"Well Ends" Classmate Feedback 1

I had the first draft of my first play of the semester--Well Ends--read in class this week. I wrote it quickly and was proud of the result, but more on that in another post. This post collects the comments I received after the reading and discussion that followed. Students were asked to respond to 5 aspects of the play, which are outlined and then answered. My thoughts about the comments and the direction I should go with the play are at the bottom of this post.

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1) Reaction to the play

--Interesting, playful; good dialogue

--WOAH. Wonderfully written.

--Intriguing. Dialogue--well crafted; somewhat dreamlike. Built well. Throwing man into well somewhat abrupt; need deeper understanding of intent perhaps.

--End could be a little clearer on what audience needs to get from the theme. Theme slightly unclear.

--It was great! The dialogue was amazing.

--Liked the concept of duality and inner conflict manifest in the play

--Entertaining, somewhat philosophical. Moreso as the play moves on.

2) Reaction to the theme of the play

--Interesting, story of identity maybe?; what's this about?

--WHAT IS IT?

--I liked the mystery of it. It was as if someone had come from a parallel world.

--It would be insanity (?) to meet yourself!

--Seems at first to be long lost brothers. Then seems to be talking to himself.

3) Reaction to the main character

--Interesting, kind; did he kill himself?; Battling other half of himself maybe?

--Well crafted, great depth, great story of his life that was presented, nice surprises.

--Strongly depicted--He bloviates (sic) a little--but interesting. :) Question: is the father duplistic with his daughter?

--I liked how the main character was trying to prove to the man that he wasn't crazy.

--Man/Welcome had a medieval feel, they were very superstitious in those days, and would have suspected the worst.

--Interesting character. Water attaches well to character's personality.

4) Reaction to other characters

--Lindsey thinks both men are her father

--I see Man & Welcome as the Main, Lyndsey was good support. How old was she? What's her bit? Can the actress just present that?

--The Man was a great character. He was very convincing in saying that he was Welcome.

--Is the daughter necessary? (he could have sold stuff at the fair)

--Lindsay is a flat character, necessarily so. Man is obviously VERY similar to main character.

5) Most interesting scene

--When Welcome tells the man he's going the wrong way

--The conversation just before the Man drops Welcome in the well--that depth was hugely interesting.

--Reflections of Welcome sharing memories of water pitcher skills

--Directional argument

--Overlapped memories

--When they called each other crazy.

--It was interesting that Welcome stopped struggling and let the other man kill him, and also when the two men were going over the memories of their father.

--I liked the getting shoved down the well and the serenity it brought his mind.

--Just before realization of who the other is. More segue to the murder/killing.

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I intended for this play to have a lot of connections to make, and I do not expect everyone to catch them with only one exposure. The plays that I enjoy have always taken repeat readings in order for me to start piecing them together--figure out The Meaning. For someone to recognize "water" as a recurring image of some significance tells me I am on the right track. Or they are.

Still, many people vocalized their confusion about the theme. While I strove to make it clear--to have it "said aloud", as Omar suggested ("the water runs with you"--though cryptic, still noticeable)--I do think the play should be lengthened, thus furnishing more space for the images to repeat. The Man should have a monologue before the end of the play; he and Welcome's argument about location should be extended; the problem of who gets Lindsey should be more involved; and, as an aside to myself, the issue of Welcome realizing that the Man possesses the better/more fatherly attributes and thus allowing himself to be dominated--the "losing your life to save it/to save others" idea--should be involved. With that said, two thoughts come to mind: 1) should my spoken-statement-of-theme be the "losing your life to save it/others"?, and 2) should Lindsey's life be threatened in some way? Raise the stakes there? Welcome somehow needs to see his inadequacy. Maybe the spoken-statement should be what it takes to be the father one should be. Maybe.

To make Lindsey matter, her parallel to Welcome should be more obvious. The covenant is one that Welcome is making to be a better father, to take upon the responsibility, the consequence of the daughter's deeds. The parent-child relationship as a covenant. Perhaps Welcome is cynical about the daughter, and gives her up for that reason. There's a darkness there. I dunno how that sits with me right now, but I'll give it audience and hear its case.

All in all, to the urgency that fills me regarding finishing this play, I say Patience. Let it sit. Be okay with a slow pace. Move on to other things, keep working and practicing, and all will be well.