Contents Page:
· Title Page
· Contents Page
· Pitch
· Song Choice
· Style Choice
· Character Choice
- Monologues
· Script
· Blocking
· Feeling Circle
· Rationale
· Conclusion
· Evaluation
Pitch:
‘Sacrifices’ is a feminist play about the struggles of women throughout society. In
this play you will see five women in an airport, experiencing contrary life problems. A
poor woman in love, a woman who feels the pressure because of her gender, a teenage
mother, a Mexican teenager coming to University in the States and a woman in an
abusive marriage. Each character will break the fourth wall and make the audience feel a
part of their life through monologue and emotion. Towards the end of the play, despite
their differences, the women become more at ease with their lives through a universal
song, a lullaby.
Word Count: 109
Song Choice:
The song our group was inspired by was ‘Hips don’t lie’ by Shakira. Listening to
the song, our group started to think about women and the way women are perceived. This
lead us to think about women in different cultures and the various problems they face. As
we explored the subject further, we realized that despite any life problems a woman may
have, or different cultures we are originally from, there is always something that connects
us. Keeping this in mind, we had to find a universal symbol that could connect the five
women at the end of the play. The first thing we thought of was a lullaby. Our school is
international, therefore, we have people that represent different cultures. Not one person
in our group came from the same culture and yet we all managed to know the same
lullabies. Therefore, we chose ‘Go to sleep little baby’, a common lullaby. Each character
would present their struggle and then by the end of the play feel at ease with their life
problems by hearing the lullaby.
Word Count: 181
Style Choice:
After choosing the song we had to choose a style. After our workshop with Sherry Sutton
we had more of an insight as to what style our play centered. As the play itself consisted
of five girls with female problems, it became pretty evident that it mostly related to
feminism. Although Aaron was a member of our group, he opted to be more of a director
than performer. He felt hesitant being a male writing a feminist play. However, the
monologues themselves were written by us (the girls), therefore, he wasn’t responsible
for the creation or the research of female struggles. Aaron focused mostly on the
dialogue between the characters and the blocking.
Word Count: 116
Character Choice:
Each member of the group had the opportunity to create their own character. A few
members of the ensemble took risks whereas the rest of us stayed secure within our own
cultures. I chose something closer to my own culture and decided to be a girl from a low
class English family trying to earn money to visit her boyfriend in the states. Ivanna and
Emily also chose to stay within their cultures. Ivanna was a Mexican teenager coming to
university in the states and Emily was an American business woman feeling stressed with
work. The two Julia’s in the group went out of their comfort zones in choosing a
character. Julia Henry was a teenage mother and Julia Schlicht was a woman from
Afganhistan fleeing her abusive husband. We each had to create our own monologue for
our character which are shown in the script below.
Word Count: 150
Script:
<We see all the characters, sitting in their terminals (no one, but tegan, is close to center stage). Tegan is in the airport lounge talking on the phone. Suddenly an intercom voice sounds off.>
Intercom Voice: Attention all travelers, we apologize for the setbacks, but Flights 329, 274, 633, and 866 have been cancelled due to the inclement weather we are experiencing. We advise the passengers for all these flights, to find a place to stay for the night, if you do not have a place to stay, we would suggest that you head to the overnight lounge next to terminal B, where accommodations have been made. Once again, we apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for flying with us.
<All but Tegan groan and head off stage. AS SOON AS they are all offstage, TEGAN’s phone conversation becomes audible. >
Tegan: I know it sucks, but it’s just one more day, and than we have nothing else to worry about. And, uh, hey, I have to tell you something… I- (Pause)
<Emily barges in with a Bluetooth in her ear, and a laptop in her hand.>
Emily: …go on, Howard! You think of a solution. I don’t control the weather you know. Let’s hear your brilliant Idea… (Howard explains)… uh-huh…
<While Emily is quiet and listening to Howard. Tegan finishes talking to her boyfriend.>
Tegan: Ah. Gotta go… crazy lady in the room. Miss you…(listens *beat* puts phone down, slowly) Love you too… (sigh).
