Everyman

Everyman was an interesting read for me. I am slightly familiar with traditions of the Catholic church, but not extensively, still I could relate many of the lessons in this play with lessons and sermons from my own religious teachings.

For me, this play was much like a sermon from God intended to remind his people that there are many worldly things that may distract us along our journey of life, but we must always remember his love, grace and mercy. It is a play that definitely would have made its audiences reflect on their lives and possibly call them to change their ways and live a better quality spiritual life.

The play includes the theme that final judgement cannot be escaped by any man and if one does not live every day as if it is one's last day then that person probably will not be ready when judgement day comes. Material possessions are not as important as they may seem and good deeds should never be underestimated.

I would've loved to work on costumes for this production. I think that everything would be very big and overdone and it would be fun to be able to be creative in that way. In high school I performed in Oedipus and we did the play with masks and everything was very overdone (including the set, lights, costumes and acting) because it is Greek and the Greeks were always outrageous and flamboyant.

Lysistrata-Analysis

I chose the scene between Magistrate and Lysistrata to analyze because in the video, this scene was made much more clear to me than in the text. I did not realize that the women dressed the Magistrate in woman's clothing. This is quite humorous. All of the things that Lysistrata says in this scene upsets the Magistrate so much and his lack of power in this situation (his own men refuse to arrest Lysistrata and the other women) make him increasingly angered.

In this version of the play (not VHS), Lysistrata touches and teases the Magistrate and he is very much distracted and enticed by her and the other women but seriously offended and angered at them just the same. The women find his reaction hilarious and after he departs they all burst into teasing laughs toward him.

Much of the comedy in this play comes from subtle jokes the women make toward the men and sometimes it is hard to catch that humor in the text of the play. Watching the video makes the scene come alive and it helps to see different interpretations of the text manifested through the performance.

Lysistrata

I enjoyed this play because it demonstrates women's ability to outsmart men and it is proof that women may never be underestimated. In a world where women are constantly put down, it is interesting to see a twist in the plot. The irony in the play is that although these women end up getting what they want and outsmarting their men, they do so by exploiting themselves as mere sex objects.

Lysistrata encourages the women to tease and taunt their husbands without actually having sex with them. In this she believes the men won't be able to resist their wives, thus they will agree to do whatever it is the women demand of them. Lysistrata makes sexual comments on the woman's bodies in such a way that suggests she is only concerned with using their sexual potential to gain peace and end the war.

In a way these women begin to look at themselves as men do and I think Lysistrata personifies a man in this play. She resists all sexual urges completely and dedicates herself to encouraging the women to remain committed to their oath. I took a lesson from this play that perhaps it is not so bad to exploit oneself for a cause that one feels deeply about. Before reading this play I may have strongly gone against this type of action: using "what you've got to get what you want."

The Open Door

My first reaction to The Open Door is that I love the way this play is written. It is not modern at all, rather quite eloquent and Sir Geoffrey and Lady Torminster are very prim and proper toward each other from the beginning of the play.

The Open Door is a story of a woman and a man (Lady Torminster and Sir Geoffrey) who love each other, but cannot be together because the woman is married to the man’s best friend. Instead of being unfaithful to her husband, Lady Torminster holds back her love for Sir Geoffrey and rejects any inappropriate actions from him until this one particular night when she realizes this may be her last chance to confess her love to her husband’s best friend.

When Lady Torminster tells Sir Geoffrey that she feels the same way about him that he does for her, things become hilariously funny because all of a sudden Sir Geoffrey begins to feel guilty and wrong for his feelings toward Lady Torminster and he regrets asking her to sit and talk with him. Lady Torminster assures Sir Geoffrey that she knew the way he felt for her all along and she appreciates him for loving her husband such that he never tried anything with her. 

The story is happy and sad all at once because on the one hand it’s good to know that both Lady Torminster and Sir Geoffrey were upright enough not to have an affair, but it’s sad to think that they cannot be together because when they met it was already too late. I enjoyed reading this play for both reasons.