The Glass Closet Shatters
By Kelly Arnes
Thomas, played by Kelly Miller, after talking to his pastor and coming out to him attends on the pastor’s recommendation a behavior modification appointment. During the visit, the doctor tells him to hit a pillow with a racquet and yell at his parents. After weakly complying with the wishes of the doctor, he snaps under the stress and yells “This is ridiculous!”
Those three words sum up the plot of the hour long one act play, which featured a cast of five people. The play consisted of 15 characters and one narrator. The plot was not clearly developed as the staged reading unfolded. Of the 15 characters, nine of them had the same amount of stage time, which didn’t help the plot to develop.
The technique of writing a multiple character per actor play requires a skill or finesse for writing characters that are different enough so that the audience does not get confused as to which character the actor is portraying at any given time. The playwright, Ben Harpe, did not show that skill with his play The Glass Closet. Each actor played at least two characters, unfortunately, it was not clear which character was represented unless another character had said the name. Cooper Wilson plays both Pastor Eric, an outspoken adversary of homosexuality, and Kyle, a flamboyantly gay character on a sitcom. These characters appear to have completely different personalities, but from the first time Pastor Eric stepped on stage, he was vibrant and flashy, giving off a gay vibe while giving a sermon admonishing homosexuality. The other characters were similar as well; Gina and Candice, played by Sam Grobbel were stereotypical, present day, valley girls, and unless the narrator had mentioned that the play had moved to the set of the sitcom, it was unclear as to which character she was playing.
The narrator, John Deisinger, helped with scene location during the first part of the production, but after the first couple of scenes he was silent until he announced that the play had ended.
The script was full of gay jokes, and lines that a teenage girl, high on hormones, would say or scream, such as “OMG!” and then continuing to tell a friend about a date she had just set up. The meaning of the title was revealed about half way through the play in a conversation between Thomas and Ruth in which Ruth says “he’s in the glass closet” and then explains that the glass closet is “being in the closet but everyone can see you.” This was a helpful line, because the meaning of the title was unclear until this point.
The set was poorly constructed, with boxes set up as both chairs and loveseats. The director did a poor job of blocking; Thomas during his appointment had his back to the audience during the entire scene, causing the audience to be unable to read his facial expressions. Without the facial expressions, the mood is taken out of the scene. The overall feeling was reminiscent of the behavior modification appointment, “ridiculous.”
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Food Again
"The Chopping Block"
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/arts/television/11chop.html?_r=1&ref=arts
NBC's new show "The Chopping Block" premieres tonight, and after reading the preview for it I'm not sure I want to see it. I'm a fan of cooking shows, I like to watch Top Chef and other shows where they make food that I would probably never know how to make or even pronounce. But this preview had a compelling first couple of paragraphs and then fizzled out. It seemed to contradict what it had been talking about earlier in the article, with mentions of throwing dishes at sous chefs or screaming profanities. That's what I want, but the article goes on to say that the "foul mouthed" head chef is hardly on the show and never swears. Where is the entertainmet in that?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/11/arts/television/11chop.html?_r=1&ref=arts
NBC's new show "The Chopping Block" premieres tonight, and after reading the preview for it I'm not sure I want to see it. I'm a fan of cooking shows, I like to watch Top Chef and other shows where they make food that I would probably never know how to make or even pronounce. But this preview had a compelling first couple of paragraphs and then fizzled out. It seemed to contradict what it had been talking about earlier in the article, with mentions of throwing dishes at sous chefs or screaming profanities. That's what I want, but the article goes on to say that the "foul mouthed" head chef is hardly on the show and never swears. Where is the entertainmet in that?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Cultural Post relating to Final Project
http://www.vancouversun.com/Entertainment/Vancouver+woman+Bachelorette/1353263/story.html
I wrote my final piece about the television show The Bachelor. I focused on the lack of success that the show has in helping people find love. The 13th season of the show just ended on Monday night, Jason picked Melissa and then 6 weeks later broke up with her on tv and got together with Molly, the girl he dumped on the show for Melissa. Sounds screwed up right?
