Show and Tell Post #1

For my Show and Tell Post, I chose a play called, The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek. It is written by Naomi Wallace in 1998 and published in 2001. The play was first produced at Fourth Street Theater in New York, and later produced at New York Theater workshop and Actors Theater of Louisville. You can find this play online in the North American Women's Drama (http://solomon.wodr.alexanderstreet.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/cgi-bin/asp/philo/navigate.pl?wodr.1072).

The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek takes place in 1936 in a town outside a city. It revolves mainly around Pace Creagan, a seventeen-year-old girl, and Dalton Chance, a fifteen-year-old boy. Pace and Dalton spend lots of time at the trestle at Pope Lick Creek, where trains go by at a specific time each day. Pace, who has much control over Dalton, wants the both of them to run across the tracks right before the train comes. Pace has done this before with her friend Brett, though Brett did not make it across in time and was killed. When the day comes when they plan to run, Dalton chickens out and dares Pace to do it alone. Pace accepts the dare but insisted Dalton watch her run the trestle because she wants an eyewitness who can vouch for her that she did it. Dalton turns around to stop watching her. Pace calls out to him but he refuses, so she tries to run back, but she is never going to make it so Pace dives into the creek and dies. Dalton is put in jail for supposedly killing Pace. In jail, Brett’s father, who is a jailer, verbally abuses Dalton. Eventually Dalton is let free when he reveals what actually happened to Pace. 

The amount of note-worthy dramaturgical choice in The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek is extensive. One that really stood out to me was the way the play was in a randomized order. The play starts off with Dalton, in jail, seeing a silhouette of Pace and screaming at her. The second scene jumps back to Pace and Dalton first getting to know each other at the trestle. This non-chronological order occurs throughout the whole play. It jumps from the present to the past, and the play ends with an intimate scene at the trestle with Dalton and Pace, who is still alive. Wallace chooses to place the story in a randomized order because she wants to make the story more of a mystery. What I mean by this is that, knowing Dalton is in jail in the present time, the audience is trying to figure out from the very beginning what crime has happened, causing lots of ambiguity. If the play were in chronological order, the audience would know Dalton did not commit any crime because Pace died on accident. Suddenly, the mystery of the story would be taken away from the audience, because they'd have known Dalton was the "innocent guy" all along. Wallace's choice to put the play in a randomized order causes the audience to have much more uncertainty and therefore they will not figure characters as the "good guy" and the "bad guy" until the end.   Another fascinating dramaturgical choice would be Pace's death being presented with dialogue instead of the action. The audience is revealed to how Pace dies because Pace and Dalton speak back and forth about the incident, instead of them seeing Pace physically dive into the creek. Wallace chooses to use words instead of action because not only is it easier to stage but it prevents Pace's death from becoming the main idea of the play. Wallace wants the focus of her play to be on the relationships as opposed to the accident.  Wallace wants the audience to see the effect Pace and Dalton have on each other, instead of the effect of running across a trestle. So the way Wallace chooses to express Pace's death through dialogue between her and Dalton allows for relationships to be the emphasis of the play. 

How I Learned to Drive Response

When reading Paula Vogel's, How I Learned to Drive, the different Greek Chorus' startled me. Vogel chose to portray every character but Lil'Bit and Peck through the small chorus. Having done that, it effects the story because instead of it making it about Lil'Bit's relationship with her parents or herself, it brings the focus of the play to her relationship with Peck. Vogel chooses to portray Lil'Bit's Mom, Grandfather, and Grandmother with the Greek chorus because it is multiple voices as opposed to one. What I mean by this is that by creating a whole chorus to say these characters lines, Vogel is portraying these characters as being extremely influential and life changing to Lil Bit. For example, with many voices as Lil'Bit's mother, the audience gets the sense that Lil Bit has her mothers words repeating and repeating in her head all of the time. On another note, a dramaturgical choice that did not make much sense to me at first was the car references. What I mean by the car references are the introductions that break of each scene. For example, "Idling in the Neutral Gear" and, "Shifting forward from Second to Third Gear". I tried to relate each introduction to the scene that followed, but I could not seem to find a resemblance. After reading the whole play through, my guess is that these introductions serve as a reminder of what Lil'Bit has learned form Peck. It serves as a reminder that though he is her uncle and being extremely inappropriate, he taught her how to be in control, and taught her something that she would use for the rest of her life. I assume these references bring you back to main point and title of the play: How I Learned to Drive. 

The Conduct of Life Response

One dramaturgical choice in Maria Irene Fornes play, The Conduct of Life, that stands out to me is the reflection on society. What I mean by this is that Fornes' has each of her characters looking outside their own lives and commenting and observing the planet as a whole. For example, Orlando expresses on page 1492, " there's something malignant in the world. People take what is not theirs. I don't see hope." Fornes' chooses to allow a selfish man, like Orlando, to look beyond his own worries, and worry about the society he lives in. This dramaturgical choice has a huge effect on the story because it makes it relevant to the audience, not just the characters. The characters reflection on society forces the audience to contemplate what they are saying because the audience lives in it too. You can see this idea in action on page 1491, when Leticia speaks, " we take care of our pocket, but not of our country. We take care of our stomachs, but not our hungry." Though Leticia is only speaking this to Orlando and Alejo, she is commenting on an idea everyone in the theater would be familiar with. Fornes' dramaturgical choice affects the audience as it strikes a nerve in them to reflect on the world. On another note, the play is called The Conduct of Life because it shows people’s personal behavior of living. The play follows the journey of five characters self- behavior in life. Though it is important to note that the people around them influence the characters self-behavior. The Conduct of Life includes many striking and brilliant dramaturgical choices by Maria Irene Fornes that directly affect the audience and the story itself. As for the meaning of the play, the title could be interpreted many ways, but I believe it is to be interpreted literally. 

Triffles Response

Designing Susan Glaspell's, Triffles, as ultra minimalistic is a fascinating idea. I see where this director is coming from because I think this play has enough emotion and conflict that period costumes are not needed and could possibly distract from what is at the heart of the play. On the other hand, a minimalistic look could present problems and confusion for the audience. For example, the text implies that the play is set back in a time when women did not have a voice and worked solely in the house. The County Attorney emphasizes this culture by criticizing Mrs. Wrights lack of good housekeeping and also by Mrs. Wright worrying about her fruit becoming frozen. If historically appropriate costumes were to be used, audiences would automatically understand the culture and time period. Though, if the characters were in all black, the audience would not know what time period it was and therefore would be confused about some of the characters words and actions. Continuing with the abstract look, the director said she or he would use only simple, black blocks and chairs for furniture. This idea for the set would absolutely take value and meaning out of the play. The whole first half of Triffles presents Mr. Hale physically walking through the house and pointing out what he had seen the day before. The reality of this would appear to the audience if a naturalistic rocking chair, a naturalistic bedroom, and a naturalistic kitchen were set up. The audience has Mr. Hale to give them a visual image through words, but if the set does not physically reflect his descriptions, there will be no believability for the audience or the actor. An ultra-stripped down version of Triffles would allow the audience to focus solely on the people, but ultimately it would leave the audience feeling lost without any picture of what happened. 

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.

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