Our Town

When reaading the play I was really interested and engaged. The idea of a stage manager talking to the audience was actually a really interesting choice and one that I wish was explored more a little bit in Theatre. It's not everyday you see a  character actually breaking the fourth wall. Not just in theatre but even in televison, and in a play its so much more personal as they are right there in front of you. I thought the play portrayed all the characteristics of life in a very general way and it was a smooth read for the most part. I just was really curious to see how The play would be performed with very minimal props and little to no set or scenery. I feel it would add to the play more if they had more physical objects there. On paper when I read it, there is no problem, but I feel it is hard to be invested in a play when I'm constantly realizing it is a play everytime I'm watching it due to the lack of props.

True West

I loved True West. It was one of my favorite play this semester. The idea of a modern day west is truly hard to dipict, but Sam Shepard definitely found a way in my opinion. The ideas of two brothers fighting is the most natural and modern dipiction of a mexican stand off in my opinion. Two brothers fighting over a toy. Who will get it? Neither will give up. It was the mentality of the old west. I loved the idea of the brothers personalities starting to switch and them turning into each other. In my mind it was still just a competition to see who the best was. You could sympathize with both characters at different points, but overall I don't think one brother would be able to exist without the other. And the mother abssolutely did not help at all. You would think she would have tried to do a better job at raising her children but she completely drops the ball which is a shame. I think both brothers had potential for great things as they could adapt to each others situation almost effortlessly. It was s hame they chose to fight most of the time.

Virginia Woolf

This play was somewhat of an anomoly to me. I personally can not understand people who would lie like that. George and Martha strike me as very educated and of course well spoken. But their craziness outweighs it all. It makes one wonder what exactly happened to make them decide to go on with such an elaborate ruse. Was it boredom in their marriage? Did they have a son that died as an infant? Was their some kind of rift and this is the only way to bring them back together? I don't know but George and Martha are seriously some head cases. Looking at the whole situation you can't help but feel sorry for the young couple there. But they do get sucked into the BS and it overcomes them. If they would have just taken a stand and left when it started to get crazy they could have a avoided all the nonsense. Then again, if that happened we wouldnt have been able to read about the experience, which, while leaving me scratching my head, made for a VERY interesting read.

M Butterfly

I thought it was a beautiful play in what it said and how it was written but I do feel it was a little flawed. I can completely understand how a man would want to get wrapped up in what he felt was his "butterfly," but I think there is no such thing as the perfect person. Male or Female. I don't think even a man could create the perfect woman, because every man is different. Even if the perfect person were to appear out of nowhere I think it would leave more questions than anything. A married man of all people should know that things don't always last, or else his marriage would be more sacred to him. I think Rene was completely blinded by his perfect woman he stopped asking very important questions. Life is not perfect no matter how much we want it to be, and to not realize that was a fatal mistake. If Rene would have just stopped to think about the situation, maybe it would have been enough to stop him and save his life.

Cyrano

Personally I loved Cyrano. He reminded me of myself when I read the play. Not so much in what he looks like but more so in what he is known for. I pride myself on being good with words, and Cyrano can speak like no other. Unfortunately I found this a bit of a difficult read at first but once I took my time to reread it a few times, I was finally able to get the play. I disagree with Cyrano's actions to not tell his love that it was him she fell in love with. Cyrano really dropped the ball there. But in grand Cyrano fashion he still managed to make the reveal as dramatic and breathetaking as possible. I'm afraid I couldn''t see the story ending any other way, for if Cyrano did tell her that he was the one who wrote her all the letters and spoke for the man she thought she loved it would take away from his character and the beauty of the whole situation.

Cyrano De Bergerac

Cyrano de Bergerac was most definitely hard to read at first. As the whole beginning of the play is showing off  the cross-section of Parisian society - most with long names and short character descriptions - all streaming into a theater, the action was confusing to follow in the text. Maybe it is a scene that would come together aesthetically well on stage, but is a pain to read and stage in my head. 
 At a point, Cyrano comes in and chases Montfleury off the stage, this is where the play begins to pick up. Cyrano initially reminded me a lot of the jester characters Shakespeare often uses like in othello with his character so melodramatic. His play seemed to be a like a Shakespearian comedy at first. 
Though I felt most of Cyrano's problems were caused by his own actions (which they were), it was hard not to feel sorry for him with his selfless acts to preserve the image of the man Roxane loved.
 Even after Christian advises Cyrano to drop the facade and tell her everything so that she may know which man she truly loves, Cyrano cannot bring himself to destroy her image of Christian once he is mortally wounded on the battlefield. 
For a whole fifteen years after, Cyrano still loves Roxane from afar. When she finally figures out that Cyrano has written all the letters, and he is still unable to confirm this even on his deathbed, I really felt bad for him.

The Cherry Orchard

The Cherry Orchard is a play By Chekov that I actually enjoy reading. It is one of my favorite Chekhov plays, as well as the last one he wrote. It makes sense that this particular story would be the last one Chekhov would tell. The characters often struggle with the memory of their past and how it effects their present and future.

 Perhaps as Chekhov was writing this play, probably knowing he would to soon, was struggling with the same thing. 

The character I have always known to love is Ranevsky. She is the character most constantly plagued with the memories good and bad, but mostly bad from her past. It is easy to run away from your problems and so for five years, that is exactly what she did. 

After the death of her husband and son she couldn’t just stay in Russia, so she fled to Paris. As the imminent sale of the orchard draws near, it seems brave as Ranevsky returns to Russia, but she will only leave once again at the end of the play. 

