Show and Tell number 1

The Effect Of Gamma Rays On Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds

     Basic Information About the Play: I chose to talk about The Effect Of Gamma Rays on Man-In-the-Moon Marigolds. I figure it will be easy to talk about it in detail and if anyone reads my post, it may be interesting to then go see the show this week.  The show was written by Paul Zindel more than thirty six years ago. It was first Produced in Houston, Texas at the Alley Theatre in 1964. It went on to be performed on Broadway in 1971. It had a very successful run of 819 performances in New York.. It then won several awards. It won an Obie Award, The New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. It ended up being so popular that a film version was created.

    Basic Plot: The show is set in the fifties right after sputnik. Tillie, the intelligent and hopeful twelve year old endures abuse from her drunken mother and psychotic sister. The play is centered around two major and contrasting themes. The first being the death of dreams and the other being hope. Tillie decides to join the science fair in order to channel her intelligence. She is inspired by her favorite teacher Mr. Goodman. Her project has to do with radioactivity, atoms, and of course , marigolds. It could be argued the flowers are representations of the three main characters. The decrepit, poisoned flowers being Beatrice (the mother), the “normal” flowers portraying Ruth (the sister) and the mutated, outstanding flowers representing Tillie.

    Two Dramaturgical Choices:

        - The first dramaturgical choice I chose to address was the use of multiple spot lit monologues performed by Tillie. Paul Zindel decided to add these extremely personal and insightful speeches delivered by Tillie out to the audience.  They seem to have been written to establish a connection with the audience. It lets them into the beautiful mind of the strong and hopeful twelve year old. She also introduces and closes the show. Therefore the show is mostly told/ about her perspective. These speeches help establish her as the protagonist. They are what keeps the audience rooting for her.

         -The second dramaturgical choice I chose to address was the number of characters Zindel decided to give voices and faces to. The only characters the audience sees are Tillie, Beatrice, Ruth, Nanny, and Janice. Janice is only on stage for a short monologue and Nanny never speaks. This makes it clear who the main characters are. Through the use of multiple phone calls, Zindel introduces and includes other necessary characters. Another reason for the phone calls is that in order to have those discussions in person, Beatrice would have to leave the house. Zindel makes the clear choice to never show Beatrice outside of the house or leaving. Also, no outside characters come into the home. Other than nanny who lives with them, outsiders remain outside. 

Hornby

   One rather obvious motif in How I Learned to Drive is the application of periodic headings. Each title describes/parallels the events to come. That said, I think they’re utilized for foreshadowing. Honestly the titles mislead me a couple times. Whenever the titles described an acceleration or shift in gears, my mind automatically expected the worst. They ended up making me really nervous rather than explaining when the event occurred. However, once I realized that I was interpreting them incorrectly they began to make more sense. While they do hint at what is going to happen in the following scene, they are there more to tell the when something happened rather than the why.

   One reoccurring theme or motif in Ian McEwan’s Atonement is light. The amount of  light is directly proportional to how well a scene is understood by the main character Briony.  Light, in this case symbolizes knowledge and enlightenment.

   My personal opinion is that motifs in a script are more powerful than in a fully realized production. As someone who enjoys writing and playing music, I recognize written motifs and appreciate them more. However, repeated motifs in a fully realized production can also be extremely effective and often more easily detected. Lighting and sound or even the use of certain music cues can be very effective in showing connections and establishing a certain mood. 

How I Learned to Drive

The Greek chorus was strange. In a lot of ways I think it was unnecessary. That said, it amplified the importance of Lil' Bit and Uncle Peck. The other characters we're not portrayed by single actors and therefore made them simply voices. The effect this had was a powerful one. It helped create the feel of a memory--where the only people who could really effect what was going on were the two involved. The others commented, observed, and warned but that is all. At the end of the day only their voices existed because not one of them acted on the situation. At certain times in the script the chorus' reinforced lines that Lil' Bit or Uncle Peck had. When first reading the script, I wasn't sure what determined that those specific lines needed back up. For example, "For blue balls" and "just a little bit".  However, I think now they were foreshadowing. Now, being able to take them out of their surrounding context and placing them with the entirety of the show I think they were used to show that the two of them never get that far. Both quotes could describe the playful (creepy)/ teasing relationship the two of them had. They came close but never really became intimate with one another. Had those lines not been repeated, I would have left them in their original context and accepted them for face value. The greek chorus brought importance to Lil' Bit and Uncle Peck and represented their influences. Another significant choice that Paula Vogel made when writing the script was the use of headings or chapters to describe scenes. It helped steer me in the right direction. It was a little hint of what was to happen in the scene but kept me on my toes. Some of the titles such as "Defensive driving involves defending yourself from hazard…" made me extremely interested and worried for what was going to happen in the next scene.