(Emily Freezes)
Tegan Monologue
Fuck! I was finally gonna tell me boyfriend how a girl from a low class English family is managing to pay for a £2000 flight to the states. He knows my family isn’t payin’ for that. They know I’m just going for a boy, and they don’t give it a thought. Yeah, I may have been a bit… out there… but that was before Daniel. What’s wrong with a girl getting around? I have needs, too. Anyway, Daniel, was supposed to be an end to all that, but I didn’t have no money. Still, I’m here, on a flight to the states. And now I got to tell him how I got £2000. I had a speech prepared and everything!! ‘You know how when you really love someone you would do anything just to be with em. even if it’s something really bad and shameful..well..i’m a stripper..’..some speech huh? But now the bloody flight is canceled and I have to wait here for another night where I have to live with him not knowing! (Swearing) Thinking about this will be the end of me! What’s he gonna say? I can’t just not tell him! I didn’t want to do it! I had no choice! Me family couldn’t afford this, not that they’d be willing to pay for it! Maybe I don’t have to tell him. I mean everything I’m doing IS for him right? I just don’t know if its worth it. UGH!
<Tegan falls back into her chair and closes her eyes for about 2 seconds before Emily BURSTS OUT at Howard on the phone.>
Emily: WELL IF YOU THINK IT’S SO EASY, HOWARD, YOU GIVE IT A TRY. THIS FLIGHT IS NOT TAKING OFF. DEAL WITH IT!
<She angrily hangs up the phone (or throws the Bluetooth to the floor). She gathers herself with a deep breath, and then she calmly sits next to tegan and smiles politely. Tegan slides away from her and turns away. Emily frowns.>
<Tegan Freezes>
Emily Monologue
I guess, I don’t blame her, I can be a bit Intimidating, when I’m stressed. This entire airport fiasco is completely ruining my tight schedule. I’m going to be up all night trying to make up for the conference I’m now a day late for. There’s a reason I’m the only woman in the company who’s not a secretary. It’s because I work the harder than any other employee in that god-forsaken place. If I slip up in even the slightest, I could get fired. And then who would feed my two kids. My Husband? Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great father… but when it comes to the salary of an actor… (sigh). I miss them so much. I remember when they were just little babies; I never wanted to leave them. Of course, there was all the work that came with raising twins, but I’d trade that job for this one any day. I would do anything to see them right now, just to hold them, to rock them to sleep, to let them know I care… (She goes off in her head for a moment, but snaps out of it after moment) I have a work to do.
<She takes out her laptop and starts typing. Tegan closes her eyes to try and sleep. At this point IVANNA walks in with a heavy backpack. She looks lost and exhausted. She takes a big notebook out of the bag and starts writing furiously. Emily’s typing becomes really loud.>
<Ivanna starts getting irritated, but holds it in.>
<Typing get’s louder, and Emily starts mumbling to herself.>
<Ivanna gets more irritated>
<Tegan starts sleep-talking in addition to the rest of the noise.>
<Ivanna can’t take it anymore>
Ivanna: STOP IT!
<Sound Stops, but not because they have stopped, but because they are now frozen. Monologue time…>
Ivanna Monologue
If only I could say that, but American airports are the worst place for making a scene. I need complete concentration. As if there wasn’t enough already on my mind. I’ve missed 2 weeks of school to take care of my father, he’s been sick for a long time. He’s been through so much. My mother died when I was twelve, and he never recovered from that. My older brother and sister were kicked out of school, and now he must take care of them to. Now, it’s up to me to make him proud. There is so much weight on my shoulders. If I fail, I don’t know how much he can take. I’m going to an American college, as a non-native speaker and I am the only woman in my field. I deal with constant doubt from my fellows and myself. I do this for my father, and I don’t even know if it will help. I don’t know what would happen if he died. Who would I be living for?
<Emily resumes typing and Ivanna turns to her.>
Ivanna: Excuse me, miss. Could you stop, please?
Emily (Slightly Offended): I’m sorry, but I have a lot of work to do, and I need to do it now.
Ivanna: I have work, too. I need to concentrate.
Emily: Well you may just have to live with it.
