Dialect. A dialect is a version of a language spoken by people of a particular place, time, or group. Writers often use dialect to give their works a realistic flavor. Notice how the use of dialect helps the reader or audience get to know and understand each character—even when the characters are all played by the same actor.
Stage Directions. Stage directions are notes included in a play to describe how something should look, sound, or be performed. Stage directions describe setting, lighting, music, sound effects, entrances and exits, properties, and the movements of characters. They are usually printed in italics and enclosed in brackets or parentheses. In How She Played the Game, stage directions help the reader know what the actor is doing on stage. As you read the play, look for examples of stage directions that describe setting, indicate how something should be performed, and show the movements of characters.
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• Eleonora Randolph Sears was born in 1881. She played a variety of sports—including tennis (winning the national women’s doubles championship four times) and squash (winning the first women’s national championship). At this time, women were expected to dress in feminine attire while playing sports. Sears began the movement for women to wear practical clothing—such as shorts—when participating in athletic events. She died in 1968.
• Althea Gibson was born in 1927. In 1957, she became the first African-American female tennis player to compete and win at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. That same year she was named Woman Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press. In 1971 Gibson was named to the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame.
• Gertrude Ederle was born in 1906. After learning to swim as a young child, she went on to win a gold medal in the 400-meter freestyle relay and bronze medals in the 100-meter and 400-meter freestyle races at the 1924 Olympics. In 1926, Ederle swam the English Channel in 14 hours and 31 minutes, breaking the previous record of 16 hours and 23 minutes.
• Sonia Henie, born in Norway in 1912, learned to skate and dance as a child. In 1927 she won the first of ten consecutive world ice-skating championships. She also won the gold medal for figure skating at the 1928, 1932, and 1936 Winter Olympics. Henie later became a professional skater and toured in the United States as the star of an ice show. She also made a number of successful movies in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Henie died in 1969.
• Gretel Bergmann, a high jumper from Germany, was in her peak form during the 1936 Olympics. Bergmann was asked to leave the German national team, however, because of her Jewish heritage. At this time, Adolf Hitler ruled Germany. The head of the Nazi party, Hitler preached hatred of Jews.
• Babe Didrikson was born in 1914 and is considered one of the greatest athletes ever. The Associated Press voted Didrikson the Woman Athlete of the First Half of the Twentieth Century. In addition to being the winner of ten major golf championships, Didrikson excelled in numerous other sports. She broke records in track and field, gained All-American status in basketball, mastered tennis, and was an expert diver. She died of cancer in 1956.
What kinds of obstacles have you had to overcome to achieve your dreams?
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