She is always running away from something, and the rest of the characters in the play don’t know how to handle her most of the time, but they still love her. The other characters are able to sympathize with her because of the obvious tragedy in her life, but they can’t understand the way she is going about her life. Ranevsky keeps spending money as if it is no object, even though the estate is going to be sold and the family has no money. Ranevsky is one of those characters who needs help but will never ask for it. 

our town

    Our town holds a special place in my theatre past, I performed this play in the 7th grade and I hated it. I was much more receptive to reading Our Town this time around, and I was able to pick up on so much more of the underlying themes. Grovers Corners reminds me of the town that my grand parents used to live in, and reading Our Town this time actually made me miss it a little bit. There is just something about small towns where the time seems to move more slowly, and the people are nicer and actually give a dang. This play has become sort of out of date, which is saddening. The American dream seems to be dying, or shifting at least, people don’t want the same things anymore. I really enjoyed reading this play, it finally resonated with me this time. 

cyrano de bergerac

     In my opinion, Cyrano De Bergerac is a man of great passion, wit, and zest. This play was interesting to read, as well as tiresome. The characters were hard for me to relate to, even though they were generally well developed. The love triangle between Roxanne, Christian and Cyrano is agonizing. Cyrano is such a great man and deserves so much, especially to be happy. Besides Cyrano’s nose, he seems to be the perfect man. But at times he also seems very cynical about life and everything that comes with it. He is tough and manly, and a good fighter, but a tortured artist as well. The object of Cyrano’s affections, Roxane, is so confused about everything until right at the very end, when it is too late to do anything about it. I enjoyed this play, it was depressing and uplifting all at the same time.

hedda gabler

Hedda Gabler is a tale about a small group of friends, rather a small group of people. The main character, Hedda, is unhappy in the most serious sense. She has every reason to be happy, but for some reason, she is never satisfied. Hedda claims to live a life devoid of passion, so she ends up acting in an extreme manner towards another character, Eilert Lovborg. Eilert has a known problem of drinking too much and becoming “passionate,” which Hedda admires of him. She likes to picture Eilert with “vines in his hair,”  a sort of unrealistic vision to have of what passion means. She craves passion in her life, but the way she chooses to be passionate is by destroying others. She burns Eilerts manuscript while muttering something about his child dying, and then claims that she burned it because she loves her husband so much. Throughout the play, it is insinuated that Hedda might be with child. At the end of the play, by taking her own life, she might as well have taken the life of her unborn child, which is an ultimate act of selfishness. For somebody to have craved passion so much, that they result to murder and suicide, is a sad thing.   

Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler is one of the most interesting characters in drama. She can be played in any number of different ways ranging from an idealistic heroine to a manipulative Machiavelle. The title of Ibsen's play uses her maiden name rather than her married name Hedda Tesman. This immediately makes us identify Hedda more closely with her father General Gabler, rather than her seemingly inept and clueless husband Tesman. Hedda is trapped inside her marriage as well as her own body as she is a woman in a very constricting and patriarchal social environment. She doesn't wish to be tethered to Tesman who she no longer respects as a husband. Instead she longs to lure his rival Lovborg back into his old ways of drunkenness and lethargy. What Hedda's motives are in any given situation, remain extremely ambiguous and often times up for interpretation. In fact, the reason this play is so powerful, in my mind, is because of the depth of Hedda's character and the complexity of her circumstances. Her suicide at the plays conclusion remains one of the most haunting scenes in any Ibsen play and perhaps any 19th century drama.

Six Characters in Search of an Author

Pirandello's play Six Characters is now regarded as a brilliant work which says a lot about the relationship between an author and their writing as well as theatre as an art/business in general. Interestingly, at it's premiere performance, the audience did not seem to appreciate its meta-theatrical absurdism and and declared Pirandello's theatre to be a "madhouse!".* Upon later publication of the play and further viewing, it began to get noticed as something special and and its critical reception gradually improved. The fact that the characters in this play are putting on their own play about the 6 characters in the title creates a fictional peak into the way theatre is made as well as the way characters exist within an authors mind. The shocking climax, followed by the director's final lines about not knowing what was real and what wasn't perfectly echoes the intentions of the creative process whether in regards to a director, actors, or especially writers. This is a very personal play for many artists and Pirandello shows just how personal it is for him by inserting his own name as the author of the fictional play inside of his. For me, this is one of favorite plays after having read it, precisely because Pirandello captures the essence and struggle of creativity so well.

*Wikipedia.org

M Butterfly

M Butterfly is David Henry Hwangs retelling, and in a lot of ways, revising of the famous Italian opera, Madam Butterfly. In Hwang's version, the most powerful element is the reversed ending in which it is the white man who must kill himself for honor instead of the abandoned Asian wife. Hwang takes the "classic" story of the pompous westerner dominating the fragile orient and changes the stakes by adding one key detail: Butterfly is a man. By deceiving Gallimard, the uninteresting French diplomat, and making Song Liling the true mastermind behind a deeper and ingenious espionage scheme, the supposedly superior person is made a fool of and reaps the true consequences of believing the fable of western masculinity and dominance.

Virginia Woolf

Edward Albee is arguably one of the most masterful American playwrights in history, and no where is this more apparent than in his script Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Albee's ability to create complex and intellectual conflicts between both genders in no way detracts from his ability to captivate and entertain. He is one of those rare writers who does not sacrifice quality for appeal, but as the same time, his plays are never lacking in appeal. Virginia Woolf in particular demonstrates, with impeccable realism, the cruelty and bitterness that can exist in a marriage. It is the first glimpse behind the facade of the ideal American family and it revolutionized the way Americans perceive plays as well as their own culture. The fact that this play is so widely renowned outside of the US as well shows just how powerful and interesting Albee's characters are. To me, it is this struggle between a man and wife or a mother and father that fascinated Albee the most through out his career.

Blithe Spirit

Blithe Spirit was written in under a week by Noël Coward in under a week. It is said to be his contribution to the struggle and coping which England needed during the Second World War as more and more British towns were being bombed and more and more were dying. The play takes on death not as a tragic event but rather as a liberating opportunity. The main character Charles Condomine is a middle-aged writer who's life is more or less ruled by his wives in the most subtle, yet important ways. It is the author's own meddling in the occult which leads him to conjure up his deceased ex and spiral his entire household out of control. As a script, I was first slightly put off by the difficulty of the special effects almost as much as I was enthralled by the top-knotch language in the dialogue. Luckily, our production of the play, I believe, married the two the way it was intended to be played and put on a clinic for the performance of a Noël Coward piece. The farcical elements as well as the characters' personalities make for an absolutely delightful time in the theater which even the general masses would respect and enjoy.

