A prevalent convention in House of Trials is mistaken identity. Sor Juana uses mistaken identity to create moments of tension such as when the lights go out and Don Pedro is unsure who he is even fighting. He even has a moment on stage when he recognizes Don _____ and tries to guess at what would bring him to his house. Don Carlos grabs Dona Leonor during the kerfuffle, thinking she is Dona Ana, and proceeds to bring her straight back to Leonor's own father, thinking that he is preserving Dona Ana's honor. The duration of the plot twists that rely on mistaken identity create the idea that subterfuge is incredibly important to this type of play.
Honor, itself, is heavily relied upon to provide a driving force for this play. Each character is willing to go to all lengths necessary to protect their own honor. In Don Carlos's case, he is also willing to do whatever he must to protect Dona Ana's honor since he believes that she has saved him from the police. Dona Ana is so concerned with her own honor that, in the end when it is revealed that the man she has stolen away from the fight is Don Juan, she agrees to marry the man she does not love in order to keep her honor in tact. The repetition of honor needing protection makes it seem like it would be a common trope in Spanish plays if Trials is any indication.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Eugene Scribe - "The Glass of Water"
The two moments that have been superimposed onto this play by the translator of Eugene Scribe's The Glass of Water are the bit of slapping and kissing between Bolingbroke and the Duchess, and the final bit of the play when the Queen looks out her window wistfully only to suddenly discover another potential beau.
I found it interesting that both of these moments have been added by the translator have a relatively short duration on the stage. Both serve almost as slapstick or bawdy humor moments, at otherwise pivotal and captivating parts of the plot. These additions add little to the story, other than help the Duchess and the Queen to seem a bit more silly than they already did. Both ladies were clearly at the whims of their sexual fancy, but it is in these moments that we see a fickleness and blatant disregard for custom and propriety. The ending moment, though, is a much more intriguing end than a restatement of the title of the play, and I find it quite perfect that the Queen should remain hopeful and happy even at the end of the play. She is much worked upon and manipulated by the other characters throughout the play so that this moment of an active desire in her is something new for the audience to digest. She does not attain her desires with Masham, but it almost a relief to know that the kindly Queen is not too damaged by the unrest of those immediately around her.
I found it interesting that both of these moments have been added by the translator have a relatively short duration on the stage. Both serve almost as slapstick or bawdy humor moments, at otherwise pivotal and captivating parts of the plot. These additions add little to the story, other than help the Duchess and the Queen to seem a bit more silly than they already did. Both ladies were clearly at the whims of their sexual fancy, but it is in these moments that we see a fickleness and blatant disregard for custom and propriety. The ending moment, though, is a much more intriguing end than a restatement of the title of the play, and I find it quite perfect that the Queen should remain hopeful and happy even at the end of the play. She is much worked upon and manipulated by the other characters throughout the play so that this moment of an active desire in her is something new for the audience to digest. She does not attain her desires with Masham, but it almost a relief to know that the kindly Queen is not too damaged by the unrest of those immediately around her.
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http://crayonxasxsnail.blogspot.com/2013/11/eurydice.html?showComment=1383734221904#c5691089627056261155
http://crayonxasxsnail.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-childrens-hour.html?showComment=1383734669521#c2910795538691870869
http://paulina2130.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-childrens-hour.html?showComment=1383735271392#c7364478422189262558
http://paulina2130.blogspot.com/2013/10/love-valour-compassion.html?showComment=1383735731466#c1173381478575490750
http://wellhithereyou.blogspot.com/2013/11/eurydice.html?showComment=1383770366799#c4502345368783401110
http://wellhithereyou.blogspot.com/2013/11/love-valour-compassion.html?showComment=1383770581468#c859506800971694211
http://crayonxasxsnail.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-childrens-hour.html?showComment=1383734669521#c2910795538691870869
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http://paulina2130.blogspot.com/2013/10/love-valour-compassion.html?showComment=1383735731466#c1173381478575490750
http://wellhithereyou.blogspot.com/2013/11/eurydice.html?showComment=1383770366799#c4502345368783401110
http://wellhithereyou.blogspot.com/2013/11/love-valour-compassion.html?showComment=1383770581468#c859506800971694211
Show And Tell (Checkpoint 2) --- Lillian Hellman - "The Little Foxes"
The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman
c.1939
Premiered at the National Theatre in 1939. It was highly successful both there and on tour around the United States. Tallulah Bankhead starred as Regina Giddens. There have been revivals at the Lincoln Center, the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, and the Martin Beck Theatre. Elizabeth Taylor also played Regina, earning her two Tony nominations. In 1941, Lillian Hellman wrote the film adaptation which starred Bette Davis.