Well the entire show is screwed up, and that was the point behind my paper. What I really wanted to say was that the people who go on the show are absolutely mental for putting themselves through 8 weeks of competing for a man. The article that I have a link to, did not help me write my paper, but I thought that it related to what I wrote about. The article announces that the 5th season of The Bachelor's spin-off The Bachelorette had been picked. And guess what, it was one of the girls that had competed on this past season of the Bachelor. She was one of the final three women, and clearly had so much fun being hurt by Jason, she wants to have others experience that pain as well.
It reminds me of Jason, who was passed over on the last season of The Bachelorette. He talked about how hurt he was because he had fallen in love with her. I don't know statistically, but I think that if you get your heart broken, and then turn around and do it to not one, but two people that you suppossedly care about, that makes you mean. Why then does America label Jason as a "good guy"? I can't tell you, because I think that all the people who participate on this show ask for whatever they get, and statistically, that means being hurt and alone.
I wrote my final piece about the television show The Bachelor. I focused on the lack of success that the show has in helping people find love. The 13th season of the show just ended on Monday night, Jason picked Melissa and then 6 weeks later broke up with her on tv and got together with Molly, the girl he dumped on the show for Melissa. Sounds screwed up right?
Well the entire show is screwed up, and that was the point behind my paper. What I really wanted to say was that the people who go on the show are absolutely mental for putting themselves through 8 weeks of competing for a man. The article that I have a link to, did not help me write my paper, but I thought that it related to what I wrote about. The article announces that the 5th season of The Bachelor's spin-off The Bachelorette had been picked. And guess what, it was one of the girls that had competed on this past season of the Bachelor. She was one of the final three women, and clearly had so much fun being hurt by Jason, she wants to have others experience that pain as well.
It reminds me of Jason, who was passed over on the last season of The Bachelorette. He talked about how hurt he was because he had fallen in love with her. I don't know statistically, but I think that if you get your heart broken, and then turn around and do it to not one, but two people that you suppossedly care about, that makes you mean. Why then does America label Jason as a "good guy"? I can't tell you, because I think that all the people who participate on this show ask for whatever they get, and statistically, that means being hurt and alone.
Green TV
I'm Seeing Green...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/arts/television/02twen.html
According to this article in the NYT, FOX's television series 24 announced yesterday that they are going green. They are currently the first and knly show to be environmentally friendly.
Well, it depends on how you look at it, really.
The car crashes that occur on screen emit carbon dioxide, and the only way to stop that from happening would be to get rid of the crashes, but people don't want a show with no action. To make up for that little problem, the company bought wind-power plants in India, with the idea that as long as other things are making up for the emmission it will off set everything. All will be good right? Well as long as they call themselves "carbon neutral." It is a step in teh right direction at least.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/arts/television/02twen.html
According to this article in the NYT, FOX's television series 24 announced yesterday that they are going green. They are currently the first and knly show to be environmentally friendly.
Well, it depends on how you look at it, really.
The car crashes that occur on screen emit carbon dioxide, and the only way to stop that from happening would be to get rid of the crashes, but people don't want a show with no action. To make up for that little problem, the company bought wind-power plants in India, with the idea that as long as other things are making up for the emmission it will off set everything. All will be good right? Well as long as they call themselves "carbon neutral." It is a step in teh right direction at least.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Final Project
Cinderella Doesn’t Always Get a Happy Ending
By Kelly Arnes
Once upon a time there lived a man. He was a lonely man, a handsome man. All he wanted in life was to find a wife and live happily ever after. To make his dream come true, he called on his fairy godmother to produce 25 lovely women for him to choose his wife from. After eight weeks of dating all 25 women, he proposed to the one he had fallen in love with. He and his fiancé lived in bliss for the rest of their lives.
