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- Reading responses must be AT LEAST 200 words.
- Include your full name at the end of your comments. Unnamed comments will be deleted.
- From the "Comment As" drop-down menu, choose Anonymous, then click "Publish."
- Reading responses are due by midnight on the night PRIOR to our discussion of the required reading.
Comedy, in any sense or form is the hardest thing to write about. we can scare people easily with details, but when we tell a joke once and when we have to repeat it more than that it becomes a complete bore. David Ives has figured out how it is to bring forth comedy in the strangest way. Not haha jokes but sort of "what the hell just happened?" when writing the 10 Minute Plays given to us we were given complications. Which gave us room for both drama and comedy to choose which way we went with it became our decision. The main topic of this reading and video was to show the variety of comedy there can be.
ReplyDelete-Christina Velasquez
My take on the readings and video was how comedy can be incorporated into any genre of writing in general, if done smoothly of course. Something can be totally serious and if added any sense of small humor, can result to something engaging and motivating for audiences. I like Ives take on comedy because he makes it clear that there are different abstracts of humor. Comedy is like the tree itself and humor are the different branches connected- the interesting thing about it is that its all conveyed together and CAN work. I love how theres no "right" or "wrong" answer as to how comedy can be incorporated because in general it is a spontaneous aspect of emotion that can be excersized in many ways and included in any kind of genre while still grasping the attention of an audience. Comedy is like that dangerous risk that writers take and can either go super well or lame, either way it impacts an audience. It's very interesting.
ReplyDelete-Andrea Castaneda
This is a comedic act which pokes fun at various cities around the east coast. As a reader that has never been to the northeast this was an interesting read to get an idea as to the possible social issues that go on through these cities and how they can shape the mindset of the citizens. Like any subject this can be turned into a comedy. Here Al tells Mark about the Philadelphia and how he has to do the opposite to get what he wants. However once Mark has occupied the city, so to speak, he kicks Al off and makes him realize the extent of his decisions (losing job, family life, etc). This then puts Al in Mark's previous position as Mark assumes his Philly identity.
ReplyDelete-Eutimio Longoria-
Well placed comedy in a play is something that I personally love. That being said, The Philadelphia by David Ives is a good example(in my opinion) of comedy mixed within a great one act play. So much so that this has become one of my favorites that we have read for class overall. Even better than my last personally favorite Duet for Bear and Dog. And it wasn’t until I watched his interview that I remembered that I have read his work before. The title was “Sure thing” by David Ives and after re-watching the play I could see a clear style of comedy that David Ives uses. Though it may ,or may not be a particular style of comedy. It is defiantly his own form of it that often mixes in bizarre,dramatic scenes that create these characters into well rounded beings. When being interviewed he mentions that he envied The three stooges and Monty Python, which may have influenced his work either deliberately, or subconsciously in one way or another. Either way it’s safe to say that a majority of his plays, both The Philadelphia, and those mentioned during his interview all contain comedic dialogue and character interactions in some form or another. While creating interesting, yet entertaining one act plays.
ReplyDelete-Kathleen Salinas
Humor is something that is something we seem to not be incorporating into our own plays, and that in itself is a sad fact, given how humorous life tends to be at times. Life is filled with these, jaw dropping, what did I just witness, type events which can prove to be more effective than quick witty one liners or cheap comebacks. Being spontaneous also helps. When we lead into something, guide an audience by the collective hands, it’s not as effective as a comedic ‘jump scare’. As was the topics behind our readings, it just goes to show how veritable a play can become when the inclusion of light hearted, sometimes even dark humor, is added.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the comedic side in the Philadelphia play that we read, it certainly was eye opening, considering this reader has never been. It tends to make light of the east coast in general and gives readers a sense, through brilliant comedic timing, of what’s to be expected as far as sociopolitical issues are concerned.
I did my best to input comedic dialogue into my play. It took on this back and forth banter between my characters that seemed to bounce off them quite well, though there really wasn’t much in the way of progression, and it did feel stagnated at times.
