Document Type
Senior Honors Project
Publication Date
4-2015
Abstract
This project is an adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s novel An Old-Fashioned Girl (1869) into Original, a 105-page, feature-length screenplay set in 2014. It examines from a creative standpoint the twofold process of literary adaptation: adapting a 19th-century story into a modern setting, and adapting a novel to the screen.
Louisa May Alcott’s 1869 novel An Old-fashioned Girl is centered around the friendship between two girls whose differing values and socioeconomic statuses clash. It follows them as they leave their teen years and navigate love, work, and identity. Original adapts these characters to the lives and concerns of 2014 St. Paul-Minneapolis in the form of a screenplay.
Rose Milton (23) and Zoey Shaw (25) are best friends, fresh out of their undergraduate studies. Zoey and her brother Tom are from a wealthy family in St. Paul, and Rose grew up poor in a small town. Together, they navigate relationships, aspirations, and careers. Zoey’s family’s bankruptcy forces her to reevaluate her values and search for a job. Tom and Zoey inspire Rose to pursue her musical dreams. They fall in and out of love, juggle careers and dreams, and do their best to pay the rent.
Recommended Citation
Harwood, Taylor, "Original: A Screenplay Adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Novel An Old-Fashioned Girl" (2015). Antonian Scholars Honors Program. 35.
https://sophia.stkate.edu/shas_honors/35