My entire initial response can be found below, but
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Positives:
- Watching a documentary play out is exciting. This is an interesting positive because on the surface The Book Club Play can come across as the average story on stage watched by an audience. Zacarias, however, by placing the story of the world of a documentary, has created the intriguing aspect of the play-within-a-play kind of vibe. In very few contemporary plays are the characters aware they are being watched. The members of Ana’s book club, however, are hyper aware they are being watched. The added intrigue is they are helpless in their being watched. This makes for increased tension in those moments where they wish they were the only ones in the room.
If so, what can we learn about the comfort of strangers?
Jen suffers another moment when the camera becomes a powerful poison perceived to be plotted against her when she and Rob have their kiss. Kissing her best friend’s husband definitely classifies as something she does not want the world to know about and her panic is priceless. This is a much less planned, more spontaneous moment but it still places her in an extreme amount of fear. This moment also provides a very interesting acting choice as Jen is fully aware at some point Jen will know about the kiss. Is she more on edge throughout the remainder of the play? Or more carefree because at this point, what else could be worse?
2. A Black female character who is not a stereotype. Lily is a breath of fresh air as she does not fit the mold of the standard sassy urban friend. She is incredibly intelligent and driven which we see from her promotion to Ana’s current position. And she loves Twilight! With Lily, Zacarias has created, a character by which a great deal of examination and discovery can occur on many levels for different topics. Because Zacarias’ careful crafting of these topics begins the moment the play explicitly states Lily must be Black and all other characters can be anything except for Black. On the surface, it can appear Ana has specifically made Lily her token Black friend. A large part of me, at this point, believes that’s exactly what she did. But even if not seen from that perspective, it still says something about a white woman (if cast that way) inviting a younger black woman into her home and allowing her to be part of her self-prestigious group. From there it puts Ana under great scrutiny when she discovers her book club has not read any books written by any people of color and even more so when she assumed Lily would chose a book by one.
By no means is Lily perfect however, as she herself makes the egregious mistake of misidentifying/outing Will as being gay. Her reasons for assuming Will being gay are incredibly stereotypical and problematic as she makes assumptions from the way he speaks and dresses. Because this later leads to the moment Will realizes he is gay, it is curious to try and decipher the statement Zacarias is making by having a character live up to those stereotypes. I am looking forward to how both moments are handled as they take a comical approach to what is a very serious situation. All of this is created by Zacarias making Lily multidimensional.
3. Jen dealing with PTSD in our current climate. The Monica Lewinsky-Bill Clinton-esque affair Jen had with her former employer is an important issue that should not be glossed over. I think it is crucial to focus on the victim-blaming that Jen has been tortured with as “the mouse that brought down the house.” She is objectified and turned into a pest, a mere mistake made by a powerful man. At the same time, he can be forgiven while she, like Lewinsky, is rendered to simply a slightly significant footnote in history. I enjoyed seeing the other side, the more honest side, of that story and feel more enlightened for having done so. She then later receives blame from Ana for her kiss with Ron, “What is it with you and married men?” This brings light to the issue of women often being pitted against women over the affection of a man. I am a huge fan of Jen as a character because of everything she brings to the story of The Book Club Play as a representation for women who have been objectified and victimized by double-standards and societal misogyny. As a man, my view of this is incredibly limited and I am fully aware of my own contribution to the obstacles Jen and women face daily. I look forward to learning more about the issues women face and on a deeper level and in ways I am unaware of.
4. The examination of privacy and how it is affected by human emotion. I am greatly intrigued with the aspect of privacy and how people use it and the perception of it causes them to behave.The reactions of the characters to some of their private moments being revealed fascinate me. The moments when a character looks at the camera can be played in multiple ways. The most interesting ways to me are as if one’s privacy is being invaded, and the other being as if asking for forgiveness for revealing too much. If one’s privacy is being invaded, at which point does that occur when you have invited someone into your life? Ana has literally invited the world into her home, knowing and hoping to have the book club lead people to sharing intimate feelings about themselves.
