Saturday, April 13, 2013
Show and Tell Post #2
The play I chose to read is called Seminar by Theresa Rebeck. It is a comedy that premiered on November 20, 2011 at the John Golden theatre in New York City. It closed at that theatre on May 6, 2012. Seminar was well received and well liked, and received nominations as Best Play by both the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama League. Seminar is about four college students who decide to take a writing seminar with a highly praised man named Leonard. However, upon meeting Leonard, the group comes to realize that he is washed up, cruel, apathetic and insensitive to their needs. He is in fact a terrible teacher. In the meantime, Martin, the most reserved and most talented of the group, sees Leonard for who he really is, and refuses to show him his work. Throughout the play the students deal with rejection, love, hate, and many nights of complaining about Leonard. The play tells a story of dealing with emotions and pushing for success.
One dramaturgical choice that I liked was the choice to have the play almost entirely within one setting. The majority of the play takes place in Kate’s apartment, and Izzy and Martin stay there too. Even when Leonard teaches the classes, he teaches them in the apartment. I like this choice because it is a in which a person is supposed to feel comfortable. However, because there are all these other people there as well, there is no place in the apartment to be comfortable. Everyone is extremely vulnerable and unable to find the privacy they need. Even in their home. When Leonard teaches his class in the apartment, he feeling of hopelessness surrounds the setting even more. We see these characters in a place in which they should enjoy being. However, it is obvious that when Leonard is there, any feelings of safety are gone. Leonard has that ability to walk into any room and suck the life out of it. He can make a warm home into a cold ice box. I think it was important to see how the characters changed within the walls of that apartment. The place of safety became a place of regret and punishment. It changed the lives of five people. I think that is pretty powerful.
Another dramaturgical choice I liked was the choice to have Martin not present any of his work to Leonard. The other three young writers submit their work and are humiliated by Leonard. Martin, however, does not trust in Leonard, and therefore does not present anything. When I recognized this pattern, I wanted to know whether Martin was a good writer or not. We had no way of knowing because he had not turned in anything. However, at the end he finally turns in his work. Leonard praises it, which is a shock to everyone. This event changes the way Martin sees Leonard. Martin first is angry with Leonard liking it, and then he grows to understand why Leonard is such a messed up guy. The character we least expect to understand Leonard does. And it is because he likes his writing. They are bound together by their writing and that is when they understand. Rebeck’s decision to not show Martin’s writing is fuel for an even which changes how we feel about Leonard. Because Martin does not show his work right away, we side with him. We decide that Leonard does not deserve to see Martin’s work. Then, when he does show it, we see that even though he is a jerk, Leonard knows what he’s doing. Also, this shows a lot in character growth. Martin is weak because he cannot take rejection. That is why he won’t show his work. However, he is affected by this seminar group and by the teacher and so he finally shows what he’s got. It is a shift in character that fuels the rest of the play.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Prompt 10 on D'Amour, Detroit
I think there is a
pretty simple explanation as to why the play is called Detroit. It’s stated by D’Amour in the description of the setting
that the houses do not necessarily have to be in Detroit. They can be houses
anywhere as long as they are in rundown subdivisions in the inner ring of the
city. The houses are “fix me up” residences and non permanent homes. I think
Detroit is more of a reference for how the play is supposed to look. It is a
place that we know to be run down and no longer in its prime. It is a place of
sorrow and poverty and desolation. That is what we are supposed to think of
when watching this play. The sorrow and poverty of these characters stuck in a
black hole of a place such as Detroit. This black hole could be anywhere. It
could be anyone. Detroit is just easy for us to visualize. Also, I think there
is an important allusion to the title at the end, when Mary says that the
neighbors could be anyone. This is the same with the place. Just because it is
called Detroit doesn’t mean it takes
place in Detroit. Just because Kenny says his name is Kenny, doesn’t actually
mean that’s his name. The idea is that these people could be anyone anywhere.
This is the same with the title. The title simply gives a world in which to
present these characters. An idea of the kind of life these people are living.
By giving us something familiar to work with, like the conditions of Detroit,
we are able to see these characters for who they really are. For instance, no
one in Detroit would actually bring caviar to a barbeque.
Prompt 9 on Water by the Spoonful
I believe
that a scene which shows the blending of two realities is scene 10. In this scene,
Yaz and Elliot are at Mami Ginny’s funeral giving her eulogy. At the same time,
we see Odessa in her home pouring out spoonfuls of water on the floor in her
house. These two occurrences appear to be totally disconnected from each other.
However, they are in fact bound together
not only by family, but by emotion. Odessa, for one is not attending the
funeral. This is important because it shows that she does not feel comfortable
in her sister’s shadow. The fact that her sister, who is seemingly perfect, is
dead instead of her is unbearable for her to think about. We see Yaz and Elliot
describing all the great traits about Mami Ginny and all the wonderful things
she has done for her family and community. It is obvious that Odessa has not
accomplished as much as her sister has. She has been a letdown to the family
and will never be given the same respect as Mami Ginny. For every good quality
about Mami Ginny, Odessa scoops a spoonful of water on the floor, reminding
herself of all her mistakes with this one simple symbolic action. I believe
this scene shows us that Odessa thinks she should have been the one who died,
not Mami Ginny. As a result of this thought, she is heartbroken and depressed
and regretful of her decisions. I believe this scene holds a lot of insight and
importance in the play, especially in regards to how Odessa feels. This is, in
fact, the first time we see regret from her past life. It is the first time the
real Odessa is shown. Also, Elliot cannot get through the speech. I think this
is important because it shows that Elliot considers Mami Ginny to be her real
mom, which is a huge blow to Odessa.
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