What I Did Last Summer : Production Response #1
Oklahoma State University Department of Theatre’s production of What I Did Last Summer tells the self-revolutionary story of a young boy named Charlie and the struggles he faces the summer his father is away at war. Although the play seems to center mainly around Charlie, many of the other characters learn valuable lessons and a change in their perspectives is noticeable throughout the play. With it’s relatable characters, unique humor, and discussion of relevant topics, What I Did Last Summer is a play that can not only be enjoyed by all, but also has the potential to open the audience’s eyes to new viewpoints.
This production of What I Did Last Summer was performed in a proscenium theatre space; this space has many advantages and was a best fit for this particular play. Because of its shape, the proscenium theatre allowed for the actors to easily
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transition to other sides of the stage without the audience seeing it. There were many scenes in this play that required an actor to exit on one side of the stage, and then re-enter on the opposite side. The proscenium stage made it possible for the actors to do so without being seen by the audience; therefore, making it seem more realistic and minimizing distraction from the dialogue of the play. Several other stage spaces could have been used to perform this play, such as a thrust stage. Thrust stages create a more intimate setting between the audience and performers, but also creates a less realistic environment because of its openness on three of four sides of the stage. Again, because of the many actor transitions that occur in What I Did Last Summer, a thrust stage would have taken away greatly from the actual plot of the play. The actors would not have been able to cross stage as secretively as in a proscenium theatre. An arena theatre space also could have also been used in the production of this play. Although an arena stage opens up more angles for the audience because of the seating surrounding all four sides of the stage, it also eliminates discreteness due to its open stage area. In an arena theatre, scenery is very limited; What I Did Last Summer incorporated a lot of scenery and props that would have been harder to arrange and make use of in an arena theatre. Monologues were also a major part of this play; the power of these monologues would have greatly decreased had they been performed in an arena theatre. Because an actor cannot speak to all four sides of the audience at once in an arena theatre, at least one part of the audience would have felt disconnected during each monologue; consequently, lessening the significant impact of the monologues. Overall, the use of a proscenium stage in this production of What I Did Last Summer was the most appropriate theatre space to utilize. In the exposition of What I Did Last Summer, it becomes apparent that Charlie’s father is away at war. This information is revealed to the audience while, during one of her monologues, Charlie’s mother expresses how much she misses her husband and how hard it has been taking care of her children on her own. It can be inferred that Charlie’s father is not dead though, because his mother later talks of writing letters to her husband and repeatedly says how she wishes he would return soon. In the inciting incident, Charlie decides to apply for a job, doing odd tasks for Anna Trumbull, better know as the “Pigwoman”. Charlie’s mother has a great opposition to this, though it is not completely clear to the audience as to why. Charlie and his mother argue dramatically about Charlie taking the job with Anna, and this argument eventually results in Charlie cursing at his mother and her then kicking him out of the car. Although she doesn’t follow through with her threat of making him walk home, the tension between Charlie and his mother on the subject of Anna is apparent to the audience. Charlie taking the job with Anna instigates the issues with his mother, and his extensive time spent with Anna as a result of his accepting this job causes many of the problems that occur throughout the play. The climax of What I Did Last Summer occurs when Charlie blows up on his mother and sister about their petty party and high-class practices and runs away from home. Charlie stays the night at Anna’s and, although he doesn’t tell his mother he is there, she knows where to find him. The tension between Charlie and his mother and between Anna and Grace makes it apparent that this is the climax of the play; the answer to whether Charlie will return home or stay with Anna keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. The choice Charlie makes will reveal how much he has truly changed throughout the summer and how Anna’s ideas of “finding one’s potential” has impacted his personal values. Charlie is a fourteen year old boy; blond, tall, and healthy. He comes from a well-off, middle-class family, although he isn’t the brightest. His failure of Latin class haunts him throughout the summer, and he struggles to make it to tutoring, eventually abandoning it all together. As a young boy whose father is away at war, Charlie is encountering many challenges. He begins questioning the values that have been instilled in him his whole life. Morally, Charlie is going through a change; he is a good kid, but repeatedly disrespects his mother and is rude and spiteful to his older sister. Although he doesn’t steal and is fair to people around him for the most part, the rudeness he expresses to his family shows that Charlie is going through a difficult change. He is internally struggling with who he wants to be, and how he perceives the world. His views of people and himself change the more time he spends with Anna, and he begins questioning whether or not he wants to continue on the path his family has set for him. Grace is Charlie’s mother; she’s healthy and