Glass of Water

Okay, so it seemed to me as though Glass of Water adhered perfectly to the "well-made play" standard. All of the pieces of the puzzle made sense together, and there weren't very many moments that didn't match up with what was currently going on in the plot. However, if I was to say one that didn't add up, there is an odd encounter between Bolingbroke and the Duchess towards the end of the play.

Bolingbroke says, "You honor me, madame...especially since you don't even know my best qualities." Then Duchess replies with, "But I have an excellent imagination. However, milford, let me claim the first privilege of a wife..." and then they kiss. This incident stands apart from the conflict that has gone on between them throughout the play. They've acted hostile towards each other the entire time, so this moment definitely seemed random to me. The Duchess has been in love with Masham the entire time, so it seems unlikely that she'd be over him so quickly.

Love! Valour! Compassion!

Love! Valour! Compassion! definitely differs structurally from the last few plays we read. It isn't in linear order, for one thing, and the story includes some direct narration to the audience. The men in this play have a complex history that gets fleshed out as the play progresses, so the story is much more fuzzy than other pieces we have read that are more straight forward. Honestly, I had difficulty getting through this play, because I kept having to go back and re-read passages, or rethink relationships to make sure I knew who was involved with who, who was hooking up with who, etc.

A historian could draw from this play that during this time period gay-rights and gay awareness was quite a relevant issue. I think that the playwright does an excellent job conveying the Truth of the matter, because although homosexuality is much more accepted at this time than it was in the past, there is still hate that must be fought against. Even though these men are at their oasis, she still touches on the fact that there are hateful people out there. They're watching footage of a gay demonstration in seattle and Perry says, "...He whacked that guy with his nightstick right against his head. Motherfucker!" This play is different than other plays we've read because it raises awareness of a societal issue....homophobia...that's still relevant today. I like how McNally makes every character in the play homosexual, because he's propagating the idea that love is love, no matter what gender you are.

The Children's Hour

There are several place where The Children's Hour departs from the traditional structure of a well-made play. Firstly, i was definitely expecting the obligatory scene to be a reveal in which Martha and Karen confess their love for each other, but that never happened. Secondly, the "just-in-time" resolution never showed up, because Martha succeeded in committing suicide. The play isn't really resolved until the very end, and but the style isn't in keeping with what is dictated by the "well made play" structure.

In regards to the question of whether this play should be produced today, I definitely think it should, however I think the situation in which it was performed would play a huge factor in whether the show was successful or not. I definitely think that this would give younger, even up to high schoolers, negative feelings and act as a bad behavioral example, if that makes sense. I would definitely support the awareness that'd be generated by performing this play, but I do think it'd be important to make sure it was given to a mature audience, and not someone that would handle it in an inappropriate way. I feel like Night, Mother exhibits shades of this as well. It's a very interesting plot, however because of the adult themes I don't think it would benefit audiences under a certain age.

Show and Tell Posting-Beauty by Jane Martin

The play I’ve chosen to comment on is called Beauty by Jane Martin; it was published in 2000. I was unable to find record of a production history for this play, so I’m assuming it hasn’t been produced before on a large scale. I found this play on the LSU library’s database, the exact link to it is…http://solomon.nadr.alexanderstreet.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/cgi-bin/asp/philo/getobject.pl?c.1206:2.nadr.

Beauty is a play written about two women, Carla and Bethany, who are unhappy with themselves. Bethany is an accountant who writes short stories, while Carla is a gorgeous model, struggling to make it in the modeling world. In this particular moment, Bethany has left work because she had a “beach urge” and on the beach, she finds a genie. The genie grants her three wishes, two of which she makes while on the beach. During the play, she is describing this occurrence to Carla. Carla is doubtful at first, and annoyed that Bethany is making her late for her Ralph Lauren modeling call, on her birthday nonetheless. When Bethany shows her the $25,000 that the genie gave her on the beach, she starts to believe it. She’s even further persuaded when Bethany swears “…on her mother’s grave…” that her uncle walked straight out of the intensive care unit. Carla and Bethany begin arguing when Bethany starts entertaining the idea of wishing for beauty on her third wish, because Bethany thinks it would make her life exponentially better, while Carla tells her she can’t have a normal functioning life because people are so distracted by her looks. The action of the play culminates in the genie switching Bethany and Carla into each other’s bodies, without Bethany actually making the wish.

