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1.  ohyeahdramaa.blogspot.com/2013/03/buried-child-by-s-shepard.html?showComment=1365888738839#c4783443032606526851

2. http://markell2130.blogspot.com/2013/04/detroit.html?showComment=1365889012177#c3657270162955082988

3. http://cstromain.blogspot.com/2013/04/glass-of-water.html?showComment=1365889232107#c9078521596234689

4. http://spabellescriptanalysis2013.blogspot.com/2013/04/noises-off.html?showComment=1365889553367

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Show and Tell #2: Proof

Proof by David Auburn was originally produced Off-Broadway by the Manhattan Theater Club in May 2000. In October 2000, the play was transferred to Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theater. The first Broadway produced starred Mary-Louise Parker, Larry Bryggman, and Ben Shenkman. Proof closed on Broadway in January 2003 with a total of 917 shows. Also the play won two awards, the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. It is still staged in most theaters, as such regional and community theaters.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proof_(play)

The play Proof is about this young woman named Catherine who has gained some of her deceased father's mathematical genius. Her father was a mathematical genius at the University of Chicago. He struggle with mathematical and mental illness. This is the same struggle Catherine is going through. As her sister Claire come back in town and sells the house, she become even more stress out having to prove to everyone that she is stable to stay on her own. After her father's death, Hal, one of Robert ex-graduate student and Catherine's lover, discovers some proof about prime number. Catherine then has to prove that the proofs are her and stay mentally under control.

One dramaturgical choice the playwright is the idea of mental illness. Robert and Catherine both had a line of mental illness. They both obtain it at the same age. Also Catherine is experiencing the same kind of problems he was having such as, talking to invisible people. The idea of having this mirroring effect helps the audience to see how the father was. It helps us see their struggle move. Another dramaturgical choice was the first scene when Catherine was talking to her father but he was not there. We later on find out that he has been dead and she was see things. By including this scene, we see early on that Catherine has a serious problem.   

Detroit

Why Detroit?

 As I read the title, I did assume that the play would set in Detroit. The story itself could have been set anywhere in the suburbs of an American City. I think the playwright chose Detroit because it is a well-known city. Also Detroit is known now as a downgraded city full of old suburban towns. Another reason is that Detroit is a mystery to most people. Most people know what is there but they do not fully know.  The idea that the play could be named any city is true but Detroit is the easiest place to pick and it is overall fits the description. On the other play, the playwright does note that is doesn't have to be in Detroit. Most of the physical land reference, such as highways and strip clubs in the play, are not even in the real Detroit area. For example, as I google the strip club "Temptation", this is not even one in Detroit. There is one in California and Texas. Also since it is a modern play, it is really can be put into any setting.  Overall I believe Detroit was picked because it is well known for its image and it is common place. In conclusion, I believe the play can be set in any suburban American City.   

Water By The Spoonful

The play, Water By The Spoonful is a web based play, but sometime real interaction is involved. In the first scene as Yaz and Elliot are eating is a real interaction. They are sitting at breakfast talking about Elliot's mother, Yaz's divorce and trying to avoid conversation with Aman. The playwright includes this scene in reality because it is a real life situation. This is not way this could have have happened online. This is reality for all the characters. Yaz can not get Elliot as her witness online or eat breakfast online. The Playwright chose this scene to be an reality to show some real life interaction.

Buried Child

As far as Buried Child goes, it is a mixed bag of elements. As you read the setting and props list, you think this is a normal play. I honestly I though this was going to be the first normal play we had read in a while. As I continued to the dialogue, I found the first couple of pages weird. The context of Haile and Dodge between was not normal way to have a conversation about dead son that Haile had with Tilden. The idea of the play being a "what you see is what you get" is wrong. The play leaves many questions unanswered. Like why did no one recognized Vince at first? The little boy is actually "alive" at one point, so why is he such a problem. I believe Buried Child is illusionistic realism. The environment is real and normal but the story is twisted into to something that is not normal. For example, the mother and her son having sex together is not normal. In the real world, it is could happen but it is least likely to. So for the play it is not that real  

Noise off

 One motif that the playwright added was actors’ flaws. Throughout the rehearsal, most actors had a loss of words, forgetfulness and loss items. For example, Brooke always seems to lose her contact lens at the wrong time. In the end of Act Three, as the curtain is about the close, Burglar Selsdon slaps Brooke on the back forcing her contact lens to fall out. Losing of her contact lens happens several times throughout the play. Also, another example of an actor’s flaw is Garry’s unfinished sentences. As I read the play for the first time, I didn't notice these character's flaws and how they connected. I saw individual flaws occasionally but the reality that this was a motif until the second read. The motif was very common within all of the character and their actions.
 
    My "tag line" from the script is "Hold it a moment". Everything in the play moves so fast. Every accidents and mess up has because everyone is moving so fast. Even the characters' interactions move fast. For example, the flower incident with Lloyd, Poppy and Brooke happens at light speed. As the show was going on on-stage, Lloyd was running the play and dealing with the flower mix up and a van issues. On the other hand, the play's world moves fast because it they would slow down things would be easier.

The Glass of Water

In the play The Glass of Water, I believe there are many potential protagonists. Also all the characters go through some sort of struggles and/or conflict. Some characters' struggles have good outcome such as Bolingbroke and other characters' struggles are not for the common good. There is one character that Scribe wants us to love, and that is Abigail. Abigail's conflict with lover, Arthur, is the root of the play. As the protagonist, her love conflict has to be the center of the story in order to make the play interesting and important. Scribe chose to show give Abigail's story so much stage time because she has so much to lose. If she loses the love of Arthur, the duchess wins him and changes the outcome of the play. Also Abigail receives a lot stage time because she is the connection between most of the character in the story. She has a personal relationship with all of the characters. For example, her relationship with Bolingbroke is important. Bolingbroke is trying to keep Abigail and Arthur together. Without their relationship, her love relationship can be altered. Also the audience feels more sympathetic for Arthur and Abigail's relationship because it introduced first in the play. As her character is introduced, she gives for an element of innocent that appeals to more than the duchess's entry. Overall, Abigail is the protagonist and the central subject of the plot. Her outcome affects the play.