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Drama > Cat On A Hot Tin Roof > Flashcards

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof Flashcards

1
Q

List of Themes:

A
  • Mendacity
  • Homosexuality
  • Old vs New
  • Alcoholism
  • Loneliness
  • Love and Desire
  • The past
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2
Q

Explore the Theme Of loneliness

A
  • Each member of the family is in an isolated world of private matter or self interest so there’s a lack of communication and loneliness prevails
  • Brick isolated as alcohol and sexuality
  • Maggie isolated as not wanted
  • Big Daddy isolated as they all want his fortune except Brick and know about his cancer
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3
Q

Explore the theme Of love and desire

A
  • Maggie for Brick faced with rejection
  • Big Daddy for Brick not reciprocated until later after Big Daddy learns of his illness
  • Brick and Skipper - denial and misery feels guilt for his death
  • Big Mama for Big Daddy - over the top
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4
Q

Explore the theme of mendacity

A
  • The lies cause a lack of communication
  • Bricks love for Skipper
  • Hiding Big Daddy’s cancer
  • Big Mamas over the top love for BD
  • Brick and Maggie about their love
  • Gooper and Mae wanting BD’s wealth
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5
Q

Explore the theme of Old vs New / The Past

A
  • Most characters have dark pasts/secrets as well as the house itself
  • Brick and Skipper
  • Jack Straw and Peter Ochello
  • Big Daddys tolerance of gay relationships
  • Big Daddys rise to success
  • Maggie and Skipper’s adultery
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6
Q

What are Aristotle’s Three Unities that are used in the play?

A
  • Action should take place over one 24 hour period condensed into high drama (BD birthday party)
  • Action should take place in one location throughout (Brick and Maggie’s bedroom)
  • Characters should perform as their role suggests and there should only be one central plot, no subplots
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7
Q

The Structure of The Play Part 1:

A
  • Exposition - Set in BD’s plantation home for his birthday party and ‘not dying from cancer’
  • Mae and Gooper bring all their kids to show they deserve the estate instead of childless Maggie and Brick
  • Brick is injured and guilty over his feelings for Skipper so cant give Maggie the family she wants
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8
Q

The Structure of the Play Part 2:

A
  • Rising Action - tensions after BD and Brick confrontation
  • More and more lies are exposed
  • Audience and Brick know BD is dying but he doesn’t
  • Climax - End Of Act 2 when Brick reveals about phone call with Skipper before his death and that BD is dying
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9
Q

The Structure of the Play Part 3:

A
  • Falling Action - Gooper bring up estate shares and wants Big Mama to sign a preliminary will to prevent Brick and Maggie receiving any shares
  • Mae uses Maggie’s childlessness against her so Maggie lies and reveals she’s pregnant
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10
Q

The Structure of the Play Part 4:

A
  • Rest Of Family leave and Maggie exploits Bricks condition to make her lie come true
  • No resolution and implied everyone returns to normal life even though Brick and Big Daddy don’t want this
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11
Q

What are the main styles of the Play?

A
  • Naturalism

* Melodrama

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12
Q

Explore naturalism:

A
  • Formed by Stanislavski
  • Wanted to create dramatic theatre as real and true to life as possible
  • Use The fourth Wall, don’t take the audience into account
  • Include ordinary people, real settings and normal conversations
  • Often very emotional as actors draw from experiences to create interpretations the audience can relate
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13
Q

Explore melodrama:

A
  • Exaggerated characters and exciting events
  • Want to tug heartstings
  • Sensational plots surrounding tragedy, unreturned love, loss, heightened emotion, long suffering protagonists, females attempting in vain to overcome impossible odds
  • Music, good and evil
  • Episodic form with a happy ending
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14
Q

Naturalism found in the Play:

A
  • The narrative is realistic and believable
  • Characters have a backstory that are explored upon
  • Characters all have an objective which creates subtext
  • Set in a naturalistic house no evidence of addressing the audience
  • Characters fit with the context of the Play and speak with the dialect
  • Characters have different objectives creating complicated relationships
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15
Q

Melodrama found in the Play:

A
  • Mae and Gooper are melodramatic as always over exaggerate
  • When Maggie confessed to Brick she slept with Skipper it’s over the top
  • Mae and Gooper could be seen as villains
  • Maggie could be seen as the heroine except when she lies about pregnancy
  • Big Mama is melodramatic
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16
Q

Context background:

A
  • Attitudes towards homosexuality/Social change in USA post war
  • Traditional Attitudes Of ‘Deep South’
  • Tennessee Williams life - homosexuality and abusive father
17
Q

Modern Context:

A

•Trump’s America - materialism, objectification Of Women, Trump’s pro-life, regressive homophobic policies, return of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the military

18
Q

First Production:

A
  • On broadway directed by Elia Kazan in 1955
  • Ending was changed because original was too depressing, BD needed to be in Act 3, Maggie needed to be more likeable and Brick needed to be ‘transformed’ due to high homophobic attitudes in the 50’s
19
Q

Other production of COAHTR:

A

•1984 starring Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Lange

20
Q

Live Theatre used for the Play:

A
  • Things I know to be True
  • Thirsty
  • All my Sons
21
Q

Key Scenes Page 1-3

action of the scene

A
  • Maggie enters and tries to complain to Brick about Mae’s children, she moves to being embarrassed and sad that she is childless while Brick is in shower
  • Maggie wants to reinforce the relationship and Brick wants to be alone and is reminded of BD’s cancer
  • BD birthday party, he thinks he isn’t ill
22
Q

Key Scenes: Pages 14-17

Action of the scene

A
  • Maggie trying to present Brick as adequate to the family
  • Big Mama telling Brick BD hasn’t got cancer
  • Maggie telling Mae and Hooper she would name her children better
23
Q

Key Scenes: Pages 22-23

Action of the scene

A
  • Maggie tells Brick BM will find out about BD soon and Brick tells Maggie she should leave (knowing she wouldn’t survive by herself)
  • She said if Brick was honest it’d explain to others why they had no child
  • BM doesn’t know bout BD
  • Brick is avoiding confrontation with Maggie as she’s desperate for a reply
24
Q

Rehearsal exercises

A

Emotion memory
Subtext
Physical condition
Emotion placards

Drama (3 decks)

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