Comments 3rd round

Water by the Spoonful

http://icesk8prosue2130.blogspot.com/2013/11/water-by-spoonful.html#comment-form

Topdog/Underdog

http://2130michaelguillot.blogspot.com/2013/12/topdogunderdog.html#comment-form

Tis Pity She's a Whore

http://tylerales1992.blogspot.com/2013/12/tis-pity-shes-whore.html?showComment=1386481794472

House of Trials

http://2130michaelguillot.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-house-of-trials.html?showComment=1386482008650#c5262484578621008382

Next to Normal

http://haileysonnier.blogspot.com/2013/12/next-to-normal-post.html?showComment=1386482293991#c992469318667189087

Topdog/Underdog

     There are two mirrors in Topdog/Underdog that should be noted. The first is the Lincoln and Booth parallel between the brothers and the historical characters. Lincoln plays an actor that that plays Abraham Lincoln and allows patrons to assassinate him for money. At the end of the play, Booth kills his brother in order to be on top again and to make a name for himself in a game called 3-card monte. The characters match the mirror in their name as well as in their actions.
     The card game is another type of performance and a deception in how it is played. There are multiple players in the card game including a dealer and others that make the game look enticing. They sometimes win and sometimes lose, but are in the know how of the game. The mark loses money with the false hopes built by the inside player. At the same time though the individual is entertained.
     In either scenario the mark or patron is made to feel that they have power, or chance of winning something. Of course the performance is a deception. The mark is likely to lose their money in the process of playing the game despite the perspective that they could actually win. Similarly the patrons of the Lincoln assassination skit are given a false sense of power in their role as John Wilkes Booth. In the end, Lincoln still gets their money. The different between the two mirrors is that acting is legal, hustling was not.

Next to Normal

     A choice of Next to Normal that is interesting to note is the use of singing throughout the play. Something that I discovered in watching the performance is that whenever characters were in dialogue with each other, they use regular speak, but whenever they are alone they sing their thoughts or words. And in order to get a group singing effect, the characters are each in their own world despite their singing at the same time. This was a very effective way to differentiate between dialogue between the characters and monologues.
     Towards the end of, "Another Day," we have Gabe and Natalie singing together yet they are unaware of each other and so are in a sense alone. They then mirrored each other offstage, a choice made by the director for the Broadway show. Diana and Dan enter next and speak non-musically. When Diana leaves, Dan begins singing again. After his solo, Natalie, Diana, and Gabe join in singing their own rendition of "Another Day" all on top of each other. Despite being alone in their own worlds, the family is together in harmony at the beginning of the play. This is interesting in contrast to how the play ends. Despite the harmony the family achieves, they don't end up staying together due to Diana's mental issues despite Dan's loyalty.
     In "I am the One," Dan starts of singing and then is joined in by Gabe. Neither are aware of the other's presence. The are both singing to Diana, and it shows the parallels between Diana's reality, and her fantasy that her son is still alive.

Water by the Spoonful

     On page 58 of Water by the Spoonful, Elliot is chatting online with Orangutan. Orangutan reveals to Elliot and Yaz that she knows that Elliot had an addiction to pills from his leg injuries during the war. This is an emotional moment for Elliot since he does not get along too well with him mom. Up to this point we know that Haikumon is actually Elliot's mom and that she is the administrator for a crack addicts' chat forum. Each of the players in the chat room share their story with their addiction and seek help from each other. Elliot has gone through several surgies on his legs and has been prescribed pain killers. He has abused these pills and when Orangutan reveals that, it hits Elliot personally. Elliot is at the house to pick up the computer to pawn it off in order to buy some flowers, but decides to hack his mother's username in the process. Afterwards we see that Elliot really does not like talking about his addiction or any other the material associated with it.
     I think Hudes wrote this scene in as a showing of the harsh reality of things to Elliot and Yaz. Orangutan revealed a truth to Elliot that he has this entire time been trying to avoid. This also speaks to Haikumom's commitment to her chat forum. If she does not have a computer, how could she administrate the forum? This creates a set up for her relapse. Despite everything that she does for others, Odessa is susceptible to her vices. Without her support group, she couldn't cope as well. Yaz being present during this encounter I believe is important as well since she later becomes Freedom&Noise as the interim site manager for the forum while Odessa is in the hospital.

