On the Verge

On the Verge

            On the Verge is a play that appears to transcend time. It is basically a play about three adventurous Victorian ladies and their trek through Africa and the world that starts in the late 1800’s and ends up in the 1950’s. Throughout their journey, the three meet and develop a particular relationship with eight separate characters. For this play, I intend to develop a new and unusual poster that will encompass all the characters and different aspects of this production.           

The poster would have the three ladies standing in a sandy desert on the edge of a jungle. The first lady, Mary, would be dressed in a Victorian skirt and blouse with a bonnet on her head and a scythe in her hand so that she could cut down the jungle. The second lady, Alex, would be dressed in flowing trousers and a silk blouse and a pen in her hand so that she can be prepared to write lyrics. Fannie, the third lady would be dressed in a 1950’s style dress would sturdy shoes and  a bowl a Cool Whip in her hands so that she could partake of the frothy delight at her pleasure. The eight characters that the ladies meet in the course of their journey would be on the edge of the jungle, facing the three women. Each of the eight would be portrayed in their costumes and ready to meet the three. On this poster, there will be a quote from the play that I believe will portray the feeling, determination, and substance of each of the three ladies.

            The quote that I believe portrays the true grit and determination of Mary, Fanny, and Alex is “Ladies, shall we whack the bush?” It appears that Mary uses this quote whenever she is determined to press forward despite any and all obstacles the three women encounter. As they “whack the bush,” the three are whacking all their troubles and misconceptions away from their lives. The quote will be across the bottom of the poster, scrawled diagonally in a large, cursive script, such as a Victorian lady would use.

            One important aspect to remember is that Mr. Coffee could be considered as a fourth main character. It appears to me that he is a catalyst in this production in that he forces Fannie to think about her past, present, and future. He can be compared to Charles Dicken’s “Spirit” in Scrooge. Mr. Coffee represents the spirit world to Fannie and should be depicted as a silver-haired gentleman in a white suit. He may be a spirit but he appears to Fannie as someone from the era of the 1940’s and 1950’s. In the same vein, Nicky Paradise can be shown as a swanky, dark-haired gentleman dressed in a dark gray suit, such as those worn by mobsters in the 1940’s and 1950’s. These two gentlemen would be illustrated in this mode on the poster. 

All the King's Men

All The King’s Men

            The play, All The King’s Men is written by Adrian Hall and based on the book of the same name by Robert Penn Warner. This play script was obtained by LSU’s Swine Palace Theatre and is one that is making the rounds of college and professional theatres. It is currently slated to open on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at the Swine palace on LSU’s Campus. When attempting to reference the play, All The King’s Men, the only data that could be obtained was information on the book. The play was definitely developed sometime after Warner’s book was published. It basically maintains the same format of the book, and I wonder if Warner might have collaborated with Hall on this script.   

            Warner, then Hall developed a story that is loosely based on the life of former Governor Huey P. Long of Louisiana and was often referred to as “The Boss” like the main character, Willie Stark, in this play. Stark is portrayed as a populist Governor, who starts out as an idealistic lawyer and ends up cynical, corrupt, and powerful. Stark, like Long, is assassinated by a physician in the halls of the state capitol. What happens to Stark and his development into the charismatic politician that he became, is the basis of the play, and the book. The play picks up with Stark already having developed into the charismatic politician that he had become. Stark has been having an affair with Anne Stanton, the daughter of the former Governor Stanton. The present Lieutenant Governor Tiny Duffy informs Anne’s brother, Adam Stanton, a physician and a political opponent of Stark that Stark has been sleeping with his sister. Adam is enraged and ambushes Stark in the halls of the state capitol, where he shoots and kills the governor and is then shot and killed by Stark’s bodyguards. The play is seen through the eyes of Jack Burden, an aide to Governor Stark and a former newspaper journalist. Burden is attempting to reveal the true character of Willie Stark and the pull that he has on John Q. Public.

            There are at least two dramaturgical choices that the playwright, Adrian Hall makes in order to highlight the material in a more dramatic and theatrical sense so that the audience can understand and be drawn into the plot. One is when Jack Burden visits Judge Irwin to inform him that if he continues to support Stark’s opponent, then the public will learn the truth regarding recent activities of the Judge’s son. Another is when Jack Burden finds out from his mother that Judge Irwin was his father; this occurs after the Judge’s suicide which happened after Jack’s visit to him.

