Show and Tell Post - Fur

Fur is one of the most bizarre plays I have ever read! It was written by Migdalia Cruz in 1994 and was published in 2000.  It was first presented the New Dramatists in New York in 1994 and then by the Latino Chicago Theater Company in February 1995 where it was staged at the Steppenwolf Theater. In 1997, it was staged by the Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco and ran from October 2^nd to October 27^th.  This play was written for the stage.  It was also published in Out of the Fringe: Contemporary Latina/Latino Theater and Performance in New York. You can find this play and any other important information at the North American Women’s Drama web site. 

There are four characters: they are Citrona, who is a woman who has hair or fur all over her body and is kept in a cage by Michael who owns and runs a pet store. Nena is a young beautiful woman who loves Michael and catches animals such as rabbits for Michael to sell in his shop.  The setting is in the summer in the deserts suburbs of Los Angeles.  Nena is in love with Michael and Michael is in love with Citrona.  The play opens in a side show carnival when Michael is getting ready to buy Citrona.   He buys her but has a hard time controlling her and hires Nena to take care of her since she is good with animals.  At first Nena is afraid of Citrona because Citrona lives in her own fesses just like an animal making her smell and eats live animals of which she keeps the skins in a pile in the corner of her cage. After some time, Nena becomes accustomed to cleaning up after Citrona and they begin to have some conversations.  Citrona begins to fall in love with Nena.  Now there is a strange love triangle. At this point, Nena still will not enter into Citrona’s cage because she is still afraid of her.  Michael on the other hand, secretly watches their interaction in hopes of some sign that Citrona will begin to love him. All during these interactions, there is sand from the desert blowing in the door and window and swirling around the room. Finally, Michael lets Nena spend the night with Citrona with the promise that she will love him.  Nena spends the night but Citrona realizes that Nena could never love her. She kills Nena and eats her. Michael lets Citrona out thinking that he will have her. The lights go out and you hear Michael scream leading you to believe that he is dead.

I found it interesting that the author put the blowing sand in the stage directions.  According the script as found in the first page with the character descriptions, the sand is continuing to build up on the set and on the basement window as the play progresses.  It also says that the pile of furs increases also.  This could show the passage of time within the world of the play. The sand could represent the passage of time like the sand in an hour glass. I think that is why the author used this symbol within the script.  It gives the characters such as Nena time to overcome her fear of Citrona. Nena on the other hand was justified in her fear of Citrona and revealed in the end when she is killed.

It is interesting that the duration of scene 18 is the longest.  This is the scene when Nena is in the cage with Citrona and they have a romantic dinner. This seems to be the climax of the whole play. All the other scenes were leading us to this one scene.  This is the scene just before Citrona kills Nena and this scene begins to build the tension of how Nena will react to Citrona’s advances.

Fur http://solomon.wodr.alexanderstreet.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/cgibin/asp/philo/getobject.pl?c.660:1.wodr

comments

Top Dog/ Underdog

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Next to Normal

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Next to Normal

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Water by the Spoonful


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Water by the Spoonful

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Next to Normal

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Next to Normal

I had never read a musical before and this one was very interesting.  At first, I found it difficult to read and follow along with the music.  I had to keep stopping the music to read the stage directions and the dialogue that was between the songs. As the play progressed, it was easier as there were less dialogue and more back to back songs.  The choice of the music really reflected the mood of the character at that moment such as when Diana was frustrated.  The music became more tense and quick as well as the lyrics. When Dan was singing, his music became slower and calmer as though he was trying to get control of the situation.   Occasionally Tom Kitt wrote some eerie music such as when Diana is trying to remember and she sings, “How could I ever forget?”  (Yorkey 81) The tempo of the play seems to change every time the music changed.  One place that this happens is Diana sings Didn’t I see This Movie and A Light in the Dark. The first song is very fast paced and the second song slows down quite a bit.