Tis Pity She's a Whore

      The colors for the poster for 'Tis Pity She's a Whore" should either be red with darker shades of black and grey, or a combination of browns and maroon. The red is important as a portrayal of passion, which is evident in the lusts and actions of certain characters. A poster idea could be the title at the top and the backgrounds is ruffled red silk sheets. On the sheets lays a a goblet of wine with some of the wine spilled on the sheets so that it looks like blood. In the reflection of the wine we see a woman's face. This of course was taken from Hippolita drinking the poisoned drink. The red silk sheets gives pretense to the lusts of the play while the wine goblet and spill foreshadows death. Underneath the image could be the quote from the friar in act one that states, "For death waits on thy lust." The bottom of the poster fades into black except for a faint image of a skull.
    Another quote could be this one by Annabella;

"Annabella: This banquet is an harbinger of death to you and me; resolve yourself it is, and be prepared to welcome it."

This would also be a fitting quote since it eludes to the banquet with the image of the wine glass, and the skull is still an indicator of death.
  
"Soranzo: Learn to repent and die, for by they honor I hate thee and my lust."

This quote would also be appropriate since the poster has a depiction of Hippolita in the goblet of wine, and the idea of lust is again present with the subtlety of the sheets. 

House of Trials

     Aside from the convention that Dr. Fletcher kindly pointed out that states that "comedias like to tell rather than show their exposition," there could be character types based on social class. All of the highclass characters played tragic roles while the servants played more comedic roles. This can be seen from the various actions of the servants as opposed to the actions of their masters. For instance, in the first act when Carlos and Castano are in Ana's house, Carlos is adamant in his love for Leonor, a very honorable trait. In contrast, Castano talks about Ana's wealth, and the fact that his stomach is empty. Also in act one when Carlos first enters into the house, Castano begs for sanctuary under Ana's skirts. This request would not be tolerated by a nobleman, and Carlos responds with a command of silence and an insult.
     Another convention the could be deduced from this play is having oppositional characteristic traits between the two comic servant characters. This can be gathered from several instances throughout the play. First I would like to start with an evaluation of Castano. Though not a picture of nobility by any means, Castano had a central characteristic, that is he was loyal to his master to the end. An instance of this is when he ventures into the streets wearing a dress. As the convention first stated would agree, a man in a dress would be hilarious, but not becoming of royalty. The dress was a disguise so that he could roam the streets without being found and killed since his master was still a wanted man. In contrast, Celia is conniving. At the beginning of the play Ana and Celia talk about Ana's suitors and loves. Celia then lets the audience know that she's secretly stashed Don Juan, a suitor Ana has withdrawn from, in Ana's room for the purpose of allowing Don Juan the chance to take Ana by force. That being said, Celia is the opposing characteristic of loyalty embodied by Castano.

A Peculiar Position by Scribe (Show and Tell Project)

A Peculiar Position is a farce in one act by Eugene Scribe and J.F.A. Bayard. I could not find much else concerning the history of this play as it is one of his least well known writings. It can be found in the book Camille and other plays edited with an introduction to the well-made play by Stephen S. Stanton. Scribe himself was born in December of 1791 and is well known for perfecting the well-made play.
     Although A Peculiar Position is only one act, it follows the well-made play model. To sum up the plot of the play, Carlo and Barbara are lovers, but Barbara's mother will have nothing to do with Carlo since he is a soldier. Luckily for the two Carlo is stationed close by and can visit during his free hours. We learn from Barbara that her mother has chosen her a suitor in the form of Pepito who is described as a "nasty mischief-making, tattling, babbling fellow." (Page 1 of the script.) In order to fend off Pepito's advances, Barbara states that she is married, which sends him in a fluster. The countess arrives and her predicament is that her husband is to be arrested, and she can't have that. Champignon arrives to sell his wares, but the countess first eyes him with suspicion. Once it becomes clear that Champignon means no ill will towards the duchess, he leaves, but the duchess switches his passport without his knowing. Upon his leaving Barbara declares Champignon as her husband to flabbergast Pepito. Later the major Lascari arrives to arrest the Duke. Champignon denies being the duke or an accomplice, but his papers tell a different story. As such he takes it upon himself the guise of the duke, wearing his clothing, and eating his food. At dinner the duchess continually has to stomp his foot in order to not give the situation away that he is a married man playing royalty. At some point it is believed that Champignon has tempted to woo Barbara and Carlo takes it upon himself to defend her honor with a duel. Champignon of course refuses the duel. The major shows up and it seems that Champignon's execution is eminent. The major reveals that he has new orders to release the duke, and Champignon is let free to be in the arms of his wife.
     Scribe does not go any further into the story of Carlo, Barbara or Pepito. The last we see of the characters is Carlo telling Champignon that he is ordered to be executed on account that he is supposedly the duke. The love triangle is never resolved in the play, which is an interesting choice since the situation was only used as a plot device to further along the action of the play. I think it noteworthy the use of passports in the play. I do not believe that papers had a photographic identifier on them, but were all words. With Champignon being close in stature to the Duke it makes it very convenient to change out his passport to both shift the focus to Champignon so that the Duke is not being looked for, as well as to give the Duke means to leave the country without being observed. This of course puts Champignon into a rather peculiar position as he states multiple times throughout the play.

