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.