Four Play Summaries Essay, Research Paper
Play summary #1-
One flew over the cuckoo’s nest.
Briefly Summarize the play.-
It takes place in a mental institution where a new patient has just arrived. This patient ends up messing with everyone and creating chaos in the institution.
Briefly Outline the Plot-
R.P. McMurphy is a new patient at the mental institution, he is a charming devil, who wants to serve a very short sentence in the mental institution instead of a long term sentence in a prison. This is a mistake, he suddenly learns, for he runs into Nurse Ratched, who can keep him institutionalized forever. He ends up taking over the ward, controlling the rest of the patients, and to the astonishment to medical professionals, he makes Chief Bromden, who was presumedly deaf and dumb, speak. He turns the other inmates into more extrovert people by doing all sorts of things, from playing games, arranging a party at midnight, or even staging a revolt so that the other patients can watch the world series. Afraid that McMurphy will become more controlling than she is, Nurse Ratched has McMurphy submitted to shock treatment. After he recovers, he is forced to undergo one of the worst ‘treatments’ for his final correction, a frontal lobotomy. However to save McMurphy from this, the Chief kills McMurphy, and escapes from the institution.
List and Descrive the main characters in the play-
R.P. McMurphy- Patient, very loud and obnoxious, very controlling and caniving
Nurse Ratched- Very mean Nurse, likes to control all the patients in the institution, by any means necessary
Chief Bromden- Deaf and dumb Indian, or pressumedly so.
Identify and explain a key line in the play-
It’s not necessarily a key line during the play, its more of an instance during the play the sends everything spiraling down. During the scene in which McMurphy has finally pushed Nurse Ratched to her boiling point, and she turns him to shock treatment, then schedules a frontal labotomy for him, which causes the Chief to kill him, and get the other prisoners to escape.
Play Summary #2
Rent
Breifly summarize the play
This is a story that takes place on Christmas eve in New York City. Where Mark, a young filmmaker, sets up his camera. His roomate Roger, a songwriter and ex-junkie, struggles to pick out a song on his electric guitar. The story goes through a day in the lives of these two men.
Outline the plot-
This is a story that takes place on Christmas eve in New York City. Where Mark, a young filmmaker, sets up his camera. His roomate Roger, a songwriter and ex-junkie, struggles to pick out a song on his electric guitar. The phone in their place rings, and it is an old friend at a pay phone, but their call is cut short because he, Collins, gets mugged. The phone rings again, but this time it is Mark’s and Roger’s landlord who wants their overdue rent money. Collins is found beaten by a friend of Mark and Roger, named Angel, a drag queen. Collins and Angel find a strange attraction between one another, and then find out that they are both HIV-Positive. Roger, who is called by Mark’s ex-girlfiend, Maureen, asking if he can help her that night with some technical aspects of a performance that she is to give later that night, and he agree’s. Collins and Angel come to Mark and Roger’s place, inviting them to join him out for the evening, Mark joins, but Roger doesn’t. Roger is then visited by a neighbor of his, Mimi, who instantly takes a liking to Roger. But Roger deflects all of her come on’s. He later finds out that he and mimi share a secret and an illness, their addiction to drugs, and they are both taking AZT. Roger begins to take greater interest in Mimi. Later in the story Roger and Mimi have become much more romatically involved, so have Collins and Angel. But it comes to a tragic end when Angel dies. And when Roger later turns from Mimi and heads for Santa Fe. Unbeknownst to him, Mimi, who is now extremely sick, returns later to Mark and Roger’s place. She now tells Roger that she loves him. And Roger, who has finally found his song, is able to play and sing it for Mimi. There is a very touching scene where Angel appears once again in a warm white light.
List and describe the main characters
Mark- Independant Filmmaker
Roger- Independant musician, who is an ex-junkie, is also in love with Mimi.
Mimi- Neighbor of Mark and Roger, who was a junkie, and is in love with Roger.
Identify and explain a key line-
“I have always loved you” Said by Roger to Mimi. It’s his realization of his true feelings, and through all the chaos, and tragedy that has happened this finally begins to set things right.
Identify and list any special production requirements-
Guitar
Play Summary #3
The Jest of Hahalaba
Sir Arthur gets an alchemist to call upon the spirit of laughter in order to be granted a wish. It turns out that the spirit of laughter plays a joke on Sir Arthur that costs him his life.
Outline the plot-
The story takes place on New Year’s Eve, where Sir Arthur Strangeways has called upon an Alchemist, who is shown in by Sir Arthur’s Butler, Snaggs. The Alchemist makes it rather apparant that he does not want to be there, but Sir Arthur is determined to get what he wants. The Alchemist knows how to call upon spirits, whether it be the spirit of death, the spirit of drought or in this case the spirit of laughter. However the Alchemist also knows of the dangers involved in this, for spirits loath mankind, and plot against them in every way that they can. Disreguarding the Alchemist’s warning to specifically not call upon the spirit of laughter, he does. But he asks for a simple thing, a file of the Times newspapers for the year of 1929. This wish is granted by the spirit. And the spirit disappears, but not before telling Sir Arthur that the newspaper will disappear within an hour of midnight. Sir Arthur lunges into the papers, going directing to the stock reports pages, making notes of all the good stocks to buy. The Alchemist all the while telling him that he should not be doing this, and even though Sir Arthur is telling him that he will be making millions, and even offering millions to the Alchemist if he helps, he tries to leave. Sir Arthur lets him out. He then returns to his papers, looking at the next days paper, he relaxes, only to find that someone has written in the paper the he has died. He first takes this as a joke, but then he begins to gasp for air, he then collapses and dies. Snagg’s rushes in, finds out that Sir Arthur is dead, and calls up the Times newspaper, telling them that Sir Arthur has died.
Main Characters-
Sir Arthur Strangeways- Greedy stockmarket played
Snaggs- Sir Arthur Butler
Alchemist- Strange person who knows about the supernatural world.
Hahalaba- The Spirit of Laughter.
Key Line
“Be warned Master, and have none of him” Said by the Alchemist to Sir Arthur, warning him not to call upon the spirit of laughter. This is forshadowing the end of the play on how it will not turn out to be good, and it also makes Sir Arthur want to call upon the spirit of laughter even more.
Identify and list any special production requirements
White powder- Needs to be used for the calling up of the spirit of laughter, it must be able to burn quickly when a match is set to it.
Play Summary #4
The Traveler
This is about a man traveling on a train, who is I believe somewhat of a successful and well-known man. He is greeted almost immediately by the conductor of the train, they begin a conversation.
Outline of the plot
Mr. Mercer is a traveler on a train. He gets on the train and is greeted by Morton, the porter. Morton introduces himself, and then Mr. Mercer introduces himself. Morton recognizes who Mr. Mercer is, and immediately gets the conductor of the train. The conductor comes and greets Mr. Mercer, and they begin a conversation about people they both know, and places they have both been to. It becomes apparant that the conductor, Mr. Barclay, is being extremely nice to Mr. Mercer. As the train nears its stop, Mr. Barclay gets up in order to call out the stop of the train, and Mr. Mercer gathers his things. As Mr. Mercer gets off the train, and says goodbye to his new friend, Mr. Barclay takes a small address book out of his pocket and writes “Mr. Mercer” a friend of the company.
Characters
Mr. Mercer- A traveler on a train, a successful person
Mr. Barclay- Conductor of the train
Mr. Morton- Porter on the train
Key Line
I think it would be the ‘”Mr. Mercer” a friend of the company.’ line. Because it gives the whole story a bit of a twist, and opens up the story a bit more.
Requirements-
Scenery for a train.