The play itself was moving. It brings about uncomfortable topics that any people do not like discussing, such a mental illness and loss of a loved one. The play unpackaged human emotions and shows how people can deal with grief and uncomfortable situations or truth. The play follows Catherine, a 25-year-old college dropout whose father Robert has just recently passed away. Catherine had dropped out of school to take care of her father the past several years. Catherine is the protagonist in this play. She is somewhat lost, but she continues to strive to do what she believes is best. Her father, Robert, was a famous mathematician, but he was also mentally ill. The relationship between these two can sometimes be misleading, due to the nature of some of the dialogue, but they both loved each other. Robert became a mathematician in his early twenties when he contributed to the game theory. When the play begins Robert is already dead, he has passed away from a heart attack. Upon his death Catherine sister Claire comes to see her. Claire thinks that Catherine might have some of the same mental issues that her father did, and she wants to take Catherine to New York with her to find help. The relationship between the two sisters has never been the best and Catherine does not want to go with Claire. Catherine is
Ruth’s character reminds us that the process of producing the play within the play is about finding a deeper, more real reality. For characters such as Ruth and Roy, the play is about creating an escape from their reality within the institution, such as characters like Zac whom “can’t stand real things”. For other characters such as Julie, the mental institution surrounds them, but performing the play allows them to break free from reality. Through producing the play, Lewis explores what is ‘real’ and what is ‘normal’, Nowra introduces the concept that the two concepts contrast with each other. Nowra concluded the play with Lewis’ narration. Turning off the lights sets the realisation of the brief tails of their lives given by Lewis, which are powered by reality and not a pristine ending, as life continues to happen.
Every person experiences feelings. Whether they are hate, jealousy, sadness, and joy. One of the main feelings expressed in the play, is jealousy. Jealousy is a very important emotion, this is because it can make people who are jealous of one another to do things they never imagined themselves to do. The thing that comes with jealousy is a rivalry, if you are jealous of your fellow opponent, then you are going to have a very heated rivalry. This was a huge factor in the Salem Witch Trials.
Early in Marshall´s life he and his mother who only was 15 when she got Marshall bounced back and forth between Kansas City and Detroit. They lived in public house systems so they moved a lot and Marshall was forced to constantly change schools and start over from scratch in his social life. They lived in the poor part of the city in “black neighborhoods” and they didn't take it so kindly to new (or white) people. He was always an outsider, struggling to find friends and any safe place he could be in. He was also a target
To begin with, in this play the author unfolds family conflicts that involve its characters into a series of events that affected their lives and pushed them to unexpected ways.
The play “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani is a magical play filled with playful humor, and realistic characters. It is like a box of nine delicious pastries with different flavors, some of them sweet and other with a taste of bitterness. The play consists of nine different scenes in the fictional town of Almost, Maine. Each scene is about love, hope and disappointment. Various couples in each story find, lose, and explore love. For example, a woman carries her broken heart of nineteen pieces in a small paper bag and refuses the offer of another man to fix it. Another example, a man shrined to half his former size, after losing hope in love. Each story within the play contained metaphor upon metaphor, and I really enjoyed the unravel of them.
We learn about and bare witness to her thoughts and lack of a dynamic development in this story. Throughout the story we learn about Miss Brill and her prominent tendency to listen in on others conversations and fantasize about the lives of those around her. In the beginning, Miss Brill is sitting in the park at her “special” seat as she did every Sunday. Sharing this seat with two other people, Miss Brill awaits the start of their conversation, but is soon disappointed when they did not speak. As the story progresses, we come to recognize that Miss Brill believes those around her to be a part of the a play: “They weren’t only the audience, not only looking on; they were acting. Even she had a part and came every Sunday” (864). Because of her belief that everyone was a part of a performance, Miss Brill romanticizes the stranger’s lives. After sitting alone at her “special” seat, a boy and girl come sit down. Miss Brill immediately commences fantasizing about who they are: “They were beautifully dressed; they were in love. The hero and heroine, of course, just arrived from his father’s yacht” (865). While Miss Brill is brought back into reality through the conversation she eavesdrops on between a boy and girl, her perception of reality does not change. Miss Brill is static because while being brought back into a harsh reality she does not accept this is the truth as shown when she “thought she heard
Through this play Matt Cameron uses transformational acting as a way to portray the idea that it is possible for Ray and Sylvie to be playing a sick game with each other trying to make sense of what happened. As Matt Cameron calls it ‘theatre magic’ Matt Cameron uses this technique that could only be used in theatre to have its full effect. So we can question the message he wants us to receive without having a resolution. It’s like Ray and Sylvie represent society and they want the truth at the same time don’t want the truth. Do we really want to know the harsh truth of what happens behind closed doors.
In Margaret Edson’s play, W;t, tells the story of Vivian’s experience with her cancer treatment. Through her treatment, Vivian recognizes her humanity and her lack of understanding life and death. By recognizing that being incredibly smart was not the answer to everything, Vivian looks back on her life and is able to reflect on her character. Edson’s use of aside, flashback, exposition, foreshadow, irony and foil allows Vivian to explore different themes. Through the use of these dramatic devices, Edson is able to convey themes of language, death and humanity.
Existentialism proposes that we should not accept any predetermined creed or philosophical system and from that try to define who we are. In the play, 7 Stories, Morris Panych exhibits this through his characters. All of the characters’ lives are without real meaning, although they have all created a conception or focus to validate their existence. Rachael, The Man, Charlotte and Rodney fall into this theme of existentialism by the way their characters are portrayed.
Joan Didion’s Play it as it lays describes the life of one Maria Wyeth, small time actress and ex-wife of Carter, a mildly successful film maker in Hollywood. The book follows her decline and retreat from the company she used to keep and her quest to find meaning within the absurdity and cruelty that is life. Within the book there’s a great deal of Maria’s inner thoughts that we are exposed to within Didion’s close third person narrative. However, one way to see the characters in Play it as it Lays is to look through the characters perceptions of each other, notably in the case of her ex-husband Carter. By looking at how Carter is treated by and treats Maria we can have insight into Both of them as characters.
In essence, the play is a love story; it would work well even without any elements of conflict. However, this love story is
The protagonist of the play was named Becca Corbett, a mother and wife who recently went through the dramatic death of her son, Danny. As one might expect, her fatal flaw is not being able to let go of her son’s death. There were multiple protagonists in this play, despite the limited number of actors. The first and most prevalent antagonist is Becca’s husband, Howie Corbett. Howie creates conflict with Becca early on by trying to seduce her. This causes a major argument between the two and actually moves them farther apart in their road to recovery. Both characters dealt with the grieving process in their own way, which caused a great deal of tension. The second antagonist is Becca’s sister, Izzy, who creates tension with Becca after telling her that she is pregnant. Izzy’s future child is a gateway to memories of Becca’s past, which she had a difficult time dealing with. Finally, the last antagonist that appears in this production is life itself. Everywhere she looks, everywhere she goes, and Becca is reminded of her son. During the opening scene the table is set for
The tangled web of relationships that connect each character in this story are what drive Congreve's play forward. With each past affair (or current) affair that