Fairy tales and make believe are what little girls grow up on. We sit in bed and wait for the next Disney story to be revealed to us, or for the really imaginative story teller, a completely original take on the love story. The great thing about fairy tales is that there is always a happy ending. Too bad reality doesn’t work the same way. It would be nice to have 25 men come knock on my door (I could use a little ego boost), but the reality comes all too quickly. Men and women don’t like to share, and when tempers and emotions run high, drama ensues. ABC’s “The Bachelor” plays on the fantasies of its audience as well as on their craving for drama.
In the craze of the reality television outbreak, ABC created the show in response to the success of CBS with their top ranking show Survivor. Created by Mike Fleiss, the show quickly became a success with young female viewers. Women love the show because it combines the fairy tale aspect with the drama and heart ache that they want to see but not experience.
The show is the worst way to find true love that anyone has come up with yet. If the purpose of the show was to provide entertainment for women who love to see other women crash and burn at their love lives, then this show would be perfect. That is not what the producers of the show indicate is the basis behind the show, the line they tell is a man trying to find true love.
Even if the saying “there’s someone for everyone” is true, what are the chances that that one person is one of the 25 questionably sane contestants on the show? The success rate of the men who go on the show is at 0%, meaning none of the men who have been “Bachelors” are currently married to women who have gone on the show. Out of 12 seasons, there were no happily ever after. So I guess that answers the previous question, there is a slim to none chance of my soul mate being one of the 25 men that knock on my door, because they want to have their 15 minutes of fame.
When the glitz and glamour are removed, finding true love isn’t as easy as the stories make it seem. The amount of happily married couples in the U.S. today is at about 50%, a down right depressing number. With this insight it’s not hard to see why shows like The Bachelor are alluring to women, it brings back the idea of fairy tales and riding off into the sunset.
The question arises after season one, why do people keep signing up to be on the show, and the answer is not clear. After the first season of The Bachelor, ABC created a spin off The Bachelorette. Season one of the spin off is the most successful of the two shows combined, the couple is “happily” married with a child, and they are the only couple that has been able to marry and stay together for longer than a year.
The drive to be on television and to find true love leads 25 women to compete for the attention of one guy. These women live together for up to eight weeks of their lives and form relationships with the other women in the house as well as trying to win the affection of the one and only man on the screen. This affection starts out as winning a date with him, either in the form of a group date or a one-on-one date. The affection intensifies as time goes on and the audience is allowed to peak into the more intimate kiss scenes.
The chronology of events meshes with the social norms of dating, what doesn’t add up is all of this happing with multiple women at the same time. On the current season of The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick, who was passed over in the last season of The Bachelorette, had kissed about half of the contestants on the show by the time week four rolls around. This open polygamy adds a twist to the already challenging task of maintaining relationships.
The drama that unfolds with the women living in close proximity to one another and the relationships that develop between them adds a new layer to the drama craving of the typical audience member. The people who watch the show become invested in the lives of the women in the house as well as the bachelor. Just google “The bachelor” and about 50 different blogs are available to look at. The audience voices their opinions about everything, from who should get the first rose to who should get the final rose.
The general public deals with stresses everyday, from traffic jams on the way to work, to getting a pink slip and no longer having a place to work. It is a natural counter measure from these nightmares to find an escape. The Bachelor and shows similar to it do not provide an escape; if anything it adds another stressor. The way that the show is set up, it falsely depicts the courtship of a man and a woman. The real world doesn’t work that way, and real dating doesn’t work like that either. We may grow up on fairy tales, but at some point we have to face reality. Continuing a show that not only gets the hopes up of the contestants on it, but gets the hopes of its audience is a disgrace.
