Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Leveling Up!

"Leveling Up" by Deborah Zoe Laufer is very interesting play. It brings up question of what it means to have a real life for people of the millennial generation. Also it blurs the lines of reality and video games. it accomplishes all this through its main character Ian. he is told he does not have a real life even though he is a professional game. That is not considered to be real. He then gets a job operating drones. Now while he is doing almost the same tasks as when he is playing, there are major differences in the consequences. Ian's reality becomes infused with the game he is playing, making him unable to distinguish work from pleasure. The inability to relax is driving force behind the major conflict at the end. He is always at odds with one or more of the other characters because he cannot find a way to get out of work mode. His fragile mental state leads him to attack Jennie both virtually and in real life. 
The play has a great concept, and at times a good script. But, there are moments where it feels that Deborah just gave up on writing a scene and took and easy way out. The dialog gets bland and repetitive. Also you can tell the script was written by someone who did a lot of research on gamers, but was not a gamer herself. The lingo was right; it was just slightly off. It was just a little unsettling. Also her sentence structure at times could be a little strange. She ordered words in ways that people would not actually say.
         The play as a whole was very good. She could have spent a little more time fleshing out lines and a little more research on how gamers actually speak. With those little addition it would be an amazing play.



Jesus is a pot smoking commie

"Jesus Christ is a Communist" is a ten-minute play, written by Jason D. Martin. The play is about a father and son who are secluded from civilization because of Y2k. They have been hiding in the woods because they are scared the commies, liberals or the marijuana man is going to get them. They are the epitome of conservative. Jed is the one who suggested them moving away for the apocalypse. His son Elroy is scared that Jesus has come and taken everyone to heaven except them.
         When a third character, record to only as man, enters Jed and Elroy assume that he is a communist. The only thing that saves him is that he looks like Jesus. The father and son test the hiker to make sure he is Jesus. During a test the hiker gets away, but he leaves his weed behind. Upon seeing this the religious men that Jed and Elroy are, rationalize that means they Jesus wants them to get high. So they start using the weed like chewing tobacco.

                           Martin is really painting a horrible picture of the “redneck” stereotype. he shows them as uneducated, ignorant, and quick to have their opinion changed. They are shown to be ignorant when they thing that Y2K is going to happen and then again when they are so easily tricked by the hiker. They are displayed to be uneducated just in their word choice and the manner of their speak. It is hard to really get a full grasp of what they are saying. they are quick to change because when the hiker leaves his drugs behind, they are quick to go against their own morals if told to by a heavenly power.