Everyman

When it comes to setting up the play, a potential difficulty could be defining the characters during the play; because the characters are mostly representations of inanimate objects or character traits. This is either an opportunity for the costume designer to “get creative”, and develop costumes that represent the unique characters well; or the script will need to be written creatively so that the audience members can identify which character is which based on introductions and interactions throughout.

Everyman had a deep meaning that went beyond drama and comedic relief. This play was carefully sculpted to inspire a sense of urgency, in relation to life and the way we live it. For much of the play, the main character, “Everyman”, insisted that he would change the way he was living if he were granted the opportunity to be alive again. The writer is painting a clear picture that we should be ready, “when our time comes”, by living our lives with eternity in mind now, rather than living to satisfy every flesh-filled desire that could send us down a path where there is no turning back.

The writer was creatively able to inspire urgency by developing the character of Everyman. Everyman represents every living human who will eventually face judgement for the way he or she lived on earth. The writer paints a picture of his/her interpretation of the end of life through exchanges between Everyman and a number of characters who represent his life on earth; people he thought he could depend on, his worldly possessions, his character traits, and his good deeds. The writer was able to instill a sense of urgency, to do the right thing, by showing that he cannot take anything with him on his day of reckoning, except his good deeds. It is as though the writer intended to provoke the audience/reader to reflect on the thoughtless decisions we choose to make every day.

I noticed that this play could have been written by a priest, or a catholic leader, because of the emphasis that was placed on confession. The writer either believed that confession enables people to be judged in accordance to their good deeds, or simply desired to influence people to live in a posture of confession as it is necessary to live healthy as it establishes inner healing. The part that I found difficult to dissect was the exchange between Everyman and Doctor. Did anyone have any insight as to what the Doctor represented?

Lysistrata

I could see this play facing potential staging and production issues as it paints a vivid picture of sexual lust. Obviously, this is an adult play that is not intended for a general audience, however, there is still much that should be left to the imagination of the audience members. This provides the director, producer, and members of the cast opportunities to be creative and use prop symbolism, the same way much of the script offers a double-meaning. Although in ancient Greece, I’m not so sure modesty ranked high on their priority list.

One way that Aristophanes chose to appeal to the audience was to develop the character of Lysistrata. She was a multi-dimensional character who had strong convictions opposed to the culture of Athens. That is an interesting illustration as it shows that this generation does not fall far from the tree that is 411 BCE. Today there are still times I hear people discuss the overall lack of writers developing strong female roles in regards to movies. Lysistrata was the one brave soul who was willing to stand up against the status quo, and talk about how disappointed she was in the women who were rolling over and playing into the hands of the men of that era. She was not willing to accept a world where women were treated as though they were mere “children” who are not allowed to sit at the “adult table”.

As I read this play, I could not help but think that it was written by someone who grew up whispering inappropriate jokes to his friends. Aristophanes is clearly intelligent and a clever writer. He was able to take a relevant and serious political topic, like the increasing number of anti-war groups in Athens, and creatively express it through comedy. Aristophanes did a great job of illustrating his art; as the scene between Myrrhine and her husband Kinesias painted a clear picture of the effects that the anti-war group was having on the men and the women. As the play is formatted through ancient Greece, there are parts of the play that were difficult for me to fully understand.

I know that the Chorus often represents the narrator, or the overall consensus of the audience; however, the poems they tell can be quite difficult for me to grasp. Does anyone else feel that way; or do I need to work on my poetry interpretation and brush up on my Greek mythology? Another part that left me with questions was the scene between the Sentry and the Citizen. The Citizen approaches the Sentry and is halted? I was not able to understand the significance of this scene. Does anyone have insight as to what the scene meant to the play?

Doubt: A Parable

The play Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley, contained an interesting dynamic of characters; most of the story revolving around a minister, “Father Flynn”. However, we spend a majority of the first half of the play reading about his character through “the grapevine”. When Father Flynn finally has a chance to defend himself, I did not know what to think anymore; I was as lost as Sister James. Is he innocent? Is he guilty? As we were all warned in the preface of the play “John Patrick Shanley leaves us with doubts” (1695, Jacobus), we can only suspect that this play is not entirely about Father Flynn’s alleged affair, considering the end of the play would ultimately leave us with no closure in that respect. Therefore, I believe the meaning behind this play is subjective to the audience.

The plot demanded an unlikely duo; Sister James: young, innocent, loving her job, and full of faith; and Sister Aloysius: older, condescending, harsh, and full of skepticism. Sister Aloysius’ character came across as arrogant; as if everything she believed and said was a “matter of fact”. The arrogance and pervasive language she used influenced Sister James to begin to see people from her perspective, but we quickly realized that this new worldview is upsetting, unnatural, and ultimately leaves Sister James confused about life. This structure was well thought out as Sister James’ feelings of doubt and uneasiness, represent a snapshot and foreshadow of the internal conflict that Sister Aloysius is actually dealing with.

At the end of the play, we are finally able to see the other side of Sister Aloysius. Sister Aloysius finally confides in Sister James and admits, “I have doubts! I have such doubts!” (1712, Shanley). This is where we see the vulnerable side of Sister Aloysius, and that she does not know everything. As a matter of fact, reading this line was the moment I realized what this play meant to me. As Sister James admits that she had become confused since she had been trying to see the world through Sister Aloysius’ perspective, Sister Aloysius admits that her cold-demeanor, harsh attitude, and skeptical worldview came with a side-effect of doubts. Ultimately, I believe that this play represents how lonely it can be to jump to conclusions, to turn off our emotions, or become so callused that we refuse to trust anyone. In my opinion, it is no wonder it would be confusing to be an ambassador for God, but to also feel like you cannot show compassion, because you do not want to risk being taken advantage of.

The parts of the characterization that left me perplexed were: the character of Donald Muller, the motivation of Sister Aloysius’ character in her exchange with Donald’s mother, and Donald’s mother’s reaction to the allegations brought about by Sister Aloysius. I understand that Donald was the only African American at the school, and that he was also gay, which caused his father to despise him. This was of greatest concern to Donald’s mother, who deeply desired Donald to make it through as much school as possible, without being beaten by his father. Was Donald’s character gay because that might convince the audience that Donald would keep Father Flynn’s secret? What was the motive behind Sister Aloysius’ exchange with Donald’s mother? Why was she willing to speak with Donald’s mother about such a strong allegation without first gathering evidence? She may have convinced herself that she was right about him, even though we came to find that her accusations were baseless, but was that really all it took to schedule a meeting with his mother? Finally, it seemed as though Donald’s mother would rather ignore the strong allegations of Father Flynn’s loving intentions, than to risk her son being removed from the school. Did Donald’s mother feel so strongly about education that she was willing to look past an unhealthy relationship between a man and a 12-year-old?