- Lucas Zamora
I really enjoyed our reading and the writer, David Ives, insights as well. The Philadelphia was a really humorous play and I think the one thing that really resonated with me is that when we as people are in a sort of “rut” we have different means of coping. Al in this instance talks about how he woke up in a “Los Angeles” and how despite the unfortunate things that have happened to him he is still able to find himself in a good mood. When Mark is said to be in a “Philadelphia” it is only then that revealed that Al was mistaken and the things that happened have actually happened. It can be inferred that being in a “Los Angeles” means that bad things can be the opposite of good things whereas in a “Philadelphia” your actions have an opposite effect. The ending of the play provides some nice input from the waitress whom mentions she is in a “Cleveland,” where it is “like death without all the advantages.” Maybe Ives isn’t trying to make some sort of big commentary but in my head I think there is something to be identified relating to our society. For instance despite how bad things can be some people put themselves in a false sense of security. “Things could be worse” or “things can only get better” and while there is some truth in this it is still important to weigh just how severe some events may be to us as opposed to just “pretending.” Each character represents a different aspect of these ideas in my opinion at least, with Al being blissful ignorance, Mark a sort of acceptance in a bleak place, and the waitress being the daily toil and strife.
ReplyDelete-Mark A Peña
Is it me or was this play the longest one we've read this entire semester? Or maybe it just felt that way because it's the last one we'll get to discuss in class. This could be just me again, but as I was reading the play I pictured it like it was a Seinfeld episode. Al was played by Jerry and Mark was played by George, come to think of it their character descriptions are parallel. Cool and frazzled, not the ages or maybe the ages too - I can't recall how old they were in the show. Overall, I did like The Philadelphia. I found it pretty funny which is great considering David Ives strives for comedy. I agree with a comment made in the interview, that the best way to treat serious subjects is with humor - to look for the moment of truth though the comedy light and turn things on their head. I feel like comedy helps us get through a lot of things or makes it easier to address such serious matters because it doesn't feel as heavy of burden to deal with once we've let out a few laughs. Ives states that his other plays are written in a similar style and since I did like reading The Philadelphia, I'm definitely going to look into those other works.
ReplyDeleteKarla Olvera
David Ives makes it clear that the two best, if not absolutely necessary, parts of a play are comedy and two people falling in love. Aside from this tidbit of information and the sense that being a playwright is not for me, I do not think I got much from the interview.
ReplyDeleteThe play "The Philadelphia" was enjoyable to read; as I went through it, it read much like a television series, very funny and fast paced. The play had my attention until the end, the characters were distinct, and their situations were clear. Their interactions were not very meaningful, but overall, I think there is a good message in there about perspective and choosing your reactions to life's up's and down's. Reading Ives’ play made writing a play seem so easy as he used very few characters and a rather simple plot, so it made me think, what am I doing wrong? So I thought, instead of trying to fit in all these concepts and complications and pillars of whatever, I should try to have a conversation in my head about the context of my play. I think I’ve been overcomplicating things as a result of the assignment guidelines. Ives simplified things for me greatly.
-Mayanin Rosa
It took a second read for the play to “click” with me. Essentially, from what I can gather is that we don’t really get what we ask for, and that even in those “bad” days that we have, it’s better to just laugh it off and keep on going about our lives. This is depicted by the character Al when he gets the phone call that he is fired and that his wife is leaving him. What I found amusing is that instead of cursing her name, he states, “may your dating pool be Olympic-sized” (72). Usually, I’m not the biggest laugher, but when the comedy is intertwined in a witty sense such as this play, I can appreciate it. In addition, maybe I’m looking way into this, but when Al states, “Well. Everybody has to be someplace”, I understood this as everyone is living in their own world with their own set of problems. To further emphasize this, Mark says this is a Los Angeles, and the waiter says she is in a Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the interview, it’s interesting that David Ives feels it is necessary to connect humor to emphasize a more serious subject matter. As stated before, both Al and Mark are having bad days, but the writing uses comedy to not only elevate it to a certain degree but to show the audience that its ok to have a good day. You just have to keep it going in a sense. This lesson is related to the writing in my play as well. To emphasize the entity of racism, I use a joke such as when Stretch states, “Place is so white, makes Larry Bird look like Magic Johnson!” So, with this joke it’s a funny basketball reference, but there is a dark truth to how the characters view the rich part of town. I’ve always had this dry sense of humor and am somewhat sarcastic, so I’m glad that writers like Ives and I utilize that into our work.
