Whether a written work be a short-story, a novel, or a performance piece, certain essential elements are included in the piece to aid in the development and direction of characters, setting, and plot. Performance pieces—such as plays and movie scripts—often limit how often scenery and direction appear within the text, leaving only specifics to the author’s visions in place.
This week we are prompted with the question of which of the two plays—The C Above High C and The Importance of Being Earnest—relies heavily on the performance elements; we were also asked how this affects the experience of reading the work. After review, I would have to argue that Reed’s “ …High C” uses performance at a degree much higher than that of Wilde’s “…Earnest”.
“…Earnest” is very heavy on dialogue—as is to be expected—and limits direction to initial scene settings, and vocal or expressive cues for the character. These instructions are important, yet if any of the performance elements were removed, the ability to perform the story remains; suggested or understood tone in the dialogue allow for the reader/director to envision the missing elements—due, in part, to the logical progression of the story. “…High C”, on the other hand, goes much further in plot and character development through the use of background action, sub-scenes, visual cues, and shifts in timeline—striking any of these elements and relying solely upon the dialogue would be a confusing nightmare.
Plot and character development in "…High C" also make way for political statements, symbolism, as well as satire—many of these points being lost if we were to use the dialogue alone; for example:
Symbolism, Irony
Louis, after his performance, applies facial cream—so much that his face is “white” in appearance. This element is not mentioned in dialogue and is kept in direction only. Louis is a fairly dark—though not very dark—complected African-American man. He is accepted by both “white” and “black” audiences; yet in a community of rising “black” entertainers—beboppers—he is seen as being very dark—Uncle Tom-like (Reed, I.1.7-8). All of this is mentioned and used during the continual application of facial cream while conversation also expands to the discussion of racial equality.
Symbolism, Satire, Comedy
The character of J. Edgar Hoover is described and portrayed as a short, fat, black transvestite (Reed, I.2.77-80; II.2). Rumors are fairly widely known of Hoover having been a transvestite and possibly bi-sexual or gay; adding the characterization of Hoover being dark-skinned adds an element of satirical humor—creating a visual representation of how Hoover isn’t “accepted as a white man” (Reed, I.2.80). The representation could also suggest that the man was so bent against everyone due to his own personal insecurities and fears of how his inner image would be viewed by society.
Juxtaposition and scene transitions
Several scenes within the play show contradicting views or sub-scenes onstage at one time. Examples of such scenes are: the flash to a bebopper talking jive about Louis in scene one (Reed, I.1.8); Mamie appearing for a monologue turned dialogue with Lil in front of Ike and Kay—which later transitions to J. Edgar snooping behind Lil and Kay (Reed, I.2.46-91); etc.
In reading “…High C”, I found myself wondering what additional action was supposed to take place on stage, as there were several cues for slides to be projected; nowhere had I read any description of the images that were to be shown—other than being described in dialogue/performance cues. I found this void in direction to be a bit annoying, however I was capable of continuing the story.
Overall, I would say that the experience of reading “…High C” was greater due to the depth in which the stage/scene direction went; I was capable of creating a much more entertaining stage in my mind, whereas “…Earnest” left me with simple characters on a stage.
Works Cited
Reed, Ishmael. "The C Above High C". 1997. ENGL 200: Composition and Literature. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Web. 3 July 12
Wilde, Oscar. “The Importance of Being Earnest.” 1895. ENGL 200: Composition and Literature. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Web. 3 July 12
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