In Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, Williams uses “plastic theater”
to help mold the ideas of the play. At the end of scene 1, Laura is speaking to
her mother about her fear of receiving no gentleman callers. Later she states
she is scared she is going to grow up
and be an old maid. At this moment “The Glass Menagerie” music ends the scene.
The tone of the song matches her internal feeling and also describes her
external physical state. A Menagerie means a place of keeping unique animals,
which directly relates to Laura being unique. Also, she is kept from society
and unable to live a normal life similar to what a menagerie does to animals. When
I listened to the song, it puts me in an awkward eerie place. The song “The
Glass Menagerie” reminds me of Laura’s insecure state of mind. Specifically
relating to the glass unicorn that is so dear to Laura’s heart because it is different
than all the other glass horses. The music is played when Laura feels insecure
and demeans herself not only in the scene 1, but also in scene 7. The song
allows the reader a deeper understanding of Laura because it brings about
different emotions that she portrays.
The Glass Menagerie is a “memory
play” which alone may be skewed from what exactly happened. When combining a
memory play with “plastic theater”, it allows there to be manipulation of the
truth. These concepts compliment one another because together they let you
imagine what is true and the meaning behind each scene. In real life there is
no music playing in the background. The music and other characteristics of
“plastic theater” transform it from just a regular play into a “memory play”.
Having the music in the background makes it feel more like a memory instead of
just an ordinary play. By the placement of images and music, it enforces the
true meaning behind Williams’ words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUnS1mK9ibo
Both Buried Child and ‘night, Mother depict a few intense
social and political concerns from the time period the play was written as well
as in today’s world. In Sam Shepard’s Buried
Child there are many themes portrayed throughout the entire drama.
Alcoholism is a main motif in the play, which continually causes discord
between family members. The use of alcohol correlates with the hostile cold
environment. For example when Tilden accuses Dodge of hiding whiskey under the
sofa, Dodge becomes very defensive and responds, “I haven’t got anything under
the sofa! Now mind your own damn business! Jesus God, you come into the house
outa the middle of nowhere, haven’t heard or seen you in twenty years and
suddenly you’re making accusations.” Obviously Shepard is suggesting a negative
tone about the social issue of alcoholism. Throughout the entire play Dodge
insists on having a “goddamn bottle” of whisky to drink. Again Shepard suggests
the negative aura of alcoholism through Dodge’s character. Also Dodge’s
persistent use of alcohol suggests his attempt to be numb to his families past.
As shown, the author uses dialogue to support the negative impact of alcohol. Shepard
also uses stagecraft such as props and sound to reiterate the concern for
alcoholism. In the stage direction it state there should be the sound of
bottles smashing against wall. This should be the actual smashing of bottle and
not tape sound. With the use of these different effects help us imagine the
actual actions of an alcoholic. 
Norman’s ‘night, mother is
entirely focused around an important social concern—suicide. Suicide will
always be an issue due to the high pressures of society. I personally think the
play is simply trying to bring more awareness to this devastating action. The
two characters in the play, Mama and Jessie, have completely opposite
standpoints on the issue of suicide. Jessie wants to be in a dark, quiet place,
which she believe she will find when she is dead. Where as mama can’t even
grasp the concept of death and fears all thought of suicide. Norma uses’
stagecraft to emphasize the importance of this issue. Not only was this a
problem in the 80’s when this play was written, but suicide will never
disappear. This play takes place in a
relatively new house built way out on a country road…the house is more
comfortable than messy….[the set] should simply indicate that they are very
specific real people who happen to live in a particular part of the country.
Heavy accents, which would further distance the audience from Jessie and Mama,
are also wrong. The stagecraft provided in this particular stage direction
proves us with a useful description about how the scene is supposed to look. The
play is taking place in a relatively new house, which indirectly suggests that
suicide will always be occurring even in modern times. The characters are
dressed as ordinary people so the audience can directly relate to the
actresses. 