Overtones Response

I have never seen or read a play like Alice Gerstenberg's, Overtones, in which each characters "alter ego" has its own, separate role and lines. I had to extremely concentrate while reading the play because I had to keep reminding myself that Margaret was only interacting and hearing Harriet, not Hetty, and Maggie was only interacting and hearing Hetty, not Harriet.  The "rules" of Overtones don't seem to be too strict. Most of the stage directions only specify who is talking to who, not who is seen.  The only exception is in the first scene, between Harriet and Hetty. A stage direction states, "From behind Harriet's chair Hetty rises slowly". This specific stage directions defines the rule that Hetty should be physically visible. Though besides this first scene, Gerstenberg allows for a lot of freedom for the production choices. One idea would be to not allow the audience to physically see Hetty and Maggie, but just hear them. I believe Gerstenberg encourages this choice by the use of Harriet's line, "Quick, put the veil on, or she'll see you shining through me," right before Margaret arrives. Even though Gerstenberg's stage directions to Maggie at one point read, " Glaring at tea things," the audience would still be able to grasp that action without it physically being done by Maggie.  Most importantly, whatever the director decides to do, the audience needs to understand that Margaret cannot hear Hetty and Harriet cannot hear Maggie. I believe, that is the main rule of Overtones because it seems by having these inside voices sharing how the characters really feel, Gertensberg is bringing up a quality that every person in society holds: thinking one thing, but saying another. Gerstenberg's Overtones is a complicated and intricate play but it offers much freedom in the way the director chooses to present it.