The plot centers around a family in a small Southern town in 1900, the Hubbards. Oscar, Ben, and Regina (married-name Giddens) are in the midst of making a highly profitable deal with a Northern cotton mill firm to bring the process to their town. They have made this deal relying on Regina's husband to provide a third of the investment, which Regina has promised to her brothers. The brothers wish to keep the deal in the family in order to avoid unequal partnership with an outside party, which Regina uses as leverage to ensure a larger share in the profit (taking a cut from Oscar's).
In the second act, Horace, Regina's husband, returns home from a hospital where he was being treated for heart disease. Regina sent their daughter, Alexandra, to fetch him in order to complete the deal, but he promptly denies to put up the money. Oscar's son, Leo, reveals to his father that he has access to Horace's safety deposit box at the bank where they both work, and the two brothers resolve to have him steal the bonds kept inside to make up the deficit (without telling Regina).
In the third act Horace has discovered the missing bonds and has come up with a plan to remove the guilt from the brothers and deny Regina any claim to the profits from the cotton mill. However, before his plan can be seen through, he suffers from an "attack" and collapses trying to call for help. Regina is with him while he struggles and does nothing until he has collapsed on the stairs. It is unclear if she has poisoned him, or if he was already having an attack and she simply let it play out. In the end, Regina forces her brothers to give her a 75% share in the profits, lest she oust their deception to the police.
The structure of The Little Foxes fits into the structure of the well-made play, but at the end of the play there are several 'a-ha!' moments when it seems to be all wrapped up, only to be changed again by the subversions of these manipulative characters. Even at the last moment of the play, when Regina appears to have won it all, she is dismissed by her own daughter and left all alone to enjoy her riches. I found this choice interesting because it sets the audience up almost for a disappointment at the end of the play. At the top of the third act, it seems that Horace, the good guy, has finally found a way to control the nefarious Hubbards at long last, but it is snatched away from him. Even among the dishonorable clan there are winners and losers, Regina as the former. Her own brothers are shocked at her behavior and slyness, Ben even says of his sister that he "never really knew her at all." They all hold tricks up their sleeve until only Regina, the truly ruthless, remains standing.
Another dramaturgical choice that I found peculiar to this play was the inclusion of Marshall at the top of the show. He is never seen except for the first scene in which they all drink together. The plot has already begun when the deal was in place, it struck me as odd that a character who is talked about throughout the rest of the show is only included for the first ten minutes or so of actual stage-time. I believe he is included to display the business style of the Hubbards, as well as to demonstrate the open contempt that Oscar holds for his wife. The tactics Ben uses to solidify the deal are strong-armed, with Regina occasionally jumping in to add sugar to his abrasive manner. Straight off the bat in this play we are introduced to Oscar, Ben, and Regina as scheming persons who will do whatever it takes to get what they want.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Little_Foxes
http://www.gaston.k12.nc.us/schools/ashbrook/faculty/hjbreeden/Course%20Outline%20and%20Syllabus/The%20Little%20Foxes.pdf
Sarah Ruhl - "Eurydice"
One way to analyze this play is to look at the tragedy of the lovers, Orpheus and Eurydice, and the tragedy of Eurydice and her father. Orpheus and Eurydice are very much in love, perhaps "a little too in love", so Eurydice's untimely death is tragic in that it has taken her from her love. The tragic end to their tale, though, is self-inflicted because Eurydice calls out to Orpheus rather than following faithfully behind him back into the world of the living. Eurydice and her father are reunited and his dedication to her reeducation is incredibly touching. Therefore, when he dips himself in the river to forget just before she returns from her failed rebirth, she loses him all over again. Eurydice is then left to her decision to let go of Orpheus with her letter and to dip herself in the river to forget the loss of her father. For this view of the play I would choose the tagline:
"Love is a big, funny word."
Another view of this play is the absurdity of mortal dramatics in juxtaposition with the endlessness of the afterlife. In the Underworld, the Stones provide the only guidance and their advice is simple: forget. The memories of life bring bitterness and sadness into their realm and they much prefer peace and quiet. Even Eurydice's father cautions against her request to hear the names of her family members since it will be "a long time to be sad." In this view, Orpheus's quest to reclaim his bride seems more like a waste of time than much else since she would only be returning a comparatively short time later. Even Eurydice seems to understand the futility of her return when she tells her father "I'll come back to you. I seem to keep dying." For this take on Eurydice, the tagline I would choose is:
"Some things should be left well enough alone."
"Love is a big, funny word."
