Chapter Five: Exercises
Chapter Five: Exercises
Item #1
Our society is riddled with rituals, many of which are not readily recognized. Most of what we think of as manners are exchanges based upon ritualistic formulas. Good morning, have a nice day, thank you/youre welcome small rituals performed on autopilot allow us to function smoothly, without much actual thought, in society. Larger rituals are conscious weddings, funerals, graduations, bar mitzvahs, communion services, retirement celebrations, beauty contests; all conscious performances, but all follow ritualistic rules. So much so that when someone goes through one of the rites of passage in a different way, it is striking to us. Any of these modern rituals might offer possibilities for dramatic treatment. For example, in Picnic, the Labor Day picnic is itself a metaphor for an ending of summer ritual and the ending of dreams.
Item #2
I think the author offers a pretty thorough discussion of theatrical limitations in this chapter, and most others I can think of are really subtexts under the rubric he has already provided. I think one area he didnt touch upon very deeply would be that of self-limitation by playwrites. By that I mean the concern (or perhaps even timidity) of an author to espouse unpopular causes, or to risk the ire of family or friends by delving into family secrets. Many of the very best plays ever written do exactly that, but one wonders at what cost to their authors?
Item #1
Our society is riddled with rituals, many of which are not readily recognized. Most of what we think of as manners are exchanges based upon ritualistic formulas. Good morning, have a nice day, thank you/youre welcome small rituals performed on autopilot allow us to function smoothly, without much actual thought, in society. Larger rituals are conscious weddings, funerals, graduations, bar mitzvahs, communion services, retirement celebrations, beauty contests; all conscious performances, but all follow ritualistic rules. So much so that when someone goes through one of the rites of passage in a different way, it is striking to us. Any of these modern rituals might offer possibilities for dramatic treatment. For example, in Picnic, the Labor Day picnic is itself a metaphor for an ending of summer ritual and the ending of dreams.
Item #2
I think the author offers a pretty thorough discussion of theatrical limitations in this chapter, and most others I can think of are really subtexts under the rubric he has already provided. I think one area he didnt touch upon very deeply would be that of self-limitation by playwrites. By that I mean the concern (or perhaps even timidity) of an author to espouse unpopular causes, or to risk the ire of family or friends by delving into family secrets. Many of the very best plays ever written do exactly that, but one wonders at what cost to their authors?
posted by taotianone at 7:24 AM
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