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- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
As comedic as it was conflicting, the play “Duet for Bear and Dog” certainly takes the viewer/reader on a journey in the short amount of time that it’s on stage. It was an interesting play to say the least. The banter between the dog and Bear, is probably one of the funniest we’ve read this semester. I look forward, as an aspiring writer to being able to incorporate the same fluid dictation we read here. Their conversational conflict had to do with an age old question drawn out over several centuries, as to who was the superior creature. It’s something to be noticed, and made me think about how domesticated dogs have become as opposed to other animals. Even cats are not domestic out of the womb, choosing to reside with their parental figures as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteHatcher’s ideal of suspended disbelief, which I almost had to read about upside down till I figured out how to flip my screen ahem… is a very well timed or coordinated text to have put alongside a play involving animals that we know don’t speak, least not in our language that is. For a playwright to have the guts to put that together, well it’s admirable as it is astounding.
- Lucas Zamora
I liked the minimalistic setting for Duet for Bear and Dog. It went together with the characters not having names except Boris. Dog only had a name to further the divide between his domestication and the wildness of bear. Even though bear was the wild one she was gentle and only thought of her survival and carrying out her role for the species.Dog was sensitive about being domesticated and being a small breed. He felt the need to show his “alpha” status to bear and anyone in hearing range. Bear tells him he took the easy way out and though dog tries to convince her and himself otherwise he knows its true. Thats why he dreams of running in the savanna, like a dingo.
ReplyDeleteHatcher talks about space and time in plays specifically how to use them and when and how the may or may not be beneficial. This all depends on the story that the playwright is relling and the parts that they deem important to the story and for the audience to understand. Some write out every detail of how the stage show look for specific stage direction. Others like simply ask for a ladder to be a tree.
Jasmin Grimaldo
Duet for Bear and Dog tied in quite nicely with pg. 57-66 of the Hatcher readings assigned for Tuesday. First, in Hatcher’s analysis of Space as a concept within theater; in regards to Duet for Bear and Dog, the audience willingly suspends belief to allow for a ladder to become a tree, and although we are aware that Man and Woman do not begin the same Space in the reality of the play we likewise allow for these two characters to exist on the same Stage Space. Next, Time, while we see the events of this play acted out in a relatively short span we as an audience know that in truth it would take Woman longer perhaps to reach the bear as she is on a different “street” at the beginning of the play. Finally, on Causality, our character She actually practically explicitly laid out the Causality of the play by describing the events that led to Bear’s position, the subsequent discussion between Bear and Dog, and finally that She’s call brought Man and Woman to the scene as well. I liked both of these readings, they were concise and much more literal, albeit on abstract concepts, in their explanations. What I think is important to note here is something that Dr. Moreira has actually repeated in class on various occasions, that while we may want to lay out an entire floor plan for our stories as writers, it is important to realize that the audience is quite capable in their grasping of a play’s context with the bare essentials.
ReplyDelete- Joaquin Castillo Jr.
Duet for bear and dog was actually a fun play to read and watch. And though it has a lot of absurdity and humor in it. Due to the essential characters being a talking bear and dog. There is still a serious theme within it. Mainly being the idea of freedom versus comfort. Where the comforts of a pleasant lifestyle can only be obtained through the forgoing of our initial freedom. Or at least in the case for the dog and his ancestors. But it’s not only bad from the dog’s side of things, it also showcases freedom as having it’s drawbacks as well. Such as the bears desperation for food.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading Hatcher’s take on Immanuel Kant’s definition about reality, I only found the part about space to be interesting. Where space on stage doesn’t necessarily have to be a decked out set of fake rocks and trees, in order to convince the audience where the setting is. Sometimes all it takes is simple dialogue ,or gestures to help showcase the where about of the characters on stage. Which reminded me of Duet for Bear and Dog. Where Sybil Rosen uses a ladder to represent the tree bear climbed up on. And even the general space was implied ,through the other characters dialogue and actions, that they were outside somewhere. Giving more than enough information for the audience to understand what was going on, and where.