The Glass of Water

     The interactions between the Duchess and Bolingbroke at the end is very peculiar. The entire time they are at each other's throats in order to achieve their goals. But when Bolingbroke finally wins the Duchess makes a confession of affection towards Bolingbroke, they kiss each other, and then slap each other before bowing and parting ways. I can understand a love-hate relationship forming between the two and the mental connection formed, but the kiss-slapping seems a bit extreme for those of noble birth, even if they are in private company.

Second group Comments

 Eurydice (Sue)

http://icesk8prosue2130.blogspot.com/2013/11/eurydice.html?showComment=1383730062959#c4581397345203656285

Love! Valour! Compassion!(Sue)

http://icesk8prosue2130.blogspot.com/2013/10/love-valour-compassion.html?showComment=1383730369081#c6292688453343069312

The Children's Hour(Sue)

http://icesk8prosue2130.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-childrens-hour.html?showComment=1383730602423#c824767394581117961

The Glass of Water(Sue, you're such a wonderful student.)

http://icesk8prosue2130.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-glass-of-water.html?showComment=1383730862256#c7272700344323016462

Eurydice (Laura)

http://purplesummer2130.blogspot.com/2013/11/eurydice.html?showComment=1383749221615#c6226218868855195647

The Children's Hour

     There are plenty of plays that might be considered culturally sensitive material to display publicly. The Children's Hour could very well potentially be that sort of play if you are not careful about the context of the play. In today's culture it is becoming increasingly more acceptable to be a lesbian, but fifty years ago our culture was much different. In major psychological theory of the time it was thought that gayness was a mental illness that could be cured. They were viewed as mentally ill. In modern culture the psychological viewpoint has shifted to saying that if a mindset differs from the individuals worldview and causes stress, then it is a mental disorder. The play dates itself by having the mindset that being a lesbian is an unnatural happening and that anyone who is, or could possibly be a lesbian, was dangerous. It also lends the trope of the "tragic lesbian." That is the lesbian character who ends up dying, usually by killing herself, because she can't reconcile her feelings in society. I think that this play would not be as well accepted as it was in the past due to its treatment of lesbians. However I do not believe that this play would have any significant negative effect as long as it does not signify that the values of the play are still carried out in society today.
     There are plenty of plays that we probably shouldn't reproduce today, for instance the Octoroon. Although it was a good play, it would hold no cultural satisfaction and would probably be ridiculed and cursed upon if played in today's society due to the blatant racism inherent throughout the play. It had its time and place, but it would not be handled well today on stage.

Love! Valour! Compassion!

     The truth gathered from Love! Valour! Compassion! would be that homosexuality was commonly accepted as a norm, that as long as you have good sex things will be alright. The main thing about this play is that it does not follow a linear timeline but rather skips around. By skipping around the storyline, it gives an impression of one thing when in reality something else is happening. For instance at first we think that the encounter with Ramon and Bobby is coincidental or possibly unplanned. Later we find out that it was planned since the beginning. Despite that, there are no major consequences for cheating for any of the characters  except for possible regret. In the case of Ramon, he is actually rewarded with Greg's last solo, something any dancer at that point would probably kill for. So it turns out good things happens to those who do wrong. But really in the end we all die.
    The play did say something about goals though. It made a statement that said there are some things worth fighting for, like benefits against AIDS. Even if it means doing something ridiculous and silly, there are things worth striving for despite everything that has happened to us and what we've been through.
     The fact that this play is also played on a bare stage gives effect to the theatricality of it. Truth is not so concrete as in other well-made plays. It is something that can be molded or shaped. Truth becomes what the beholder wants it to become on the stage.