By Kelly Arnes
Once upon a time there lived a man. He was a lonely man, a handsome man. All he wanted in life was to find a wife and live happily ever after. To make his dream come true, he called on his fairy godmother to produce 25 lovely women for him to choose his wife from. After eight weeks of dating all 25 women, he proposed to the one he had fallen in love with. He and his fiancé lived in bliss for the rest of their lives.
Fairy tales and make believe are what little girls grow up on. We sit in bed and wait for the next Disney story to be revealed to us, or for the really imaginative story teller, a completely original take on the love story. The great thing about fairy tales is that there is always a happy ending. Too bad reality doesn’t work the same way. It would be nice to have 25 men come knock on my door (I could use a little ego boost), but the reality comes all too quickly. Men and women don’t like to share, and when tempers and emotions run high, drama ensues. ABC’s “The Bachelor” plays on the fantasies of its audience as well as on their craving for drama.
In the craze of the reality television outbreak, ABC created the show in response to the success of CBS with their top ranking show Survivor. Created by Mike Fleiss, the show quickly became a success with young female viewers. Women love the show because it combines the fairy tale aspect with the drama and heart ache that they want to see but not experience.
The show is the worst way to find true love that anyone has come up with yet. If the purpose of the show was to provide entertainment for women who love to see other women crash and burn at their love lives, then this show would be perfect. That is not what the producers of the show indicate is the basis behind the show, the line they tell is a man trying to find true love.
Even if the saying “there’s someone for everyone” is true, what are the chances that that one person is one of the 25 questionably sane contestants on the show? The success rate of the men who go on the show is at 0%, meaning none of the men who have been “Bachelors” are currently married to women who have gone on the show. Out of 12 seasons, there were no happily ever after. So I guess that answers the previous question, there is a slim to none chance of my soul mate being one of the 25 men that knock on my door, because they want to have their 15 minutes of fame.
When the glitz and glamour are removed, finding true love isn’t as easy as the stories make it seem. The amount of happily married couples in the U.S. today is at about 50%, a down right depressing number. With this insight it’s not hard to see why shows like The Bachelor are alluring to women, it brings back the idea of fairy tales and riding off into the sunset.
The question arises after season one, why do people keep signing up to be on the show, and the answer is not clear. After the first season of The Bachelor, ABC created a spin off The Bachelorette. Season one of the spin off is the most successful of the two shows combined, the couple is “happily” married with a child, and they are the only couple that has been able to marry and stay together for longer than a year.
The drive to be on television and to find true love leads 25 women to compete for the attention of one guy. These women live together for up to eight weeks of their lives and form relationships with the other women in the house as well as trying to win the affection of the one and only man on the screen. This affection starts out as winning a date with him, either in the form of a group date or a one-on-one date. The affection intensifies as time goes on and the audience is allowed to peak into the more intimate kiss scenes.
The chronology of events meshes with the social norms of dating, what doesn’t add up is all of this happing with multiple women at the same time. On the current season of The Bachelor, Jason Mesnick, who was passed over in the last season of The Bachelorette, had kissed about half of the contestants on the show by the time week four rolls around. This open polygamy adds a twist to the already challenging task of maintaining relationships.
The drama that unfolds with the women living in close proximity to one another and the relationships that develop between them adds a new layer to the drama craving of the typical audience member. The people who watch the show become invested in the lives of the women in the house as well as the bachelor. Just google “The bachelor” and about 50 different blogs are available to look at. The audience voices their opinions about everything, from who should get the first rose to who should get the final rose.
The general public deals with stresses everyday, from traffic jams on the way to work, to getting a pink slip and no longer having a place to work. It is a natural counter measure from these nightmares to find an escape. The Bachelor and shows similar to it do not provide an escape; if anything it adds another stressor. The way that the show is set up, it falsely depicts the courtship of a man and a woman. The real world doesn’t work that way, and real dating doesn’t work like that either. We may grow up on fairy tales, but at some point we have to face reality. Continuing a show that not only gets the hopes up of the contestants on it, but gets the hopes of its audience is a disgrace.
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