Sorry, Wrong Number
ANALYSIS
Radio and the Imagination
 The radio play relies on its audience’s
imagination.
 Each radio listener is wholly dependent on
what he or she can hear.
Radio and the Imagination
 Therefore sound effects- the sounds called
for in the script of a play, radio or television
program, or motion picture-have an
enormous impact.
Radio and the Imagination
 In addition to sound effects, the
tone of voice of each actor
expresses a range of feelings and
evokes an immediate response in
the listener.
Creating Suspense
 In Sorry, Wrong Number Lucille Fletcher
creates a suspenseful drama by
communicating the growing fear and sudden
terror of a nervous invalid.
 Suspense
is the interest, excitement, and
anticipation you feel about what will
happen in the play.
Creating Suspense
 During the action of the play, Mrs. Stevenson is
apparently alone and friendless.
 Her husband is supposed to be at his office and her
maid has the night off.
 The telephone is Mrs. Stevenson’s only connection
with the outside world.
 The
telephone, therefore,
is the focus of the play’s suspense.
Creating Suspense
 A major element of the play’s suspense is
Mrs. Stevenson’s frustration at not being
able to communicate, either because she
cannot get her calls through or because she
cannot get other people to believe her story.
Creating Suspense
 Finally, in desperation at the prospect
of being alone all night, Mrs. Stevenson
calls a local hospital to hire a night
nurse.
 Once again, her efforts to communicate
her distress are frustrated.
Creating Suspense
 The supervisor, Miss Phillips, who must approve
the assignment, has gone to dinner. During the
conversation, Mrs. Stevenson hears someone pick
up the receiver of her downstairs telephone. Up to
this point, you cannot be sure if Mrs. Stevenson’s
fears are valid or the result of a nervous, hysterical
mind.
Creating Suspense
 The presence of a stranger in the house
confirms her fears and lets you know
that those fears are valid.
Creating Suspense
 The tension reaches a climax as Mrs.
Stevenson desperately turns again to
the phone, dials an operator, and asks
for the police.
By
the time the operator puts her call
through, it’s too late.
Tempo and Pace
 The tempo of a play is the overall rate of
speed at which the speeches and actions are
performed.
 Pace is the rate at which one particular
speech is given.
Tempo and Pace
 Tempo and pace are especially important in
a radio play because all the information in
the play is communicated to the audience
through sound.
 Tempo affects the suspense.
Tempo and Pace
 The director of Sorry, Wrong Number
must decide, for example, how long it
will take Mrs. Stevenson to dial a
number, how long to let the phone ring,
and at what speed the actors should
speak.
Acting for Radio
 When preparing for any role, actors study
the dialogue closely in order to understand
the characters.
 They then try to “become” the characters
they are portraying.
Acting for Radio
 For stage plays, that means an actor
tries to make each onstage sound and
movement suit the character that he or
she is playing and communicate
something about the character to the
audience.
Acting for Radio
 In a radio play, only the actor’s
voice can bring the dialogue to life
and communicate the personality
or other features of the character to
the listening audience.