"Killer Joe" by Tracy Letts

         Tracy Letts was born in July of 1965 in Tulsa, OK. His father was an actor and his mother was a novelist; both were professors while Letts grew up. Letts ended up dropping out of college one semester to move to Dallas, TX to attempt to be an actor. Finding Dallas unsatisfactory, he tried Chicago and Los Angeles. He eventually settled permanently in Chicago in 1985.

         In 1991, Letts wrote Killer Joe, which premiered in Chicago in 1993, and then New York in 1994. Killer Joe’s Chicago cast brought the script to the Edinburgh Festival and won a Fringe First award. It has since been produced in at least 15 countries. Letts continued his screenwriting with Bug, which debuted in London in 1996. It was produced in Chicago and in New York off-Broadway as well. Bug won four Lucille Lortel awards, two Obie awards and a Theatre World award.

         In 2003, Letts wrote and produced Man from Nebraska, which was produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. It was a 2004 Pulitzer finalist, although it received mixed reviews. In 2007, Letts wrote August: Osage County. Winner of a 2008 Pulitzer Prize and five Tony awards, it debuted at Steppenwolf in June 2007 and then on Broadway in December 2007. It has been produced in 16 countries since its original debut.

         Bug was the first of Letts plays to be made into a full-length movie. Letts wrote the screenplay, and the film featured Michael Shannon, a cast member from the premiere. The film grossed over $8 million in the box office, a considerable bit more than the $4 million budget.

         Following the success of Bug, Killer Joe was adapted into a screenplay by Letts as well. William Friedkin came along as the director as well, and the play had a fairly well known cast. However, during production, the play received an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. Friedkin said he was uninterested in censoring the film, and released the film with the NC-17 rating, causing little success in the box office. The film has since had the NC-17 rating rescinded and the film was released on DVD with an unrated tag on it. Letts wrote a screenplay for August: Osage County, which is currently in production.

Letts remains an active member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Killer Joe is a gory, comedic drama involving a trailer family from Texas. Chris, who owes money to a powerful person in the city, decides with his father to pay a detective / contract killer, dubbed “Killer Joe”, to kill his mother, who he believes to have a hefty life insurance policy that is due to his sister, Dottie, when she dies. Due to Killer Joe’s policies, neither Chris nor his father, Ansel, can pay the $25 thousand upfront, so Killer Joe tries to strike a deal with them using Dottie as a retainer. As the play progresses, Chris’ character becomes more desperate to get the insurance payout causing his and his family’s relationships much more strained.

The play has many instances of family dysfunction. Strangely enough, Chris convinces his father to want to hire a contract killer to kill his Mother, Ansel’s ex-wife. The relationship between Chris and his father is far from normal, and Dottie is extremely antisocial, having said to have only had one boyfriend when she was in the 3^rd grade. Dottie’s antisocial nature is seen when her father and stepmother try and court her to be with Killer Joe as a retainer.

Killer Joe’s character is interesting. Chris and Ansel see him as an extremely powerful figure, who deems respect through his demeanor, and acts like it as well. When he is with Dottie, he becomes much more of a narcissistic and controlling person.

There is a huge emphasis on sexual themes throughout the play. We have the rape scene between Killer Joe and Dottie, the main part of which is brought out from Killer Joe pulling out memories from her childhood. Also, Ansel’s wife is secretly messing around with Ansel’s ex-wife’s current boyfriend, although you never see it. It is only brought out in the end when Killer Joe approaches her with incriminating photos. Speaking of that scene, Killer Joe forces her to perform oral sex on a chicken leg that he simulates to be his member, where he acts like he (or maybe does) get pleasure from it.

In the end, Chris’ desire to see Killer Joe out of his and his family’s life ends up being his fatal flaw. His father turns on him, and his sister shoots him. Whether he is trying to protect her from Killer Joe or selfishly keep her to himself, we may never know.

Questions to consider:

1. In regards to the adaptation into the film, Letts said this about censoring the film: "Cutting would not have made it mass appeal. Cutting it would have been the equivalent of what members of the United States government and military leaders said about the Vietnam War. They said, "We have to destroy Vietnam in order to save it," and that's what I would have done to Killer Joe. To get an R rating, I would have had to destroy it in order to save it and I wasn't interested in doing that." Do you think that Letts made the right decision to not change the film? Do you think the film could have had the same impact if censored, even if it was ever so slight? (i.e. without full frontal nudity, brutal rape scene, etc.)