-Kathleen m. Salinas
This play was totally lit, especially because it coincides with a conflict that we are seeing in our current world. These two characters (a dog and a bear) work towards concluding who is a more powerful and superior race. Remind you of something? Like the current racial status of the world where we see racists and a majority degrading minorities because of their religions, ethnical backgrounds, color of their skin, including economic status.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, I side-tracked to a topic further from this comedic play; however, I did perceive a lot of it to be a creative and fictional portrayal of a conflict that this world has dealt with for many centuries and continues to be a witness of. Which group can prove themselves superior than another? One of many common attributes taken by an agenda of white supremacists. Which is exactly what these two characters from this play try to tackle on.
In this play we see that the characters have a position in which they stand and try to prove; which is very interesting.
My take on this play goes hand in hand with the readings. I used the word perceive, which is a natural attribute that an audience gains when watching the play. For as much as we want our specific goal to be fully acknowledged by the audience, we have to realize that we can only write and work towards that goal, hoping that the audience perceives it through our minds.
-Andrea Castaneda
Hatcher in pages 57-66 talks about the differences between time, space and causality. For time, he says that it can be a 24hr play and yet it will not take 24hrs to perform but will take around three hours. One thing I can think of is “The Phantom of the Opera” how this play/musical takes place through a period of time and yet in play form or movie it takes about two to three hours to complete. I had never thought about that before. I guess it goes together with how us as readers/viewers believe. For space he mentions how space is important but also even if your stage does not have a lot of furniture to emulate the setting words said through out the dialogue can show us the setting. So for the play “Duet for bear and dog” it’s an empty stage except for a stepladder. Then came causality I googled the definition of this word and it meant the relationship between cause and effect, so in other words the connection. So how things connect throughout the play and their meaning. Now, for the play, “Duet for bear and dog” it states that the dog feels superior to the bear and yet the bear views it as absurd that the dog likes living with humans.
ReplyDeleteAlejandra Rodriguez
This week’s readings were not exactly as impactful as previous readings but I like the points that were being made. Hatcher’s discussion on how the elements of space, time and causality are crucial pieces to consider when writing a play was a good read. I think one of the most important points made for me as a student who is starting to enjoy playwriting as a creative outlet is that space is something to be practical about. It is important to consider what is and is not necessary to the play especially with space. Hatcher’s examples of how you can minimize setting from the use of walls down to just the hint of where the characters are through dialogue was a cool one. We’ve already mentioned how as playwrights we need to be thinking about budget for our plays and this section definitely helps when a playwright needs to find a workaround for certain aspects. “Duet for Bear and Dog” by Sybil Rosen is a great example of a play that makes the most out of the minimal. I liked the play as it was a bit of a step back compared to previous plays we have read. I don’t think it was trying to make any major commentary or anything like that but I still enjoyed the humor of it. The thing that stuck out to me was how the tree was filled in with a step ladder echoing the points Hatcher had made. Reading it I imagined it as such, the same idea the Hatcher touches on in that as an audience there is a “suspension of disbelief.” With that in mind I didn’t find anything about the play I did not enjoy, and it felt like a skit more than anything else.
ReplyDelete-Mark A Peña
I enjoyed reading about the concepts of space, time and causality. It was eye opening, specifically the sections noting how audience enjoy both when either end of the concepts’ meanings are portrayed. I was concerned about not having added enough props to my play but I understand now that I don’t need as many as I thought. The options of instead using solely dialogue, costumes or even a hand prop allowed me to see just how much I had been limiting myself. This week’s play was creative but I did not enjoy the dialogue. The inclusion of diverse characters was interesting as well as the use of time. I still don’t quite see why it is that SHE had to be Russian. Or the reason for the inclusion of the monologues for both animals towards the end of the play. I felt as though the ending was anticlimactic and that the bear should have been sold to a circus instead. Other than that I appreciated the use of a female officer. I kept picturing the bear as the one from Open Season and the dog as the Winnie from the same movie. As for the ladder I would have glued a tree sized cut out to the side of it so that when the bear claimed it really would look as if it were also climbing the tree.
