Ten Minute Plays: Drama

"The Man Who Couldn't Dance"
I didn't really like this play that much and I think it is because from the very beginning the characters annoyed me and soon after we are introduced to the characters WHAM BAM we get their history full on with emotion and long rants. It was too much too soon in a really whiney voice. But I guess the playwright didn't have much room to spread it out. I needed something to get me attatched to the characters before jumping into the history of Gail and Eric, though. Although their situation is a universal fear of many people my age, meeting Mr. Right and giving him up for the more practical but less passionate Mr. Wrong, I still wasn't very sympathetic to either character. Neither of them were likeable. One thing that I think Katims did succeed in doing in ten minutes was Eric's development as a character. You can see where and why he changes and decides to open up (the kid, using dancing to convey bigger issue, trying to be enough for her even on the wedding day) and I think the resolution of them dancing together in the end works nicely enough.

"The Road That Lead Here"
I like the way this play kept you guessing at the begining as to what was going on. I liked how Marcus and Xander kind of felt like one unit and Jason another- this helped keep the play more simple since it doesn't have much time to explain everything. I also really like the dynamic between Marcus and Xander and how the feed off each other. I also thought the exposition was smoother than in "The Man Who Couldn't Dance" and I appreciated that. Maybe I just liked the plot better, too. It was really creative and I liked the alternative lifestyle it proposed and how it dealt with ideas of loneliness and experience. Because Marcus and Xander didn't know what was going on, they were the ignorant characters that helped the audience understand the greater family dynamics Jason needed to explain. The one part I took issue with was the ending. I really didn't like the sign...it felt too obvious and expected.

"That Midnight Rodeo"
The relationship dynamics in this play developed smoothly and consistently. I think the beats help to give a sense of tension, it seems that the pacing in this placy is important in order to provide the level of tension desired by the director. The relationship dynamics were easier to understand more quickly than the plot was. From rodeo competitions to money problems to dentists to unwanted children...I guess on stage, depending on how pregnant the director wants to make Cindy appear, it might be more obvious. It just seems that in a play this short, having three conversations at once is a little confusing even if the characters are consistent. I don't mind some confusion in the begining but I think this play is too short to spend so long on having a convuluted plot line in the looong beginning. I think having a more focused conversation from the start would help with the confusion.

"A Bowl of Soup"
This play reminded me of "The Laramie Project" in that is mostly monolouge but a monolouge directed at a specific listener, not just the general audience. When these long passages are directed at a specific listener, another character in the play, we learn about the quiet character based on what the speaker is choosing to say, tailoring the language/content for the quiet character. For example, in this play we can hear the concern and worry dripping from every one of Rob's words. Their physical interactions also become very telling of the characters- like the way Eddie drops Rob's money. I like the way Eddie reveals why Rob is so upset...the exposition fits his style of talking from before. And I think Rob's last line, although a little cliche, works really well. It shows his compassion and his empathy and connection to his brother. Even though he doesn't really know how to relate, he's trying to hard to help his brother. I'm just curious, as in any monolouge play, how to make sure the audience stays interested until the end when Eddie's silence/depression is explained. The physical interactions that Eddie is silent for are going to be so important in engaging and mantaining the audience's interest.

So in short plays, it seems like character relationships carry the play. The dramatic moments do a lot to reveal exposition quickly but that's a double edged sword because if it's too dramatic and exposition based there isn't time to invest in the character's before all the drama starts. All these plays had only two or three characters in the entire thing. Also, the ending lines/action seem really important in tying up the play. The use of symbols in both "A Bowl of Soup" and "The Man Who Couldn't Dance" helped tie up the endings really nicely, providing a sense of resolution.

Fences

I actually got to see this play in high school because it was playing in Chicago and I remember really, really enjoying it. I also remember spacing out a good bit- probably due to the fact that most of the play is Troy talking and talking and talking and not really doing anything. I am interested to see how inherent structure will be dealt with in the upcoming production in Seattle.
I think its interesting that pretty much this entire play is set in the same location: the yard. The yard is almost like the audience that way, the constant observer. Thus a relationship forms between the audience and the setting. What does this buy, having the audience relate to the setting?

When I was reading this play I tried to pay special attention to the devices Wilson used to write a successful play. Because this play is focused on one character's interactions with multiple other characters, the different characters provide the audience various dimensions of Troy i.e. brother, father, wife. Common ideas that pop up in all of Troy's relationships point to more essential and unable to suppress issues that Troy has i.e. money, baseball. These interactions also show the audience the most, provide the most information. Not only do Troy's lengthy rants, his fights with his wife or his son, show us Troy's concerns about life, they allow us to understand why he possesses the sets of values and priorities he currently does. It provides us with a history of Troy's family and a history of his development into where he is today because he often talks about his own father or his own experiences with baseball or the white man. Thus the plot is this man's development.

But this can work both ways, the action in this play is then the way Troy's manifestations of his issues affect the other characters and drive them to their actions. However this play seems to be more a discussion of actions than actual action on stage.

I think part of what makes this a successful play are the symbols and extended metaphors. It gives the audience something to follow throughout the play, not to mention the very title of the play "Fences" alerts the audience from the beginning that symbols are integral to understanding the various levels of the play. The way baseball connects ideas and Troy's various regrets/issues (money, racism, family etc) also gives the audience something to hold on to or grasp throughout the play. I think these techniques are very useful.