4000 Miles

Lauren's Comments

Comments on blogs in my circle:

Judith by Howard Barker

         Judith by Howard Barker was not exactly what I expected.  The beginning of the play seemed philosophic when Holofernes was giving his soliloquy in his general tent about death.  Judith’s character changed the direction of the play.  When she first arrives she brings a bottle and uncorks it.  Holofernes then tells us that he does not drink.  The servant begins to convince him to engage with Judith by reminding him that she heard he likes women.  From there, Judith is seemed like a prostitute whose only motivation is to seduce him.  However, Judith’s character continuously changes and becomes more complex.  I discovered the main dramatic question to be: does Judith have more power than Holofernes?  In the beginning, Judith seems like a weak prostitute, but then her character grows and starts to outsmart Holofernes.  Judith enters Holoferne’s tent with a complex plan.  She is not there to only seduce him, but to seduce him with great intentions.  Judith starts out as a weaker character, but conforming to whatever Holoferne’s wants and asks her to do.  However, her submission turns into power because she plays along with his orders until she eventually starts to get her way.  When Holoferne’s lies in her arms to sleep, she immediately gains control of the situation.  The servant sees this as a time to act.  The servant drives the plan along and helps Judith stay on track with her devious actions.  When Judith makes the move to kill Holofernes, he immediately looses all power because his life is ended.  It is ironic because of how much Holofernes contemplated death and now he is experiencing true death.  She told Holofernes she came to talk to him about death, and then she inflicted it upon him.  Judith proves to have all the power, even her servant bows down to her.

'Night Mother by Marsha Norman

     I believe the Main Dramatic Question (MDQ)  in ‘Night Mother is “Will Jesse be convinced by Mama to not kill herself?”  The reason I word the questions this way is because it implies that Jesse is still the Protagonist.  The play is about Jesse and her decision to kill herself.  The question of whether or not she will and if Mama can stop her both make her the protagonist.  I do agree that whether or not she will actually kill herself is a MDQ, but I think that she makes it pretty clear to the audience that she wants to.  As a dramaturg, I would not agree with the hypothetical director to only have the script answering that question because I think what drives the play is the other MDQ.  What made this play interesting to me was the dynamic between Jesse and Mama and the fight between life and death. A key part of this play is the fight to understand Jesse's reasons for wanting to end her life.  In the play Mama's primary goal is to try to understand and convince her to live.  This plot also leaves the audience wondering her reasons, such as what happened at Christmas time.  By mentioning the Christmas Incident it leaves an unopened question about what has driven Jesse to this tragic state.

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

        For a production of Trifles, I would prefer to keep the naturalistic set design opposed to the minimalistic.  Throughout the script, the set and props are referenced so many times that I think the audience would need a more detailed visual.  However, I do think it would be a unique production and would force the audience to be more creative in their thinking.  The audience would not be distracted by set and could possibly focus on the dialogue more, but I think it would be missing an important theme of the play.  The objects and set of the play make the play more relatable to modern America.  The rocking chair, the fruit, the jewelry box are all common items to Americans.  I think including the props and “messy” kitchen make it seem more familiar to the audience and could lead them to think “this could be anyone”.  The set could spike the thought that this could be your neighbor’s home.  Therefore, if I think the set and props being included as described in the script are extremely significant to the production of this play.

Overtones by Alice Gerstenberg

      In Overtones by Alice Gerstenberg, I think the “inner selves” do actually hear each other.  In the script it notes when Hetty is saying something to Maggie, which gives the impression that they are speaking to each other.  By reading the script alone, it is unanswerable whether they can actually see each other or not.  We may be able to answer that question if we saw the play performed. Gerstenberg establishes in the beginning of the play that Hetty can see Harriet, but Harriet cannot not see Hetty.  It is understood that they can both hear each other because they are talking throughout the play. To fully immerse yourself in the play you have to accept the rules of their world, in which the “inner selves” are characters of their own.  Harriet is described as “a cultured woman”, while Hetty is referred to as “her primitive self”.  In the rules of this world, the inner selves have a mind of their own.  The audience could pick up on this because this play does not have only two characters, but four, which would be listed in the playbook.  These rules are consistent throughout the play, yet can get a little confusing.  When Harriet and Margaret are in the scene together, they only speak to each other.  The inner selves however, not only speak to one another, but also to Harriet and Margaret. In my opinion, the rules were consistent, but at times hard to follow.