Kathleen Tolan's "Memory House" is a play about a mother, Maggie and her daughter, Katia. Maggie and Katia are the only two characters and the whole play takes place in Maggie's apartment (Katia's parents are separated). One very unique aspect of this play is that there is a pie put in an oven at the beginning of the play, and by the end, the pie is done baking. The pie bakes in real time onstage. On the surface, "Memory House" is about Katia trying to finish her college essay before the deadline only a few hours away. On a deeper level, however, Katia is grappling with negative suppressed feelings about her adoption from Russia.
There is one very good teenage female monologue in this play. The monologue takes place towards the end of the play. It is Katia breaking down to her Mother about her views on America, Russia and her friends freaking out about college when there are much more important things going on in the world.
I liked this play; I didn't love it. It was entertaining, but I wasn't really able to connect with Katia. Perhaps this is because I'm not adopted. I also might not have enjoyed it as much because it wasn't very dramatic. I might enjoy it more if I were to see it performed onstage.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Dog Sees God
Bert V. Royal’s "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead" is a play about the Peanuts characters in their teenage years. All of the characters except for one (Beethoven) have an abbreviated version of their name from the Peanuts series. This is significant because it seems that Beethoven is the only character who has not changed and succumbed to peer pressure. Some of the other characters’ names are: CB (Charlie Brown), CB’s Sister (Sally), and Tricia (Peppermint Patty). Royal grapples with every possible problem that teenagers encounter: eating disorders, substance abuse, sexuality and friendship. CB struggles mostly with bullying and his sexuality.
There are two options in terms female monologues from this play:
1) Van's Sister's monologue when she tries to trick CB into thinking she is pregnant.
2) CB's Sister's monologue from her play within the play - this would definitely require some explanation beforehand and would therefore not be ideal for auditions.
I really enjoyed this play because it is young and contemporary and relatable. Even though I disliked some of the characters I connected with, I believe that that shock of recognition is what made the play so enjoyable. "Dog Sees God" is a representation of teenage years on steroids.
There are two options in terms female monologues from this play:
1) Van's Sister's monologue when she tries to trick CB into thinking she is pregnant.
2) CB's Sister's monologue from her play within the play - this would definitely require some explanation beforehand and would therefore not be ideal for auditions.
I really enjoyed this play because it is young and contemporary and relatable. Even though I disliked some of the characters I connected with, I believe that that shock of recognition is what made the play so enjoyable. "Dog Sees God" is a representation of teenage years on steroids.
Sidenote
From now on, each play will have its own single post and will be shorter than the previous ones...
Circle Mirror Transformation (character analysis)
Lauren is a self conscious, sixteen year old aspiring actress. Her family has financial issues and her father is not in the picture because of previous “problems with the, um, law” (59). Although she is the youngest person in Marty’s acting class, she is no less perceptive than anyone else. If anything, she notices more than the adults.
It is clear that she is self-conscious because she says “um” before everything in almost every improvisation exercise. The point of improv is to say exactly what is on your mind to create the most organic energy possible. When someone says “um” before every answer, it is obvious that they are analyzing what they are about to say before they say it. It is understandable however, that the only sixteen year old girl in a class of adults might be self-conscious to say what is on her mind. She may also be self-conscious because she feels as though the class can see that her family has financial problems. Nearly every week after class, Marty takes Lauren aside and asks for a paycheck for the acting class. Each week she has an excuse such as, “maybe it got lost in the mail” or “my mom was supposed to mail it to you” (46, 23). It is clear that she cannot afford the class and is embarrassed. She is also very naïve to the art of acting in general. In the third week of class, she asks Marty if they are “going to be doing any real acting” (39). This proves that she doesn’t really know what acting is. This could be because she has never had the money to take a class before or because she likes the idea of being an actress but doesn’t actually know what it entails.
It is not clear what she is looking for or what she wants – in the end, it seems as though she just wants to be loved.
It is clear that she is self-conscious because she says “um” before everything in almost every improvisation exercise. The point of improv is to say exactly what is on your mind to create the most organic energy possible. When someone says “um” before every answer, it is obvious that they are analyzing what they are about to say before they say it. It is understandable however, that the only sixteen year old girl in a class of adults might be self-conscious to say what is on her mind. She may also be self-conscious because she feels as though the class can see that her family has financial problems. Nearly every week after class, Marty takes Lauren aside and asks for a paycheck for the acting class. Each week she has an excuse such as, “maybe it got lost in the mail” or “my mom was supposed to mail it to you” (46, 23). It is clear that she cannot afford the class and is embarrassed. She is also very naïve to the art of acting in general. In the third week of class, she asks Marty if they are “going to be doing any real acting” (39). This proves that she doesn’t really know what acting is. This could be because she has never had the money to take a class before or because she likes the idea of being an actress but doesn’t actually know what it entails.
It is not clear what she is looking for or what she wants – in the end, it seems as though she just wants to be loved.
Circle Mirror Transformation (plot analysis)
"Circle Mirror Transformation" is a play about acting. It is also a play about life. A play about acting is automatically a play about life because acting mimics life and human behavior. Acting could be viewed as mirroring the transformations of life. It could be interpreted that, according to Annie Baker, life is about circles, mirrors and transformation. Life is often described as a circle, whether it is life, love, death and or reincarnation. Observing only six weeks of an acting class, Baker grapples with many common issues in life, for example: Lauren’s family’s financial issues and her fathers problems with the law, Marty and James’ marital issues and problems with their child, and Theresa and Shultz’s relationship issues. If Baker considers life to be about children, love, money and marriage – she has sculpted her play around life.
Circle Mirror Transformation (plot summary)
Annie Baker’s "Circle Mirror Transformation" is an actor’s play. It wouldn’t be surprising if any person who has taken an acting class has played at least one of the games presented in the play. "Circle Mirror Transformation" starts out on the first day of acting class. Like most acting classes, there is one teacher, Marty, and a small group of students. The students are a variety of ages and types – one interesting choice Baker made is making the Marty’s husband, James, a student in the class. The play opens on the group in the first day of class playing a concentration game where the goal is to count to ten one by one without signaling who is going to say what number and when. The group is unable to do it. The play is essentially a compilation of acting games with a few real scenes in between. Throughout the play, a relationship blossoms between two of the students: Theresa and Schultz. They go on a few dates and the next time they are seen in class, it is clear that Theresa isn’t interested anymore and Schultz feels completely the opposite; this results in a break up. There is also the interesting storyline of Lauren, the 16 year old in the class. From one of the first scenes, Marty asks Lauren about a paycheck that was supposed to come through for the class – by the end of the play, the paycheck hasn’t come through and Lauren is still making excuses. It is clear that Lauren’s family has financial problems. The third storyline is between Marty and James. At the beginning, they are seen as the power couple that nobody could beat, and by the end James doesn’t live with Marty anymore and their child isn’t even talking to one of them. Toward the end of the play, they do the counting to ten exercise again and finally get to ten. For the last exercise of the play, Marty asks them to pair up and have a conversation as if they are seeing each other ten years from the present. Schultz and Lauren pair up and begin to have the conversation. As the conversation intensifies, we realize that time has actually forwarded and they are meeting each other ten years later. They admit they have had feelings for each other all along.
Welcome!
The purpose of this blog is to share my thoughts and opinions about a number of contemporary plays. The first post will be more formal than the rest, however, they all will include some type of short plot summary, analysis and a character analysis. The character analysis will be on the character whose monologue I'd perform if I were in the show or using for an audition.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
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