Moment: Monologues

The use of “moments” rather than scenes in The Laramie Project caught my attention first about the writing. It is true that the play is not really set up in traditional scenes, so the division into more... sporadic?... connections seems to work well. For reading it, it took a bit of getting used to, but in performance, the structure wouldn't be much different than many monologue driven plays, despite the sketched-like quality suggested for the staging. Even though some of the moments do not link directly, the stories and characters are still all very connected. Granted, since they all surround the specific event, they need to be, but there seems to be a fair bit of “dialogue” between the monologues also. There is some true dialogue, but some of the monologues act as responses to other monologues as well. I like this strong connection between all the pieces. While the Vagina Monologues are connected through theme, and the Sonnets for an Old Century are more connected through location, the more interwoven story of The Laramie Project holds more appeal to me as a writer of plot.
However, the short, “punchy” monologues in the Vagina Monologues also have a strong appeal in the shorter, yet full story aspect.

I didn't care for much of the voice in the Sonnets for an Old Century. It had an ambiguously poetic feel at times, which I thought detracted from the strength of characterization that Laramie and Vagina had. Even though while reading latter two plays, the “written as spoken” style could be slightly distracting, especially in Laramie, which was taken mostly from recordings and seems to assimilate many speech patterns into the text. The strength of voice that these intended speech patterns lend, though, certainly aids to the characters when performed. One aspect that struck me was repetition. While reading, the repeated lines stand out as monotonous, but by imagining how I would perform them as an actor, I could change the emphasis between repetitions, and the lines could really hit home.

The Laramie Project also used the kind of random details that make characters memorable. It adds nothing to the plot, but lets you know that the characters are real people” (whether they are, as in Laramie, or not). In “Moment: Alison and Marge,” the two get on a short tangent ending with:

Marge Murray: Well, yeah, honey, why wear clothes?
Alison Mears: Now, how's he gonna use that in his play?

Alison Mears last line would have been nearly impossible to leave out, whether or not it is at all related to the plot (which, all told, it isn't). Their banter and ease of speech furthers their characters more than other, more focused dialogue, might.

A device that stood out to me in Laramie was the use of the unsaid. After Marge learns that the play might be brought to Laramie, she says “Okay, then, there are parts I won't tell you.” It leaves the reader wondering about what information she is keeping back.

Another part got me wondering as a reader, and then trying to figure out intent as a writer, involved Jedadiah Schultz. The narrator begins in the confusing exchange:

Narrator: ...and guess who's auditioning for the lead?
Jedadiah Schultz: MY PARENTS!
Narrator: Jedadiah Schults:
Jedadiah Schults: My parents were...... I've never prepared myself this much for an audition in my life...

First reading, I placed Jedadiah's exclamation as the ending of the narrator's sentence, and thus his parents were auditioning for Harper and Joe. However, he could also be exclaiming in frustration, since his next monologue is devoted to a second argument with his parents. In a staging, the ambiguity wouldn't be there, but while reading it, it certainly threw me a little.

I wasn't sure about the narrator. While some form of introduction seems important to the characters, the narrator seemed to pull me out of the place at times. I preferred the introductions by the actors themselves. The connection flowed better in these cases.

I also wasn't sure about the last words: “Laramie, Wyoming.” It wrapped up the play too nicely into a package, especially compared to the rest of the play. It also sounds like something that I would try to plug into the last words to make it end concisely. It is an idea that I like, but taking into consideration the style of the rest of the play, it was too precise, too final. It gave too much closure.

I thought I'd "scribble" something quickly to get some words on the page... We'll get to the scripts soon!