2. When Dottie gets naked for Killer Joe, she says "Babies.", What do you think she meant by this?

3. Do you believe that Chris deserved any at all blame in not knowing Dottie was not the beneficiary when it is proven later that Rex implants both the idea of the insurance payout and using Killer Joe into his head? Why or why not?

4. Why do you believe that Ansel seems nonchalant while Killer Joe beats up Sharla and then rapes her in the mouth with a piece of chicken?

5. Why do you think the characters treat the idea of killing Adele so casually?

6. Killer Joe takes Dottie as a retainer, and may have (if Chris told him to) left her cold turkey without doing the killing. Do you think his relationship with Dottie was anything more than an agreement between himself and Ansel / Chris ?

7. The play has had a somewhat successful showing throughout the world. Explain what allure this play might have for a global audience.

8. Matthew McConaughey was cast as the lead role for Killer Joe. If you were to pick any other actor for the same role, who might you pick?

9. What traits about Killer Joe do you think make his character such a good contract killer?

10. What about Dottie or Killer Joe's personalities do you think drew the characters together so strongly?

Neil LaBute's "The Shape of Things"

Neil LaBute's play "The Shape of Things" premiered at the Almeida Theatre in London 2001. The play consists of four characters and 10 scenes. At its premier, the show was directed by LaBute and has specific instructions to be performed without intervals or a curtain call. This play explores issues such as stoicism, art, psychopathy, intimacy and love. Other notable performances of the show were in New York City at the Bernie West Theater under the direction of Brian Rhinehart. It was also performed in London in 2011 at The Gallery Soho on Charing Cross Road under the direction of Tom Attenborough. "The Shape of Things" was also produced as a movie in 2003. LaBute directed the film himself.

Neil LaBute was born in 1963 in Detroit, MI. LaBute attended Brigham Young University where he received his undergraduate degree and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is known for his contemporary plays that commonly push the envelope. While at BYU he produced several plays that were controversial, some of which were shut down after the premier. He was awarded "most promising undergraduate playwright" despite his numerous failures. He attended graduate school at the University of Kansas and the Royal Academy of London.

"The Shape of Things", as stated previously, is meant to be performed with no interruptions or curtain call. This is a common theme throughout LaBute's plays. LaBute returned to BYU in 1997 to premier his play "In the Company of Men", which won an award from the Association for Mormon Letters. In addition to being a playwright, LaBute is also a successful film director. He taught drama and film at Perdue University in Indiana. "In the Company of Men" was transformed to a film that won several awards, including the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival. LaBute has been praised for his portrayals of conflicting men and women in this film and play.

A more recent play written by LaBute is "Fat Pig" (2004). This play was very personal for LaBute considering he is considered "fat". It deals with issues including love, image, deception and heartbreak. It premiered off-Broadway in 2004 at the MCC Theater in New York City.

Discussion questions about "The Shape of Things":

1.) Overall, do you think what Evelyn did to Adam was worth it?

2.) Do you think Evelyn had a more positive or negative effect on Adam's life?

3.) How do you think Evelyn was affected by her "experiment"? Do you think she faked her feelings for Adam?

4.) Do you consider Evelyn's experiment to be "art"? Explain.

5.) If you had the opportunity to conduct this experiment, would you? If yes, would you do it any differently?

6.) If you were in Phillip and Jenny's position, would you take Adam back as a friend? Why or why not?

7.) What do you think happened at the end of Scene 5 (after Jenny and Adam kissed)?

8.) Do you think Evelyn could have conducted this experiment and had real feelings for Adam? Would her results have been the same?

9.) Do you agree or disagree with the following quote  from Adam: "When Picasso took a shit, he didn't call it art. He knew the difference. That's what made him Picasso."? How can one person decide what is and isn't art?

10.) Do you think Evelyn considered Adam's feelings throughout her experiment? Do you think she considered the possibility that he might not do everything she suggested (i.e., work out more, lose weight, change appearance, etc.)?

11.) If you were in Adam's position, what would you have done in the final scene? Would you understand Evelyn's perspective or demand more answers?

12.) In your opinion, do you think Evelyn gave Adam the chance to say no to any of her suggestions? Think back to Scene 6 (doctor's office: nose job, men's rest room).

13.) What do you think Evelyn whispered in Adam's ear "that one time"?

"Shopping and Fucking" by Mark Ravenhill

Mark Ravenhill was born June 7, 1966.  He grew up in West Sussex, England and cultivated an interest in theatre early in life, putting on plays with his brother when they were young. He studied English and Drama at Bristol University from 1984–1987, and held down jobs as a freelance director, workshop leader and drama teacher.