I found and interesting motif in this play.  They talk/sing a lot about light and dark.  It seems to reflect the fact that this play is a lot about mental illness and recovering from grief.  Diana seems to be stuck in a dark place where she can’t get out of.  Even when she is given the Electric Shock Therapy, she describes it as seeing lightening in her mind. Dan sings about it in A Light in the Dark where he sings, “One light shines in the drive.” (Yorkey 57) At the end of the play the cast is singing about light again. Everyone sings, ”There will be light,” It is as though everyone is searching for the light.

Topdog/ Underdog

I think the first mirror is in the play because of the real event of Lincoln being shot which is portrayed by Link’s job of playing Lincoln’s assignation which is evident when Booth says to Link, “You play Honest Abe.”  In the end, Booth shots him for real just like when people pretend to shoot Link.  Not only do their names reflect the real characters, but also their role that they play. This is the obvious mirror.

The other mirror is the con game. Link is trying to be honest with an honest job, but in reality, he is really conning the public with his “performance.”First of all, he has to put on “white face” to cover up the fact he is black, again another form of deception.   Booth says to him. “Dressing up like some crackerass white man, some dead president and letting people shoot at you sounds like a hustle to me.” Link tries to defend it saying that, “It’s honest work.”  The card game is the same in that it is another kind of hustle.  They are both trying to get money out of people by tricking them. Link is tricking them by being a black man playing a white president and Booth is trying to trick people into picking the red card instead of the black one and betting all their money.  Booth is trying to learn how to misdirect them so that they lose their focus on the cards, be captivated by the talk and they will pick the wrong card.  Link teaches him saying, “A goodlooking walk and a dynamite talk captivates their entire attention.”   That is just another way of deception.  So, the con game and Link’s job are both a type of deception, although, Link’s job is legal and Booth’s card con game is not. 

Water By the Spoonful

I picked scene 6 when the Ghost says “Momken men-fadluck ted-dini gawaz safari?”  The Ghost had appeared earlier when Elliot was taking an order in the Subway and now during the conversation online when Organgutan, Haikumon, Fountainhead and Chuttes&Laddars are having a conversation.  At this time, Haikumon is telling Fountainhead that he is “welcome to the dinner party” and then they start talking about slogans.  The stage directions say that Elliot appears at a gym punching a bag and the Ghost is watching him. The Ghost says his line, but it appears as though the Ghost is also participating in the conversation that is happing online.  Elliot ignores the ghost and the others that are online ignore him also.

There is one particular moment when Elliot is punching the bag, his leg is hurting and he says, “No pain. No pain.”   Harikumom says, “In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to …” after which he drops the newspaper and the Ghost blows Elliot over and then says his line.    Maybe his line has a similar meaning as the “sayings” that the online characters are mentioning.  This makes an interesting intersection of the two stories.

A good Unifying Principle could be “blowing away the pain.”  “Blowing away the pain” means that to get rid of the pain or overcome it by whatever means are effective.  The Ghost could be trying to communicate some sort of slogan of his own making so that they can overcome their addictions (or pain) though slogans and not by using crack and thus “blowing away their pain.”  In Elliot’s case, he is trying to get rid of his pain in his leg by punching the bag harder and talking himself into “feeling like a million bucks.”  The Ghost has “blown” Elliot down and thus helping him to overcome his pain. The Ghost seems to ties the two different stories together.

"Tis Pity She's a Whore

I think a good quote would be in act III, scene 2, line 28 when Giovanni says, “One such another word would kill his hopes.”  It seems to me that this play depends a lot on what each person says or does not say.  The statements that the character says reflect the hopes of love or the deception of the pregnancy or the murders. The colors for a poster could be blue and orange.  It could have a picture of a character, such as Giovanni, with a “bubble” above his head with the image of Anabella holding a baby.  The orange could be at the bottom of the poster and the blue as part of a “sky.”

A second quote could be in act II, scene 4, line 29.  Donado says, “Here’s stuff  indeed to shame us all.” With Annabella’s pregnancy as an embarrassment to her father and her husband, it seems appropriate that she would shame in her situation especially when they want the seamstress to make clothes to hide her condition.   For a poster idea, you could have a dark background with a yellow “door” partially opened and the silhouette of Anabella’s pregnant profile showing. It would be as if she is hiding from the shame of her situation.

