Love+Child

Pros:
 * The character Bob - his soliloquies about loving the interstate and his Russian accent when talking about American subjects were both humorous; both the acting quality and the actual role were good
 * The comedy overall
 * Dialogue and jokes in the first act were humorous
 * The play was rather complicated; would have been hard to read the script, but seeing the actual production clarified
 * The interpretation of the script
 * The actors did a great job with their characters and conveying emotions
 * Tulsa was very fast and witty and her life related very well to real life
 * The cloud characters were pretty funny and interesting (although they didn't fit in very well)

Cons:
 * The actress for Tulsa did a good job, but her actual character was annoying and pitiful - very weak character; not very like-able; her character drags down the play and just waits for someone else to come along to pull her up
 * The storyline seemed to die without an adequate conclusion
 * None of the story seemed to tie up and find resolution
 * "Good production of a very bad play" - the actual play was written very poorly; it was entertaining but pretty empty
 * Doesn't come across as either serious or humorous; the comedy in the first act can't really continue into the second act
 * The script was empty and many things didn't make much sense
 * Too much stuff going on to really follow what was going on
 * When splitting the stage into 2 parts and focusing on one part, the actions in the half that is not the center of focus were distracting
 * The actor playing Ed was awkward and his actions seemed forced
 * Same complaint about the character of Woody; the scene when he has died was awkward and strange
 * Seemed like playwright was trying to be artistic, but failed
 * Blurbs on the mirrors gave some of the play away, were hard to read, and were confusing

Why did the playwright choose this time period to write about?
 * Perhaps he lived through it
 * The time period can be humorous
 * Would not be the same if set, for example, about the War in Iraq

Discussion: The mother is like Tulsa's conscience and thoughts The whole point of the play is to deliver the urn; action doesn't get going in the play until the request to deliver the urn is made Dramatic question: Will Tulsa be able to distribute the ashes of her mother at the place she has designated this to happen? Will Tulsa find some reconciliation and peace as a result of this action? The director has described the play as a "road trip"; makes this play similar to the Odyssey in that the play follows a journey Harry Potter, Star Trek, and western movies are all also journey stories Tulsa maintains the same costume as compared to Ed who changed his clothes as his character changed and wanted a more serious role; shows that Tulsa doesn't change very much Scenery shows Tulsa's mixed-up thoughts with upside down signs and unrealistic objects Commune leader/Pike character was devilish Not very sure who the cloud characters are supposed to be

Set Design: Didn't take away from the story; if they had tried to make it realistic, it would have taken away from the play and made it more complicated Cloud background lightened up the space Mixed up design made the play cartoon-ish; was better because a realistic design would not have worked The set never actually took you anywhere A map would have helped show where the characters were and clarified the location Tulsa is a target in this play (like New York is a target for prospective actors); is a strange target to have The fact that the set wasn't quite real paralleled the fact that the play wasn't quite real This play is written like a film; cartoon-like quality Big Telephone = cartoon idea; was misplaced within this work and the idea didn't get carried out. The set designer had some purpose in mind, but it wasn't conveyed to the audience Vietnam War and Woody's death scene were not cartoon-like; were very real-life Lighting helped during the split scenes to clarify what was going on Lighting was just functional; didn't do anything crazy until scene when commune leader died (slow strobe light)