Michael on "The Fourth," finally.

Robert, Patrick: Wow! Way to end the semester with a BANG!
(pun, double entendre intended)

Congratulations!

I so love this play now!

I have to admit when we started the semester, I was familiar with it from before. I liked things about it. I liked most of the characters, but I remember thinking it felt like a bunch of cool people looking for a story. And while you may not have every detail nailed down: You've found it!

I love how you've shaped this into Adrian's play. Full of Adrian's angst and unrequited love and increasingly requited sex and crossing back and forth across these threshholds. I feel like he has a bit of self-worth and he's in search of claiming it back--one way or another. I love how he seems to be tortured with the need for Connor, but his brain and something deep down says Seth. I love that Connor is coming around (no pun intended,) that this is forcing Adrian into a decision of sorts, and that it's going to be messy one way or another.

I love the motion and movement and journeys of this play. I hope you explore this even further. The movement in your presentation was very cool. I'd love to see more of it in how the story is told as well.

I second Daniel on your ability to capture voice and language of people exquisitely.

QUESTIONS:

Is Adrian journeying toward or away from the fireworks? Does this mean anything? In my head, he'd always been going away from them. And as we discussed in class yesterday, there's something very different about watching fireworks from the roof a mile away and lying on your back in the park underneath them. Could this dichotomy/symbolism be explored more? Which characters are going to see the fireworks on their backs (no pun intended, but an interesting one to ponder) and which ones are going to watch them from afar?

Ever thought about making Henry the estranged older brother of Connor? The brother that can't go home because something bad happened between him and his folks? That Mia isn't supposed to tell Adrian that he's back in town, but might? That Mia can't tell Henry about Connor's "explorations", but might? (Or might not?) This might add some tensions and tangle up their webs even more. (I've never thought of that before. It just popped into my head as I was thinking of questions. I thought of editing it because it isn't all well-thought out and is a bit prescriptive, but then in the spirit of responses bubbling up and knowing you'll take them and leave them as you will, I thought "what the hell.")

Are you still building toward the big fireworks show?

What if Seth has two shitty 4ths in a row?

Will Adrian make his decision actively? Or passively?
(definitely no pun intended! I think we explored active/passive quite well in class. I'm talking about the resolution--or not--of his love triangle)

IF the latter, will it be Seth or Connor who makes the decision for him?

FURTHER OPINIONS:

I'm not sure I like Adrian getting so drunk. It seems to be taking some of his responsibility away from his actions. Unless you're trying to make this a huge part of the stoy. I like that he's got this box of wine and that he's hitting it as he journeys. Although I imagine it gets hotter as he goes--well I guess that's just an assumption I've had that it's cheap chablis. If it's red, it doesn't matter. If it's white and getting warmer as the play goes on, then it starts making Adrian seem like a transient-level alkie. I'm not sure what the answer is on this. I can see it various ways. I just wanted you to know that it's something I thought about and I think you need to really think about to what level he gets drunk.

It might be my age, but technology/communication devices are the part of this play that carries the least heat for me. (I follow the characters and the angst and the excitement of the 4th and the journey, etc.) That being said, I think you've made some real progress in your use of cell phones and text messages in the play, and they are totally in character for this group of characters. But I caution to really think about each message, each voice mail (unrequited call), each picture sent via phone and make sure it's totally germane to the plot. There may still be some times this all feels more like atmosphere or convention to me.

YET, yesterday I loved the surreally honest voice mails. LOVED that scene. I don't think you could do that through out the play, but for one scene WOW! It's almost like you took the devices and are making fun of it and then using them to really tell what is happening. That moment can be very powerful and you can convey a lot of info in a memorable and cool way! A cool perception shift.

In conclusion, I applaud y'all's work on "The Fourth" this semester. I think y'all have cracked open so much and moved this play to a great place that you both should be proud of. I'm honored to have been a part of it and can't wait to see where it goes from here!