Eurydice

      The first quote I would propose as a theme for the play Eurydice would be the line by Eurydice's father on page 231 where he says, "It is a long time to be sad." The context of the quote is that Eurydice has lost her memory due to being dunked in the river and she wants to know the name of her mother and siblings. In order to escape sadness, characters in the underworld can bath in the river. Orpheus does not get this luxury in his life. The play would expand more on the idea of being eternally sad and emphasize it when Eurydice has to leave the underworld and the dad goes to take another dip into the river in order to quench the pain of his loss. It is also a long time for Orpheus to be sad over his loss of Eurydice since he is so young and has the rest of his life waiting for him.
     The second quote could be, "she talks the language of dead people now." This is a line by one of the stones shortly after Eurydice comes to the underworld and is unable to speak intelligibly. The director could play with the difference between the interactions of the dead and of the living. The immense power of song over death is another idea that could be played with in this production.Through the power of his music Orpheus was able to transcend the bounds of death for love. In the end though it was for naught since Eurydice had to return to the underworld.
      As far as poster design goes, the first could be of Orpheus playing his lyre and nature weeping with Eurydice under ground next to a river with a string room. The second could be an image of Eurydice in the underworld unable to talk with the stones behind her.

Overtones

In the world of Overtones Gerstenberg writes the characters such that the prim and proper Harriet and Margaret never see their more crude counter parts, but the counter parts, Hetty and Maggie, can see their real life counter-parts. In the world of the play Hetty and Maggie also cannot interact with the real world. In the offering of cake Maggie is clawing at the cake in desire, but never actually touches it. In a way the alter-egos personify the true desire of the characters, which is much more base and selfish than eloquence permits. The counter-egos also act as a solitary shoulder-angel the keeps whispering, or yelling, suggestions of topic change, like a representation of the voice in the back of our head telling us what we really want out of a situation. There is a moment where Harriet hides Hetty with a veil at the beginning of the play, and that is the only significant interaction between the physical and supposed metaphysical personification of the characters.
     Throughout the entire play Hetty and Maggie show the desires and wants of the main characters in their societal act of conversation. The language of the passions (Hetty and Maggie) are a more base language and crude, which gave a sense of the fundamentality of our base emotions and desires, which are often contrary to our outward appearance portrayed by society around us. There is a lot of talk from the passions to the characters, but not much conversation back to the passions. For instance when asked if she wanted more tea, Maggie exclaimed "yes!" while Margaret declined politely. Despite the actions and desires of the passions, they have no power in the real world and are subject to the main characters.

Trifles

     I think the proposal of a minimalist play for Trifles could work, but would not due a play like Trifles justice. Yes, the play would bypass the distraction of set design and be forced to concentrate on the words and emotions of the play and the characters. However, much of the plot requires certain objects to be present, such as the birdcage. The characters also interacted a lot with the props on stage, so this aspect of the play would be lost and would force audience members to really concentrate on the movements of the actors which as a result have to become very precise. With a bunch of props an actor can easily look busy, but to look busy without any objects would require a concentration from the actor.
     It could be done, but the world of the play would be changed and that has an impact. The play would lose it's contextual significance as a story, and would indeed enter into a world of the abstract. Now that I think about it though, an entirely neutral version of Trifles would be very interesting to watch due to the lack of props that are normally there. As aforementioned there would be a higher concentration on the movement of the actors which is where the expression of emotion comes from, so it could be effective, but the play would not be itself anymore. 