            Judge Irwin is portrayed as a long-time friend of Jack’s mother. When Jack’s father abandoned the family when Jack was six, Judge Irwin stepped in and became a surrogate father and mentor to Jack. One can fast-forward years later to Jack’s visit with the Judge on behalf of Stark. Jack is torn between his duty to his boss, Willie Stark, and his admiration and devotion to his mentor, Judge Irwin. Jack banters back and forth with the judge, but in the end, lays down the rules and informs the Judge of his options. The Judge decides to end his life rather than give in to Stark.

            Jack, upon hearing of Irwin’s death at his own hands, realizes that he must have driven Irwin to this heinous act.  Jack is guilt-ridden, and confronts his mother where he then learns the true nature of the relationship between himself and the Judge, that of father and son. Jack is torn and even feels more guilt. Jack comes to resent his boss, the Governor, and eventually resigns. Jack, like Stark before him, has lost his idealistic nature.

            Hall has drawn the audience into the plots and subplots of the play. Another subplot was that of the relationship between Jack Burden and Anne Stanton; they were childhood sweethearts. The play is filled with intrigue, mystery, and drama, as well as murder. Hall accomplished his goal of maintaining the audience’s interest throughout the play.

Detroit--A City

Why Detroit?

            Detroit, Michigan is a mid-sized city situated in the heartland or mid-America.  It is a synonym for your average American city with all the trials and joys of city life. Lisa D’Amour has created a neighborhood in this typical city to highlight the trials and tribulations of a middle-class couple and their new neighbors, a down-on-luck couple. They are living in a declining neighborhood. Mary is a woman with an alcohol problem and Ben is a banker who has been terminated; they start to develop a relationship and a friendship with Kenny, a contractor, and Sharon, his wife. Kenny and Sharon have just been released from a rehab center that deals in substance abuse. This is the basis for the play, Detroit. D’Amour has chosen the title “Detroit” because she view the city of Detroit as an anonymous city filled with people similar to her characters.

            Detroit is an interesting play that appears to deal with the deterioration of the average American couple and their marriage due to circumstance in their lives. Mary has turned to alcohol in order to avoid the pitfalls of her life and marriage. Ben has lost his job and is attempting to start his own financial business, but Mary believes that he should be further along in the process. The issue of substance abuse in modern American life is an issue that is faced by many in cities throughout this country. The declining economy is also highlighted by D’Amour when she has Sharon and Kenny discussing the loss of Kenny’s job and the fact that Ben has been laid off due to budget cuts at his job. This occurs every day in every city. Detroit is an allusion to cities everywhere in the United States. Couples can and do overcome their marital problems by pulling together in rough times and supporting each other through these times.

            At the end of the play, Mary and Ben appear to be coming together. Their house has been burned to the ground; their car is old and in need of repairs. They do not have much in the manner of material possessions but they do have each other. Ben and Mary view their loss as an opportunity to start a new life, much like couples in every city in America. They will find their “Detroit” wherever they settle.

Water by the Spoonful

In Water By The Spoonful, author Quiara Alegrìa Hudes separates the world of the play into several different areas. Each area then becomes its own little world. On occasion the separate worlds start to intersect with each other.  One particular instance is at the end of Act 1 when the Internet world and Elliot Ortiz’s world intersect.  As Haikumom is giving advice, through the use of Haikus, to his fellow addicts; Hudes decides to include Elliot Ortiz’s world into the scene. The reasoning behind allowing Elliot’s world to bleed into the Internet world is for two reasons. The first is that Elliot and Haikumom are both portrayed as strong individuals, despite their past difficulties, Haikumom’s crack addiction and Elliot’s war injury. In this scene a hardening blow, Elliot’s leg giving in under pressure and Haikumom finding out that her sister has died, strikes both Elliot and Haikumom. The second reason for the intersection is that even though the characters cannot see each other Hudes sets up a curtain line for the end of the act. The curtain line is the revelation that Haikumom is Elliot’s aunt. Through this revelation, Hudes shows that even though both Elliot and Haikumom have separate difficulties; they share the same pain of losing someone they both loved and cared about deeply. By sharing the pain of losing someone, a bond is formed between Elliot and Haikumom. Even though Elliot holds Haikumom responsible for the death of her own daughter, there is still a connection present between the two of them. However, the hatred Elliot has for Haikumom is not reveled to the audience until later on in the play.

Buried Child

          According to The New Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, realism, in relation to literature, means: a style or theory of literature in which familiar aspects of life are represented in a straightforward or plain manner. In the same dictionary, illusion is defined as: something that deceives by producing a false or misleading impression of reality. Based on these two definitions, illusionistic realism could then be defined as a style of literature in which familiar aspects of literature are represented in a straightforward manner yet are deceiving because of a false impression that is exhibited. Sam Shepard, in his play Buried Child, provides his audience with an example illusionistic realism.