True West

Sam Shepard is extremely clever in his construction of his script True West. The structure of the family and the background involving the estranged brothers, the mother, and the "old man" provide the perfect conditions for conflict and drama in the setting of Southern California and the shadow of Hollywood. Each brother has talents which the other envies. Austin uses his intelligence and work ethic to find a little success as a hollywood screenwriter while Lee utilizes street smarts and survival instincts to live in the desert and search for his father. Lee returns to town and immediately begins stealing like he's used to. The character Saul seems to be a clueless nitwit, but represents the administrative side of Hollywood. Shepard seems to be injecting his less-than-flattering opinion of the Hollywood system as part of the brothers' power struggle. Lee, simply by schmoozing with Saul, is able to get him to agree to a golf game as well as green lighting his own idea for a screenplay. Overall, I though True West was a genius piece of satire as well as a moving and slightly disturbing story of family struggling with the ties that bind them.

Our Town

Thornton Wilder's play Our Town takes on American idealism, community/familial identity, and life stages as it's main themes. Because the play is old yet so "recent" in terms of its historical significance and cultural commentary, I believe it is hard for audiences to swallow in the modern era. The character types which Wilder explores are so familiar to us now and so widely parodied and lampooned that it is impossible for us to experience the unadulterated meanings Wilder intended. I believe this is also partially due to the change in language and speech between the time periods. Wilder's dialogue is cheesy and direct to some but beautiful and vivid to others. I believe the detractors are viewing this play through a modern lens, in which they expect everything to be subtle and more visually oriented. I would be very interested in seeing a production of this play which was completely and utterly true to the spirit of the time.

Our Town

Our town reminded me a lot of the town where I grew up, except this town was way less scandalous. The whole town, and everyone who lives there are just so boring and one dimensional. I had a hard time believing it. The one almost real person in the town was the alcoholic organ player. Everyone in the town was such a goody two shoes that it just annoyed me. I liked how fast the play moved. I found the play pretty sad, especially Emily. Emily had so much potential and she just threw it all away. The only thing Emily accomplished in her life was having a baby, but she didn't get to raise the baby because she died having another one. I enjoyed the message of the play that people don't stop to look around in life and miss whats really important. Overall I think the play is pretty good. It is hard for me to relate to it because the characters are all so good and boring, I don't know anyone or any town where people are like that

Our Town

Our Town by Thornton Wilder is a very well written play.  However, I do not believe that this play is relatable in our current times due to the audience that goes to view plays in our generation.  The themes about the cycle of life and love- romantic and filial - are very important, however, this generation would not appreciate the simplicity of this work.  Nowadays everyone is looking for the next edgiest play, something that will reflect the feeling of the masses about our struggling economy, sexualized commerciality, and the violence in the world today.  This play does not do that.  Wilder wanted to show a real American town and talk about the struggles of everyday life in this town.  But everyday life for the world now consists of drugs, shootings, incest, prostitution, manipulation...the world that Wilder is displaying is not the world that we are familiar with, and that is why some may feel that this play lacks substance.  I did enjoy reading it, though.  I loved the idea of the stage being pretty much bare and the use of a very simplistic set and pantomiming to convey the action and setting.  I feel like this play might be better appreciated in viewing, as I do with most plays, but I do feel that the world we live in today cannot and will not find a place for this piece of theatre.  It has become more of a nostalgic piece and something that can be looke

Our Town

I wish I could say that I enjoy Our Town, but overall, I just can't help but get bored reading it.  I think it's technically well-written, but content-wise pretty dull, unfortunately.  My first experience with this play was in high school when I saw a production that one of my friends was in.  I remember being so bored that almost all I could do was repeatedly consider how much time we had left until the show was over.  I think my main problem with the play is that it seems to try to be everything at once, and technically succeeds.  However, this success costs the show any specific focus, causing the play to end up rambling and lacking purpose other than to simply portray life in its most basic form.  For the first two acts, the play does just that - portraying life in the broadest stroke possible,.  However, once the play gets to its last act, it seems like a different play entirely.  No longer content with simply presenting life, Wilder now seems to want to make some grand statement about life after death and the ultimate point of life.  However, as his first two acts have all but made it a point to avoid commenting about anything at all, what he might've intended to be a bold statement ends up coming across as a non sequitur lacking any precedent or even a transition.  Overall, however, the play does succeed in its attempt to present a slice of life.  I guess, then, that this play can be considered a nice base from which other playwrights can form more complex arguments, thoughts, and opinions about life, but Our Town still remains a purposely colorless and ultimately tiring portrait of American life.

Our Town

Our town is one of my favorite plays. If I were to write a play, this is a similar idea as to how i would construct my play. One of my favorite parts of the construction of this work is the idea of the three separate act. Act I the act of daily life, act II that of love and marriage, and my absolute favorite act III of death and "eternity." When I first saw this play (in high school) I cried and I just loved it so much. Now, reading back on it i see just how amazingly poetic the whole entire play is and how much life matters or does it? 
The amazing message Thornton Wilder coveys through this play is the meaning and expense of life, love and other mysteries. I love the end of this play where Emily finds re-living her life far too painful and begins to realize how many people including herself waste their life on so many other things but happiness. Each of the characters in this play have such important and separate parts, even the milk-man has a solid influence in this play. One of there best endings to a play is the end to THIS PLAY.The Stage Manager concludes the play, reflecting on the probable lack of life beyond Earth, and wishes the audience a good night. This is gold to me.

Our Town

Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is actually a play I hold very close to me.  In high school, our talented theatre program put on the production and I was cast as Emily.  I know it is kind of one of those plays that every school seems to do a production of and many perceive as being simple and cheesy, but I actually love it.  Admittedly, I most definitely have a bias towards it given my past experience with it; however, I love the simplicity of it.  I love the simple, small, close-knit depiction of Grover’s Corners.  I love the simple romance of Emily and George.  The simplicity is actually what makes the play.  It is its basis.  This is especially demonstrated, and in my opinion very well, in the third act with the realization of the small things meaning the most in life.  It’s funny; I could actually feel myself at the beginning of tearing up during certain parts toward the end.  I don’t think it was so much that I found it touching, as much as the fact that I had cried so many times saying those lines that it seemed almost involuntary to produce tears at the reading of those parts.  Reading the play now brought back such good memories.  It is definitely one of my favorite memories, if not my favorite memory, from high school and made me miss being in theatre.