A third quote could be in Act IV, scene 2, line 20.  Richardetto is speaking and he says, “All human worldly courses are uneven.”  This could encompass all the situations such as the pregnancy, the murders and the poisoning.  For a poster idea, you could have a black silhouette of Anabella’s stomach and inside her stomach could be a picture of the “box” of poison and a picture of a dead body.  The dead body could be just a silhouette in bright red. The box of poison could have a “skull and crossbones” on it to show it was poison. 

House of Trials

I think one of the conventions would be that the lines and monologues are written in verse form. It is as if they were written as a poem.  It is very reminiscent of Shakespeare’s style of writing.  I wonder if it rhymes in the original language.  I imagine if it does, then it probably loses some of its charm.  Some of the verses are written as though it was a song which was sung over and over again, such as on page 85 when the singers are singing the lines, “It is not so,” and “ It must be so.”  After which, Dona Leonor and Don Pedro repeat the same lines as though they were singing with the singers. Then Dona Ana, Don Carlos, and Castano all take turns repeating those lines.

Another one of the conventions seems to be when the characters “step aside” to tell the audience their inner thoughts.  This would also be a version of breaking the fourth wall even though they are not necessarily talking to the audience directly.   If it wasn't for the stage directions, it would be confusing to understand as such was the case with Love! Valor! Compassion!  In that play, you couldn't tell when the characters were talk to the audience or not and in this one, it was clearly marked out.   This one was clear and it was interesting to “hear” the inner voices of the characters and what they thought at the time.  It helped to understand who they thought they were with when it was dark and they were unable to see each other.  It  also made it rather melodramatic.

My second comments

The Children's Hour:

http://anonymouslyanalyzingampleautographs.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-childrens-hour.html?showComment=1383743236628#c5443042956385888632

Eurydice:

http://purplesummer2130.blogspot.com/2013/11/eurydice.html?showComment=1383743683128#c1380841646374874250


Eurydice:

http://anonymouslyanalyzingampleautographs.blogspot.com/2013/11/eurydice.html?showComment=1383744174258#c926746940330149120

Glass of Water"

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Love! Valour! Compassion!

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Show and tell post II

      Play is called The Glass Menagerie written by Tennessee Williams.  It was written in the summer to 1944 with the original title of The Gentlemen Caller.   It was only after Eddie Dawling Decided to produce the play that the title was changed to The Glass Menagerie.  It premiered in Chicago on December 26, 1944 and later opened in New York on March 31, 1945 (page 1032).  It won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award in 1945. The play can be found in the book called, “Tennessee Williams Play 1937-1955.

     There are four main characters in this play. They are Amanda Wingfield (the mother), Laura Wingfield (the daughter), Tom Wingfield (the son), and Jim O’Conner (the gentlemen caller).  Tom also acts as the narrator and addresses the audience. The play opens with Tom’s narration explaining that this is a memory play.  He also explains that there is a “fifth” character which is a picture of the father that is prominently displayed in the room.   Amanda enters and they argue quite often throughout the play.  Laura is very shy and involved with the world of her glass menagerie of animals.   Tom is always trying to find a way of leaving and he finally does at the end.  Amanda wants to see if she can find a husband for Laura.  She also lives in the past when she had many gentlemen callers.  Laura had been crippled from having pleurisy when she was a child. She and Tom knew Jim when they were in high school.  Tom invites Jim to dinner in the hopes that a relationship will grow with Laura.  Laura show Jim her Menagerie and one of the animals get broken when they are dancing.  Unfortunately, and unbeknownst to the rest, Jim is already engaged. At the end, Amanda comforts Laura and Tom leaves for the Merchant Marines.