The first dramaturgical choice I found noteworthy in the script of Beauty is that Martin chose to have the genie switch the two females’ personalities, without Bethany actually wishing for him to do so. It’s an interesting choice because it makes the genie a more relevant character, showing that he’s overheard their conversation from within’ the lamp. It also creates the question, why did he do it instead of just waiting for Bethany to ask? I think this brings up the idea that it’s important to know what you want to get out of life, because situations can change in the blink of an eye. Martin shows that sometimes in life things are out of one’s control, and that one has to be able to adapt if life changes.

The second dramaturgical choice I’ve chosen to highlight is the way Martin ends the play with the line of dialogue, “Different problems.” Even though the play doesn’t necessarily resolve itself, this one line of dialogue sort of wraps the whole thing up giving us the message that Martin wants to convey. Expanding upon this line, she’s saying even though some peoples lives may seem better than others, at the end of the day every individual is dealing with their own issues. Whether your insecurities have to do with the way you look, your intelligence, or something completely different, everyone has his or her “different problems.” This message is something that everyone can relate to, so it’s a perfect way to punctuate the action of the play.

My Comments!

-comment on Caroline's 4000 Miles blog posting

-comment on Chelsea's Trifles blog posting

-comment on Morgan's Judith blog posting

-comment on Brandon's Overtones Blog Posting

comment on Morgan's Night, Mother blog posting

-comment on Brandon's 4000 Miles blog posting

4000 Miles

The motif that I noticed most prominently in 4000 Miles was the losing and finding things. This happened consistently throughout the play in the physical sense with objects, as well as with characters losing their words. An example of this would be when she thinks she lost her checkbook, but she ends up finding it...also she often forgets her hearing aid. There are other things lost in the play, Bec and Leo's relationship, and also Vera's neighbor Ginny. Leo and Vera are also at a loss for words many times. Vera continually makes statements such as, "...there are a lot of bad things about getting old, but the worst one is not being able to find my words." I think this motif pertains to the story in a huge way, because the play truly is about Leo losing and finding himself, through his journey. Just as Herzog has some items lost and some found, there are parts of Leo that he'll never get back, and there are parts of him that he discovers that will continue to grow. This motif is true to life in the sense that everyone is on a journey and is searching, and there's lot's to encounter along the way. Leo is definitely struggling right now to find himself and Herzog highlights this with the use of the motif.

Reflections on Judith

While at the beginning of Judith Judith appears to be a docile character, it isn’t long before the reader realizes Judith has an agenda. She cleverly manipulates herself close to Holofernes, so that she can achieve what she wants to him to achieve, and consequently, gain power. This being said, it seems to me as though the major dramatic question is, “At the end of the play, will Judith have power over both the Servant and Holofernes?” When Judith initially enters, she’s submissive. She doesn’t complete many thoughts, getting cut off by Holofernes various times. However as the play progresses, we see a shift in her. She knows her plan is working, and once she kills Holofernes she loses this false shyness and completely takes over, ravishing her position of power. It briefly looks as though the Servant will take over when she’s accusing Judith of hesitating, and considering doing it herself. This is an example of a moment within the play when it looks as though Judith could lose power. After she completes her mission, Judith takes complete rein over the entire situation. Besides not listening to what the servant says, she goes so far as to humiliate her servant as well. Her success isn’t enough, she has to continue to assert her dominance. The MDQ is definitely answered, because Judith does, in fact, gain complete power over the other two characters by the end of the play.