In 1997, Ravenhill became the literary director of a new writing company, Paines Plough. In 2003, when Nicholas Hytner took over as artistic director of the National Theatre, Ravenhill was brought in as part of his advisory team. In the mid-nineties, Ravenhill was diagnosed as HIV+, his partner of the early 1990s having died from AIDS.

In his early writing career, Ravenhill’s writing style was focused mostly on the diversity of human sexuality.  His plays were usually black comedies that had gay men as the main characters.   In November 2007, however, he announced that he would be focusing on heterosexual characters.

In 2008 the Royal Court, The Gate Theatre, the National Theatre, Out of Joint, and Paines Plough collectively presented the seventeen short plays Ravenhill wrote for the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe under the title Ravenhill for Breakfast, which was retitled as Shoot/Get Treasure/Repeat. In 2009 Mark Ravenhill presented a staged reading of transcripts of conversations with actor, drag queen and equal rights activist Bette Bourne A Life In Three Acts at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh in 2009, and at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn NY as well as the Soho Theatre in London in 2010.  Ravenhill is a regular contributor to the annual Terror Season at the Southwark Playhouse in London.

Ravenhill was appointed Associate Director of London's Little Opera House at The King's Head Theatre in September 2010. He played an active role in the venue's relaunch as London's third Opera House. In 2012, Ravenhill became the Royal Shakespeare Company's Writer in Residence.  The same year, he was commissioned by the London Gay Men's Chorus for a piece to mark the choir's 21st anniversary.

 

Shopping and Fucking was Mark Ravenhill’s first full length play written in 1995.  It’s first reading was at Finborough Theatre in London 1995.  It premiered in 1996 at the Royal Court Upstairs in London’s West End.  After its premier the production went on a national and international tour produced by Out of Joint and Royal Court. When it premiered, the play got mixed reviews.  Some were shocked by the sexual violence.  Other critics were drawn to the black humor of the play.  This play, along with Sarah Kane’s Blasted is considered the poster children for In-Yer-Face Theatre.

The Story focuses on Mark, a recovering drug addict who is struggling with trying to find out if feelings exist that aren’t drug induced.  He is also struggling with being emotionally dependent with his lovers, Robbie and Lulu.  Robbie and Lulu are in the middle of a drug deal gone wrong.  They have agreed to sell ecstasy but Robbie has broken the only rule of selling drugs.  Do not do the drugs you are selling.  Then later he gives the drugs away at a rave and now the supplier is after them both.  To try and curb his dependence on his emotions, Mark has sought out a sexual transaction.  He meets Gary, an underage prostitute who has been sexually abused by his step-father causing him to be aroused by violent acts of sex. 

This play touches on many social issues like drug abuse, rape, and mental illness. 

1.       Do you think Mark’s reasoning behind his emotional detachment from Robbie and Lulu is justified?

2.      In what ways does Shopping and Fucking incorporate Marxist philosophies?

3.      What happens when Mark starts performing a certain sexual act to Gary?

 

(This post was by Brady Lewis)

Sarah Kane's "4.48 Psychosis" -Mark Gibson

    Sarah Kane was born in 1971 in Essex on February 3rd. She came from a linage of writers as both her parents were journalists. Her family was very religious, a faith she claimed to until she was 17. She studied drama at Bristol University where she graduated with first class honors in 1992. Afterwards she did her MA at Birmingham University. She struggled with manic depression for many years, needing hospitalization at one point. During hospitalization she attempted suicide via an overdose of sleeping pills. She was unsuccessful but attempted suicide a few days later where she achieved her goal a few days later and died by hanging on the 20th of February of 1999.
     As a playwright her plays dealt with themes of death, sex, violence and mental illness. Her plays are characterized by an increasing poetic intensity, and a rich affirmation of love in all its forms. Her use of sharp violence gives a powerful image that fragments the narrative in order to convey the experience of life torn up by its roots.
     Before her premature end, Kane led a promising career and became acknowledged as a major force in British theatre and one of the key figures in the so-called In-yer-face theatre. This type of theatre grips the audience in a way that is perhaps uncomfortable but gets the point across. Her first plays were not accepted in society as well as they are now due to the intense violence and grim imagery. Not until her fourth play Crave, which she wrote under a pseudonym of Marie Kelvedon in order to keep the critics from bias created by the shocking and brutal violence of her previous plays. 
     She produced six works in her lifetime Blasted, Phaedra’s Love, Skin, Cleansed, Crave and 4.48 Psychosis. . Blasted was produced in 1995 at the Royal Court Theatre, London. Pheadra’s Love was produced in 1996 at the Gate Theatre, London. Skin was an eleven minute film with a script written by Kane. In 1998 Cleansed was produced at the Royal Court Theatre in London. Crave was produced at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Her last play was produced at the Royal Court Theatre in London a year after her death.



