Reading a play: scenes, asides and soliloquies

Grade 7 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   The Honest Volcano (original play)

   [1] SCENE 1. The school gym, morning. Rows of project tables stand under bright banners.
   [2] [MILO polishes a model volcano. A friend, REN, arrives with a clipboard.]
   [3] REN: The judges start in ten minutes. Is it ready?
   [4] MILO: Perfectly ready. (to the audience) The baking soda ran out last night. I have a plan, but I am not sure it is a good one.
   [5] SCENE 2. The same gym, a few minutes later. MILO is alone beside the table.
   [6] MILO: I could pretend the eruption is broken and blame the cold air in the gym. No one would check. But Ren spent three weekends helping me build this. If I lie, I lie to Ren too.
   [7] [MILO looks at the volcano, then at the door.]
   [8] MILO: A broken volcano is still my volcano. A lie is not.
   [9] SCENE 3. The same gym, afternoon. The judges stand at the table, and REN waits nearby.
   [10] MILO: The eruption will not work today. I ran out of baking soda, and I should have checked. May I show you my notes instead?
   [11] [The JUDGE reads the notes, then nods slowly.]
   [12] JUDGE: Honest work is rare. Tell me more.

2. 1.

   Ari reads the play. Milo's line in [4] includes an aside. Which choice separates that aside from the soliloquy in [6]–[8]?

   • The aside is a longer speech made alone; the soliloquy is a short remark to the audience.
   • The aside is a short remark made while Ren is on stage; the soliloquy is a longer speech made alone.
   • The aside and the soliloquy are the same, because both are spoken to the audience.
   • Both are heard by Ren, but the soliloquy lasts longer.
3. 2.

   Bo reads the play. How do the three scenes build the idea that honesty can matter more than a perfect project?

   • Scene 1 shows honesty, Scene 2 shows a lie, and Scene 3 shows the punishment that Milo faces.
   • Scene 1 shows a problem, Scene 2 shows Milo choosing honesty, and Scene 3 shows the reward.
   • The three scenes show how to build a volcano step by step.
   • The three scenes show three projects that fail.
4. 3.

   Esme reads the play. How does the soliloquy change what the audience thinks of the plan Milo hints at in the aside in sentence [4]?

   • The audience hears Milo repeat that the baking soda ran out.
   • The audience sees that Milo planned to trick the judges from the start.
   • The audience sees that Milo is proud of the plan and keeps it.
   • The audience sees that Milo struggles over the plan and rejects it.
5. 4.

   Jun reads the play. Which clue best shows that Milo's speech in [6]–[8] is a soliloquy rather than an aside?

   • The words are spoken to the audience, which is enough to tell them apart.
   • The speech is brief and happens while Ren is on stage, which marks a soliloquy.
   • Milo is alone on stage, and the speech is long and open about private thoughts.
   • Ren is on stage, so the audience hears the speech through Milo's friend.
6. 5.

   Kira reads the play. Why is it important that the audience hears the soliloquy before Milo speaks to the judges?

   • It makes Milo look uninterested in winning.
   • It shows that the judges already knew about the baking soda.
   • It lets the audience see Milo's reasons, so the honest answer in Scene 3 feels earned.
   • It lets the audience learn how the volcano works and why the baking soda matters in the first scene.
7. 6.

   Luz reads the play. The judge says, “Honest work is rare.” How does Scene 2 change what these words mean in sentence [12]?

   • They now show the judge heard Milo's soliloquy.
   • They now show the judge doubts Milo, since the audience knows about the plan.
   • They now praise a choice the audience watched Milo make in secret.
   • They now repeat that the volcano did not erupt.

8. The Open Door (original play)

   [1] SCENE 1. A kitchen, early morning. A suitcase waits by the door.
   [2] [BO stirs a bowl of cereal. Bo's father, MR. PENN, checks a watch.]
   [3] MR. PENN: The train leaves in twenty minutes, and Grandma is already here for the week. Will you be all right?
   [4] BO: I am fine. Go ahead. (to the audience) I am not fine, but this trip has been planned for months.
   [5] [MR. PENN kisses BO on the forehead and lifts the suitcase.]
   [6] SCENE 2. A train platform, the next evening. MR. PENN sits alone on a bench, watching the tracks.
   [7] MR. PENN: Eight hundred miles away, and all I can think about is that kitchen. I asked if Bo would be all right, and Bo told me to go ahead. We were both being brave in the wrong way.
   [8] [MR. PENN takes out his phone, hesitates, and puts it away.]
   [9] SCENE 3. The same kitchen, one week later. The suitcase waits by the door again, but the door is open.
   [10] [MR. PENN steps inside. BO looks up from the table.]
   [11] BO: You came back early.
   [12] MR. PENN: I am fine, but I would rather be here. (to the audience) Some trips are best finished by coming home.

9. 7.

   Milo reads the play. Bo says “I am fine” in [4], and Mr. Penn says it in [12]. What does Mr. Penn's aside in [12] add?

   • It shows Mr. Penn regrets taking the trip in the first place.
   • It lets Bo hear that Mr. Penn is not really fine.
   • It shows the audience Mr. Penn has learned what Bo's aside admitted in Scene 1.
   • It repeats Bo's aside from Scene 1 word for word to the audience, so it adds nothing new.
10. 8.

    Pia reads the play. How does Mr. Penn's soliloquy in sentence [7] change how the audience hears Bo's “Go ahead” in [4]?

    • It shows both of them were hiding their feelings, not only Bo.
    • It lets Bo know that Mr. Penn is sad on the platform.
    • It shows Mr. Penn was angry that Bo let Mr. Penn go.
    • It shows Bo really wanted Mr. Penn to leave on the train that morning.
11. 9.

    Ren reads the play. Why does the playwright put Scene 2 on the platform between the two kitchen scenes?

    • It shows Mr. Penn is lost in a strange city.
    • It shows Bo follows Mr. Penn on the train.
    • It lets the audience see Mr. Penn change his mind, which makes the return in Scene 3 believable.
    • It shows how trains work and how a station keeps its schedule.
12. 10.

    Zee reads the play. How does Mr. Penn's final aside in sentence [12] change how the audience sees the open door in [9]?

    • The open door becomes a sign that Bo is leaving.
    • The open door becomes a sign that Mr. Penn will stop traveling for work.
    • The open door becomes a sign that a visitor is coming.
    • The open door becomes a sign that Mr. Penn has chosen home over the trip.