Hello All,
As I was rereading Lughnasa this weekend, I found our table work to be magnificent. There were so many new insights that I had not noticed before and I think that we are definitely on to something. I cannot encourage you enough to continue to reread the play. It will help in so many ways. The biggest is to understanding the play. I know that we think that we do already, but I am still discovering so many things, especially the big picture. It will also help with character development, acting choices, intentions, movement, and MEMORIZATION. Lots o' lines, so get them down early for maximum creativity.
One item that came up as I was reading was the idea that this play is broken down into three major plot lines. There are three climaxes in the play, rather than the typical one, which is why this play won the Tony and is a fantastic piece of literature.
The first story is the story of Maggie. Her longing to be loved and have a mate. She battles this with her humor and cigarettes, but deep down she wants to be loved and to dance. The climax of this first part comes with the big dance on page 30. It ends with the girls going back to the way it was, but for a brief moment they are alive and dancing.
The second story is that of Rose. Her relationship with Danny Bradley and the events of the boat, the walk, and other unmentioned business. This story is what would happen if one of the sisters dared to find love outside of the family circle. It is a much more mature way of looking at the major theme of family vs. partner love and it climaxes when Rose goes off to Kate on page 71. As we see, this is the breaking point of the family and things never recover to where they were at the beginning of the play.
The third story deals with the family dynamic as a whole. It is Chris, Aggie, and Gerry's story. It is also Kate's story, but I believe that Kate is the one static character in the whole play and incapable of discovery or change. This final chapter focuses on the comparison of African family life with the one that has been established on the Mundy farm. One man with five wives. Maggie sees Jack's point and I believe Jack is much more observant of the truth than we give him credit for. This story climax is when Gerry notices that Africa has indeed come to the farm in the form of the kites and Michael is the fully aware of his situation.
Please feel free to write back, disagree, or clarify on this point. Blogs were created for this very reason and communication is key in the creation of great art. Remember that we are in charge of communicating ALL of the story to the audience and if we don't know it, then they never will.
Cheers!
Chad Weddle
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2 comments:
I must say I hadn't examined it that closely to even consider breaking it up into three parts. The first time through I was looking for a climax, but got wrapped up in the dialogue and missed it. I am glad that someone found some, because when you told me that it was "The View" in Ireland, I nearly fainted.
I think it is an interesting concept, that a story would and could have multiple peaks, even within one act. And not just emotional peaks, but plot peaks. Especially coming out out of a Shakespeare/Miller education.
I love the idea of three acts. The first time I read it I did the same thing as Dan Osborne, I got caught up in characterization and it took the 2nd time to open my eyes to the conflicts a bit more and I'm almost done with my 3rd time through and it's crazy how much sense it all starts to make. I still think there is a lot to consider with the whole Danny Bradley thing. I'm excited to see what the cast decides to do with their character's opinion towards the situation.
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