That Girl Knows Her Place.. On Top

Before I read the play, I read a summary of it to see whether or not I would enjoy something like this. I am not the biggest reader, but I am a big opinion giver, and this play brings a few of those opinions out. I love the title first of all, Top Girls, not only is it provocative but it also means something deeper: where the author, Caryl Churchill wants to see women in the future, on top (and in charge). I can appreciate the intention in writing this play, and the meanings behind the purpose; the author definitely wants to see the women grow in power, not necessarily be in control, but have a bigger voice. It was written in the 80's, when Margaret Thatcher was the Prime Minister of England, she was a major catalyst for the feminine movement across the globe; especially in the west. My favorite character was Marlene, she is a tough career focused woman, and I think she can be a bit heartless. Her main focus is her success and I she does whatever she can do reach that happy spot in her life; I somewhat liked this about her. I can definitely see a good amount of people not liking her and going for someone less aggressive, but that passion she has for success that drives her is awesome; I would love to see more of that drive in other characters.

Top Girls

I did not get this play. I don't understand why it was famous in the first place. The beginning scene was weird and confusing everyone was talking at the same time. I did not understand how that connected to the rest of the show besides the one overlapping character. I thought the scene with the two girls was creepy, especially when Angie says she put on her dress to kill her mother. It was also creepy when one of the girls licked menstrual blood.  I thought there was way too much stuff about children and reproduction in the show, it seemed very repetitive. I would think that in a play about women they would have found more things to write about then reproduction and childbirth. I found this play kind of boring, I actually fell asleep reading it. I felt like the themes that were discussed in the play were just very overused and there was no fresh approach to them. I want to like this play sine its such a big deal. I think I must be missing something, but who knows.

Top Girls and Feminism

This play really captivated me.  I loved the opening scene in the restaurant, very conversational.  I first thought it difficult to read, but once I realized that the overlapping was happening I immediately felt as though I was at lunch with my own matriarchal family!  The similarities are crazy, especially all the talk of gaining the upper hand against men.  My family is extremely matriarchal and we have VERY few men in our family, so this play really just reflected a typical day at lunch with my aunts and cousins! The play, being set in Britian, really opened up a whole new dimension of Feminism practices for me.  So often in school we are taught about gender equality, but we never study the movements of feminism that arose in countries other than America.  This play does a superb job of commenting on the contrast between American feminism, which celebrates individualistic women who acquire power and wealth, and British socialist feminism, which involves collective group gain.  This also peaked my interest in other feminist movements throughout Europe, especially because my topic for the research paper is about Ibsen and the Rise of Feminism in Norway.  The play argues against the style of feminism that simply turns women into new patriarchs and argues for a feminism where women's instinct to care for the weak and downtrodden is more prominent. The play questions whether it is possible for women in society to combine a successful career with a thriving family life and the challenges of tearing yourself apart to rise to the top.
Top Girls was a very pleasant read that was a bit abstract at times, but brought the overall message of how our society is still dealing with gender equality and the struggle that women face to become better than their male counterparts.  The structure is very unconventional, however, the dreamlike style that lives inside of this script complemented what Caryl Churchill was trying to translate.  I would love to see this performed, especially with all of the historical figures being parallel to the actual characters in the main story line.

Top Girls

          Top Girls’ opening scene is a dinner party in which historical women have been invited, they are also dead. Marlene, the main character, had just got a promotion and wanted to celebrate. Marlene appears to be well driven and wants to have a successful career. She had a baby at a young age, Angie, and left her daughter in the care of her sister so that she may try to go off and build a career. Angie seems to not be on the whole “feminist train” that the rest of the women are on. This was my first time reading this play, and I would have to say that I enjoyed it. Women have done a lot to further themselves in the workforce, and have come a long way. The women in this play eventually reveal a sort of weakness about themselves, and one that they can all relate to.

Top Girls

I actually thought this play was really intriguing thematically and challenged a lot of notions of gender roles in society - particularly what women have to sacrifice of themselves in order to compete for the same societal position as men.  Structurally, however, it was a bit confusing, as the non-linear storytelling threw me off a bit.  Churchill tied everything in by the end, but that didn't quite change the fact I was lost for the first two acts.  That being said, I did enjoy the opening scene where Marlene met the women from history.  Though I usually don't think dream (or dream-like) sequences are effective, I liked the fact that Churchill used this opportunity to present telling parallels to Marlene's predicament that spanned ages.  Through this, Churchill was able to show that Marlene's sacrifices are not simply the result of a postmodern woman in the workforce or the rise of feminism, but a truth for women throughout history.  These women have all had to give up vital parts of themselves to get ahead, which begs the question: how far have we really gotten in the fight for equal rights when women are still forced to choose which integral part of themselves to give up in order to succeed?

Top Girls

"This play is contemporary and examines the role of women in society and what being a successful woman means." The play is famous for its opening sequence in which Marlene, the main character, meets famous women in history. She meets Pope Joan who dresses like a man, and Isabella Bird the explorer. She sees Dull Gret know as "the harrower of Hell" as well as the Japanese mistress of an emperor and later a Buddhist nun, Lady Nijo. She meets Patient Gruselda better known as the wife from the "Clerk's Tale" in the Canterbury Tales.  All of these characters behave like a gang of city career women out on the town and get increasingly drunk as it is revealed that each has suffered in similar ways.The stories of the historical women "parallel the characters" in the modern-day story. Some of these parallels are even emphasised by the actors doubling the roles of the historical and modern characters.
THis play is non-linear which makes it more contemporary and the way it compares the past present and the future really makes for an interesting view on women in society. 

That West Is True-er Than The East

I hate reading, as you may know by now, I absolutely loathe it. It frustrates me and its hard to concentrate with small letters; I begin to read the same sentence over and over again. But this play, just like a few others assigned in this class was pretty simple and straight forward to read. The plot was a bit much in my opinion, and the characters weren't all like able (especially Lee), but it wasn't a hard read. My favorite character was Mom.. she was just the oddest person to me, I loved it. The play itself was a bit annoying, the drama was heightened and I wanted to laugh while reading it, maybe I was in a bad mood, but I just wasn't ready for it. 

true west

        This play was disturbingly funny. It was my first time reading it, and I enjoyed it very much. Alcohol yet again seems to be a character on its own. Both brothers, Lee and Austin, end up getting belligerently drunk. Austin, the more organized and established of the two brothers, abstains from drinking for as long as he cans, but eventually gives in. Lee on the other hand, begins drinking basically from the moment we meet him. Lee and Austin are different in personality, but as the play continues, they slowly start to turn into one another. Their father, the "old man," abandoned them for the desert. He seems to play a role even though he isn't there physically. In my opinion, this play shows us that we cannot escape our family, as Austin decides that he wants to quit his life in the suburbs and run off to the desert, like his father. The two brothers are themselves, each other, and their father.