     One dramaturgical choice is having Tom break the “fourth wall” with his narration.  Tennessee Williams may have made this choice to include the audience in on the “dream” or a “memory.” He had very specific stage directions including having a scrim in the front of the stage where you could barely see the set behind.  He also wrote that the scrim is raised just after Tom’s opening narration to represent the dream or memory being revealed.  It is all part of an illusion. Even Tom says in the script, “I give you the truth in the pleasant disguise of an illusion.” (Page 400)    He narrates again at the beginning of scene III when he describes Mother’s plans and imagination on how she can find a gentlemen caller for Laura.  At the beginning of scene VI, he talks about Jim and how he is going to bring him home for dinner.  All of these incidents of the narration give us the back-story of what has not happened on stage.  Finally at the end, he narrates what has happened after the story on stage is over. The stage direction says that the final interior scene should be viewed as through a sound-proof glass as Tom says his final speech.

     Another dramaturgical choice would be one of Hornsby’s terms of duration.  The time that Amanda and Tom spend arguing and discussing different situations takes up most of the stage time whereas the time that Laura has on stage with Jim is only one or two scenes.  Even though the play is called “The Glass Menagerie” which you would think is about Laura and her glass, Amanda and Tom on the other hand  have most of the lines in the play.

Source:

Williams, Tennessee. Tennessee Williams: Plays 1937-1955. New York: Literay Classic of the

            United States, 2000. Print. Compiled  and with notes by Mel Gussow and Kenneth

            Holdrich

Eurydice

“I will always remember your melody!”  That would be one of the quotes from the play I would choose for the line on the poster.  This quote comes from the first part of the play when Orpheus says that to Eurydice. The reason I picked that is because music seems to be a part of the whole production.   Orpheus creates the music for Eurydice which helps tie the two of them together after Eurydice dies. With the phrase “always remember,” it shows that the characters always need to remember who they are and where they are.  For example, when Eurydice crosses the river, she forgets who she is, doesn’t realize where she is, or that the man who helps her is her father.  After some time and with the help of her father, she begins to remember. This would give the production a more light-hearted feel even though it has a lot to do with dead people.  It would not be so morbid.  As far as the poster goes, you could have a picture of Eurydice’s head and the strands of her hair could be flowing out and become the shapes of musical notes or some sort of instrument.

Another quote would be, “No one knocks at the door of the dead!  This was spoken by “The Stones” who wondering who was knocking at the door.  This quote is at the end of the second movement and spoken by the stones. The reason I pick this one is because the script has a lot of people either trying to get out of the underworld or trying to get it.  Eurydice is always trying to get out and Orpheus is trying to get in.  Death is all around.  This gives the production a dark and eerie feel.  It could become more of a creepy horror movie.  A good poster for this would have a picture of a distressed door with a person’s hand ready to knock on it. On the other side could be a dark place with three sets of red glowing eyes peering around it.

Love! Valour! Compassion!

A historian would look at this play and wonder what happened to our society.  That is, if he thought that the play represented what life was like in our century.   As far as being a well made play, it may be very confusing in comparison to The Glass of Water and The Children’s Hour. Yes, it has three acts and those “one liners” that left you hanging at the end of each scene.  Much of the dialogue seem petty and didn't make a point such as when they are arguing about what they want to watch on television. 

  

The difference between the “truth” and illusion is hard to separate.   The part when James closes his eyes, the piano stops, he is looking at the chair, and now he is John, is very confusing.  Is this real, a hallucination, or is it really John? What is the truth and what is the illusion? Then all of a sudden John is sitting in the chair?  Maybe, this was James’s way of justifying how his parents treated him and John.    Is he really “James the Good” and his brother is “John the Bad?”

This play was confusing to me and I lived through the 90’s.  Every once in a while the characters would move forward and talk or narrate to the audience which was confusing to me.  I guess this was the biggest difference from the other well-made plays that we have read.   I found very distracting from the standpoint of keeping up with what was happing.  It wasn’t until the end that it made more sense, especially when each character was telling the audience how they died.  As a dramaturgical choice, it helped to bring a close to the story.  I also liked the last line when John says, “Anyway.”

