Don't Shoot the Messenger! (Adventures of a Critic)

Theater and Why It's a Great Thing to Analyze

You want to know what things work and what things don't? 

Go to a play. I mean it. 

Obviously I'm a bit biased, because I'm a theater kid. 

But seriously. Plays are PHENOMENAL to figure out what works and what doesn't. No play is the same, not even if it's the same exact production by the same people twice. Because some things were screwed up, some things were missed, some things were unexpected, and it's always different. 

Today I went to something called a "One-Act Competition". It's a one act play, and in these contests they only have 35 minutes to perform a play. 

I'll be honest, the two plays I'm going to go into depth about are incredibly depressing and quite frightening, but these were the top two. 

The first one, Medea, was played well. But the story itself is dull. Why? 

Because it doesn't evoke emotion. It's dull. It's all angst. It's just not enough to make me intrigued. This is a brief summary of it, clearly I'm cutting tons, but here's the gist: 

Madea is about a woman named Madea (shocker right?) who is angry at a man named Jason for betraying her and going to a new wife. Jason had beared children with Madea. He only used Madea for ambition since she could use dark magic. His new wife is a princess. Clearly that ambition is still a part of him. 

Madea sends tons of threats because she's upset. Guilt and grief consumes her, but I don't feel anything for her. In fact, she just seems batshit insane. She keeps talking about how much she hates this guy. We didn't see the act, nor did we see her in love in the first place. It starts off with her pissed off and angry. 

The nurse is there just to tell her that what she's doing is wrong. She doesn't really stop her at all, though. There is no fight between them, really. She makes no real conflict. Madea brushes past her like it's nothing. 

Jason shows up and explains that Madea is being banished for sending threats. He explains that if she hadn't been threatening his family, she wouldn't have to leave. Her children would still be around her father. He even thinks of ways to compensate and change her mind, but no cigar. 

(Then again, Jason is also very... flirtatious and cruel. He's an arrogant prick.) 

Instead, though, Madea is still pissy and sends him off. 

Then this other guy comes and pretty much gives her everything she could ask for. When she's banished she can go to Athens (this guy rules Athens) and in exchange for protection from ALL OF THE ENEMIES SHE'S MADE and AN ENTIRE COUNTRY, she needs to help him have a son so he has an heir to the throne. He explains that children are like immortality to parents, because without children, the people can be forgotten and they die off never to be seen again. This is important.

Pretty much, he's asking her to stay with him and have children and be merry happy. Madea can bring her sons. They can be happy. As long as she doesn't piss off Jason and his family anymore. 

NOPE! She decides that she's going to pretend to be nice and send gold to Jason's wife as a compensation and a sorry for all the "grief" she's caused. It's poisoned gold and she makes sure Jason doesn't touch it. At first you might think it's for lingering feelings and she doesn't want him to burn to death with his wife.

NOPE! SHE KILLS HER OWN CHILDREN TO MAKE SURE THAT JASON IS MISERABLE AND ALONE. Jason is horrified, he sees his two sons dead and immediately is just horrified--but he never really sincerely says he's sorry to Madea, which is what this woman is CRAVING. 

Then you never hear what happens to her, really. Guilt and grief and anger consume her. She blames Jason for all that she's done. She's fucking nuts. Her character doesn't progress at all. She's angry at the beginning, and grief consuming her, then she's still angry and guilt DOES consume her. The only change is that she went to angry and bitter inside, to EXTREME, and that was done well, but it's not enough. And that's it! Jason's miserable, you never hear about Athens guy, and the nurse is like "what in the Hell is happening?"