Patricio Hernandez (P.J.)
David Ives is by far my favorite playwright. It can be seen in his interview that he appreciates the larger themes and other forms/mediums, but that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. It’s this enthusiasm for the art and humor in life that translates itself into “The Philadelphia”. What I drew from it is that we're all dealt a certain hand in life but there’s no such thing as a bad hand, it’s all about how you play it. In the context of the play Ives uses metaphorical locations, we all have to be somewhere as he says but as our character Al teaches Mark , if you use the rules of your location to your advantage you can get ahead and what you want. This all sounds really existential and dense without context but Ives’ humor rears in this metaphysical concept and grounds in a diner, with real people and real situations. This humorist existentialism seems to be a recurring theme as revealed in the interview, I would point to Variations on the Death of Trotsky specifically which I would interpret as a commentary on what we perceive as troubles and how they relate to life, Trotsky not noticing the axe until his wife comments on it.
ReplyDelete- Joaquin Castillo Jr
I really enjoyed Ives play "The Philadelphia" because it captivated me and it was truly humorous and made me laugh out loud. I think it would have been really cool to watch in person. I think his theory about doing things backwards will get you what you actually want is hilarious and also true when men deal with woman. A lot of times us as women expect men to read our minds or we simply don't want to give them what they want. I felt like the play captured a little bit of that and found it funny. I loved how the guy was in a Los Angeles and that's why he was telling the waitress she would looked good on the wide screen. There was a lot of humor and it wasn't forced at all. It was very flawless and I can see why Ives is greatly respected and admired in the playwriting world. Lastly, his interview was cool. I liked the clip from the monkeys trying to recreate hamlet. I saw some three stooges in there and loved that it was playful yet not dumb or foolish. Really enjoyed it.
ReplyDelete-Joy Perez
I enjoyed reading The Philadelphia, it reminded me of a comedic Twilight Zone. I liked how Mark and Al had to talk like they did not want anything. The play contained some some science fiction with a play on words. The dialogue was clever and normal. Just two guys complaining about their day, something relatable. But this all changed with the twist added by Ives, where everything they want isn’t available. The play had a way of being funny with the normal dialogue, and was easy to read along to. There’s just two guys talking about their day and a waitress. For the stage directions, they would just need a table and two chairs. I felt like Ives was going for a theme of you can’t always get what you want, and you get stuff you don’t want. The David Ives interview has him talking about how he started writing plays. He compares his writing to Monty Python and The Three Stooges, due to the way he blends his humor. The person giving the interview claims that Ives is saving the theater. Even Ives mentions how the plays during the time of the interview were dry. Ives take on “The Philadelphia” was a different reading, but not as weird as the M&M play.
ReplyDelete-Danny Olivarez
I was impressed to see how well read and how solid his ideas behind his plays were. He explains how he had ideas and simply chose to go with them. Although he does not start from scratch strangely enough his inspiration comes from places I would not have suspected such as horrifying newspaper stories. I was incredibly upset to hear him talk about how someone lost his play and even more so to know that it had happened at the age of 9. I was also very intrigued to hear how he felt anxious to create before SNL beat him and used the material robbing him of the original concept. As for the play, I really enjoyed this week’s lesson. The concept was new which is something the author mentioned was what he aimed to accomplish. I enjoyed the interaction between the characters as well as the way in which the waitress was only used when needed and casually stepped out of the scene when she was to be uninvolved in the conversation. However, I really do wish that the waitress had elaborated on what being in a Cleveland was like. The plays ending could not have been better. Thoroughly enjoyed. 5 out of 5 would recommend to a friend.
ReplyDelete-Maria Romero