The Children's Hour

I think the biggest departure of the well made play would be the scene when Martha kills herself.  That was totally unexpected.  In the obligatory scene in this case, you would expect Karen and/or Martha to admit to their feelings for each other.  Martha does admit that she had the kind of feelings she had been accused of.  That was expected, however I didn't expect she would kill herself over it.  It is a good dramaturgical because when Mrs. Tilford comes to confess and apologize to them about Mary’s lying, the news of Martha’s death further makes Mrs. Tilford feels guilty.  Now she wants to help Karen and says, “Take whatever I can give you. Take it for yourself and use it for yourself.”   She is trying to justify her mistake in believing Mary.

As far as the other question goes as to whether it should be performed today or not, I would say yes.  I don’t think it has to do with the subject of lesbianism as much as a mis-communication between the characters.   Mary was a very spoiled and manipulating. She is the one that causes all the problems.  It doesn’t matter if Martha and Karen are in a relationship or not.  The fact that a spoiled child could get so much control over people is a good topic for today’s society.   Most of the play is about how Mary uses people and their emotions.  For example, she arrives late to class and brings flowers to the teacher to cover up her unwillingness to go to class.  She “faints” to get attention, talks Rosalie into lying to hide the secret about the bracelet.   As far as the suicide goes, I think it was more of Mary’s manipulation that could cause Martha to commit suicide.   Mary’s accusations put the idea of the women kissing into Martha’s head.  Yes, maybe that brought out the feelings that Martha had, but Martha may have never even thought much about that until Mary’s accusation. 

A Glass of Water

I don’t know if it’s a translation error or not, but in the scene at the end when the Duchess and Bolingbroke kiss and then slap each other is very odd.   When I read it, it really surprised me.  I was not expecting that. They are at each other’s throats though out the whole play.  They are both scheming and plotting against each other and trying to discredit each other.  All of a sudden at the end they are kissing each other?  They are telling each other that they would have wed if they had known each other earlier.   That doesn't make sense, unless it was an attempt by the author to bring some comedy to the end of the production.   I would have guessed that they would have politely bowed to each other and left.  They could have said their lines while smiling, not meaning what they were saying and left without the kissing and slapping.  Of course, that may not have been as effective or funny.

Comments

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Show and Tell Post

     The Outside is a play written by Susan Glaspell in 1917. Most of her plays were produced and performed at the Provincetown Players in Provincetown Massachusetts. Although, my resource does not say whether or not The Outside was specifically produced by them, there is a good chance that it was. The script was copyrighted in 1948 for production. A copy of the script can be found in a book called A Century of Plays by American Women. This book also gives a brief biography of Susan Glaspell.

     The Outside is a story about a woman, Mrs. Patrick, and her maid, Allie Mayo, coming to terms with a mystery of a boy at sea who was brought to her house near Cape Cod. The scene opens with the Captain, who is the head of "The Bars" Life-Saving Station; Bradford, as life saver; and Tony, a Portuguese life saver discussing what may have happened to the strange boy who washed up on shore dead.  They have brought the body to Mrs. Patrick's house because it had been a Life-Saving Station in the past.

     Mrs. Patrick is upset that they think her house is still a Life-Saving Station and tells the men, "This isn't a Life-Saving Station any more... This is my house! And -- I want my house to myself!"  Despite her objections, they still try to revive the dead boy.

     After they finally leave to get a stretcher, Mrs Patrick and Allie Mayo have a conversation. Allie Mayo is a quiet person and does not say much unless it is important which is why Mrs. Patrick hired her. Through the conversation, we find that Mrs. Patrick had visited the cape and had picnics on the sand dunes with her husband who had later died. She bought the Life-Saving Station  to make it her home. She loves the dunes and calls it "The Outside."  At the end, the script directions describe Mrs Patrick as "Herself lost, feeling her way into a wonder of Life,"

     One dramaturgical choice was having the men bring the dead body to Mrs. Patrick's house. They could have easily brought the body up on the dunes to try to revive it. It made her have to confront the loss of her husband even though she insisted that they leave her alone. She was living in a dream world that the "Outside" was keeping her isolated. from the real world in which her husband was no longer with her.  Bradford thinks the Mrs. Patrick and Allie Mayo "are both crazy" and doesn't want to bring the body in the house.  He says, "Lord, I just wanted to get him somewhere else." and, talking about the dead body, "If he did have any notion of comin' back to life, he wouldn't a come if he'd seen her."  To the men, it is just the normal place to bring a dead person.  They had brought many bodies there in the past from ship wrecks.  They were surprised when Mrs. Patrick decided to buy the old place. They knew that she had spent her summers there on the dunes with her husband.

