My input on Conduct of Life:

This is heavy subject matter indeed, obviously pedophilia and rape are not exactly what people go into a theater hoping to see. For me personally, it's definitely challenging to pick out some positive aspects within this play, but not completely impossible. I think it's worth noting that regardless of the despicable nature Fornes was still able to create such strong and well rounded characters in turn forcing the reader to be invested in the story in a way that perhaps they don't really wish to pursue, but must in order to know how the story turns out. I found that my focus was on the actual characters and not strictly restricted to my formulating opinions on them by their actions alone. For example: While I don't condone or accept any of Orlando's actions within the play, I recognize that he is a broken human being and what he's been exposed to in his life has caused him some serious psychological damage. I became engrossed in Fornes character creation in that she actually lets us into the minds of these characters without an abundance of  inner monologues.  It's impressive that, while yes, her dramaturgical style is more abrupt and pared down you're still able to pick up on strong character definition before the second act of the play even begins. It's easy to recognize right off the bat that Orlando is a really unstable and terribly twisted individual and the characters around him are being sucked into his world of pain and despair. I also appreciated and immediately recognized her choice to make the play a little more disjointed and not overly structured for the sake of character portrayal. Orlando has taken all these innocent people down with him into his downward spiral and I think Fornes choice to throw the audience off balance with this jarring transition of scenes and dialogue makes it all the more enveloping. This was a great way to represent the fractured world in which these characters dwell and it creates a tension that stays with the reader until the final shocking conclusion. Overall I am not a fan of this play, I am however very interested in reading more from Fornes in the future, hoping to get a better understanding of who she is as a playwright.

Trifles, by Susan Glaaspell:
This is another play that deals with strong character traits and depicts how those traits are perceived within our society. Overall it portrays women in both a positive and negative light, while the men tend to come off as being chauvinistic and downright inept.
Now, this is an early 20th Century play and  Glaspell makes a great point in showing that women are just as capable as men are at solving issues or conundrums and still they can be often overlooked as a source of positive contribution to the society in which they live. This is slightly less relevant by today's standards, but the central idea of the play still resonates within today's society. The reason being is that it speaks to us as human beings and we can relate to how it might feel to be someone who gets overlooked by their peers and yet is more than capable of performing an action just as well as they. The feel and look of this play are clearly defined by the surrounds of a rural town consisting of down-home folks who know each other well and are typically in each other's business.
That being said, Dr. Fletcher's question is a very interesting one indeed, because this play is very much naturalistic by design and might not work as a more abstract stripped down version of itself....or maybe it could work.
It's quite possible that a blatant white-wash of these characters' environment may take away from the overall effect and meaning of the play itself in which Glaspell intends to convey natural human reactions. Then again, it could make the characters strengths and weaknesses come across more effectively than the standard set piece of the play might achieve. The reason being is that if we take away the backdrop of this play we're still left with some very defined central characters that stand out from the tertiary characters (the men) thus granting the slightly feministic overtones to truly shine without distraction. However, I tend to be of the mind that if you strip away these character's surroundings the play will likely suffer and lose it's effectiveness in portraying true to life reactions that would likely happen in reaction to a situation like murder. If you take away the defined time,  place, era, and cultural background of these characters the audience will most likely miss out on the central theme of this play. It might be harder to even invest in the moments of tension that Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peter share when they discover the truth about Mrs. Wright murdering her husband if all of their surroundings become more of a question than an exact depiction. In my opinion the play stands to lose more than gain from a minimalist approach to the production design. That's not to say it couldn't be done, on the contrary it most definitely could be, of course, that's not to say it should be.

So, I thoroughly enjoyed Overtones, even though initially I expected it to be slightly droll, but in the end I was pleasantly surprised. I quickly determined that there is clearly more to the play than meets the eye. It is obviously more than just some weird story about two snobby women and their "alter-egos". And there in lies the question: What's the deal with these alter egos?
So, pertaining to Dr. Fletcher's question, what are the logistics/rules of Hetty and Maggies' world, how are they communicating? Are they actually communicating to one another? Can they see each other, etc.......
Well, In short, I believe they can see each other and are indeed communicating with one another, if only just in brief instances. My personal analysis would indicate that although the audience is left to fend for themselves to determine how Hetty and Mattie interact with one another there is still has to be a reason for their ability to converse with each other even though one could argue that they don't technically exist. I think perhaps Gerstenberg's intention was to portray the two characters in stark contrast to their "trained selves", in order to define for the audience, a sense of the familiar existing in an alternate reality. Now, albeit this alternate reality an unrealistic concept(especially in 1913), it's a strangely believable alternate reality that Gerstenberg creates here with ease. No matter how you pick this play apart, it all comes down to basic human emotions and when dealing with emotions, typically rules go out the window. The concept of this is really quite remarkable, and the fact that Gerstenberg pulled it off in 1913 is even more remarkable. Not only does the play draw the audience in, but it also takes a somewhat fantastical premise, puts it directly in the audience's face almost immediately and more often than not the play is ultimately accepted in a positive light, because the audience can relate to the characters and their basic human traits, even when in this particular instance these two individuals don't really exist.
Now, for my take on how, or why Hetty and Maggie seem to be capable of communicating to each other is a little more thought-provoking, I hope. I believe that in the final moments of the play in which we hear Hetty scream to Maggie as they part ways, "I Hate You!" And then almost immediately following we hear Maggie's fierce response, "I Hate You! This is the culmination of the emotions that these two women have been feeling towards one another for quite some time. Perhaps it is in that very instant that both Maggie and Hetty actually catch a glimpse of one another and are actually acknowledging one another. Harriet and Margaret's emotions are running so high at this moment that their inner selves are just waiting to break out and tear the other apart. And its in this time, when dealing with human emotions that even a simple nod of the head can mean death. With a mind full of emotions lacking reason, one's true self has a way of being revealed. And still these two women, part ways as "friends". Oh what tangled webs we weave.......

Started my blog today, good times will be had by all!