True West

In Sam Shepard's play "True West", it seems to me that the pauses are just as important as the dialogue.  They establish the underlying menace, set up some of the play's funniest moments, and also reveal regret, indecision and fear between Lee and Austin.  I especially enjoyed the brother relationship between Lee and Austin who invoke the feelings of loyalty, love, hate and the jealousy that arises from the different paths they've taken.  The play invokes the true spirit of sibling rivalry, taking it almost too far into the reality of losing all control, such as when Austin strangles Lee at the end of the play.  This breaking point is extremely relevant to the idea of human nature and instincts.  Once Austin passes that threshold of composure, he completely loses all semblance of the person he is supposed to be.  I found this play extremely interesting, especially because in my directing class we are working on plays that resemble this exploration of human relationships down to their core.  I also found it very interesting that their mother did not have a bigger role in the show, after all the show takes place in her home.  However, she doesn't come in until the end, and the minute things turn awry and her sons start brawling, she immediately takes her leave.  I wonder if she cars at all that both her sons wanted to venture out into the desert possibly to never be seen or heard from again?
Regardless, I found this play to be excellent, from its ominous opening to it's startling closing moments.  Sam Shepard is a fabulous master American dramatist, and I would definitely like to read more of his works to tie in his theme in True West with his style throughout his other various works.

True West

Continuing the recurring theme of alcohol-fueled fighting in our selected plays, True West really felt like one of the first "contemporary" plays we've read this semester.  The language, characters, and situations felt more current than those of the plays we've read previously, so it was a bit easier to get into the play.  That being said, however, I did find the action of the play a bit monotonous.  It seemed like every two seconds, the brothers would start bickering or fighting with one another.  It reminded me a lot of Virginia Woolf in this regard.  Though I appreciated the reversal of roles and the exploration of sibling rivalry, after a while it just felt like all these characters were allowed to do was pick at each other until they started another battle.  I do understand that this was the crux of the play's message and central point, but the action could've been broken up by a few different scenes. Other than that, though, I really enjoyed reading the play - a lot more than I expected to.

thE tRue "wiLd wiLD" wEst y'AlL

Apart from Blithe Spirit, (duhhh) this has been my favorite play that we have read. This in a way went along with the same reasons why I liked Blithe Spirit so much. Both Coward and Sam Shepard's language seemed to resonate with me. There was something about the style of writing that was not as off putting as so other works we have discussed. I also enjoyed the surprise of the actual material. I was skeptical about reading this one simply because of the title. I was waiting for Lonesome Dove to make an appearance, but thankfully it did not! Rather the play was nicely set in California, as opposed to Texas or Wyoming as I had thought. I guess this just goes to show how you can not just a book by its cover, or play in this case.I also really enjoyed the relationship between the brothers. It was something tangible and realistic in a weird way for me. this is another play that we have read in this class that I would actually really enjoy to see live.  

True West

True West by Sam Shepard is a very interesting modern take on western America, in this case, California. The play is about two brothers who ultimately are responsible for changing the other's life. The play Starts out with Austin, watching his moms house and Lee his older brother coming in and rearranging Austin's life. The title "True West" makes it out to be some kind of old western stand off which is actually what it ends up being but not with guns and tumble weed.
Shepard does a good job of showing How Lee comes into Austins life and truly flips his world upside down as the seemingly switch lives and turn on each other as well as ending up collaborating on a screenplay together

Blithe Spirit

After having read so many "serious" - but nonetheless important - plays recently, I was ecstatic to get to read a lighthearted and truly hilarious farce like Blithe Spirit.  It might've just been the timing in the semester, or the fact that Noël Coward intended this play to lift the audience's spirits in the midst of a war-torn state of affairs, but this play really did lighten the mood of this semester.  The play's quick wit and farcical spirit really resonated with me, and had me hooked almost from the first page.  The plot does seem a bit hokey and corny at first glance, but Coward really does handle this somewhat farfetched concept expertly and never lets the action feel contrived or pandering.  The characters felt real - a feat in itself for the now-ghost of Elvira and the larger-than-life pseudo-psychic Madame Arcati.  I also felt the way death was approached in this play was very unique, as death never quite felt heavy or tragic, and more just an accepted event.  Overall, I LOVED reading Blithe Spirit, and I honestly can't wait to see a production mounted here, which I know will be absolutely fantastic.

blithe spirit

        Blithe Spirit is delightfully uncomfortable. There seems to be not one sane person in the entire play. I enjoyed this play pretty thoroughly, it was funny borderline inappropriate. The protagonist is Charles, but at times it almost seems to be Ruth. Ruth just gets the short end of the stick for everything. Even after she dies she's still not getting a fair deal.This play was needed by its audience at the time it was written, and I think it successfully did it's job in distracting them for a short while and helping them cope with death all at the same time. This was the first time I read this play, but of course I had heard of it before I read it. I cannot wait to see this play at Loyola. Madame Arcati would be a hoot to see on stage, as would Elvira. Overall, I think this play has something to offer to everyone who reads or sees it.

Blithe Spirit

I really enjoyed reading the play. It was fun and lighthearted and really had some funny moments. The fact that people I know are going to be in this play made it all the more interesting to read. The fact that a woman would come all the way back from the dead just to torment her husband is just a really funny concept to me. Though the concept of death is usually quite a downer and depressing, this play presents death in a more light hearted comedic light and its a very interesting spin to put on it. Though I dont agree with the way Charles reacts when finding out about Ruth's death, it's understandable at that point why he is just complacent with the news. Especially after being haunted for a while. I really enjoyed the play and it makes me want to see the play in person all the more.

I Know That's A Blithe Spirit.!

