The Ten Minuters

For the most part, I really liked all of these short plays. Its interesting to see that you can establish a short one act like that, that tells you so much about the characters. Each of the plays told so much back story and had a discussion about something that was in the present. I think that these types of plays are going to be much easier to write than coming up with the plot for a whole play. However, i think a challenge of writing these plays might be making sure that all of your lines have a purpose. There is so little space to establish your back story and the plot and any humor or emotion that the writer wants portrayed into the play.

I really liked how powerful some of the emotions were through out these plays. I absolutely loved "The Man Who Couldn't Dance." When Eric goes to the crib and picks up Elizabeth, then begins to cry and tells Gail how he feels about her being married and such, was extremely heart wrenching. This was also a really interesting turning point in the plot. Up until this point the reader really doesn't know the relationship between Gail and Eric. We know that they have some history because they obviously know each other and know how to piss each other off. I liked the authors technique of telling us so much about their relationship, just in how they relate to each other and other small things they know about each other. But then the author drops the bomb of how they really know each other. I also liked that the author left it up in the open of what really happened between the two of them, why they broke up, and why they didn't end up together. The author creates an interesting dynamic of what is shown to us, what is told to us and what is left up to us to imagine in our heads.

Personally I did not really like "The Roads that Lead Here". I thought that the dialogue was repetitive and all of the exclamation points were really annoying. I liked that as a reader i really did not know what was going on or what their project was, but i thought all the guessing got repetitive and annoying. I think in a staged version of this play it would be very hard to keep that type of humor new throughout the run of the scene. I liked that you didn't know who the Eminent was for the majority of the play, but overall i thought this play was a little confusing and just not very funny. However, at the end i really liked the message that was portrayed with appreciating the natural America, no matter how much the human race screws it up. I did think the blowing up of the cars was pretty random. I think that when writing something like this, it will be hard to develop the characters enough in a short time to a point where they bring across what you want them to.

I thought "Bowl of Soup" was an interesting take on a ten minute play. Because the whole play is mostly a monologue, its interesting to see that the author was able to bring so much to both of the characters, just through one character talking. I also really liked the twist at the end of the play. I like that these plays touch on so little, but are comprehensive at the same time. I think this is what is going to be the biggest challenge when I write these on my own.

Fences

This play was tragic, but good at the same time. I really liked all of the contradictions within Troy's character. He is so self centered, but also gives everything he has (material-wise) to his family. I love the line from Rose, when she calls him out for talking about how he talks about giving and what he doesn't have to give, but that he takes too, and doesn't realize it. I thought that this was a very powerful moment in the play. I also love the contradiction within his character surrounding his son, Cory. He is so stuck in the fact that he thinks he is a good baseball player, but won't let his son pursue his dream of being a football player. I think that these are such interesting contradictions just due to the fact that it makes his character incredibly hypocritical.

There is something to be said about the fence through out the play. The fence represents the entrapment of the characters through out the play and the affect that Troy has on his family. After he tells Rose that he is going to have a child with another woman she tells him that "I been standing with you! i been right here with you, Troy. I got a life too. I gave eighteen years of my life to stand in the same spot with you. Dont you think i ever wanted other things?" (70). The fence not only represents the stagnant trapped lifestyle that these characters have, but it keeps them from being allowed to experience the world around them.

I think Gabe is one of the most interesting characters in this whole show. Troy talks about how he doesn't need anyone to keep him locked up, that he is not hurting anyone with his crazy antics. However, this is another extremely hypocritical aspect of Troy. He disagrees with his sons and his wife pursuing their ambitions, but because Gabe cannot accomplish anything of great matter, he is not affected by the fence. Also that all of Troy's money has come from Gabe is also interesting. This shows that Troy is a complete vacuum to everyone around him. His character is completely dependent on the actions of others to survive, but also completely independent from them in his values and morals. I think that it is also the innocence and good nature of the other characters that makes him stick out like a sore thumb.

I also really liked the dialogue and the dialect of the play. It definitely fit the setting of the play, and i was able to see the characters and hear them in my head right away. I think that this is an extremely important aspect for developing characters, because if the character doesn't has a place in the world of the play that makes sense and keeps the audience in a sense of realism within the world of the play, no matter how quirky or interesting the character is, it may not work.