SHOW & TELL: BLACKBIRD

For my first show-and-tell post, I'd like to share with you one of my favorites:

Blackbird by David Harrower

This play premiered in 2005 at the Edinburgh International Festival. Since then, it has ben produced by the West End Albery Theatre, off-Broadway, and at venues all over the world. (This information comes from my copy of the play.)

This is a really unusual play. The way it's written is very different from what most of us are used to reading. There are two characters, Ray and Una. Ray is 55 years old and Una is 27 years old. The play is one act, ninety minutes, and takes place in one room. The room is in Ray's workplace--the break room. Una has come to confront Ray about their relationship that unfolded fifteen years prior--when Una was only 12. Since that relationship ended in a climatic set of circumstances, Ray has been arrested, served time, been released, and started a new life. Una has tracked him down after seeing a photograph of him, and has come to ask him a long line of pointed questions. The two of them, after breaching the extreme level of awkwardness, begin to re-examine what happened 15 years ago and why, after all of this time, they still find themselves attracted to the other.

Sounds cool, right? It is. Two dramaturgical choices make it so:

1. The dialogue is written in a really unconventional style in which the two characters often cut each other off and finish one another's sentences. The dialogue is also chopped up quite a bit: Harrower begins a new line with every new thought. In fact, sometimes there is merely one word per line. I've never seen this play produced but I am dying to see how actors could portray this unique method of storytelling. I think this is really an unprecedented way of writing and I know of no other play that resembles the text of this one. IT GETS BETTER...

2. Although the play takes place in one room with no intermission or break, the events of their past unfold in this weird, ethereal reality that the reader/audience experiences with them. Within the rising action, both Ray and Una have a monologue in which they relate to the other their experience of the night that their relationship simultaneously peaked and ended. The story is told in a strange present-past that I find so stimulating. Not only are you seeing and living two stories at once..you also experience how each character remembers it AND how they feel about it. Again, I think this is noteworthy because few other plays that I've read tell two stories at once while only one is actually happening in front of you. 

I won't give anything else away or reveal any details but you NEED to read it. It's one of the most unique and thrilling reading experiences I've ever had. You won't be able to put it down.

HORNBY: MOTIFS

So, after reading Hornby, we have many new lenses through which we can look at plays. One of the newer things that we're keeping in mind is motifs.

In How I Learned to Drive:

The "largest" or most obvious motif is Vogel's use of the gears of a car to indicate her "roadmap" for the play. For example, one scene is called "Idling in First Gear." I think that this motif does many things, but it primarily reflects the action of the scene and how it should fit into the play given the names of the other scenes. Although the motifs of the names of the scenes does repeat, it is modified throughout. As the play progresses, the gears change. Sometimes, Vogel even uses more direct titles, such as "You and the First Gear." That's a very direct indication that she wants her audience to identify with Lil' Bit or at least think about our own developments when we were learning to drive. 

In The Rescuers (yes, the childhood favorite of many)

I saw this film for the first time in years the other day. I had forgotten what a beautiful movie it was. In The Rescuers, Penny has a teddy bear that comes up a lot. She and Madame Medusa fight over the teddy bear, the teddy bear is damaged and stolen at some points, etc. However, the teddy bear comes back again and again. What's interesting is that this really simple motif drives Penny's entire character home. (for the adults watching, anyway.) Penny's teddy bear mirrors Penny's desires for a family and her need to be taken care of. When Madame Medusa takes her teddy bear until she can find the Devil's Eye Diamond, a climax is reached wherein Penny must fight for what she wants. It's really a cute and very simple symbol/motif. 

Scripts v. Productions

I think that a motif is certainly different in the script than it is in a fully realized production. For one, it can be hard, sometimes, to really notice a motif in a production if you only see it once. The focus is the acting, so if the actors aren't using, interacting with, or speaking about a motif, the audience may not see it or understand its significance. I also think motifs can be more powerful in a script because the reader is prepared to think about what every detail means and can go back and read a page again if he finds something that could be significant. It's tricky to convey a motif in a production, in my opinion. 

HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE

As I've mentioned, I love this play. It is, without a doubt, one of my favorites, and I read it all the time. This time, getting out my copy to re-read for about the 10th time, I read it for the details...

1) The Greek Chorus. To me, this choice indicates that Vogel believes Lil' Bit and Uncle Peck to be the only two characters in a lot of ways. This is their story. There are other parts of their lives, but this play is the story of their relationship and the effect it had on the two of them. Writing a chorus kind of makes the other characters run together like wet paint. I love that about this script. We get the overall intention of these outside influences without specifically seeing many characters. For example, when Uncle Peck is fishing with BB, we get this tremendous concentration from Uncle Peck, and we aren't tempted to look at the little boy or his reaction to Uncle Peck. We get such tiny, concentrated bits from the secondary characters played by the Greek chorus that we only get their essence--which is all we need. I think it's brilliant. 

2) The first time I read the play, I thought "How can/why is one actress playing one person over a span of decades?" It didn't make much sense to me that Lil' Bit was eleven, seventeen, thirty-five, etc. But, the more I read the play, the more I love that choice. We get to see the effect of Uncle Peck on Lil' Bit AFTER he's gone. It's like a "Where Are They Now?" segment. We get to grow up with her. I think Vogel made this choice because it really lets us get personal with Lil' Bit. We don't just see this glimpse of life like we do with a lot of characters in a lot of plays. We get a really well-rounded story about a person coming to terms with a relationship. And yet, even though we see a lot, I can't help but wonder about the gaps in the story we don't see. And that's the beauty of it--Vogel's still left some intrigue in there.

Here's a BONUS:

One choice that I've always wondered about is Vogel's decision to include the story of Uncle Peck going after BB on the fishing trip. It really makes me wonder if Uncle Peck was in love with Lil' Bit or if he was just looking for ANYONE to fill the gap. What do y'all think? Why do we see Uncle Peck being inappropriate with someone other than Lil' Bit?

CONDUCT OF LIFE

Fornes. Fornes, Fornes, Fornes.

The choice I'm going to focus on is Fornes' tendency to have the characters speak their minds and emotions aloud. Almost nothing is hidden away in the characters. We get a very clear picture of who the characters are trying to be. For example, we know within the first pages of the play that Orlando is dissatisfied with his position in the military and yearns for power. We also see that Leticia puts on as if she's a peacekeeping do-gooder. Fornes is crystal clear about these characters and their intentions and displays that through their various monologues.

Now, what effect do I think that has on the play and its themes? In my opinion, it sucks the curiosity out of the show. I never felt myself questioning what a character was going to do. I will say that I was surprised at Leticia's turn of character, but that moment caught me by surprise. I think that keeping everything so very straight forward doesn't keep an audience on the edge of their seats. It makes them sit back and ponder. **I** would rather see a play that keeps me guessing. But, as Dr. Fletcher mentions, not all plays are for all people. This show is for a particular audience. This dramaturgical choice does, however, do a lot for the themes of the show. It lets an audience think about the themes of the play WHILE its happening versus AFTER. That's cool. (To me anyway)