Another view of this play is the absurdity of mortal dramatics in juxtaposition with the endlessness of the afterlife. In the Underworld, the Stones provide the only guidance and their advice is simple: forget. The memories of life bring bitterness and sadness into their realm and they much prefer peace and quiet. Even Eurydice's father cautions against her request to hear the names of her family members since it will be "a long time to be sad." In this view, Orpheus's quest to reclaim his bride seems more like a waste of time than much else since she would only be returning a comparatively short time later. Even Eurydice seems to understand the futility of her return when she tells her father "I'll come back to you. I seem to keep dying." For this take on Eurydice, the tagline I would choose is:
"Some things should be left well enough alone."
Terrance McNally - "Love! Valour! Compassion!"
An assumption about drama that McNally seems to purport in this play is that it needn't be played realistically in time or space. As opposed to the well-made plays of Scribe and Herman, McNally does not even provide the possibility for illusionism of setting since one would be hard pressed to find a theatre space with a lake included. The progression of the play also violates the linear structure of illusionistic theatre, since the plot not only includes simultaneous action, but also jumps backwards and forwards in time in acts one and three.
I believe the capital-T Truth of the play's culture would be viewed as death as the only certainty in life. Throughout the play, there are several motifs that the characters return to, in fact the entire play is almost a repetition of action since each Act is a holiday weekend in the same summer, and each is filled with similar activities (and weather). However, the true constant in the narrative is death.
The timer begins for Buzz in Act One when it is revealed that he has AIDS. James is in the same sinking boat as Buzz, and the sudden death of Bobby's sister seems to firmly deny death as a purposeful tool in the story. Rather, death takes on a life of its own within the play and it must be faced by each of the characters in the end in the final scene. Even Bobby, though he refuses to hear the method of his death, must accept its inevitability. In Act Three, when Arthur and Perry discuss death, I believe is the moment McNally's capital-T Truth is put on full display: someday "none of us will be."
I believe the capital-T Truth of the play's culture would be viewed as death as the only certainty in life. Throughout the play, there are several motifs that the characters return to, in fact the entire play is almost a repetition of action since each Act is a holiday weekend in the same summer, and each is filled with similar activities (and weather). However, the true constant in the narrative is death.
The timer begins for Buzz in Act One when it is revealed that he has AIDS. James is in the same sinking boat as Buzz, and the sudden death of Bobby's sister seems to firmly deny death as a purposeful tool in the story. Rather, death takes on a life of its own within the play and it must be faced by each of the characters in the end in the final scene. Even Bobby, though he refuses to hear the method of his death, must accept its inevitability. In Act Three, when Arthur and Perry discuss death, I believe is the moment McNally's capital-T Truth is put on full display: someday "none of us will be."
Lillian Hellman - "The Children's Hour"
In The Children's Hour a significant moment when Hellman breaks the Well-Made Play structure is at the very end of the play when they disconnect the phone. In order to continue in the WMP structure, they should have answered the phone just in time to have the revelation of their innocence before Martha could confess her love to Karen and certainly before she could kill herself. However, I think that the abandonment of the WMP framework in this moment is incredibly important to define this play's true nature.
The idea of a "tragic lesbian" play seemed an overly-simplistic classification to me at first, but after seeing the trope throughout other works it seems very much the best lens through which to examine this play. The reaction I felt when I first read this text was anger at the injustice of the women's situation because it was all caused by the lie of a child! However, looking at it a little differently, Hellman gives maybe one too many good reasons to feel pity for these women when none of those reasons is that what they're being persecuted for is rumored lesbianism. Even Hellman's denying the just-in-time revelation in the plot plays a part in stating a very clear message about the "affliction" that Martha recognizes in herself. The pity is inspired by the fact that they were innocent, and when Martha is revealed to be truly guilty of the accusations, she kills herself. I don't think that theatres should produce this play anymore.
The idea of a "tragic lesbian" play seemed an overly-simplistic classification to me at first, but after seeing the trope throughout other works it seems very much the best lens through which to examine this play. The reaction I felt when I first read this text was anger at the injustice of the women's situation because it was all caused by the lie of a child! However, looking at it a little differently, Hellman gives maybe one too many good reasons to feel pity for these women when none of those reasons is that what they're being persecuted for is rumored lesbianism. Even Hellman's denying the just-in-time revelation in the plot plays a part in stating a very clear message about the "affliction" that Martha recognizes in herself. The pity is inspired by the fact that they were innocent, and when Martha is revealed to be truly guilty of the accusations, she kills herself. I don't think that theatres should produce this play anymore.
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