Alice Gerstenberg lays out characters' every inner thought and desire in Overtones. Susan Glaspell fills her stage with surface details. In their own ways, these two plays each paint a complete picture of their world. One is a complete psychological picture; one is a complete physical picture.
Maria Irene Fornes, however, is famous for denying audiences such complete psychological and physical portraits. In fact, her signature style involves whittling down stories, characters, and images into intense, rich moments.
An early review of a production of Conduct of Life notes this tendency:
"The play conjures a lot of tension, mostly by keeping the scenes tight and disciplined and unsettlingly short. The dialogue and staging seem almost to have been cropped too close at the top or bottom, like those paintings by Philip Pearlstein [nsfw!] where the nude's head or leg has been cropped off the edge. Sometimes the cropping pares away everything but the musing of a single voice, and these monologues are the most effective aspect of all." (Paul Berman. Review of The Conduct of Life and Coming of Age in Soho. The Nation April 6, 1985: 412-413).
Instead of stuffing a stage or characters with detail, Fornes cuts details away. Remember, she could have provided full back-stories and answered all character/setting/plot questions. She chooses not to.
For this post: suppose that you had only this play as an example of a Maria Irene Fornes play. You might conclude, judging from this play, that her dramaturgical style involves pared-down, sometimes even abrupt scenes.
What other dramaturgical choices in Conduct of Life stand out to you? Choose one and discuss it. Give us a quick explanation of what you mean and a quick example of where we can see that choice in action. Finally, venture a guess about what effect this choice has on the story, the characters, and/or the themes in the play. Remember, I'm looking mainly for dramaturgical choices--not "what story is she telling" but "how does she choose to stage that story"?
EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS QUESTION ("bonus" as in "additional," not as in "extra points"): Why's the play called The Conduct of Life? Any guesses?
Do your best to post by Thursday evening
JF
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