Hay Fever: Response

Hay Fever was a comical play with a strong message. The actors throughout this play steadily used others to gain their own attention. The message this play left behind after many laughs was do not use others, plain and simple.

The space was a well-constructed thrust stage however, the stage was not raised off the ground and the seats appeared to be mobile which lead to the belief that this is an Environmental Theater. As for the layout of the stage, there was a couch and a table in center stage for the first two acts, a door to the unseen outside front of the house upstage right, there were two large double doors upstage center leading to the backyard garden, and a raised floor upstage left containing a piano, a bookcase and a door leading to the home library. Stage left there was a half spiral staircase that lead up to the second floor which had a painting and lights that extended across to stage right. The second floor also contained the bedrooms for the house but the doors were not in sight. The detail was greater than expected: the hardwood floor throughout the first floor seemed to be genuine, the actual bookcase filled with real books not stage books, and the extremely large double doors with translucent glass and floral designs lead to the Garden, which featured an array of plants behind the doors. The entire space was well lit for the duration of the play; the stage took place inside the Bliss’ home so the bright lighting added a confortable feel to the inside of the house. The theatre was nearly sold out; it was hard to spot an empty seat, including the balcony and lower level seating. The crowd contained nearly an even amount of student audience members and senior citizens; there was few in the audience that appeared middle aged.

The play was well cast, the entire Bliss family did a great job showing how overly dramatic and deceitful the family had become. Each actor portrayed their character accurately; there were no standouts that didn’t match the character. Each visitor in the first act seemed to be feasible as far as the possibility of a relationship was concerned. All of the family members acted genuine. There was one actor who stood out as a perfect fit for his character. Taylor Rascher played Simon Bliss and played him perfectly. Rascher’s character Simon was a young man who was dramatic and romantic so much so it was almost to the point of ridiculousness. Rascher stole the show in the first act when he was romancing with Michelle Luz, who plays Myra Arundel. Rascher was displaying his love for Michelle Luz (Myra) in the most dramatic of fashions; he was playing the Bliss’ game of pretending to be in complete love with someone and then a moment later change his mind. Rascher was proclaiming his love with elegant speeches and coddling up next to her and eventually kissing her. Rascher made this scene particularly hilarious because he was completely over the top in typical Bliss fashion. Of course, all of this was for naught because Luz ended up kissing Joe Hubbard’s character David Bliss in act two and also Rascher proclaimed his engagement to Caitlin Stagemoller’s character, Jackie Coryton. Rascher made his voice more shrill and audible to appear to be more dramatic and create more attention for himself. In the same way, Rascher used grander gestures with his arms (flailing, waving, etc.) to cause a more dramatic effect.

The play was well interpreted by all whom were involved. Steven Wrentmore, the Director, kept the 1920’s feel by dressing in all 1920’s costumes and everyone spoke as if they were living at the time. Michelle Bisbee, the scene designer, made the inside of the home appear 1920’s because everything was grand. The Bliss’ home was grand with the spiral staircase, the very large backdoors, and the eloquent piano. The actors’ mannerisms seemed like they were portraying a silent film. In older movies, actors seemed very dramatic and had flamboyant actions to prove so; the actors in Hay Fever shared the same feel for the dramatics. As far as Stephen Wrentmore’s directing goes, he did an excellent job. The scene when Chris Karl (Richard) and Caitlin Stegemoller (Jackie) enter and are left alone to make small talk with each other is the best pertaining to directing. The two actors used the entire stage in this scene and were very awkward with one another. This was Wrentmore’s doing because you could tell he had a vision for this scene in particular because it seemed very crisp and well rehearsed. The actors played it perfect with the excessively long pauses in their awkward small talk that the crowd was laughing through the entire scene. It appeared that Wrentmore instructed the actors, to keep their pauses longer than natural to heighten the awkward tension in the scene, which made it brilliant.