ReplyDelete-Maria Romero
Reading Hatcher's "Space, Time & Causality" really brought concepts and things I had felt while watching plays into words and good explanation. I've always been one to gravitate towards simplicity. I firmly believe that less is more. And when I wrote my play, I had always envisioned a small table with two chairs facing each other. I find it beautiful when as an audience member, my mind can fill in the blanks and be drawn to believe that the actors are really where they are portraying to be. I believe it's a privilege as an audience member, and although extravagant set designs are awesome, they aren't necessary to put on a great show. In the duet for "Bear and Dog" I felt that the set was very simple and liked it. Especially because it would be out of budget to get a realistic tree as a prop. I liked that they used a ladder for the tree; super cute. And I had never thought about using animals as characters in play. I thought it was funny and had a deep meaning underlying the humor.
ReplyDelete-Joy Perez
Hatchers statement on page 58, "A garden could be rendered by a full realistic set, or it could be rendered with a single trellis. In the suspension of disbelief an audience member says to herself, "If they say it's a garden, I'll believe it's a garden, even if I can that it's just a trellis on an empty stage." The audience is willing to play along. It's part of the fun." ties in nicely to what we've discussed in previous class sessions - how we will we have limited access to props and materials and it will be up to the authors to set the scene of their plays and the actors to deliver the piece so that the audience has an understanding of where this is all taking place. I especially like the comment, "The audience is willing to play along. It's part of the fun." It makes me feel a little more at ease knowing the audience is willing to fill in the gaps so to speak and envision the stage whole, even if we only have one actual item on stage. Just like in Duet for Bear and Dog, the stage is empty and a stepladder serves as a tree. The play was delivered in such a way through the characters dialogues and actions that I could easily picture it all happening.
ReplyDeleteKarla Olvera
Duet for Bear and Dog is a great read on subtext and setting. Having the characters being animals we can already extrapolate aspects of their personalities from that information, which adds to the subtexual discussion over Bear and Dog's conversation. The idea of domesticity and nature is enhanced by the fact of the character's are aspects of those ideals, dog and bear respectively. The writing especially felt like it fit with them, dog's hyperactive nature, and bear's fear mirroring their real life counterparts.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I took away from Hatcher's reading was the idea of minimalism. While on the surface it seems to contradict the idea of "Spectacle," rather it asks us to consider what is important in a play. It states that the audience is smarter than we think and are able to pick up ideas in multiple ways. One could have a character dress like a nurse, or one could like in Hatcher's example, have a character hold a clipboard and then proceed to act like a nurse. It doesn't take a lot for the audience to understand and join in on the charade.
-Rafael Avila
When preforming and especially writing a play we as the writers, directors, and producers have to take into consideration the space which we have. Space is very important in any play but more a 10 Minute play which we our going to have to preform next month. With no money to spend we must think of the Scenes we make for our plays. Making them as realistic as possible. Being realistic with the space we use is also very important, props are to be taken into consideration and furniture. Hatcher as well as the play "Duet for Bear" did this exactly and demonstrated it in their writings. A ladder was used as a tree, and the audience knows this, the dog and bear of course were not actual animals but actors in costume. think of the money being sent if any as well. A simple chair and small table would suffice for the entire play.
ReplyDelete-Christina Velasquez
In the Hatcher reading it discusses how to incorporate setting. The section gives examples with how characters can help show the setting. Such as a character dressed as a nurse, depicts a hospital. Also if a character states what they are, or in dialogue. I plan on incorporating this into my play. Thatcher also explains how to use props for setting. In my play I only plan on using about several chairs. To for a bed and one to sit on. I some what enjoyed "Duet for Bear and Dog". I like how they used a ladder for a tree. Also I like how the play used how Thatcher explained to use space /setting. The characters state what they are to the audience. It helps make the animals come to life. The play was somewhat funny, but I won't remember this play like a week from now. I felt like the play was good silly. I'm not sure if the silliness was intended by its creator. I would have changed it to where the bear eats the dog. The bear would eat a hot dog, symbolizing the dog. I did like the tranquilizing used on the bear, that part was funny.
ReplyDelete-Danny Olivarez
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