The emotions spill out in a kind of arrogance from start of the play. Why would Ana and everyone else sign up to be put on display but still feel panic and shame when those moments are revealed? There are multiple moments the book club members wished would have remained private, but as Alex says, “There’s a camera in the room.” So how private are these moments actually? No one is spying on them, but they are obviously going to be seen by as many people as possible.
James has previously stated he wants to examine the moments when people relax to the point they forget about the camera. This intrigues me as well as I am fascinated with why anyone would choose to put their private lives on display in any capacity and greatly look forward to examining the phenomenon of the reality television. I am along anticipating looking at the impact reality television has on social media and vice versa. People put so much of themselves online from what they had for breakfast to problems they are having in their relationship. What’s private when you have invited the world to examine your life?
Emotionally, where is the point where you feel relaxed enough to be vulnerable? And where do you draw the line? For example, the kiss between Rob and Jen is something they tried to signal to Lars to edit out of the video. This would imply they intended to keep the kiss from Ana as well as the future viewers of the video. If it really was just a meaningless-caught-up-inthe-moment kiss, then why not just immediately tell Ana? They have already shared it with Lars who they have never even met. Why not use that as a reason to confess to their spouse and best friend? There are many moments like these which give us deep gazes into human emotion that I am looking forward to exploring.
Negatives:
1. Staging and Blocking. After my first reading of The Book Club Play I was immediately concerned with the lack of action (movement) in the play. Something about the only setting being a living room and the characters discussing made me think of ways to keep the action interesting and I could not. Fortunately, the dialogue was more than enough to keep me engaged, but I keep wanting something intensely physical to happen and it never did. And yes, that is okay. And yes, many great plays do not have huge dramatical physical action moments. However, there was something about The Book Club Play that seemed anti-climactic. It may have been the physical release I never received, but it may have been the ending.
The play’s fairytale-like happy ending did not initially appeal to me as it seemed a little too campy. Ana’s book being published and turned into a movie seems predictable as does Alex proposing to Lily. And while predictable doesn’t necessarily mean bad, the ending of this play comes across a touch flat. I look forward to hearing solutions for the ending and being part of that process. I am also aware my opinion about the ending may be mine alone. If that is the case,
I look forward to learning how others see it.
- Lily outing Will. The scene where Lily assumes Will is gay felt problematic to me. Will’s style and appearance is apparently supposed to fit the mold of a homosexual stereotype. Lily’s stumbling over herself as she tries to explain why she made her assumption feels incredibly embarrassing and offensive. I am aware that the views of the characters do not necessarily reflect those of the playwright, but this moment feels more insensitive than insightful. This insensitivity stems from the moment reading as if was supposed to be comedic. Because Will later discovers he is actually gay the scene heightens this by setting and meeting an expectation. It felt as if the play was making a statement about stereotypes being deeply rooted in truth. That can be dangerous. Even looking beyond Will’s sexuality, the mere outing of someone in any regard is something that can be painful and should be handled delicately which it was not.
- Ana is not likeable. This is clearly Ana’s story and while not every main character has to be a hero or show some sort of dramatic growth, but I was not a fan of Ana from start to finish. She is arrogant, selfish, phony, condescending, and can be kind of a bully at times. I did care about her journey through the play because I found her so unlikeable. She bosses her husband around from beginning to end and publicly speaks down to him. Her power complex also leads her to play hero and savior to the other characters in the play. When she introduces Lily, she speaks of her as if she is doing Lily a favor by allowing her to be a part of Book Club. Lily being AfricanAmerican makes this behavior extra atrocious as it appears Ana brought Lily in partially to have a token minority for the documentary. Ana constantly ignores Will’s cries to receive the credit he deserves for helping to start Book Club. And while I understand her anger and hurt about the
QUESTIONS:
1. How do we cast? Because Lily must be African-American, but all the other characters can be cast as anything except for African-American, how can we use this is an opportunity? I’m not sure what is an opportunity for, but there are obvious statements that can be made. If everyone other than Lily is white it could paint Ana in a deeper negative light by giving the appearance of her bringing in Lily as the token black girl. If the cast is more diverse it may lessen some of the racial aspect. An all-white-but-Lily cast also runs the danger of giving the impression only white people read. My initial thought is the most diverse the better, but it all comes down to the statement we wish to make.
