The opening scenes of plays or any performance piece allow the audience to enter the world seamlessly; the world of the play can be constructed through the dynamics between the actors and the audience and the exhibition itself. In the original screenplay of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, there is no opening exposition of an earlier story. During the time of its original productions, audiences would have known the story of Oedipus and how he and the city of Thebes found themselves in a difficult situation. The opening dialogue takes place between Oedipus and the priest; this gives Oedipus a feeling of vulnerability as he complains about how he can save his people by engaging in a private conversation with the priest. However, his version leaves a gap between the people and Oedipus, giving a more accurate depiction of the historical hierarchy but leaving a disconnect between the king and his people. In Oedipus: A New Version, the adapted screenplay by Ellen McLaughlin, the play opens with an unidentifiable voice stating a riddle. The unknown voice that threatens you: “Tell me or die.” One by one. Tell me and die. One by one” (McLaughlin, 73), followed by an ambiguous cry gives the eerie feeling leading to the rest of the opening scene where Oedipus speaks to the Chorus about his misfortunes since the defeat of the Sphinx. The scene, unlike the original text, raises the stakes as the audience senses the impending doom of an all-powerful power before describing the horrors of their current state to their king in an open setting. In Oedipus Rex, the adapted screenplay by Gay H. Hammond, the opening plays like a multi-layered prologue. The actors are used less as characters but as a unit signifying the gods to describe what happened. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “CHORUS(MES): A place where three roads meet. ALL: A crossroads. [stomping or clapping]CHORUS(MES): There is a story that two men came to a crossroads at the same time, so neither man could get through.CHORUS(OED): And neither man would give way .CHORUS(TEI): And one of them was young, and one was old, but both of them the sameALL: Both of them the sameCHORUS(TEI): In arrogance and in strength. (Hammond, age 6) This is similar to McLaughlin's play where the opening encounters an omniscient narrator; however, the latter is less of a malevolent voice and more of an indifferent and powerful voice. While the other two storylines respectively convey the sense of vulnerability and impending calamity, Gay H Hammond's script addresses audience immersion without overwhelming the audience with the shock of a naked baby or the detached imagery of a sanctuary. The overall feeling of the respective scripts are the depictions of violence and death. In the original text, the deaths in the story took place off-stage, resulting in an actor coming on stage to describe the death to the audience. In contemporary adaptations, the harsh reality of death can be realized on stage. In McLaughlin's script, we see Jocasta's death and Oedipus' mutilation beneath the Chorus' speech: "He thinks he can be safe." He thinks. He thinks. He thinks he can be happy. He thinks something of this will last. (Jocasta hangs herself using the strips of the sheets as a rope.) Listen to him mutter. Telling stories in the dark. (McLaughlin, 129-130) Hearing the Chorus speak of Oedipus as a baby as the image of the baby reappears on stage, the realization of Jocasta creating her own noose gives the..