Tegan: Will you to shut up! I’m sleeping.
<They are just starting to all argue, when Malika walks in. They turn and look at her. There is sadness to her, they all notice, but say nothing. They just slowly sit down in slilence. She looks around at all the unfamiliar faces with a certain hope, but a certain fear. She sees there sympathy. She turns to the audience.>
Malika Monologue
My name is Malika, I am 25 years old, and I am running away from life as I know it. When the violence in Afghanistan erupted in 2001, my husband ahmed was lucky enough to get a visa and move with me, his two other wives and our children to america. At first I was thrilled: america! The land of hopes and dreams! We had escaped the terror of the years to come and were bound to make a new start. But ahmed grieved for his country and its people and the thousands of deaths, and his sorrow soon turned into violence. Not a day passed where he wouldn't beat us or the kids, regardless of what we did. He broke my nose twice, and once even managed to dislocate my sons jaw. We were forbidden to talk of where our injuries came from and were banned from visiting doctors, so we treated ourselves. Bruises never ceased to flower across our bodies. But I had enough. 11 long years I had dealt with the pain. I took my savings and my children and fled from our house. I want to start a new life: I am moving to my parents in Vancouver. I hope to find a better fate there. There was not enough for all of us, so I am going alone, and leaving them with my sister’s friend where they will be safe from Ahmed. I am going to do everything I can to get them to me, but I don’t know how long it will take. What if ahmed finds them before I can get them to Vancouver? They mean the world to me, and I don’t know what I’d do if I lost them… I just hope that this isn’t left in vain.
<She solemnly sits down, away from everyone else. Keisha walks in. She has a baby who is crying. Tegan starts to get irritated.>
Tegan: Will you shut that baby up!
<At the comment, Keisha shields her baby, instinctively.>
Keisha: I’m sorry…
Keisha Monologue
They told me I was throwing my life away. They told me I was a disgrace. They told me they couldn’t afford her. Or me. It was an abortion, or nothing. So now, we’re here. I just couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t throw a life away like that.
Being a teen mom isn’t glamorous. I don’t have millions of people watching me on MTV. I don’t have a family, or a boyfriend to lean on. I barely even know how to hold her. I’m just…me. I mean, I try to put on a brave front for her, but I don’t know what I’m doing. Take this airport. Do they think I don’t see their constant glances? Their disapproving looks? Do they really think I can’t hear what they’re saying? I’m the bad girl. I’m the slut. I’m a bad mother. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m the worst kind of influence. I made a mistake. Can’t anyone accept it? He told me loved me—and I was dumb enough to believe him.
But I’ll never let anyone call her a mistake. I’ll never regret her. She’s my world now, and I wouldn’t want that any other way, even if I have to go down this road alone.
(To baby)
Don’t worry. I’m taking you far, far away from here. We’re going to make a new life together. Just you and me. I promise.
<Baby starts to cry again>
I just hope I can prove them all wrong.
Ivanna (To Keisha): Please, miss! I’m doing work.
Keisha: I’m sorry, I just… She’s just tired is all.
<Baby continues crying.>
[Simultaneously: Tegan, Ivanna, Emily]
Tegan: Oh my God, SHUT THAT BABY UP!
Emily: Please, lady! I got kid’s to feed!
Ivanna: Keep your child quiet!
<Keisha turns away to downstage, not knowing what to do.>
Keisha (Frightened, on the verge of tears): I’m sorry, I just… I don’t… I…
<During this, Malika has gotten up and is standing next to Keisha looking at the baby. She starts to sing/hum a lullaby to them. Everyone is silent, as they haven’t heard Malika speak yet. They just watch in amazement.>
Malika: Fall asleep, Fall asleep… etc.
<Malika offers to hold Keisha’s baby. Keisha carefully lets her hold the baby. The baby stops crying after a while.>
Malika (to Keisha): I used to sing this to my children when we first came to America. It reminds me of them.
<She hands the baby back to Julia, still singing the lullaby as if to her own children.>
Ivanna (distractedly): It reminds me of my mother, and the lullabies she would sing to me.
