including a smaller bed (to represent the fact that little of her time was spent sleeping) and a cramped wardrobe( to emphasize the fact that as a nun she didn't have a variety of clothes), all with the purpose to make her private library seem even bigger.
*Scene begins with Sor Juana Ines in her regular religious clothing sitting in her drawer, very dark room with only a lamp illuminating the scene (reflector needs to be located on top of scene so that the light present in the room is natural). She is writing a poem and while she is writing it, make sure actress whispers every word to herself as if showing Sor Juana is trying to think of the best possible words to write down:
-"From that day on, we would all know and embrace, the beautiful features hidden in every woman's face." (Actress representing Sor Juana needs to be extremely attentive and concentrated. Actress also needs to write slowly so that the words she whispers seem to match the words of the poem she is supposedly writing.)
Suddenly, there would be an abruptly knock on the door, Sor Juana quickly gets all of her books and throw them under the bed and cover the library with a blanket (actress`s face should look worried and desperate, reflector`s light is now moved to the door in order to accentuate the presence of another person in the seen).
Sor Juana opens the door carefully and peeks into the little space between the door and the wall, when presumably she recognizes the individual knocking and opens the door(Actress should be very careful when opening the door so that the in angle the camera is in, the person knocking is not immediately revealed causing suspense).
When the person comes in, its revealed the identity of another nun who seems to be very afraid and who is still wearing her daily clothes. (Light is moved to the center of the scene as the other nun and Sor Juana approach the interior of the room.)
-"Sor Juana, even if someone could see me in the hallways, I had to come here at this exact hour, I had to talk to you about the book." (Actress should look worried as if she was relieved for getting in the room, but as if she had something very important to discuss.)
-"Sister Emeline, you scared me! I was writing a poem when you knocked, I thought that maybe it was the priest and that maybe he would try to convince me to stop writing once again. But what is it about the book you want to talk about?" (Actress` face needs to look relaxed and relieved as if the presence of Sister Emeline was actually a good thing.)
-"I wanted to talk to you about how incredibly reading this book has helped me expand my vocabulary and my interpretations! I swear, that since I started reading about the literary components of ancient writings and how to identify them, I started relating much more to the Bible and observing in it things I have never observed before!"(Sister Emeline`s character should look very excited and proud of her reading, she should also hold the book in the air so that the camera can capture the title of the book.)
-"I am very contented and proud of you Sister Emeline! I know most of the sisters here don`t understand the purposes of seeking for knowledge and that they will never be able to embrace the fact that understanding what surrounds us, isn't a sin, it is a right all of us women and men have. " (Sor Juana`s face needs to look kind of disappointed, actress should sit down in the chair next to her drawer and make a hand gesture as if telling the sister to sit down on her armchair in the left corner of the room, light should slightly move to the left so that both characters are very visible.)
-"Well.. I also wanted to talk to you about that sister.." (Sister Emeline`s character needs to stand up and approach Sor Juana in order to call more attention in what she is going to say, light needs to move with her to the center of the scene where Sor Juana is sitting in the chair near the desk).
-"What is it sister? Please stop giving me feelings of anxiety, you did it twice already this evening, are you reading suspense books I am not aware of?" (Sor Juana`s face needs to seem anxious and actress needs to stands up in order to get closer to Sister Emeline as if she was expecting to hear a secret or confession).
-"Sor Juana, it is just that I have been wondering these days... (actress` face should look reflective) "I know I was also once part of the majority who didn`t understand you or your passion for knowledge, but now..(small silence to cause suspense) "now that I have met the hidden treasure you have right behind you covered with this grey blanket, this concealed giant library full of stories, conquests and learning. I feel as if all of the other sisters should have the chance to at least get to discover it too." (Sister Emeline`s face should look convincing and the light should now be majorly focused on the blanket secluding the library from the public.)
-"Sister Emeline, most of them wouldn't even consider coming here, the reason for why this fascinating stunning library needs to be hidden here is because all of them seem to think that knowledge is a sin, when it is really something that can make us a better, informative and astute version of ourselves." (Actress should pull the blanket off the library and the marvelous bibliotheca is revealed fascinating Sister Emeline who at this point is mouth-opened. Light is still focused on the library but is moved a little bit towards the characters in order to illuminate the final conversation between Sister Emeline and Sor Juana.)
-"Sor Juana, thanks to you I am a strong believer of the day in which learning while at the same time serving God, will be something to be proud and not ashamed of. I have learned with you how to give knowledge a chance and how to utilize it in my religious manners and I know that amongst all of them, even if being a minority, there are still some sisters here in the convent who will no longer turn a blind eye on this magnificent treasure which is education and will be able to perceive how important knowledge is for us, so I beg you, please lets try to at least change this." (Sister Emeline remains looking straight into Sor Juana`s eyes in order to fortify her argument. Camera and light are now focused in Sor Juana in order to capture her reaction.)
- “I never thought it would be possible to see someone here in this convent opening their minds to knowledge and now I know it is, so even though I think it is impossible to convince other sisters that it is our right as women, daughters and servants of God to have access to knowledge, I will call upon a meeting tomorrow, here in my room, at this exact same time and hopefully we will help other blind eyes to see what is right in front of their view, covered by an old blanket.." (Sor Juana gets up and accompany Sister Emeline who is now moving towards the door, the light is now moving with them towards the exit of the room, Camera is now focused on Sister Emeline who looks confident and reliable. )
-“Remember to fix your room and rest, tomorrow there will be about 40 women here with us, I promise.." (Sor Juana`s face demonstrates she is convinced and proud, while she opens the door, Sister Emeline slowly goes out leaving Sor Juana alone in the room. Light is now very dull in order to indicate the fact that it is already late at night. Sor Juana gently grabs the books she had previously thrown under the bed afraid the priest would once again visit her in attempt to stop her from writing. She goes down to her knees, put her elbows lightly in her bed and prays in silence with a hopeful face. Light starts to get darker, darker and darker until everything fades and nothing but nightfall is perceived on the scene.)
*SCENE 20 ENDS, actors need to change clothes and prepare themselves for the next scene, there is change of scenery (from Sor Juana`s room to the convent`s courtyard) and also the addition of three reflectors to the scene since the next scene will be filmed during the morning and it should obtain as much light as possible.*