     The play talks about a line of trees that separated the dunes from the town. Allie Mayo says, "...woods, town and harbor. The line! Stunted straggly line that meets the outside face to face -- and fights for what itself can never be. Lonely line."  This line of trees would be a second dramaturgical choice.  In the description of the stage setting, Susan says that the sand dunes and line of trees should be seen through the door of the house.  This is a constant reminder to Mrs. Patrick of the life she had with her husband even though the line of trees keeps her isolated.

Book cited:
France, Rachel. A Century of Plays by American Women. New York: Richards Rosen, 1979. Print.

4000 miles post

I can see a reoccurring motif of Vera always forgetting things and words.  Although the scene direction does not say if she has a disease which could affect her memory, she does show signs of a constant memory loss.  It could be just her old age.  She uses the term “whadayacallit” as many as 12times in the script. “Whadayacallit” is a term that many older people used in the 1940’s and 1950’s. She seems to use it most in the beginning and not as much as the end of the script. Most of the time she uses that term is when she can’t remember which word she wants to say and seems to be frustrated by it.  Even Leo uses “whadayacallit” once when teasing Vera. There seems to be other times when Vera is speaking and doesn’t use that word, such as when she is talking about her husband and his lovers when she is talking to Bec. That speech seems to be almost rehearsed as though she had told that story many other times therefore not needing the word “whadayacallit” to fill in for words that she couldn’t remember.

There are many other times when she is confused as to what happened, such as when the top lock of the door was locked, when she couldn’t find her checkbook and when the sink was broken. You can tell Leo is concerned when he tells Lilly that she should come out to visit and stay with Vera. This could be a reason why Leo decided to stay as long as he did. 

Judith's post

     The MDQ of Judith would be, “Does Judith’s attitude and behavior change?  In the beginning, she was very subservient and quiet.  She didn’t speak much even when the servant was trying to prompt her to speak with statements and questions like, “She talks about death all the time. Don’t you?”  Only when her servant was threatened, did she speak up.   She was also very modest when at first she refused to take her clothes off.  She is struggling with the very idea.  She knew it would be difficult to be with Holofernes.  We can see her struggle as Barker put many of her word in bold print such as; “You – make – this – so,” thus emphasizing the point. 

     Her attitude changes, as she starts to make Holofernes comfortable with talk of death and kisses.  Holofernes begins to feels he has won the “battle” when he thinks that Judith is beginning to love him.

     The servant is constantly reminding Judith of her duty to Israel to kill Holofernes who is their enemy and she would become a hero. She says, “Israel commands you.”  Judith is still unsure of herself but listens to the voice of her servant.  When the servant starts to scream out, “Oh, the barbaric and inferior vile inhuman bestial and bloodsoaked monster of depravity,” Judith is ready to strike and kill Holofernes.  Instead of the woman looking down all the time and being subservient, she becomes the executioner.

Afterwards, Judith’s attitude changes again.  She wants to make love the headless body of Holofernes.  She almost feels sorry for him and is unable to move.  Still the servant tries to tell her to bring the head back to Israel saying, “You will be honoured. All Israel will.”  Finally, when Judith collects herself, she takes charge telling the servant what to do.  She firmly says to the servant, “Who said you could get up.”  Yes, Judith answers the MDQ in the affirmative.  She went from a lowly widow to a tower of strength as she is the last one to leave the tent.

