The Plays (so far)

While working on Hannah's play, I've found it really interesting to see the progression. When she first told me that it was going to be a one woman show about a woman with multiple personalities inside her, I was a little freaked out. But I think that she followed through with it very effectively. First of all, the constricting aspect of the dingy corridor that I think we all experienced while standing in there was captured perfectly by Hannah's metaphor of several personalities trapped within one body. This performance was also the first run-through with props and sound effects, both of which really contributed to the creepiness of the show as well as my own experience characterizing these people. The clanking, to me, was ghostly--almost as if some sort of Jacob Marley were behind Alis, the primary character.

I also really appreciated Julie's utilization of the space. First of all, I really liked that I wasn't sure where the scene was taking place until the teacher enters at the end. The hallway definitely gives off the feeling of a bomb shelter, and I thought that was really clever. I also thought that the humor worked very, very well. This was partly due to Kayla and Oliver's delivery and (purposeful) awkwardness but also due to the script. To me, it gave off a distinct sense of realism, especially during the part where Kayla's character called Oliver's character weird. Lastly, I loved the apocalypse moment. The sound effect was certainly surprising but also effective because it really gave us insight into why Oliver would confess something like that to a girl that just insulted him.

Finally, I also LOVED Kayla's interpretation of the lobby's vestibule. I thought the plot unfolded really well (nice reversal at the end!), allowing the audience to ask questions...a lot of questions...but still maintain a certain level of understanding. My favorite, favorite, favorite part of the play was the explanation of the people walking in and out of the doors. I thought it was SO funny to imagine each of the innocent people walking by as characters in the play, acting nonchalant because, of course, that's how their characters are supposed to act! I also was impressed with the way that the audience was set up...it was almost like theater in the round, which was very cool.