THE GARDEN PARTY
Story by Katherine Mansfield
Adapted by Katherine Murray
15 page comic script
Last revision: January 23 2014
CHARACTER NOTES
Laura- Young, well mannered
and lively. Dark haired beauty.
Mrs. Sheridan (Mother) – Queen of the operation.
Gideon- Handsome and well-mannered brother to Laura.
Josee- Wears kimono. Beautiful
older sister to Laura.
Meg- sister to Laura.
Subordinate to Jose.
ART NOTES
Aristocratic world is drawn
neatly and delicately. Peasant folk are drawn more roughly. Styles meet in the
end, when Laura takes her journey and learns about the world.
PAGE ONE
PANEL ONE
Encompasses
the page. Establishing shot looking from the garden back at the house.
Grandiose, comfortable, angelic, fertle.
PANEL TWO
Close
up of Laura’s hand touching a flower as she passes
PANEL THREE
Close
view of the back of Laura’s bodice, hair flowing, her arms positioned in a way
to lift the front of her dress as she walks, rows of huge rose bushes around
her.
PANEL FOUR
Close up
of her shoe taking a step onto the porch.
PAGE TWO
PANEL ONE
View
from the table looking dead center at Laura. Laura approaches her sisters, who
are sitting and sipping tea in the mid-ground.
Jose: “Laura dear, there you are.”
PANEL TWO
Farther
away view of the porch, we can see people bustling about inside the house.
Laura is leaning over the table to get a peace of toast.
Jose: “Mother requests that you handle some of the arrangements this time.”
PANEL THREE
With
the sisters shadowed in the foreground, Laura bustles into the garden.
PANEL FOUR
Waist-up
view of Laura giving a polite bow to a passer-by. Passer by is male and very
proper.
PANEL FIVE
Large,
rough men appear in front of Laura. We see her reaction to them.
PAGE THREE
PANEL ONE
From
behind Laura, we see three large grungy workmen, obviously lower-class sorts.
Worker: “Where should we put this here marquee, miss?”
PANEL TWO
Laura
glances at the toast in her hand.
PANEL THREE
Laura
hides the toast and assumes an aristocratic, in-charge expression, posture
corrected.
PANEL FOUR
Laura
points off-panel, her mouth open explaining where to set up.
PAGE FOUR
PANEL ONE
We see
the backs of the workers, they’re jostling each other playfully and one of them
is singing.
PANEL TWO
Bust shot
of Laura holding toast, (slightly over the shoulder view) glancing back at her
sisters being dainty.
PANEL THREE
Sisters
having tea, Meg wiping mouth with embroidered cloth, Jose gossiping.
PANEL FOUR
Laura
taking a big, messy and rebellious bite of her toast, quite un-lady like. Style
becomes slightly sketchier here.
PAGE FIVE
The
following panels are a montage.
PANEL ONE Laura on the phone, servants
around her bustling.
PANEL TWO Laura helping her sisters and
servants moving the piano.
PANEL THREE Her sister with the cook and
sandwiches.
PANEL FOUR Laura and the abundance of
canna lilies being delivered.
PAGE SIX
PANEL ONE
Laura
has just excitedly grabbed Gideon’s hands and his pulling him in the direction
of the foreground.
Laura: “Don’t you simply love
parties, Gideon?”
Gideon: “Come, let’s see the
garden.”
PANEL TWO
Tone changes to serious/dark as we find a murmuring crowd by
the door.
PANEL THREE
Looking
through the crowd to the Delivery man, he looks serious.
“Been a horrible accident.”
PANEL FOUR
Close
up of Delivery Man’s mouth.
“A man killed.”
PAGE SEVEN
This page shows the death of this man; it is
dark and scary. Shows the house and working man. Shows man getting thrown from
horse. Shows the family in shadows, the wife and five kids.
PAGE EIGHT
PANEL ONE
People
disperse around Laura, in the center of the panel. She looks concerned and
saddened.
PANEL TWO
Mother
Putting on makeup, stuff and vanity visible in the foreground. There is a
knocking at the door.
Laura:
“Mother?”
Mrs.
Sheridan: “Come in dear.”
PANEL THREE
Laura
entering the room and shutting the door behind her.
Laura:
“Mother, a man’s been killed.”
Mom:
“Not in the garden?”
Laura:
“No, no!”
Mom:
“Oh what a fright you gave me!”
PANEL FOUR
Simple
side view of Laura approaching mother’s vanity table, having just sat down in
the chair next to her vanity.
Laura: “We can’t have the garden-party, can we? The band and everybody
arriving. The townsfolk would hear.”
PANEL FIVE
Mirror’s
view of the mother placing the hat on Laura.
Mom: “You are being absurd, Laura. People like that don’t expect
sacrifices from us.”