The blocking throughout the play worked with the floor plan very well. All of the blocking worked seamlessly; the actors were never out of sight or in awkward positioning (ex. turned around, talking to someone behind them while face forward, etc.) even during the second act in the first scene while all eight actors were on set. One part of the set that stood out was the staircase, it is obviously very large, but the way Owen Virgin followed Megan Davis up the stairs was seamless. They both walked up the stairs with footsteps I unison, and Owen Virgin was so focused on every detail of Davis, it almost screamed out how much he was infatuated with her.

The artistic intent of this production was to entertain, and it fulfilled that intent completely. The entire audience was laughing during most of the production, I was even laughing out loud, which doesn’t happen very often. Every interaction between the characters was comical at one point during the production. An example of this playing out would be in the second act when Rascher busts through the door and proclaims his engagement. The only purpose of this is to entertain and entertain it did. The actors seemed natural moving along with their blocking and engaging with each other on stage. There was no point at which it was confusing why someone moved here or there, every movement made sense.

The overall mood that was portrayed by the combination of lighting, sound, set, and costumes was very light and cheerful; at no point did the mood drop to something darker or saddening. This is common with many comedies because it becomes hard to laugh if the overall mood is down and dreary. The theatre space was very personal. First of all, it takes place in someone’s home so it is immediately personal. Also, the stage was built into the crowd just about so the audience felt like they were living the action out as it unfolded. The scenic design showed the audience without a doubt it was the 1920’s, with the barometer on the wall, the staircase, the piano, and the lights upstairs. However, there was little evidence to show what location the play took place.

All of the costumes were well designed for the appropriate characters. Adam Espinoza did a fine job of showing how these people were all upper class with nice dresses and suits and tuxes, even when they were home alone with only each other as company. Megan Davis’ costumes represented her personality very well by drawing all attention to her with bright colors and silk-like texture. As far as the lighting goes, there were no changes to the lighting during the play, except for at the end of each act. The lighting emphasized a bright and cheerful mood throughout the play.

This production was definitely representational because it doesn’t break the fourth wall into the audience. The actors never had any asides or soliloquies that were directed toward audience. The set and lighting were representational due to the realistic feel throughout the house, everything was relatable to the average person. The Bliss’ home looked like an ordinary home from the 1920’s.

The overall message seemed to be: do not mislead people or play games with their emotions, or they will leave you. This was most clear during act three when Luz, Karl, Stegemoller, and Virgin were all discussing how uncomfortable they all had felt the day before in the house and decided to leave as soon as possible. This was due to the way the Bliss’ had romantic engagements just to get attention for themselves and did not care about the feelings of the people they were hurting.

Analysis: Buried Child By Sam Shepard

Buried Child is a play by Sam Shepard first premiered in 1978 at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, California. Sam Shepard won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Drama because of this play. The play was performed on Broadway from April 30, 1996 through June 30, 1996 at Brooks Atkinson Theatre.

This play is fairly recent and takes cuts at American Culture, more specifically, the American Dream. Throughout the play, everyone is constantly reminiscing on how great they were and now they are all have fallen from their former glory. For instance, Tilden, the eldest son, used to be an All-American Halfback with a bright future and now he is in his forties and living with his parents with no family of his own. Audiences of today would be able to relate to this play and how people can show promise early in their life and one event can change it all for the worse. If anything the audience could relate to a family that is growing old and growing apart. There are many problems in this family that still plague families today, even as basic as infidelity. The plot structure of this play is Episodic. There is a clear linear story of events. The action of the play occurs in the first Act at lunchtime, in the spring due to the heavy rain. The second Act takes place on the same day as the first at dinnertime, and the third Act takes place the following morning. The entire play takes place inside the family’s house in Illinois. The climate within the play is against the American stereotypes of having everything your heart desires and live happily ever after. It has a dark aspect which suggests all families have secrets and no one is truly happy.