I am not a fan of reading plays, as you might know, but some plays are so much more simple and fun to read than others; Blithe Spirit is one of those plays. Fortunately for me, I've done a few scenes from it and some of my fellow classmates are performing in it this season. Noel Coward created such a lovable group of characters, I can't deal. For the most part, each person had a quality of comedy, wit, and human-ness. Even though Elvira was a ghost, the only times I ever thought about her like that was when she would play with Charles and Ruth. Elvira was my favorite character, she is just above Charles (only because I played Charles in the scenes I did). Elvira is the life of the play, ironic because she is most definitely dead, she creates interesting situations, drama, and knows how to keep everything interesting. I liked reading this play, and I'm sure I'll love watching it this Friday when it opens at loyola.

Blithe Spirit

Noel Coward is quite the playwright!!  What a funny comedic play to read!  I was never quite so delighted with the English style humor as I was reading Blithe Spirit.  I really enjoyed the contrast between Elvira, Charles' first wife, and Ruth his second.  It created the perfect platform for ridiculousness to ensue.  This contrast makes me wonder why such a difference in the choice of his brides?  Why, when you are married to someone so free spirited (no pun intended) like Elvira, to turn and marry someone so staunch and proper as Ruth?  I believe that Charles got what he deserved when both Ruth and Elvira were haunting him, although I found it a tad bit unfair for Ruth to have died in such a way that she didn't deserve.  But I suppose that adds to the comedy of the play.  Overall it was a fantastic play to read and enjoy imagining staged in Marquette!  I cannot wait to see what Patrick has in store for this comedy, and how Logan, Kali and Natalie will portray the dynamic of this crazy relationship Coward has imagined for them.  Madame Arcati is definitely my favorite character, one whom I would love to play one day!  Her crazy yet knowledgeable demeanor on all things supernatural makes the perfect compliment to the dry comedy of the Bradman's and Charles and Ruth in the beginning of the play.  She is vibrant and intense and I cannot wait to see Kelcie's portrayal of her!

Blithe Spirit

I enjoyed reading this play and I can not wait to see it. It was nice to read something that was so light and funny. I loved the characters. my least favorite was Ruth because she was so bland, however I still liked her a lot, but not as much as the others. Elvira's stories about the afterlife were so funny. It was so weird how Charles was so caviler about Ruth's death. I would have thought he would have never forgiven Elvira, but he was just like "oh you silly goose!"  I didn't like at the end how you found out they were all cheating on each other. I felt like it took away the motivation for the whole play.

Blithe Spirit

Blithe Spirit is such a great production by Noel Coward. I have a special place in my heart forth is play. Not only because I play Edith in Loyola's production of this show, also because I have a deep appreciation for Coward. This show has many hilarious as well as visceral scenes. The imagination and imagery that is coveted in this show is mind boggling. Even when reading this play I giggled because of all the highbrow british humor that falls into the hilarity of the situation going on.

Basically the plot line is that Charles and his second wife Ruth call upon Madame Arcati to perform a seance in their living room. Havoc insues and Elvira, Charles late first wife is called back and only Charles can see her, however they soon find out that it was the maid all along with the psychic powers. From the humor to the cucumber sandwiches, this play is a well rounded great production. Come see on Friday!

virginia woolf

        This is the second time I have read this play, and it is still as intense as the first time. The characters in this play are so messed up, and it is so hard to stop reading. It was really easy to hate Martha, but feel so incredibly sorry for her at the same time. The entire play was uncomfortable to read, but at the end there was almost some sort of cathartic feeling, like everything had been purged. There were no more lies at the end of the play, and George killed off their make believe son. I liked the note that this play ended on, even though I would have liked to known what happened between George and Martha later on.
      This was my favorite play we have read so far, the dark humour was cynical and refreshing all at the same time. The overpowering theme of lies and deception is common throughout everyday life, and is something everybody can relate to, in some kind of way.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? I think we all are.

Even from the opening lines of dialogue, I automatically assumed this play was absurdist. For some reason, it reminded me a lot of Waiting for Godot in that these characters - Martha and George - are kind of just presented to the audience in medias res, and we are expected to decipher their erratic and seemingly unhinged behavior. It also helped that the fighting these two did seemed beyond pointless, stretching into ludicrous and, quite frankly, insane.  For a while, I thought Martha might have just been making the events of the night up, as George seemed relatively sane, but also bereft of any knowledge of anything that had happened before that very moment. The state of these two characters, coupled with the breakneck speed of their shifting emotional states, led me to believe I wouldn't understand a word of this play. Thankfully, once Nick and Honey arrived, the play seemed to more or less evolve into a tense living room drama, albeit with Martha and George still battling and all the characters dodging Martha's onslaught of ever-changing emotions. In fact, it actually helped to have Nick and Honey there, as their uneasy trepidation mirrored mine and helped me to see someone else in the world of the play who was just as confused and uncomfortable as I was reading the play. Once Nick and Honey settled in a bit, George and Martha started seeming less insane and more just hell-bent on the other's destruction, which I guess helped me settle into the play a bit. By the end, I understood the cause for George and Martha's fighting, and a bit of what Albee meant to say with this play, but overall, I feel he could've shortened and streamlined his message. As it is, the play is confusing and often just simply off-putting, as Albee seems to have housed his message in a play that is barely accessible at best and unsettlingly hostile at worst.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

A very intriguing play indeed!  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this play, although I will admit that the beginning was a bit hard to understand due to their erratic and unhinged behavior.  But I was captivated at the underlying devotion that Martha and George had for each other.  Some might debate me on that point, however, if one person can support the deranged actions of another and vice versa, there is devotion there...especially them being together for such a long time.  Nick and Honey are at the beginning of their marriage and this same intense devotion I see from George and Martha is not as prevalent in their relationship, which is why Nick goes upstairs with Martha to have sex, even though he is too drunk to go through with it.  Even though both George and Martha seemed to want nothing more than to degrade and destroy each other, the moment that stood out to me was when George talks to Nick about their relationship after Martha explodes about George not rising in his department over the years.  Its one of the most vulnerable moments in the play and showed that the two truly do care about each other.  I would love to stage this play at Loyola, but I fear that these roles are challenging in a way that Loyola might not be able to match up with.  I cannot wait to watch the Liz Taylor version and see her in a role I would never expect her to play!