PAGE NINE
PANEL ONE
Laura
looking gorgeous in the hat.
Mom: “Oh Darling! The hat is
yours. It was too young for me.”
PANEL TWO
Using
the same Laura from the previous panel, fade into her standing at the party.
PANEL THREE
Zoom
out, full body of Laura, the guests and party clearly visible around her.
PANEL FOUR
Mother
greeting the couples enjoying themselves.
PANEL FIVE
The
band playing.
PANEL SIX
Table’s
POV, the luxurious snacks being taken.
PANEL SEVEN
The sun
getting low.
PANEL EIGHT
Several
ushers at the gate say farewell to the last guests, helping them into cars. A
woman in the car is waving farewell.
Mother: “It couldn’t have been a more successful party.”
PAGE TEN
PANEL ONE
Our
aristocratic family is reclining, exhausted, in their living room, upon gilded
and gaudy couches. Laura is on the end of a couch, her head leaning back. There
are servants still cleaning up from the party visible outside.
Gideon: “Indeed, Mother.”
PANEL TWO
Over
the shoulder view of Laura. Looking into another room across the hallway. She
sees the cook cleaning up the kitchen, leftover treats on the table.
PANEL THREE
Close
up of the food.
PANEL FOUR
Close up
on Laura.
Jose: “Aunt May’s hat looked
dashing, didn’t it?”
Mother: “As always!”
PAGE
ELEVEN
PANEL ONE
Laura is
at the door, stepping into her shoes, a large basket full of the food on her
arm.
Laura:“I’m taking this to that peasant family who lost their father. It’s
perfectly good food to waste.”
Mother: “Very good darling. People of that class are so impressed by
these things. Be quick about it love.”
PANEL TWO
It’s
dusk. Laura approaches the threshold to the lower-class town. Style gets
sketchier.
PANEL THREE
Warped
worm’s eye view of Laura in the town. A dog is lurking. Shadows are on the
walls.
PANEL FOUR
View of townsfolk glancing at Laura by the walls of
their homes. Feels grungy and uncomfortable.
PANEL FIVE
Bust-up
of shot Laura. She tugs down her gaudy hat and hurries along. Stylistic
difference in drawing is incredibly obvious now.
PAGE
TWELVE
PANEL ONE
POV for
Laura, we approach the house, a crowd of silent dark figures around the
entrance.
PANEL TWO
Low
angle shot of Laura walking in between the parted folk towards the entrance.
She is sweeping the ribbon of her hat behind her shoulder and looking nervous.
PANEL THREE
POV of
Laura, her hands and basket barely visible in the corners of the panel. We are
looking in on the poor family around the fire. A second old woman is in the
foreground and is motioning to come in.
PANEL FOUR
Zoom in
on wife, who’s turned to face us, her expression swollen and in pain.
PANEL FIVE
Camera
is looking at Laura in the entrance. Laura has just set the basket down and is
standing back up, her arms up as if to say ‘I’ll be leaving now’. Her eyes are
looking towards the second old woman, who is gesturing her towards another
room, invitingly.
PAGE
THIRTEEN
PANEL ONE
Woman
leading Laura shadowed in the foreground, Laura looking like she’d rather
leave, but has politely followed.
PANEL TWO
Woman
hold door to bedroom open, where we can see the silhouette of the dead man
resting.
PANEL THREE
Dead
man shadowed in foreground, Laura approaches.
PANEL FOUR
A clear, straight-on, overhead view of the dead man.
He breaks out of this panel and consumes the majority of the page. While the
style is sketchy, he seems angelic and at peace.
PAGE
FOURTEEN
PANEL ONE
Tight
panel of Laura looking at the dead man. It should feel personal and intimate.
PANEL TWO
Close
up on Laura’s face. She is in awe, but not afraid. Her stylization becomes
sketchier and matches that of the dead man’s. Her style stays this way from now
on.
PANEL THREE
Outside
of building, Laura is shown exiting in a slightly hurried fashion. Dark figures
still looming. Gideon is visible, waiting to receive her.
PAGE
FIFTEEN
PANEL ONE
Waist-up
shot of Laura and Gideon, she has just taken his arm.
Gideon:
“Mother was getting worried.”
PANEL TWO
Gideon’s
POV of Laura. She looks sad but excited.
Gideon:
“Was it awful?”
Laura:
“Gideon, isn’t life--“
PANEL THREE
Laura’s
POV of Gideon. He is smiling warmly, taking her back to their comfortable
lives.
Laura: “Isn’t life---“
PANEL FOUR
Worm’s eye
view of Laura and Gideon exiting the peasant town. They are not relatively
small in the panel, focusing more on the environments. Their manor is visible
at the top of the hill. The foreground is sketchy.
Gideon:
“Isn’t it?”
END.
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