short with dark hair that is constantly either pinned back or under a hat. She is pretty, but the stress and worry of raising two children on her own is apparent. She is a wealthy, middle-class woman and she is proud of it; she enjoys the spoils of her lifestyle, or so she says. Her moral values seem rigid in regards to how she raises her children, but her personal life while her husband is away reveals corrupt moral practices. She displays extreme hypocrisy by attempting to be so strict with Charlie, but all the while she is secretly meeting with another man while her husband is away at war. Grace was once Anna’s student, showing she was once as naïve and adventurous as Charlie is now, yet she continues to rebuke his ideas of self-discovery. She refuses to admit that at one time she was just as unsure about herself as Charlie is now, and she continuously lies to herself, saying that she is happy and content with her life now. Although she may enjoy the spoils of her lifestyle and love her husband, why would she betray her marriage if she was so happy in it? Grace thinks she is happy in her ritzy, high-end lifestyle, but really she’s the same young girl who ran to Anna all those years ago for the same reason Charlie has run to Anna now. Anna Trumbull, better known to the public as the “Pigwoman”, is an older woman that lives on the far reaches of town, alone. She is fair and petite, with brown hair that is pulled back and a face that is beautiful yet wrinkled with her many years of hardship and knowledge. She was once a high-class girl, attending parties and wearing expensive clothing; but, now she lives alone on farm far away from anyone in town. She is poor and low-class, she has very little to no money, but she doesn’t mind that. She doesn’t care for education, and she prefers to grow or catch her own food. She is a simple, low-maintenance woman who is able to get along without a man to take care of her, which seems odd to most of society. Despite the fact that Anna puts up a tough front, she is actually quite caring and sensitive. Once she lets herself care about someone, she falls hard. Not even in a romantic way, but in the way she felt about Grace, and the way she feels about Charlie. She cares about them so much she will do everything in her power to help them realize their full potential, to help them be the best person they can be, simply because she wants to see them excel. Her motives are selfless, she expects nothing; she merely wants to inspire people to think beyond what they are brought up in because they are capable of so much more than a basic, suburban lifestyle. But, her great compassion towards her students can hurt her as well. Anna invests all she has into her students, and if they happen to change their mind and go back to their upscale lifestyle, she is left hurt and alone. Even though Anna tries to portray that she is independent, she actually relies on her students in many different aspects of life, and without them she would have nothing to live for. The main problem of What I Did Last Summer is that of self-discovery; this seems to be a recurring theme throughout the play.
Each character, in some capacity, is learning something new about themselves. Whether it be new views, new feelings, newfound confidence, or a new realization of past events, each character involved in the play realizes something view-altering by the end of the play. Bonny is realizing that she is growing up and discovering how to deal with boys, and to lie to her parents; Elsie realizes that she doesn’t need her father for everything, and eventually overcomes her fear of driving on her own; Grace is discovering that she must let her children think for themselves at times, and that she must let Charlie choose what he wants to do; and Charlie, of course, is discovering that there are more ways to think than the status quo that society presents. Each character obviously goes through very different struggles throughout the play, but in the end, they all result in realizing something about themselves they didn’t at the beginning of the
play. The stories and lessons presented in What I Did Last Summer are easy for people of all kinds to relate to. The struggle of discovering who you are is something everyone goes through, and maybe something you never stop going through. As humans, we are constantly changing and we may never truly discover “who we are”. Because of its realistic characters and the problems they face, What I Did Last Summer is a story that many audiences can identify with and thoroughly enjoy.
the play. It looks at the person he is and the person he becomes. It
He addresses each development rationally and tries to keep everyone together. Charlie starts out as a friendly neighbor, but soon turns into the leader of the witch hunt. He even kills someone in his pursuit to find a scapegoat. He and the rest of the people on Maple Street become dangerously defensive once they?re willing to hurt another human being. The play teaches a very important lesson on being too cautious.
The main theme of the play is trying to put across a strong view to
changing attitudes toward life and the other characters in the play, particularly the women; and his reflection on the
Every time the family comes to a confrontation someone retreats to the past and reflects on life as it was back then, not dealing with life as it is for them today. Tom, assuming the macho role of the man of the house, babies and shelters Laura from the outside world. His mother reminds him that he is to feel a responsibility for his sister. He carries this burden throughout the play. His mother knows if it were not for his sisters needs he would have been long gone. Laura must pickup on some of this, she is so sensitive she must sense Toms feeling of being trapped. Tom dreams of going away to learn of the world, Laura is aware of this and she is frightened of what may become of them if he were to leave.