Who's Afraid of VW?

This play is pretty scary. The entire time I was reading it all I could think of was how closely this play foils "God of Carnage." The two couple, beginning to play games with each other leading into a match between the four on who could hurt the other the most. This play would be so exciting to see on stage and crucial to see to really understand the blocking and just how far these couple go to make each other miserable.
The creepiness in this production is palpable and very high-drama. At the beginning this seems to be normal couples however as the play unfolds it seems to appear that each person in this show has their own weak points and are broken down in the end.
After reading this, I was left in awe The importance of the singing and the fear really bring this show to a point at the end the is not quite foreseen. 

Im totes afraid of VW -Blaine

I didnt get it. I did not understand the point. I didnt understand to purpose. I didnt not understand why it was so long. If you could not tell, this was not my favorite. It is starting to feel like a lot of these plays are running together. Many of them have been the living room style plays, and its becoming hard to keep track. Who,s Afraid of Virgina Wolf falls in the same category. It just a whole lot of talking, drinking, and yelling. Although, I did really enjoy the play wrights writing style.It was honestly the saving grace for the play. It seemed to flow for me while I was reading, which helped because of how unnecessarily long the play was.After reading it I knew that I would need to do some more research on the play to see why it was such a big deal, because I didnt get that either. The research did help me to get a better picture of the historical relevancy of the play. this play was one of those plays that I knew the title of but had no clue what it was about. I knew it was a big deal, but had no clue why it was. Now I know what its about, and now I know why it was a big deal. It is still not my favorite, and I found it far too long, but I can honestly say that I am glad that I finally know what this show is.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

I really enjoyed this play. I think Albee did an excellent job shaping the characters and structuring the story. Within the first few pages of the play I could tell that some crazy stuff was going to happen, and I was hooked. I loved the relationship between George and Martha, as heartbreaking as it was. It was funny but also very sad too see the two of them trying to hard to hurt each other. They reminded me of birds just pecking at each other. I think the play was the perfect mix of funny and sad, it did a remarkable job walking that fine line. It was obvious that they deeply cared for one another but they were very hurt. I thought it was brilliant the way George and Martha manipulated each other as well as Nick and Honey. All the characters seemed a little bit crazy but I found that very relatable because honestly, who isn't a little bit crazy?  I can not wait to see a performance of this show. Its one living room drama I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for. I was also really excited that Uta Hagen had been in the original cast because I am a big fan. I wish I could have seen this show with the original cast, I also would have loved to see Elaine Stritch in it.

M. Butterfly

Coming into reading M. Butterfly, I was intrigued most by the character of Song Liling, particularly how he carried his role as a female onstage into real life.  Having studied Peking opera, I was already intrigued by the female - or dan - roles in its tradition, as they were traditionally played by men who studied and trained their entire lives to play "the perfect woman."  At the time of the Peking opera, the idea of the perfect woman was so pervasive in Chinese culture that women would have their feet bound from an early age in order to adopt the swaying gait that was seen as making a woman desirable.  On stage, the men playing the dan roles would have to walk on stilts to emulate this, as they didn't have to bind their feet, and moreover, it was nearly impossible to walk with bound feet anyway.  In addition to this rather extreme example, the men in these roles would have trained their whole lives, carefully studying the mannerisms that made up the ideal woman.  This suggested that the ideals of what a woman should be - and, in a broader sense, all gender roles - were a social construction, and one which had to be taught throughout life.  The implication, of course, is that only a man would know how to be the perfect woman, as the role of the ideal woman was one created by men for men.

David Henry Hwang obviously takes this idea to heart, as he frequently uses Song Liling to explore and break down the roles of gender and sexuality, as well as the power those lend to a person.  Obviously, audiences are usually drawn in by the sheer fact that Song Liling poses as a woman for most of the story, but I think it's interesting to examine why he does pose as a woman in the first place.  The power and access it lends him as a spy obviously contributes to it, but I think a large part of it also becomes the access he gains as Gallimard's female lover.  Once he assumes the role, it's as if he becomes trapped in it. And, as proven in the end, the consequences of breaking that role are destructive to both Gallimard's life and his own.

M. Butterfly

I really enjoyed reading this play and delving into the Chinese culture at this time.  I've never been very interested in Asian culture, but this semester has really opened me up to it, mostly due to my   World Religions course.  David Henry Hwang explores the roles of sexuality and gender as well as how one can wield these things to their advantage.  I was amazed to see that Song Liling posed as a woman for most of the story in order to spy, but then develops into something entirely enigmatic with the introduction of Gallimard and the tryst they have for over 20 years.  I have always been very interested and compelled to research more about female impersonation, especially because freshman year I was employed to a drag queen in the quarter for months.  I am fully aware of the process of physical transformation and very familiar with applying makeup and styling wigs and costuming, however, this is entirely a different area of this when it comes to Song Liling.  I am very excited to see Joshua Smith, one of our Alumni perform this role at the Shadowbox theatre at the end of November!  I cannot wait to see what challenges he faced in his transformation into a female role, and how he has grown as an actor from the experience.  

M. Butterfly

Before reading this play I had never read or seen the opera on which it was based. Renee mentions at the beginning of the play that it would be neccesary to understand the opera and I think he wasps rely right although I could appreciate the story on its own. The storyline is very risqué and sexual it seems. Renee begins seeing Song, who convinces Renee that he is a woman for 20 years..which seems a little wild to me. In Chinese theatre it is custom for males to play females onstage. I suppose Song must have been a pretty good actress to have fooled Renee for so long. We find out that Rene has been telling government and diplomatic secrets to Song over the years which becomes his downfall. Once he realizes everything that has happened, he commits suicide in the form of seppuku which I suppose seems fitting to end this Asian inspired play.

M. Butt-her-fly

In M. Butterfly David Henry Hwang takes the Japanese Opera "Madame Butterfly" and puts a whole new twist on it. In the Opera, it is about a Japanese Woman who falls in love with a French Seaman. In the End the White man ends up messing over the Japanese woman and breaks her heart. In M. Butterfly Hwang reverses the roles a bit. The leading man in this play is the French Rene Gallimard who falls for a beautiful Chinese Opera star who just so happens to be a man. In the story it is told from retrospect from Rene's view while in Jail.
He goes back to look at the relationship between him and his "perfect woman" (who is a man, yall). He goes Back through his history and recalls all the times he and his love were able to be together. This play really not only delves into the topic of love, romance and identity but also the importance of heritage and politics.