Night, Mother post

I can see the MDQ for Night, Mother would be, "Will Mama stop Jessie from killing herself?"   This question justifies all the script that is written in this play.  Most of the conversation is Mama trying to talk Jessie out of the suicide. First, Mama thinks it's a joke when she says, "Don't make jokes Jessie. I'm too old for jokes."  Then she tries to tell her the bullets are too old. She is beginning to find ways of stopping her.  It is like Mama is going through phases from unbelief to telling her she is crazy, to trying to understand her reasons.  She even tells her that she won't do it.  Mama is deceiving herself into thinking that Jessie wouldn't do such a thing.  How could someone she raised be able to calmly consider killing herself.

Now Mama wants to know if she did anything wrong. Was Mama wrong for protecting her daughter from the pain of a broken marriage?  Was she wrong for not telling her about her "fits" when she was younger. Mama starts to question herself.   Then she tries to reason with Jessie by telling her that they could buy new dishes, move the furniture around, or get her driver's licence. Even at the end, she begins to plead with Jessie.

It is similar to a person who is grieving.  They go through different stages such as denial, getting mad, making excuses, and acceptance.  Mama is going through the same similar stages.  In the end, the MDQ is answered as "no."  No, Mama was not able to stop Jessie from killing herself but at the same time she went through the grieving process as though Jessie had been killed at the beginning.

Seu's Trifles response

I think it would be difficult to do this production with minimal settings, props and dress because it would take away from the feeling of the “farm-house” look.  Since there is no “dishes in the sink” and “broken jelly jar” for the County Attorney to find, it would be hard to convey that idea.  The kitchen and the house that are supposed to be in disarray would be difficult to convey with only minimal set dressing.  When Mrs. Hale shows the unfinished quilt and says, “It’s a log cabin pattern,” it would be difficult for the audience to picture that if they had never seen a “log pattern” on a quilt.  With the set being devoid of color would take away from the idea that there was a murder.

On the other hand, if this was done as stripped down production, it may work if the actors exaggerated their lines to convey a “country” accents, this might help the audience envision a farm-house setting.  They may even play is as though it happened in the future with less set dressing.  The actors would have to use their body language and facial movements to show the emotion.  For example, when Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are looking at the bird, they would have to exaggerate their fear of what the bird really represents.  Did Mrs. Wright really kill her husband over the dead bird?  Their shock and fear would have to be portrayed by their body and facial reactions.  I think it could work if they added one color, namely the color red; it would bring home the idea that this is a murder case.  Maybe the bird could be red which could possibly lead the audience to possible answer of what happened.   It would still be a striped – down set but, would become very powerful.

Sue's Overtones response

I think that Harriet and Hetty "hear or acknowledged each other when Harriet puts the scarf on Hetty just before Margaret/Maggie comes in the room.  Of course, this is shown in the action and not necessarily in the script when they are speaking directly to each other.  Even when they are speaking to each other, they are not really looking at each other.  Again, this is not reflected in the script, just in the stage directions. It is though Harriet is really speaking to herself and Hetty is just the "name" of her other self, thus the "inner voice." This also holds true for Margaret and Maggie. Hetty seems to be the voice of Harriet's "evil" self or maybe just the voice of her true self which reflects her real feelings.

In the world of Harriet and Margaret, there is a great deal of control  issues.  Harriet and Margaret both wish to put on a air of haughtiness.  They must have complete control, while at the same time, in the world of Hetty and Maggie, they are striving for control of Harriet's and Margaret's world.  When Hetty is screaming to Harriet about telling Margaret  about the automobile, she is trying to break into the world of Harriet.  At the same time,  Maggie tries to grab at the cakes but is unable to break through to Margaret's world to get the cake.  I find it interesting that in  Hetty and Maggie's world, they can talk to each other even though their thoughts and words are unheard by Harriet and Margaret in their world.  For example, when they said that they hate each other, and at the end when  Hetty says, "I love him - I love him," in which Maggie replys, "He's starving - I'm starving."  After their conversation, the lights go down, removing Hetty and Maggie's world and leaving only the world of Harriet and Margaret's.