Translations: Experiences Reading a Play

Reading Translations was a bit different than reading the other books that we have analyzed and discussed because it is a play, meaning that the story is told in a different format.  What I like about reading a play is that I can sort of visualize and create the voices of the characters in my head and it also helps me to envision the setting of the play for each Act. I think that this helps me really get into the story and to analyze the dialogue a bit more than I do when reading a book.  However, there are some setbacks to reading a play rather than seeing one. While watching a play I like to sit close to the stage to see the facial expressions and body language because I think that really helps to get a better sense of the characters in a story, especially characters such as Sarah who is unable to express herself through speech.  This type of character makes me think that plays are better understood when acted out.  I also felt that some parts of Translation were a bit confusing and I might not have been so confused if the play was taking place on a stage in front of me.  Although plays do tell stories and stories can be read, I think that plays are better off acted out on stage so that a person in the audience can not only hear the dialogue, but also feel the emotion as the actors embrace their characters and make a story come to life.