Another significant decision to be made is who we cast as the pundits. Zacarias suggests a doubling option if a production chooses to double the book club members and the pundits, however I think it would be better all around to cast the separate actors as the pundits for many different reasons:
- It eliminates the need for quick changes. Whoever is playing the upcoming pundit would have to quick change from their book club costume to pundit back to book club in a relatively short amount of time. Casting separate actors solves this.
- It gives opportunities to more people. For our production at Villanova, casting as many people as possible can be extremely beneficial for the growth of the program. The actors cast as the pundits will be spending a great deal of time together backstage. This gives them time to get to know each other and grow together. If the pundits are a mixture of both first- and secondyears, the relationship has even more room to blending and nurturing. Because we will also have a new cutter draper and a new costume designer, this would give these individuals to meet as many more of the graduate students than would be the case if we doubled the parts.
- It allows another opportunity to express diversity. Having the pundits being represented by different groups can go a long way in making a statement on who enjoys and can benefit from reading. Zacarias has already given the pundits many walks of life and different backgrounds. By casting carefully and responsibly we can show not just who reads, but who can have certain jobs such as librarian, prison inmate, and secret service agent. Because one of the casting options offered by Zacarias is casting one “male or female” actor to play all the pundits the door for looking at the pundits through a non-binary lens is opened. For example, casting someone who does not identify as male to play Frank the Secret Service agent or Sam the Walmart guy could be very effective, but we would want to be careful of not making a joke we did not intend to make sense the pundits are written to be comedic.
- How do we maximize the blocking and make sure Ana remains in a dominant position? My first read of The Book Club Play caused me to think about how Ana controls the action of the play without being too unrealistic. The characters are basically sitting in a living room the entire play so when do they get up and move around? What motivates them to do so? And how does Ana move in relation to all of this to stay in a position of power which she clearly has a desire to be in?
While I think this is an excellent idea for changing the audience’s perspective as well as enhances the documentary feel of the play, I am unsure if it is enough to provide the movement and physical energy the play requires. I don’t think there needs to be a great deal of movement, but people just sitting and talking can get boring quickly.
- Where do we put the camera? The placement of the camera which is filming the documentary could play a significant role to our production. Because we are using a revolve and the camera will technically be moving as well, it is best if we don’t use an actual practical video camera. This also eliminates the issue of how to move the camera along with the stage. The best location for the camera is likely one of the voms. This makes it easy for the scene when the blanket is used to cover the camera. The downside of this is it changes the focal point of the actors on stage for those moments when they look at the camera. Because the voms are a fixed position and the stage is not, characters could be looking towards one side of the living room at one scene and another side of the living room in another scene. A possible solution is to figure out during which scene the camera will be in the same corner of the room as the vom and set the stage based on that configuration.
- Who is Alex? Because Alex is the outsider there is an opportunity for him to represent a particular audience/demographic. Do we use him in that capacity? If so, does he look like our student body? Does he reflect a certain demographic from in town? In Philly? Does he look like mainstream America (whatever that may mean)? Or is he another individually unique member of the book club?
CRACK/THREAD:
Privacy vs Consent. My favorite thing about The Book Club Play is the theme of privacy versus consent which is also what connects all the characters and themes. It always seems like a disaster waiting to happen whenever someone wants to open their life up to the world in a capacity which they cannot control. But many have done and will do it which makes the structure of this play so relatable. And just like with social media, members of the book club at different times feel a sense of fear and/or betrayal of and from the camera. So why make the choice to do it? What is to be gained? The characters in the play leave themselves extremely vulnerable from the start and remain that way until everyone is harmed.
