Response to final "Feel the Bend" Session!

Affirmations:

I expressed this a bit in class the other day, but something about casting a younger Carol worked really well for me. I know Priscilla said that she had lowered the ages of both of the characters, but the gap in ages seemed to be a really productive, active space for me as a spectator (more on this in my questions section.

The verbal thread that tied together everyday vocabulary with the vocabulary of “Anna and her hairs” was incredibly clear in this draft. I’m thinking particularly of the ways “I’m not cutting (you out of my life)” resonated with cutting of the hairs, etc. There were a few other words/phrases that floated between these two different worlds, though I’m afraid they escape me at the moment. I’ll update this as I remember them. Connecting these two worlds together was explicit, but still nuanced.

On the whole, I loved this draft of the script and the adjustments you’ve made—it’s so exciting to see the script find its structure!

‘I want to talk to her but she’s a ship” remains my favorite line, ever!

Questions:

Are all of Anna’s cards somehow related to her “victims”?

Is the fact that they are grey hairs new? (Possibly just my shoddy memory)

What memories would Betty catalogue, if she could?

How often did Betty/Anna fight pre-John?

I remember when Debbie Saivetz spoke about the presence of the “theory voice” in “Love, Candy.” I notice a scene where the “theory voice” of “Feel the Bend” erupts from Anna, and I’m wondering where that is rooted. It’s early in Act II, when she has a lengthy explanation of how bisexuality works. Where does this “theory” voice come from and how does it fit with the rest of the otherwise relatively realist dialogue?

Opinions:

Has the “do you want sex” scene changed? It’s still heartbreaking, but I wasn’t as affected by it in this reading (perhaps related to where its placed in the play’s structure?). It’s such a beautiful, heartbreaking, and hilarious scene—and I’d hate for it not to be maximize our understanding of Betty. It’s probably my favorite scene in the entire play, and the one in which we learn the most about Betty.

Overall, lovely, amazing work this semester—I’m so exited to see where this play is headed!