In order for Charlie to cope with his insecurity and trying to live up to his father’s expectations, Charlie puts pressure on himself to succeed professionally that he ends up overworking his workers, disregard his fiancée, and verbally abuse Lola . When Charlie hurts his personal relationships, his professional life suffers as well because the workers and Lola decide to quit after Charlie’s mistreatment. In the production at the Adelphi Theatre, the audience could see the harmful effects of projecting the difficulties of one’s personal life into one’s professional life when Charlie becomes hurtful. However, Charlie is able to recognize that his hubris and desire to succeed hindered his personal relationships in the song “Soul of a Man”. Unlike other plays tragic endings, Charlie is able to come to terms with his personal insecurity and distinguish his professional life from his personal life, win back the support of the workers and Lola, and goes on to maintain a healthy work-life
The character, which includes the physiological and psychological makeup of each person in the play, properly incorporated the greed and oppression of the time. Ben and Oscar are brothers who are possessive, scheming, and greedy individuals. These two characters make the play very interesting. Both brothers’ physiological makeup fit the play perfectly. This is because Ben tires to look like a nice guy on the outside but has only one motive that drives his character. This motive is money. He will do anything to get his cotton mill deal to go through. Then there is Oscar. He is also a lot like Ben, but on the surface not as nice. Because of these two characters, the rest of the characters feed of their hatred and ulterior motives. Another character is Leo who is a weak unprincipled son of Oscar and Birdie. This character is not emotionally strong compared to Ben or Oscar, but still has a very well written part. Birdie is then obviously Oscar’s wife. Birdie has one of the most complex characters in the whole play. Her psychological make up is very complex. Her character has very quick mood changes and subsequently does not seem like she has much power in the physiological makeup of the whole group. Next, there is Regina, who is married to Horace and a sister of Oscar and Ben. She undoubtedly has the most devious psychological makeup of all the other characters put together. She has a very cold heart towards her husband. This was the most thoroughly created character in the whole play although it was also the most troubled character. Every line that she said was written for a specific purpose and was usually only to help herself. Married to Regina is Horace. Horace’s character was a very weak and sick old man. Although his part was written beautifully, he should have been a bit wiser to what Regina was planing. He was almos...
The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own.
changes as the play progresses. Early on in the play, she is full of ambition;
Legendary rapper Jay-Z has penned several love letters to his hometown of Brooklyn, crooning on “We Fly High” that, while “Manhattan keep on faking it, Brooklyn keep on taking it!”. The song is Jay’s tribute to his town’s trademark grit and toughness. He’s from a no-nonsense borough of blue collar workers and old-timers still upset by the loss of their beloved Dodgers. It’s a cosmopolitan borough marked by several sharp divides: rich and poor, black and white, young and old (although the residents are perhaps all united in their hatred of the Yankees).
At the end the farce turns to be an idyll of wish-fulfillment- Cecily wishes to be engaged to Earnest and it happens so, Jack declares that he is called Earnest and he is in fact, Algy pretends to be Jack's young brother and it comes true too. The characters' fantasies are brought to life at the end of the play. Their double life is not a hypocrisy. They mock the laws and the customs of the society in which they live. The characters challenge society's values, free themselves from their rigid norms and at the end of the play they manage to regain their balance and become earnest.
Main characters are Frank who is a university lecturer and Rita who is a hair dresser. Rita wants to be educated she decides to take an Open University course. The main theme of the play is to be educated.
Charlie and Holden both struggle immensely with fitting into people’s standards. This is hard for the two protagonists to deal with because they are non conformists and do not change to fit into society. The two feel trapped in a world where they will not be accepted for who they are and what they want to do. One cannot truly change who they are, so Charlie and Holden continue to be individuals. They struggle to form relationships in which they can be themselves. Although they go through many hardships throughout their teenage years, eventually they realize what is important to them, allowing them to form better relationships in the future. Charlie realizes that he needs to be more commanding in relationships and that he has to be himself. Furthermore, Holden realizes that he needs to appreciate people in his life because they have more value to him than he initially thinks. Holden and Charlie both need companionship and finally realize what it takes in order to achieve their goal. Throughout their journey of self realization, both Charlie and Holden go through many hardships with abiding to society’s social “norms”. However, being different from society allows Charlie and Holden to be able figure out what they
...is what the characters find they cannot cope with - change. The real tragedy of the play is watching the characters destroying themselves through their own inarticulateness and lack of understanding. Ray Lawler very effectively shows the downfall of the characters through his stage direction. The play works because it touches on the audience's sense of compassion for the characters - we feel pity for them growing old. "The characters are real; neighbours, people in pubs." The language of the characters and their relatively carefree attitude to life means that the audience is able to relate to the people on the stage and ultimately become more engaged and involved in the story line. "The Doll" is best summed up by Ray Lawler himself; "A play about growing up, about people who can't grow up, and about people who can, about people who cannot face the reality of life."
My experience watching a live theatre performance on stage was a fascinating one, most especially since it was my first time. I attended a staged performance of “The History Boys” in a small theatre called “The Little Theatre of Alexandria” at 8:00 pm on Wednesday June 8, 2016 in Alexandria, Virginia. The overall production of the play was a resounding experience for me particularly the performance of the actors and the design of the scene made the play seem real.