Next to Normal Post

In the scoring of the music, Kitt creates tension with faster and higher pitched noises. Most of the time these sounds happen in the music when Diana seems to be mentally unstable. The first song clearly shows this in is Who's Crazy/My Psychopharmacologist and I. There are spiraling sounds and quick shifts of melodies. These reflect Diana's mental state; she is spiraling out of control mentally. The music usually goes to this format when Diana is on the edge is her sanity, and when she seem to be okay, the music calms down to a smoother or more normal format of music.


I also noticed the difference in songs at the beginning and at the end. The first song that includes the whole family is upbeat, but is still tense. It gives a feeling of holding back, like there is a burden that needs to be lifted. Then it comes to a point where their voices overlap and the music intensifies and suddenly stops, leaving the audience with an uneasy feeling with no resolution. This reflects their feelings about their issues at this point. In the end, Diana finally has a song where she is relaxed. She has to go through the steps of treatment to reach a more sane state. Comparing the beginning and ending songs, I feel that Diana has made good progress. And it shows in her last song. The music is more controlled and calm. It is slower, but it feels more positive than her other songs. It is a release for her, which Yorkey makes clear in the lyrics, “But I’ll be free…I’ll take a chance on leaving…it’s time for me to fly.”

Checkpoint 3 Comments

http://stephanies-script-speculations.blogspot.com/2013/12/tis-pity-shes-whore.html?showComment=1386390500214#c871865207358307319

http://stephanies-script-speculations.blogspot.com/2013/11/house-of-trials.html?showComment=1386391887525#c9153064230002140813

http://themoniquemccain.blogspot.com/2013/12/tis-pity-shes-whore.html?showComment=1386480998023#c8067672409419268217

http://shequila2130scriptanalysis.blogspot.com/2013/12/next-to-normal-by-brian-yorkey-and-tom.html?showComment=1386481710450#c5545618071174580403

http://purplesummer2130.blogspot.com/2013/12/show-and-tell-blog-post-alice.html?showComment=1386482426437#c1764013304835569887

http://anonymouslyanalyzingampleautographs.blogspot.com/2013/12/next-to-normal.html?showComment=1386483220188#c855885620309562714

'Tis Pity She's a Whore Post

In this play, Ford shows many relationships that do not work or cannot work. Secrets often have the characters reaching for a goal that they cannot achieve. Giovanni and Annabella want to be with each other, knowing it is wrong, and have to find a way around their secret. Soranzo requests for Annabella's hand in marriage, in which Giovanni later ends their relationship to protect his honor. These are just the main examples of how relationships are attempted but cannot be fully connected.

With this observation, I think the poster should be two hands reaching out to each other. It would symbolize Annabella's hand and Giovanni or Soranzo's hand (or any couple's hands in the play) that want to make a connection but can't seem to reach far enough to touch. The color scheme should be dark colors to show deep passion and emotions. I see the woman’s hand having a black or red glove on. The protection of the glove shows that she is protected by a secret. Black, to me, is a color of death and red would represent blood or love/passion.

One quote that can go with this poster is, “Lost, I am lost.” Giovanni says this in the struggle of being in love with his sister and knowing it is wrong. Also, Soranzo quotes out of a book he is reading, “Love’s measure is extreme, the comfort, pain, the life unrest, and the reward distain.” The poster with this quote will show the yearning for love and the extremes that come with it when love cannot be satisfied. Another catchphrase for this production could be, “There’s mystery in that which time must show.” Richardetto says this when he questions Philotis about the truth of Annabella’s love for Soranzo. This foreshadows the reveal of Annabella and Giovanni’s secret.

House of Trials Post

When reading House of Trials, I noticed a few patterns. If I had to say what I thought comedias were just by reading this play, I would say that some of its conventions include love and breaking the fourth wall.

There is a bundle of confusion on who loves who and who knows who. There is a thick concentration on relationships and how these characters connect. We find out Dona Ana is trying to get away from Don Juan and really loves Don Carlos, who elopes with Dona Leonor, who Dona Ana's brother, Don Pedro, wants to marry...and so on...which all starts with Dona Pedro plotting to win over Dona Leonor hand in marriage. (Breath.) It all seems to revolve around love or the fight satisfy love.

