Day-2

'Unmemorable', written by Craig Lucas is a crude short drama that revolves around Enoch reviewing a play in which Roz, Theo, Earl and Lois all have parts. I will not lie, I had a difficult time understanding this particular dram. I gave it five full readings, but I am still not completely sure what is happening.  But, I do have some speculations. I think that Earl and Lois are cast in a play, and Enoch reviews the play. Theo comes into the bathroom and reads the review to Roz. This is where I get lost, I do not understand the relationship between the characters.  Obviously Earl and Theo know each other, and Enoch’s review is a driving point behind the storyline. I think Enoch left the performance before intermission because the play was so disappointing. The one thing that really caught is a couple of times the characters ask the question why. Why do we give them so much power? I thought of two antecedents of the word ‘they.’ I think the actors might ask themselves why they give the critics so much power. The critics get to decide and tell the public what they think is good writing. ‘They’ might also refer to playwrights. The playwright is said to have left his wife for a man, and is a generally frustrated person. The actors might be frustrated that they are the ones in public who are getting scrutinized even if their parts are executed perfectly. If the writing is poorly done, then the performance will not be enjoyable.  However, I think ‘they’ refers to the former. Enoch even goes as far as to make absolute judgments about people’s physical characteristics. Enoch comments on the appearance of Lois’s breasts. He says they are asymmetrical, but Earl thinks they are beautiful.  I think the main focus of this short drama is bringing attention that judgments from anyone are not absolute, only opinions.

Day 1 reading

Pilgrims, written by Julie Orringer, tells the story of a little girl named Ella and her brother, Benjamin, going to a stranger’s house for Thanksgiving. Ella and Benjamin’s mom has cancer and it can be assumed they are at the stranger’s house because the stranger’s have had to deal with a terminal family member. In reading the story,  after I got over the fact that streetcars do not run during Mardi Gras, I really connected with the sense of frustration Ella and Benjamin were experiencing.  The children are in a strange place, during a time that should be spent with family. I have had nightmares where I have to say something is wrong, but for some reason, I am never able to form words. Reading the story really brought me back to those dreams.

Ella’s tooth really caught my attention. It not only began and ended the story, I think the meaning of the story revolves around the tooth. Her loose tooth is a baby tooth. Innocence is connected with small children. When Ella is pushed from the tree house, a part of her innocence is leaving her.  However, when Claire falls from the tree, Ella’s innocence is completely gone.  I think Ella putting the tooth in Claire’s dead hand is significant. Her a part of her childhood died when she sees Claire die.  I also find it interesting that Ella’s tooth was not completely ready to come loose. It took a real jolt for it to get forced out.  Blood and pain came out with the tooth. Ella also immediately begins to look for her tooth when it comes out. She clearly is not ready to let go of her innocence and she yearns to have it back.