            One may consider Shepard’s plays to be similar to Greek tragedies with the themes of incest, murder, deceit, and rebirth. Shepard was attempting to prove a point that all life consists of these sufferings, whether it was in ancient Greek times or in the 1970’s when this play was written and performed. Incest occurred between Halie, the mother, and her son, Tilden. The child produced from this incest is drowned by Dodge, Halie’s husband. Murder enters the plot. The deceit occurs when the rest of the family, along with Father Dewis, continues to hide the truth of their actions from each other and Shelly, Vincent’s girlfriend. Vincent is Tilden’s son and is returning to his home.

Father Dewis, the pastor, is involved with Halie. The adultery is never really addressed and the problem remains in the background. Rebirth, new life, occurs when Tilden brings in the corn from the backyard. Dodge swears that he has not planted any crops but the evidence is present. When the play closes and Tilden is bringing his dead infant son up the stair, one is again reminded of rebirth in that while one child died, another child, Vincent, has discovered his new focus on life.

With this play, Shepard wanted to draw attention to the problems of families in rural America.  The ambiguity, complexity, and irony of this play enabled Shepard to illustrate the truth and deception of life and gave the audience an opportunity to discuss the problems and solutions.

Noises Off

Noises Off

            A general motif that is present throughout the play, Noise Off, is how the onstage characters mimic the personality of their offstage counterpart.  Michael Frayn creates a story where each actor plays two characters. Each actor has an onstage and offstage character. When one reads the play, Noises Off, the reader notices the similarities between both the actors’ onstage character and offstage character. For instance, the offstage character Brooke Ashton is just as air headed as her onstage character, Vicki. Another prime example is the offstage character Belinda Blair. Belinda, who is an always cheerful and reliable actress, is a perfect embodiment of her onstage character, Flavia Brent, who is the ideal housewife. Flavia is constantly trying to be there for her husband, Phillip, all the while trying to care for her house.

            An important ‘tag line” for the play Noises Off would have to be the phrase “Sardines.” The reason the phrase “Sardines” is so important is because not only does the entire play evolve around a character having the actual sardines, but also the phrase “Sardines” helps keep the play going. Examples being the characters are constantly exchanging the sardines from one character to the next; thus, the audience/reader are ultimately forced to follow around a plate of sardines the entire play. Wherever the sardines go, chaos is sure to follow. An example being is when Mrs. Clackett, Dotty Otley, is on the phone, while holding the plate of Sardines in her hand. Ultimately, Mrs. Clackett becomes tangled up in the phone’s cord while she is talking and holding on to the plate of sardines at the same time. The sardines become the focal point of Mrs. Clackett’s attention, thus making her oblivious to her own actions.

Glass of Water

           The Glass of Water, uses his character Bolingbroke as the protagonist to illustrate his point of confusion in the English court of Queen Anne. Lord Bolingbroke manipulates the characters to achieve his own agenda.

            Lord Bolingbroke uses his friendship with Abigail Churchill and Arthur Masham to manipulate his desire for the return of the Tory government and his return to power as the Prime Minister. Scribe attempts to trick the audience into believing that Bolingbroke is not a major character and always appears to be in the background. Scribe utilizes this technique so that the audience is always rooting for Bolingbroke. Bolingbroke’s character never ceases to amaze the audience and the comic aspects of the play work to antagonize the character of Sarah Churchill, thus playing into Bolingbroke’s plans for his agenda.

            Whereas Bolingbroke is the protagonist, the character of Sarah Churchill, the Duchess, is the antagonist. Hers is the character that appears to be always plotting and playing against Bolingbroke. Bolingbroke attempts to blackmail the Duchess into allowing Abigail Churchill into Queen Anne’s court as a lady-in-waiting; the Duchess counterattacks by informing Bolingbroke that she holds all his markers and that she will have him thrown into debtors’ prison the next day at the close of the Parliament Session.  

            This farce continues throughout the play. Each time that Bolingbroke is foiled by the Duchess, he returns with another counterattack. The audience’s attention is held throughout the play by the exchange between Bolingbroke and the Duchess, with interludes by Abigail, Masham, and Queen Anne. Scribe uses the subplots of the attraction on the part of the Queen and the Duchess for Masham as a backdrop to highlight the protagonist character of Bolingbroke thus allowing him to further his Tory agenda and his return to power as Prime Minister.