Ana’s book is another example of the thin but clear line between consent and privacy being breached. While everyone signed up for the documentary where their actual lives would be on display, they did not agree to Ana writing a fictitious book about fictitious characters who are only loosely based on them. And while I initially felt Ana’s book was an invasion of privacy, upon second thought, how bad was her betrayal really? The characters in her book are vastly different from the book club members in many ways, yet they are clearly based on them. So, the betrayal must lie within the lack of consent. But they did agree to be filmed for the documentary so regardless of what parts of their personal life are exposed, they must be accountable and cannot blame anyone else. That’s just the way life is supposed to work. But with Ana’s book they did not agree to anything. They were not even consulted or asked. The pain of that betrayal for something only loosely based on reality is a grand statement of human emotion and shows just how important consent is.
Even some of the pundits, the relationship between privacy and consent is prevalent. Sam-Walmart Guy mentions how the book clubs amongst the Walmart workforce has made unions irrelevant. That is clearly a statement on workers not having control over what they do. If you do not have control of yourself then you cannot consent to any action done upon or taken against you. It may seem like a simple joke, but it will likely ring powerfully to our audience due their knowledge of and experience with unions. Carl Banks, the Correctional Center Book
Dealer’s monologue about how being part of a system that has a monopoly on information puts people in a vulnerable state, making them desperate enough to exploit themselves and give consent to situations when they normally wouldn’t. There may be more examples of this with the other pundits as well, but these are the tow that stood out to me on my first reading.
AUDIO/VISUAL MOMENTS:
- The ringing of the doorbell (43). The abrupt intrusion of sound is strong and comedic, reminding the Book Club members while they are in the only ones in their world they’re not the only ones in the world.
- The blanket blackout (73). Ana’s panicked move to cover the camera is one of my favorite moments in the play. Everything on stage is dark but everyone can still be heard. It is a symbolic reminder you can’t really hide once you have invited the world to view your life.
- Jen’s cellphone ringtone (51). Again, the abruptness of sound cuts through a tense moment. I also interpreted the up-tempo ringtone as a sign she was in a better place emotionally than she was at the start of the play.
- Everyone sitting around reading Ana’s book (76). The most powerful image in the play is that of the members sitting in super relaxed but tense postures and being all in their feelings with complete disregard of the camera.
- The reading of the passages (14, 15, 32, 33, 79, 80). The selected moments when we get to hear the inflection and tone in which the book club members. It’s always fascinating to hear how someone read a line in their head. It’s rare and gives great insight to a character.
- Spotlights and projections (9-10, 25-26, 39-40, 58-59, 60, 66-67, 76, 85-87). All these moments help bring out the documentary style of the play. They were all like talking head segments.
The Books – The books used by each member of the book club is going to be significant and telling. Who has the paperback and who has the hard cover? Did anyone check their books out from the library? It could be interesting if someone goes from paperback to hardback. Is Rob’s copy of Tarzan of the Apes worn from being read so intensely or has he kept it in pristine condition? I look forward to what the props department comes up with the books and be honored to have even the smallest input for that process.
The Blanket – The blanket is my favorite symbolic prop in the play. I love that something created for warmth and comfort is being used as a form of protection from the intrusion of their privacy and instead of leaving the room or simply taking a time out, they attack the camera. It is a very American reaction. What I can’t envision at this time is what the blanket would look like. What does the blanket look like that Ana would have in her living room? Or if it comes from offstage what statement does that make symbolically versus the blanket already being in the living room?
Ana’s Manuscript – I imagined Ana’s manuscript as glowing when she brought it out. I know the actual prop will not be glowing, but I still think it should be carefully detailed. And the copies that are made and given to the others should be very interesting as well. Is someone’s book a little bent and tattered from how intensely they went through it? Is someone’s marked up with ink and highlighter? I see the condition of the copies reflecting the behavior of the respective owner.
E/R/R:
1. Feeling Safe“Book Club is a safe haven” (Ana, 9).
“I don’t know anyone . . . So why not Book Club?” (Lily, 9).
“Reminds me of the better parts of being human” (Jen, 10).
“Carefully tended and organized” (Will, 10).
“Essence of humanity” (Lily, 12).
“Humans need five things . . .” (Elsa, 25).
“Rob has a very big heart” (Ana, 27).
Rob suddenly kisses Jen. It’s a good sweet kiss for both of them (35).
“There are certain rules you must follow . . .” (Frank, 40).