<Ivanna hums the lullaby to herself, closing her eyes. Remembering her mother.>
<Emily stands up, and starts singing the lullaby with Malika.>
Emily (pausing her singing while the others continue): I used to sing the exact same lullaby to my children.
<She looks at the baby sweetly, and Keisha offers to let her hold her.>
<She carefully hands the baby to Emily, who explains how Keisha should hold her baby.>
Keisha (To Emily): I can’t thank you enough.
Emily (returning Keisha’s Baby): Thank you for reminding me what’s important. I have to go cancel the conference with Howard. I have kid’s to see.
<She walks off stage>
Keisha (To Malika): And you, too. I needed that. Thank you.
Malika: Thank you for giving me a chance to be a mother again. You are a good mother, never doubt that.
<She looks at Keisha’s baby sweetly, and walks off.>
Ivanna (to self/her mother): Gracias, mama. I know you are with me. (Maybe in Spanish).
<Ivanna walks off>
<Only Tegan is left. She is very moved by the sudden compassion. She finds closure in it. She knows that what she did was worth it.>
Tegan: Thank you. For giving me the strength to take this chance. I know he’s worth it, and I think he deserves to know I love him back.
<She picks up her phone, and walks off as she calls her boyfriend.>
<Now only Keisha is left, she sings the lullaby melody to her baby in silence. She now has hope.>
THE END.
Blocking:
As Aaron didn’t necessarily have a character in the play, he decided to be the director. He
was responsible for writing the script (above) and staging the play itself. The play was set
in an airport where five women meet in an airport lounge when their flight is canceled.
This decision was made because it was the only logical place where five women of these
different cultures would meet. The women then procede to interact with each other,
causing them to express their feelings in monologue. By the end of the play, the women
feel at ease with their life problems, as a mother sings her baby a common lullaby.
Word Count: 113
Feeling Circle:
As we went further into the rehearsal process, Aaron felt that we weren’t necessarily
relating to our characters. He did some research and found this concept of a feeling circle.
We were to go around and express our deepest feelings with each other. This was to help
us get a better understanding of our cast members and become a stronger ensemble. It
didn’t necessarily help us because our feelings could not relate to our characters feelings.
However, the exercise did bring us closer together as a group.
Word Count: 90
Rationale:
Our idea behind the project was based on emotion. The majority of our group was female
and the song choices we had (‘Who owns my heart’ – Miley Cyris, ‘You belong with me’
- Taylor Swift and ‘Hips don’t lie’ – Shakira) were very female opinionated in terms of
point of view and emotion. Therefore, it was only logical to go on a feminist route.
Listening to the songs we came to the conclusion that we would use the song ‘Hips don’t
lie.’ ‘You belong with me’ came across very cheesy and ‘Who owns my heart’ came
across very provocative and inappropriate for a school performance. Listening to ‘Hips
don’t lie’ made us think of women and the way we are often perceived in society. History
shows women being looked at as sex symbols and used for conceiving, as opposed to
being taken seriously and given educations and jobs in society. Therefore, we decided to
make our play about five women who experience life problems that females frequently
experience. At the end of the play, despite their differences, the women are brought
together by a universal symbol (a common lullaby).
Word Count: 191
Conclusion:
Overall I think our performance went well. Everything that we had planned to have
happen, happened. Whether or not it necessarily looked good when it came down to it
is a different story. I think we portrayed the message we were trying to send to our
audience. However, there were some technical aspects of the play that could have been
altered to create a cleaner, more powerful performance. My performance specifically
could have been improved with choice of vocal point and tone of voice. My tone of voice
wasn’t necessarily appropriate for the monologue that I was performing. However, I think
the rest of my performance in terms of the dialogues went rather well.
Word Count: 117
Evaluation:
Our performance could have been improved by both the technical aspects and the
monologues. The dialogue between the characters was fine. However, a few technical
aspects such as the location of Aaron and the vocal point for some of the monologues
could have been improved. My monologue specifically was not necessarily relatable to
the audience. By changing my vocal point and the tone of my voice, my character would
have made a bigger affect on the audience.
Word Count: 80
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