'Night, Mother

     The obvious questions of 'Night, Mother would be "does Jesse Kill herself," "Will momma stop Jesse," or any other question pertaining to the suicide of Jesse. She makes it clear that her decision is to kill herself and the decision was not argued about too deeply after the fact was stated. Christmas was mentioned with an understanding ambiguous to the audience, and there was the initial shock to be expected from Momma. Other than that though, the suicide was not really addressed. I would like to ask the question though, "will Jesse and Momma find closure?" Throughout the entire play Jesse and Momma are trying to make connections with each other, Jesse is finishing up things before she has to go, repeatedly we see misconnections between the two. The ultimate example would be the image of the making of the hot chocolate on stage. Hot chocolate to a great majority of the rest of the world represents warmth and comfort and a delightful treat. I doubt anyone would belittle the greatness that is hot chocolate. But the characters don't even like the hot chocolate. This final pleasantry is literally wasted and it is such a sad image because it demonstrates the misconnections. They are trying to do things right, but it ends up in failure. At the very end Momma tries hard to stave off the inevitable, trying to get Jesse to do the manicure, but time was up by Jesse's decision. I don't think that Momma really connected to Jesse until it was too late. Despite everything she did and tried, she couldn't save her daughter, who arguably wasn't her daughter anymore, but that is a different perspective to be argued later. So do they connect at the end? Not entirely, and the unfortunate closure for Momma was the sound of a gunshot.

Judith

     Do the characters change as a result of their actions? Another way to ask this question would be do our actions change us? This question when paired with Judith works quite well as the major dramatic question rather than the obvious "will Holofernes be killed by Judith?" or "will Judith succeed?" In order to tell if a character changes though, that character has to be viewed in the light of characters that do not change in the play. The only character that actually changes throughout the play is Judith who goes through several stages of change. Holofernes could be argued to have changed, losing one's head is quite an alteration. However, his is a physical transformation and his character stayed intact until his demise. Judith however starts off as an individual with a mission, who is ready to do her duty. After some conversation though she wavers and questions herself. That is until the Servant changes Judith's perspective of the situation and Judith goes into a rage! Afterwards she wants to make things "right" again on human carnal level, as if it would make a difference. This brief stint of insanity brought Judith to her lowest point and shut her down completely. No longer did we have the focused woman at the beginning of the play. Then through the words of the Servant, Judith started regaining her strength, but is it the same Judith? I will argue not since this new Judith had taken on a cloak of cruelty, though strong and confident, she was not the Judith we once knew. Is this for better or for worse? The play does not answer that question, but she was definitely changed due to her actions.
     The language of the play helped to accentuate certain aspects of the play. The playwright has the characters speak in an elegant tongue riddled with expletives and bolded phrases that would match our dialect today. They gave a sense of the baseness of the situation. "I want to fuck." It does not get much more base and to the point than that. This setting is also of an ancient one long before our current civilization, so the mixed language also gives an idea of a different time, developed but not fully developed.

4000 Miles

     I would like to say there are several motifs, but the one I want to write about is the image of the funeral or graveyards. (Death may also be used synonymously with funeral and graveyards.) Of course we have to conclude the funeral is important since (Spoilers!) the end of the play ends with a funeral, or rather the creating of a eulogy for a funeral. The sole reason it is important may be because it is the last scene. Regardless, the play actually begins with the image of a funeral. The last bit in scene one Leo mentions not having been at Vera's house since the funeral, presumably for his grandfather Joe. In scene three Vera returns from a funeral she attended in honor of one of the last of her old colleagues. In scene five Vera mentions bringing a secret to her grave. (I also wanted to note something else in this scene. It becomes apparent that the characters consuming cannabis in some sort of celebration. Cannabis is also known to increase libido, which may give reason for why Vera and Leo talked about sex.)  In Scene six Amanda calls Vera an old lady ghost, which in my mind brings up a graveyard image. So Herzog has depicted three different funerals throughout the play; the funeral of Joe, Leo's grandfather, the funeral of Micah, and the funeral of Ginny. The first death mentioned was Joe who died as an old man. In contrast, the next funeral and death was that of a young man, Micah. It was terribly gruesome and untimely found in the description in scene seven. The last death was Ginny's, who died of old age. She was found by Leo in the netherspace between scene nine and ten. I think it proper to mention this was also why Ginny and Vera called each other every night, in case something like this ever happened. The last death and the first death mirror each other in that they both deal with old people. They differ in gender, but both had a relationship with Vera. The first two deaths were deaths of men if that is worth mentioning at all, otherwise Micah's death has less commonality to either of the others.