Six Awkward Characters In Search of an Awkward Author

     When I started to read this, I was super confused. There are Actors, Characters, Managers, and so many other characters to keep up with; I couldn't handle it. The relationships all seemed to blend into each other and at times I lost interest in the story. When I realized everything that happened with Father, I started to regain the interest that I had when I read the title. Unfortunately, I lost it, and I never got it back. On top of my dislike to read, I couldn't focus on the story; not to mention the little stories within.
     This play did make me think though, what if we (people) were born characters in a play? The play of life. Truthfully, I did not dwell on this subject, because I realized how ridiculous this was; to me at least. But I do understand a point Pirandello was trying to make, some people are born to play characters, others are just actors trying to be themselves. Overall, I think this sounds like a very difficult production to put on, and I was quite discombobulated throughout.

Six characters

     This play was intriguing, boring, and confusing all at the same time for me. Half the time I felt like I was missing something, and the other half I felt like I understood it on a deep level. Six Characters in Search of an Author has incredible potential to make people take a step back and think, which is what it did for me. The Father was pretty pervy to me, and though I wanted to keep reading and figure out exactly what had happened, I also wanted to put the play down on several occasions because things were so unclear and I seriously doubted that the play was moving anywhere.
     Over all, this was not my favorite play to read. I think it would be more interesting and entertaining to see it performed on stage. It was difficult to keep up with all the different parts in my head, because they did not have real names. It would be easier if I could see real people acting out this play. This play goes beyond just words, it carries a meaning that stays with you when you're done with it. It almost felt like something I would discuss in my philosophy class. I enjoyed the play for what it was, but I probably would not read it again, or have read it on my own will to begin with.

Six Characters

Luigi Pirandello’s play Six Characters in Search of an Author is definitely not like anything we have read so far.  Once I began the play, I realized I had actually already read it in my high school theatre class.  We were studying the concept of a play being within a play.  As the play begins with what seems to be a play rehearsal, its storyline brings in this complicated idea.  This is a perplexing concept, but there is still the definite understanding of what reality presumably is.  However, as the play develops, the line between reality and illusion becomes increasingly cloudier.  This eventually leads to that line becoming completely nonexistent when a character “shoots himself”--that is, the rest of the remaining characters being unable to agree upon whether it is all part of the show, or if he has actually indeed killed himself.  With the “characters” of the play not even sure what is real and what is being acted, this leaves little hope for the audience’s understanding of what the ending is supposed to insinuate.  

It is inarguably a different and creative concept.  I can definitely see it being something you either love or hate.  While I can appreciate its originality, I ultimately must say I did not care for it.  I find the last line to be the thing that really makes me decide on my dislike toward it.  Said by the play’s Manager: “Pretence? Reality? To hell with it all! Never in my life has such a thing happened to me. I've lost a whole day over these people, a whole day!”  The point is how pointless it ultimately is whether something is real or fake, exists or doesn’t.   I find it leaves me with almost a sickening feeling.  So no, I didn’t really find I enjoyed it.        

Six Characters in Search of an Author

     Personally, I absolutely love this play.  I feel like the message Pirandello meant to sent out in this precursor to Absurdism, is that the actor must become the character...he must live through the story.  So often times actors cannot fully depict what an author is trying to convey in a play.  This is partly to do with the characters living beyond the actual reality of life and time, but also has to do with the soul of a character.  I admit, the first time I read Six Characters two years ago, I struggled immensely with the plot and the idea of characters existing apart from the actors who were meant to play them.  We are taught constantly in theatre that illusion is key.  An actor, set designer, costumer, lighting designer are all intrinsic parts of luring the audience into the plot, creating the illusion of reality.  What Pirandello is saying here is that the characters ARE a reality in themselves.  In order for an actor to give a representation of a character, they must fully embody this reality by BECOMING the character.  Unfortunately, while the character's reality is real, the actor's is not...this is one of the great challenges of performing.  Pirandello also emphasizes the idea that man is nothing because his reality is directed by time and is ultimately fleeting.  However, a character is immortalized forever in his or her reality...it is fixed permanently in existence for many more people to experience and read, however it never changes.
     Pirandello also explores the function of the Author of a play.  Throughout the action on stage the author is constantly present though unseen.  The characters are in search of him to find an ending for themselves, but also to find some purpose to their story.  This is why the Step-Daughter argues that the actors could never perform their story correctly because only they have lived it, but also she is looking for some validation from her author that comes in the form of being glorified onstage.  Overall, Six Characters is a marvelous piece of work that not only makes one think about people and their place in this world, but how theatre is a function for representation.  Without theatre (in any form) the stories of our most beloved characters could not be glorified or shared with the world to their fullest capacity.  An actor must not only portray a character, but find a part of their soul that intertwines with their story.  Only then can a character be fully appreciated and played to an audience.

Sei Personaggi in Cerca D'autore

Six Characters in search of an author seems to be quite an absurdist production. After reading this play it seems almost impossible to make sense out of all of it. However it is clear that this story is a portrayal of relationships. Relationships between actors, characters, the director, family members, as well as playwrights are all very muddled and mixed yet clearly reflect and importance thought the production. This play is not easy to follow.  Maybe the portrayal on stage would come across as a more clear vision than just reading the script.  The relationship between the father and the stepdaughter as well as the relationship between the father and the mother brought more confusion to me than the relationships between the other characters. The most confusing character that doesn’t seem to quite fit in the picture is Pace or the prostitute. Along with her funny accent, is it just supposed to be comic relief? Is it even funny? Who knows?

Another thing that may help this play gain some sense of reality is the performance of this show in the original language. I may be less confusing if the play was true to its original context seeing that translation of the work does seem to get a little repetitive and shallow. Although this work should have been very exciting and unique in its day and most likely brought a new feel to the theatre, it seems to somewhat have lost its luster and compatibility with society of today. Not in full but definitely in select parts. The humor of Italians!