2. Controlling“Rob, honey – Say hello” (Ana, 11).
“I am a curator of Greek antiques” (Will, 11).
“I am the one who dragged us all into this” (Ana, 14).
“Use my kitchen?” (Ana, 17).
“We are trying to have a serious conversation here” (Ana, 17).
“He is still in love with me” (Ana, 23).
“I thought you would be delighted by the surprise” (Ana, 41).
“I don’t think this is the place” (Ana, 41).
“Oh Jen” (Ana, 44).
“This is certainly not literature” (Ana, 47).
“Popularity is not quality” (Ana, 49).
“A few of us have to make sure there are standards” (Ana, 51).
“Oh, so now I’m Dictator Will” (Will, 56).
“Made the issues of unions completely irrelevant” (Sam, 59).
“We have a different sort of currency” (Carl, 66).
“Take it down! Take it down!” (Ana, 73).
3. Uncomfortable“But won’t have that bug-eyed thing looking at us change us” (Jen, 13)?
“That’s the bug-eyed camera I was telling you about” (Jen, 45).
“Oh, Will, I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I just -”(Lily, 19).
“You of all people should know that” (Will, 22)!
“I just don’t get it” (Rob, 28).
“It’s excruciating painful and beautiful” (Lily, 32).
“It troubled me. I couldn’t sleep” (Rob, 32).
Rob slowly sinks to the floor (34).
Rob sits straight up (38).
“Please don’t tell me we have only read dead white men in Book Club” (Ana, 38).
“My chest . . . it feels funny” (Ana, 66).
**From these echoes and repeats I can formulate the equation Zacarias uses to move the action of The Book Club Play forward:
REACHING FOR SAFETY + WANTING TO CONTROL THOSE AROUND YOU =
EXTREME DISCOMFORT
WHY THIS PLAY NOW:
My initial response to The Book Club Play led me to a bevy of points connecting me to the story. The first aspect standing out to me is how extremely relevant the play is. The Book
Club Play takes an in-depth examination of privacy. At a time when social media is so prevalent, and everyone puts so much of their lives on display for the world, what is the new definition of privacy? Is it really stalking if you yourself put it all there to be seen and gone through? If someone circles your house every day without ever reaching out to contact you, it would be creepy. If someone visited your Facebook page without ever contacting you, it would be just as creepy. But why? Isn’t a Facebook page an open invitation to view those parts of your life you choose to post? Or is it referred to as a ‘wall’ because it is supposed to still be some type of barrier? A barrier from what? The characters have agreed to have an important part of their lives filmed and documented, but some feel as if the camera crosses some boundaries at certain points even though it’s just sitting there. Why? These questions are not only posed by The Book Club Play but examined as well and I would like to be in the room when many, if not all, of these are being addressed. I feel I have the life and artistic knowledge and experience to be a great ally on this mission.
The play opens opportunities to cast diversely as well. The one character who must be a certain race is Lily, an African-American. The rest of the cast allows (via playwright) to cast very diversely which allows us to break some preconceived notions of the kind of people who read and, more importantly, who do not read books. The dynamic of having multiple people of color of different ethnicities onstage discussing the topic of race and ethnicity is something that should not be overlooked.
The topic of sexuality comes up more than once in the play and is done so mostly in comedic fashion. While this is certainly a topic relatable to a modern audience and one that should be brought more to the forefront, the way it is presented should be handled delicately by the cast and crew even if not done so by the characters. To be in the room for that process will be greatly beneficial for me as an artist and a person. I also possess the people skills to help navigate the situation if need be.
One topic the play brings up is that of the misogynistic culture we as well as the characters in the play live in. This is most prominent seen through Jen who has the scandal in her past with the government official. We see that she suffered much more from that scandal than the married man she was involved with as she is dealing with the post-traumatic stress disorder of the public backlash. Ana even uses it as an insult when she discovers the kiss between Jen and Rob. The idea of women hurting women while the men (who are cheating on their wives) suffer lesser fates is interesting when considered the playwright is a woman.
All of these are reasons why The Book Club Play is an important piece of art and should be produced now.