Meditation #8 -- Katie Marchant
After reading two of Paula Vogel’s works I have come to realize that she has a very defined writing style that I feel that I could recognize very easily. Her works are written in a very particular combination of dialogue and characters speaking directly to the audience. Another way a reader can recognize a Paula Vogel work is by the introductory scene titles she implements. By using these different stylistic methods she creates a work that is very interesting to read and almost hard to comprehend. But when you see the play performed on stage these stylistic elements make the show much more interesting.Vogel’s subject matter in both of the works we read is very dark yet at the same time the plays had some very comical moments. It seems weird to say that a work like How I Learned To Drive, whose subject matter includes incest and molestation, is comical but it is. Just reading the play I was very disturbed and did not find it funny at all but when I saw it produced it was much easier to pick up on the subtle humor. The Baltimore Waltz seems to be more directly funny and although the subject matter is dark (not quite as dark as How I Learned To Drive) the humor is easier to pick up while reading. It would be very interesting to see a production of this show to see if I pick up on other things like I did in How I Learned To Drive.
posted by Katie Marchant @ 5:24 PM
3 Comments:
I agree, Paula Vogel is a very good writer, she does a very good job conveying her stories in ways that people can understand what the real situation is, and from a new point of view. She is very good at addressing the touchy issues in a way that still creates humor and intrest in the story.
-Ann
I agree with you. I remember in reading How I Learned to Drive that I was more concerned with the seriousness of Li'l Bit's situation and not on the "crude" comedy of the play. I experienced very different emotions in watching it performed versus reading the script. However, I think that some of that may have to do with the director's interpretation of the script. Possibly not all productions of How I Learned to Drive will evoke the same emotions.
I don't really think that what Paula Vogel used was humor, per say, frequently she would implement comic relief to help the audience take a break from the intensity of the show. Overall, comedy was not a major theme though.
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