Many times, the characters break the fourth wall and include the audience in on their side thoughts. It's as if the characters are speaking to us for our sympathy or understanding. For example, Celia says aside, "It's a good thing I heard about this now, because I've hidden Don Juan in her room." She already knows this, of course, but she says it aside to inform the audience. Also for sympathy, we hear Dona Ana say, "Oh God! What is this I hear? The same man I idolize is in love with Leonor." We hear several of their thoughts to inform us of their true feelings and plots.

Show and Tell Post - My Left Breast

My Left Breast was written by Susan Miller in 1970. It was produced a few times (in 1995 and 1996)by Watermark Theatre in New York City by unknown venues. It can be found here:
http://solomon.wodr.alexanderstreet.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/cgi-bin/asp/philo/getobject.pl?c.1174:2.word

This is a one-act, one woman play is done by Susan, herself. She starts off by briefly talking about the transition from having both breast to having to get her left one removed because of cancer. Her and her son, Jeremy are close and she speaks about how having cancer and this major surgery affects him too; because of his mom's struggle, he starts to feels as if he had an illness too. She clearly can't forget what he said when she first told him about getting her breast removed. He says, "I'm going to get it back for you!" (He was eight at the time). Throughout the play, she talks about her relationships with her family, her hardships with cancer, and her lost love life and being a lesbian.
Towards the end, she sums up her struggle with saying, "Goodbye Franny. Goodbye my friend. Goodbye my left breast, Goodbye my infant son. Goodbye my period. Goodbye 35. Goodbye old neighborhood. Your doctor says "It's Positive." Your lover says, "It's over." And you say goodbye to the person you thought you were." Even though these were not pleasant moments, she looks at all the positive things that are going well and realizes that her missing breast makes her heart a little closer to the open air and more vulnerable. She says, "I cherish this scar. It's a mark of experience. It's the history of me, a permanent fix on the impermanence of it all."

In her writing, Miller has a sort of sloppy style. Meaning, it is not the simple cause-and-effect follow through. Often times, she jumps from time to time. There are no stage directions or explanations that tell you that she has moved on to a new thought. You kind of have to figure it out for yourself. It is very out of order. She may be talking about her son when he was twelve, then she will jump to talking about Franny (her previous lover), then she will go back to Jeremy right after he was born. She touches on everything she wants to share, but it seems like she says it whenever it pops into mind with no clear transitions.
Another choice that Miller makes is when she shows dialogue for the other people she talks about. When she speaks about another person, she actually shares the interaction with the audience and speaks as if she were them. For example, Miller shares the time when the doctor suspected a health problem. She actually speaks as the doctor and herself, bringing back that exact moment:
He said, "What have you been told?"

"Fibroadenoma," I say.

"Well, I'm concerned," he said. "I want to biopsy it."
I like this choice of involving the other people. It doesn't make the play so one-sided. It gives some life of her world or the world of the play.

The Children's Hour Post

For the most part, I think that this play does represents a well-made play structure. The plot revolves around the "secret" that Mary makes up about Karen and Martha, along with the audience later learning Martha's secret. There is a long, chunky exposition. There are quick timing of entrances and exits and all that other good stuff. However, the things that depart from this structure are small but still make a difference.
For example, I don't feel like there was a logical resolution for everyone. Maybe Karen feels that she is going to be okay and have a happy ending down the line, after grieving for Martha; Mrs. Tilford says that she can't send Mary away and will endure Mary's bad behavior; and Martha has just ended it all. But Joe is left to staying in the dark about what the real truth is and hearing it from Mrs. Tilford.
Also, I don't think there is a just-in-time revelation. After Martha reveals her true feelings to Karen, she feels as if it is over for her now, and no one can end this situation but herself. Martha - "In some way I've ruined your life. I've ruined my own...I can't stay with you anymore, darling." Mrs. Tilford comes in just after the right time to redeem herself, and maybe Martha would have felt like she had a choice to stay then.
I do think that this is a play that could be done today. It would show the seriousness of the matter and the affects it could have on people when not handled with consideration and care to people's personal feeling and thoughts on the subject.

Checkpoint II Comments

http://stephanies-script-speculations.blogspot.com/2013/11/love-valour-compassion.html?showComment=1383706754587#c2248665366442570053

http://silencewillfallwhenthequestionisasked.blogspot.com/2013/10/childrens-hour.html?showComment=1383715899457#c711038361070547437

to be continued...