If I were to produce this play myself, there would be one simple setting, the house. Within the house is a staircase leading up out of sight, a couch and TV and a kitchen on the other side of the stairs. The needs for costumes are fairly straightforward, everyone in the play wears one costume the entire play except the mother who changes from Act 2 to Act 3. The lighting for the first 2 Acts is simply giving the illusion of rainy, dark, dreary day, and for the final Act it is a bright morning, signaling a new beginning. The sound is an important aspect of this play, the first two Acts are very sad and hopeless with the sounds of constant raining, the final Act begins with the chirping of birds singing their morning songs to brighten up the mood of the play.

If I had to choose one character I would personally play it would be Tilden. Tilden is the lost son of the family who has come back home after getting into “trouble” in New Mexico. They never say exactly what trouble he gets into, just that he goes to jail and has to return home. He states that he felt like a foreigner and he was alone during his time in New Mexico. I choose Tilden because he is very troubled by the loss of his child, and he never recovers. This character would be a challenge for anyone to portray due to his severe emotional issues. If was to act, I would choose a character who would be the biggest challenge, and Tilden is that character.

All Tilden wants in this play is to have his old life back, everything used to be perfect for him. He was a bright, attractive, football player that had his own son who he adored. He would walk around all day with it in his hands singing to it and telling it stories. There was a slight problem; the baby was born out of wedlock. Not only out of wedlock, but Tilden conceived the child with his own mother, Haile. Tilden’s father who was still married to Haile, drowned the baby and buried it’s body in the fields in the back, never to be found without Tilden’s knowlege. The family made a pact to never talk about the incident ever again. Tilden never was the same after that, he would wander around in the fields in which he used to sing to his child. He was empty, always staring off into the distance and never had much to say. He just wanted his old life back and he didn’t know what to do to get it back, so he did nothing. Tilden’s objective is to be happy. He has no purpose in life, no friends, no son, and a family that disrespects him. He has no idea how he can be happy without his son so instead, he stares into nothing.

If he is to ever become happy or normal again he will need to start by leaving his family and becoming independent. He is treated like a child by his mother, despite being over 40 years of age. His father gives him useless tasks to do such as fetch him water because he is old and can barely stand. His brother treats him like an idiot and relishes in the fact that Tilden has long faded from his golden boy past so he can get some respect from his family. His family constantly holds him back and he never has a chance to grow and become his own man. He is living in the past and he needs to let that dark past go. There is one problem; he never wants to leave his baby boy who is buried in the field behind their house. He can never leave until he finds his boy who was taken from him.

Tilden acts like a Golden Retriever. If you look into his eyes they seem lifeless and there is not much going on. He obeys the orders of his father to fetch him this and that. He is coddled by his mother and treated like he is still a puppy, never allowed outside to wander. He is abused by his brother and Tilden despises him. Yet he stays around the house just for the opportunity to run away and search for his beloved bone that someone stole and buried a long time ago. The Retriever is very loyal and will not wrong you but if you treat him wrong, you will lose him forever.

The above picture is taken in the Mojave's airplane graveyard. It shows planes that at the time when they were built, were the top of their class, the best technology had to offer. Now they just sit there neglected and waiting to die, long forgotten by the people who once loved them. This is a very good representation of Tilden. Tilden was once an All American Football player with a bright future, no telling how high he would fly. Stories were written in the newspaper of how great he was going to become. Now he is back in his mother’s house with his family all rotting away next to him.

Tilden is an athletically built man who is in his forties, with a terrible haircut from his brother, and looks like the typical farm boy. He was known as a very intelligent man growing up, the smartest of his brothers. He hasn’t been that way recently, he has been quiet, keeps to himself, and obeys orders. This is a man who conceived a child with his own mother only to have it killed by his father and hidden from him so he is troubled to say the least. In the play Shepard states, “Something about his is profoundly burned-out and displaced.” (18) He acts like a child. Wanders in the back field all day pretending he has no responsibilities, such as taking care of his father and getting a job of his own. He cannot support himself, he tried when he lived in New Mexico, but failed and is currently living with his parents. He is in a deep dark depression that he may never recover from.

