Buried Child

There’s much more than meets the eye in Shepard’s Buried Child. While reading, I was confused but intrigued throughout because I felt like I was solving a mystery. This piece is drenched in irony, ambiguity and complexity. In fact, after reading I had more questions than answers. For example, I thought Shelly was the buried child for a while. When she and Vince arrived at the “home”, she was scared out of her mind until she started cutting carrots with Tilden. When she woke up the next morning and started talking about how everything was so familiar I thought for sure she was the child that Dodge sent away and just claimed he killed. After hearing the story of the buried child, I changed my mind and thought it was Vince (all that time Tilden spent with him-come on). Also, who are these people? It seems like they don’t know their own kin, let alone themselves which is why I find it hard to believe anything that comes out of anyone’s mouth. Tilden gets into some big trouble apparently, but no one says what he did. Everyone except Halie appears intimidate by Bradley, the man with one leg. Vince disappears and leaves his girl with a family who doesn’t even recognize him. This is a total WTF, but it’s a good one. The most credible people are Preacher Dewis and Shelly (the two that don’t reside in the nut house). Due to this, I never believed that there was a buried child until the end of the piece; I don’t know if that was a choice by Shepard but it definitely worked. The way it ended was really fascinating as well; mirroring the beginning with Haile upstairs and someone on the couch while it’s raining. I think part of what makes this piece work is the fact that so many things are unanswered. Because of this, viewers can fill in the blanks, so everyone will see a completely different play. The structure of the piece is similar to the structure of the family too. Overall, I think it could be classified as a well-made play because it has most of the requirements, but it’s not the traditional/expected well-made play.

Noises Off

One motif that really stood out to me was the whole sardines’ thing. I know that sounds crazy, but hear me out. Dotty takes the sardines when she’s supposed to leave them, Garry questions the use of them, etc. Long story short, the sardines appear and disappear multiple times in the mischief of Nothing On and the drama of Noises Off. In fact, the last line of the play (Nothing On) by Selsdon is, “When all around is strife and uncertainty, there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned plate of sardines.” The sardines are essential to the play because without them, the entire atmosphere changes. I believe they represent the relationships of everyone in Noises Off. First, no one knows for sure when they’re on or when they’re off, just like the relationships back stage. There are tons of misunderstandings going on, like Dotty thinking Tim brought the flowers for her, Garry seeing Frederick and Dotty share a kiss, Lloyd attempting to woo/apologize to Brooke and everyone believing the wine bottle belongs to Selsdon. Belinda is probably in the best position of them all, but she’s constantly helping everyone else. Second, if they aren’t present when required, improvising will take place. Everyone back stage was in a professional setting and in flux with their lover(s), so technically for the moment the relationships were on hold. This explains Garry dumping the sardines on Dotty, Dotty tying Garry’s laces together, Garry trying to hit Frederick with the axe, Brooke not being on stage in time, etc. They all did whatever because for the time being, they were free. I could go one, but I’ll move on lol. That being said, my “tag line” for this play could definitely be Selsdon’s last line, but I think I’d prefer it to be the title of the play with in the play, Nothing On. This fits perfectly because it’s an antonym and a synonym for the piece. On “stage”, there’s really nothing going on for the viewers because of what’s occurring backstage, which is anything but. What’s funny is that almost everything happening behind the scenes is based off of nothing (no real evidence, just misinterpretations), but it all turns it to something, which again leads to nothing on stage. The last performance is really fitting for both titles because noises are off and there’s nothing on.

Where D-Vibe Comments

http://analysistrata.blogspot.com/2013/03/prompt-6-glass-of-water.html?showComment=1363224141417#c4821453598294389027 http://yvettebourgeoisthtr2130.blogspot.com/2013/03/frayns-noises-off.html?showComment=1363359238440#c6215884941991290248 http://dorapereli2130.blogspot.com/2013/03/buried-child-response.html?showComment=1363665333377#c6764605668673720064 http://korn2130.blogspot.com/2013/04/water-by-spoonful.html#comment-form http://analysistrata.blogspot.com/2013/04/prompt-10-detroit.html?showComment=1365871785492#c2149493158694679818 http://2130coryvincent.blogspot.com/2013/04/show-and-tell-american-dream.html?showComment=1365887441195#c6575590687602650708

The Glass of Water

I don’t believe there’s a clear cut protagonist in this play and there’s really no need for one. Each character is essential to the plot in his/her own way, including Marquis De Torcy who only appears on stage twice but is partially what this whole thing is about. Bolingbroke is important because he’s the mastermind behind everything that goes down. Masham is the hunk of the play apparently; the Queen and the Duchess have both taken a fancy to him which is why Bolingbroke’s scheme is successful. Abigail is the love of Masham and appointed a respectable position on the court do to her relationship with the Duchess (a distant cousin) and a little black mailing. She acts somewhat as the men’s spy for she knows things that they sometimes do not. Of course, the Queen is the Queen and the Duchess is the Duchess; two powerful women who tolerate each other but dislike each other with a passion for the most part. The Queen appears to be somewhat gullible and innocent. The Duchess is much more aware and down to business. That being said, these two women are the cause and effect of the plot because for the others’ plans to work, they must go through the royals. If I had to pick a protagonist though, like gun forced to my head type thing, it’d have to be Bolingbroke because again, he’s running the show behind closed curtains. Scribe doesn’t really designate anyone as the protagonists, but he definitely wants us to root for Masham, Abigail and Bolingbroke. Their conflicts receive the most stage time (how will Bolingbroke pay off his debt, why can’t Marsham get married and who’s his secret protector/protectress, will Abigail get her man, etc.) They’re also seen as the “good guys” and the Queen and the Duchess are seen as the “bad guys” by default because viewers/readers tend to root for the underdog. Although they’re all in a pretty good situation, it’s obvious that things need to be taken care of and they get to it. The struggles get about the same amount of stage time and there’s a lot of tension/comedy in this piece which suggests that no one character is really the character, but the group as a whole is vital.