I think Sophie's interpretation of that tiny, tiny nook next to the English office really innovative and interesting. For some reason when I pictured a play taking place there, I imagined the audience sitting in the nook itself, maybe next to the door that leads to the performance space. I thought she used the space effectively not only by giving the actors the maximum amount of room to work in but also by choosing to write a scene that had an inside/outside component. I loved when Natalie would half-enter the scene by poking her head around the corner, and I loved that Hugo actually looked as though he was sitting outside on the porch. As I said in class, I also really liked Sophie's choice (heh) to reveal Natalie's unemployment at the end of the play rather than the beginning. Before hearing this information, I was confused about the dynamic between the two characters and certainly asking questions about why they were treating each other they way that they were. When Natalie told Hugo that she had lost her job a week ago and that he still hadn't noticed, the entire play came together for me.
I agree with John in that I think Natalie was really smart to use more than just the staircase/small floor space for the setting of her play, and yet she chose to position the audience so that we could only see that area. It really helped to establish the outsider-ness of Sophie's character; she was still in the same room as Natalie and Hugo, and yet she was still separate, still far enough away for them to talk about her behind her back. I also liked the fact that Hugo's character lied to Natalie (and therefore, the audience) that he hadn't seen the cast list yet, but then at the end we see that he had known the entire time. It put a cool spin on his lines that he had said to Natalie earlier when asking her if she would be upset if she didn't get the lead role.
I absolutely loved the way Hugo staged his play. And though I thought that the style of dialogue was a little strange (it almost sounded like Olde English at some points!) it totally worked with the strange plot, the strange staging, and the strange characters. Something I really enjoyed was the stagnancy of the play (in terms of physical movement, not dialogue or plot) because it really brought a lot of energy to the play when Hugo finally ran up stairs to get the light. To me, it signified the impending reversal--someone moved, so something big was about to happen. And I really loved Natalie's exit. The last surprise, too, of Hugo interpreting her absence as a mark of his insanity, was interesting.
On to the basement...
Allison's play was very cool to watch. Out of all the plays we've seen thus far, this, to me, felt the most space-inspired, or site-specific. From my place in the audience, it looked as though this room was built for the play. It was claustrophobic, clinical, fluorescent...all the things that Montana's character would have a negative reaction to. I also liked the way that Ben and Montana's dynamic played out, with Montana's manic pacing and Ben's controlled voice and position on the floor.
Ben's play definitely raised many questions for me, some of which were answered and some of which were not. Where did these people work? How many people had Montana convinced she was locked in the basement? Where did she get the key? And of course, why was she pretending that she was trapped down there? I really liked the prop element of the play--how Montana had spread out and really made herself comfortable down there. It really helped me to believe that she had thought her scheme through very carefully. The play came full circle by the ending, as Montana ended in literally the same position that she started in, which gave the play a sort of slice-of-life feeling to it, as though we had stumbled on this scene.
Finally, Montana's play. This, too, raised many questions for me, and though I found myself confused at the end, it definitely held my attention and curiosity. I felt that the relationship between Allison and Ben unfolded very well, and very realistically. The "getting to know you" awkwardness was captured really well, and they both had moments of defensiveness and inquisitiveness, which was nice to see. I also thought that Montana really highlighted the loneliness of the space really well through Allison's character explaining that she normally sits down there to escape and to be alone.
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