This character would present anyone who would try to play him with a great deal of challenges. The most difficult of all would be to represent all of his aforementioned emotional and psychological problems accurately and to a point where the audience would have apathy for you. Throughout most of the play he is very short with his responses and he stares off appearing to be thinking nothing. But he has multiple points where he expresses deep emotion. Such as when his mother threatens to kick him out of the house again and all of the sudden he goes from a long stare to a slow soft sob. Also, when Bradley chases him out of the house he freaks out and starts crying and runs out of the house not to be seen until the end of the play. These emotional spikes would be hard to create because there is no emotional build up, he goes from zero to crying in no time, that takes extreme emotional discipline from the actor.

There is some research needed by the actor to understand this character. He seems simple but he is actually very complicated. The actor would need to observe a football star in the late 1970’s and see how that person would carry themself. Also, the actor would need to go to Illinois and try to recreate an accent or movement by a farmer. Research would be needed to see what a man acts like if he were to tragically lose his only son. Lastly, they would have to try to act like a former All American mixed with a man who has no hope for his future.

I noted every single detail throughout this play I could think of to help me understand what the playwright was trying to convey to his audience. It helped me have a greater respect of the theatrical process that goes into every single play. I noticed little things like how lighting and sound have a huge effect on the setting and mood of the play. I would not have notice these things if I wasn’t instructed to watch carefully for these details as I studied the play.

Book in Review: Crossing the Rubicon By: Michael Ruppert

Crossing the Rubicon

By: Michael Ruppert

In Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at he End of the Age of Oil, there are three main points where Mr. Ruppert tries to blame the entire tradjety of September 11, 2001, better known as 9/11, on the acting Vice President at the time, Dick Cheney. At first glance this seems to be a bold if not insane accusation against the Vice President of the United States of America, but Ruppert does make a few points that will make you think.

The first point of Ruppert is Dick Cheney had the Ability to pull off this plan if he wanted to. According to Ruppert, Cheney was acting as Commander in Chief on 9/11 due to the terrible threat on the United States. This means he was in control and was calling the shots. Ruppert also has reason to believe that Cheney was leading a “completely separate chain of Command & Control via the Secret Service, assuring the paralysis of Air Force response on 9/11. The Secret Service has the technology to see the same radar screens the FAA sees in real time.” (Kane) Ruppert claims that President Bush was kept out of a leadership position on purpose by the Secret Service men around him as he was reading to school children the morning of 9/11. He also claims that the Secret Service, acting through Cheney, had control over the FAA, Airforce (including the Fighter Jets), and President Bush. One question I would ask Ruppert is “Why?”

Why would Cheney and the Secret Service go through all of this trouble to attack his own country? The answer, according to Ruppert, is simply Oil. Cheney’s plan was to start a never-ending war to take control of the Middle Eastern oil and use it for American purposes. Ruppert claims that there was a peak in the oil reserves around the world from 2000-2007. After 2007, oil will become more rare and extremely more expensive. "By way of confirmation, people in and close to the oil industry are reporting that increased drilling is not resulting as yet in significantly increased supply." (Ruppert) Upon hearing of this news, Cheney had to go into action. He just needed the right time to plan his so called “Attack”.

According to Ruppert, the “right time” was any time that Cheney chose because as of May 8, 2001, Dick Cheney was put into control of all training exercises of all branches of military and government. This means he could set up “fake” hijackings by calling them training situations just in case anyone would ever want to hijack airplanes and fly them into buildings. Cheney did call for these training simulations, except he did it on the morning of 9/11. Also, Cheney called for another training simulation that send all the fighters from D.C. into Canada and Alaska to train just incase an attack came from Russia. This meant that the Air Force could not do anything to prevent the hijacked airplanes from crashing into anything they pleased. Also, the Secret Service had control over the FAA flight path screens and put fake hijacked airplanes in the air to confuse air traffic control. At one point the FAA thought there was 11 hijacked airplanes.

All of this was put into motion by Dick Cheney and people taking orders from Cheney. He is guilty for singlehandedly putting this plan into motion and being successful. The scary part if these accusations by Ruppert are true, is that Bush and Cheney were re-elected the following term.

Works Cited

1. Ruppert, Michael, Crossing the Rubicon: The Decline of the American Empire at he End of the Age of Oil, Gabriola Island, B.C., Canada, New Society Publishers, 2004
2. Kane, Michael. "Crossing the Rubicon Simplifying the case against Dick Cheney." From the Wilderness. (2004): n. page. Web. 3 Oct. 2011. .

SB 1070: Addition to the Problem

: Addition to the Problem
American’s were outraged about the new Senate Bill 1070 and how it was going to lead to racial profiling in Arizona. Some supported some opposed, for the most part of the citizens of Arizona, roughly 70%, supported the law. Most say the main difference with the law is law enforcement is now required to ask for documentation of legal United States Citizenship. According to President Obama’s website, there is not much change with the enactment of this bill. There were already laws in place that law enforcement could check for the documentation of legal residency during a normal encounter (ex. traffic stop) and there was a law that has been in effect since 1940 making it a misdemeanor if a person is not carrying the correct documentation. (Jones, 2010) This law is great and all, for nationalism and protecting the borders and all that “Yay America!!” stuff, but what happens when it affects legal Mexican Americans in everyday life? Are they not allowed some of the same freedoms as other Americans because they happen to be of Mexican or foreign descent? I interviewed 3 legal Mexican Americans about this subject and asked if it added to the already prevalent issue of active racism in Arizona, and even around the campus of the University of Arizona. After interviewing my fellow Americans, I arrived at a conclusion; I believe that the enactment of Arizona’s Senate Bill 1070 has increased the active racism toward Mexican Americans.

Every person I had interviewed had said they noticed a dramatic increase in the active racism towards them and people around them. I was surprised to see such an agreement with the people I interviewed because I have not realized any racism at all. Then again, that might just prove the fact that there is an increase, I just have not noticed it because I benefit from it. I never am asked for papers, yelled at to speak English, or looked down upon for being white. So I would not notice a difference unless it was staring me in the face.

Let’s begin with the first interview I conducted. One of my friends named Hector (a pseudonym); Hector is a sophomore at the University of Arizona and I have known him for about a month and we became good friends since. When asked if I could interview him on this subject, he was excited to share his thoughts and experiences on the topic. Hector is, of course, a legal resident of the United States; he was born and raised in the State of Arizona so he is a good subject for this topic. Hector’s experiences are vital because he resided in Arizona long before anyone spoke of Senate Bill 1070.

Before I could even utter the first question Hector calmly states “You wanna know about the increase in [active] racism after the 1070 bill? I have a story that may interest you.” I quickly interrupt him and explain the difference between active and active racism before he could even start. I wanted to see his understanding of active and active racism throughout this story. He claims he already knew the difference and gives me a few examples and I agree that he did indeed previously understand the differences. One note before he starts, Hector is known to add some “color” to his stories so some facts may be exaggerated, but the main points are still valid. Hector finally begins, and I paraphrase (removing most of the expletives):

“I was driving to work one day after chilling with my girlfriend for a couple hours and she was in my car with me and we were already running late. You know how that goes [wink]. Anyway, I may have been speeding slightly but I didn’t want to be late, and I still had to drop Selena [the girlfriend, and a pseudonym] off at her house. Then I pass a cop driving the opposite direction, and he gives one look at me, and whips the car around and pulls me over. As he comes to my window, he was being a big douche bag [ex. he was being very short and stern with Hector]. He asks for all of my shit [documents] and is very specific to ask for my citizenship papers. After ignoring my apology for speeding because I was running late for work, he goes into his car and I guess he was checking my documents. I swear he was in his car for like 30 minutes then he comes out and explains he is giving me a ticket and I need to leave for work earlier and have better time management, needless to say, I didn’t make it to work on time.”

I sat and thought of the significance of this story, it was sad to see how in America, the land of the free, there was this law that strictly was aimed at Mexican Americans. I get that there is a problem, but to single out one race to remove from this Nation is clearly unjust. The fact that seventy percent of Arizona’s residents agree with the law and think it is fair just shows the prevalence of institutionalized racism. Every day these citizens are looked at differently just by the color of their skin, and there are laws allowing that. In America, racism is so prevalent because white people are scared that Mexican Americans will take over the country and moreover, take over their supremacy of the nation. These laws are clearly aimed to preserve white power and hold back the advancement of the race. Every single one of the people I have interviewed are some of the hardest working people I have met. If you ask me, America could use more hard working people so we should be accepting them not turning them away. “Economic disparities show no signs of dissipating. The anti-immigrant backlash, which is in no small part an attack on all persons (immigrants and citizens) of Mexican ancestry in the United States…” (Johnson 428) This statement by Kevin Johnson shows how even to this day, whites are doing everything they can to make sure the economic disparities do not dissipate. Whites are using their power and money to enact laws and put down the Mexican race. This, if nothing else, just goes to show how active racism is increasing, whites want Mexicans out, and they are doing everything in their power to do so.

My second interview wasn’t nearly as exciting of a story. My friend Juan, who was born in Mexico, then legally moved up here with his family and then started attending U of A. Juan told me mostly about his childhood and education. He stated mostly how he took the one-year English class because all he knew was Spanish and he felt that it took away from his heritage that he was forced to learn our language or he would not survive. Then after this law has passed, he feels that not only are they removing his heritage, they are removing his people.

The way Juan felt as a child was a lot like the way Piri Thomas felt. They both didn’t understand was it wasn’t good to be whom they were when they were born. “what’s wrong with not being white? What’s so wrong with being tregeno?” (Thomas 68) Thomas did not understand the reason for this racism against him. He couldn’t understand that one race put all others down so much that it made him beat his brother until he was spitting blood back into his face. Juan was not so much angered but disappointed at the way this country was, taking away his culture and then trying to remove his people, just because they were not white. This new law in Arizona only adds to the problem of active racism. White America already thinks their way of life is not good enough to be taught in our schools, now white America has decided that simply they are not good enough to live in our country.

The final interview. Interviewing Tyler was a blast he was a very funny kid, he had me laughing the whole time, which made it very hard to take notes. He was a fourth generation Mexican American, and the first of his family to go to college. His parents taught him well that life is harder in America for a Mexican. Margaret E. Montoya states a similar experience: “Her lessons about combing, washing, and doing homework frequently relayed a different message: be prepared, because you will be judged by your skin color, your names, your accents. They will see you as ugly, lazy dumb and dirty.” (Montoya 436) Montoya’s experience is very closely related to that of Tyler’s childhood, his parents would try their very best to instill good qualities of hard work and determination into their child, because they knew he was going to need it. Tyler has done well for himself, he is an honors student and he has a 3.5 GPA, he works very hard to be the best he can be, but is still seen as inferior. Tyler’s job just became harder, after the passing of this bill, all of the Mexicans are presumed to be illegal until proven innocent. Thanks to this new law, upon first sight he is looked at as a nuisance, a criminal, and a foreigner. However, he is an excellent student, a volunteer who donates ten hours a week of his time at homeless shelters, and a resident, whose family has been on this land longer that John McCain has been alive. The fact that this racism still happens today, and is seemingly getting worse, just adds to what Montoya’s mother taught her “be prepared, because you will be judged” (Montoya 436)

These three people have many things in common with all Americans, including; they want to live their life, be successful, and be judged on their effort and accomplishments like everyone else. These are people just trying to live the American Dream, which is just made harder by this law that has been passed which just increases the active racism in this country. The 1070 law has done it’s job: making it harder for Mexican Americans to be successful and be equal to whites, through increasing active racism.