      4.48 Psychosis deals with a patient in a psychiatric ward who is suffering from severe depression. The script goes between dialogues between the patient and the doctors and an inner monologue the patient has with herself. The main subject of the play is that of severe clinical depression and the patient being diagnosed with pathological grief. This play does not adhere to conventional theatrical form and so many adaptations have been made since its inception in 1999. The wording of the text varies as well between naturalistic and highly abstract or poetic. These techniques were very effective in portraying the mind of the patient as she slowly slips into psychotic breakdown.
     The story touches upon several subjects that plague a psychiatric ward including pathological lying, self injury, suicidal thoughts and the emotional struggles of patients dealing with psychosis. A part of the script goes through a doctor’s notes on the patient depicting the progress of the patient and the use of medications. First is the diagnosis of pathological grief and then the barrage of psychiatric medications used as treatments. Unfortunately not every drug is a miracle.
     4.48 Psychosis is also about a relationship between the doctor and patient and the difficulties that ensue. Professional relationships can be the most taxing of relationships as both parties have to avoid attachment to each other, called transposition, and keep everything within the context of the doctor patient relationship. Many times complications can arise through emotional attachment and the doctor has to come up with a decision to transfer the patient for their benefit. This however can be seen as cruel by the patient or as the doctor abandoning them. In the case with the patient in 4.48 Psychosis, sometimes doctors say too much to their patients, general feelings come out that are taken personally and the hurt can never really be healed. A bit ironic when the person who is supposed to do the healing is the one that ends up hurting you.
     In the end though it is too much for her, and through an extravagant amount of medication she dies in her own poetry. Some initially felt like that this play was a suicide note to Sarah Kane’s own death. Wether or not this last work of Kane’s was her personal statement to the world or simply another work of genius is still up to debate.


1. How was the use of poetry effective in the writing of this play?

2. Did the format of the writing have any affect on the flow of the script?

3. Is there significance behind only being sane for an hour and twelve minutes in a day?

4. The doctor kept bringing up that the patient had lots of friends. How is this significant?

5. The Doctor/patient relationship can often be a strained relationship, how could the thought of betrayal impact patients?

6. What kind of effect do you think doctors’ repeated questions have on the patient?

7. What is the significance of 4:48AM?

8. The patient keeps referring to a woman who is her unknown love, someone she has never met. Is it possible this has significance, or is simply the ravings of an insane person?

9. There is a section that depicts the medical notes of the doctor. Is this indicative of actual patient care in today’s society?

10. It is common amongst severely depressed persons to have the view that to feel pain is better to feel nothing at all, or that physical pain is more easily dealt with than physical pain. How is this apparent throughout the play and does it have any grounds to be true?

"How I Learned to Drive" by Paula Vogel - Sofia Hurtado

How I Learned to Drive was written by Paula Vogel and premiered March 16^th, 1997 at the Vineyard Theatre in New York City. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this play in 1998. Other awards that it won include, the Drama Desk Award, the Obie Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the Outer Critics Circle Award.

Paula Vogel was born in Washington D.C. on November 16, 1951.  She attended Cornell University and taught Women Studies and Theatre Arts there as well during the mid-1970s. She was fired from Cornell in 1982 for political reasons. At Brown University, Vogel was the head of the graduate playwriting program and created a center of educational theatre known as the Brown/Trinity Repertory Company. She later became Trinity’s artistic director in 2002. She currently works at Yale School of Drama as a professor and serves as the Chair of the playwriting program. Vogel has been a playwright for over 40 years, gaining national attention with The Baltimore Waltz, which won the Obie Award for Best Play in 1992. The Baltimore Waltz deals with the AIDS crisis, which personally affected Vogel as she lost her brother Carl to the disease in 1988. It is a common characteristic of Vogel’s style to have her writing reflect what has made an emotional impact on her life.  She also uses the emotions of the characters as the basis of her plays working up to plot and structure afterwards. Some of her other work includes Desdemona, A Play About A Handkerchief, The Oldest Profession, And Baby Makes Seven, Hot ‘N Throbbing, and The Mineola Twins.

How I Learned to Drive deals with the themes of incest, pedophilia and misogyny through the 7 year relationship between a teenage Lil’ Bit and her older uncle-by-marriage, Peck. The play begins with a grown up Lil’ Bit looking back at her relationship with Uncle Peck with anachronistic memories from the time she was 11 to 18 years of age. All the while there are educational driving messages being delivered, at times from the Greek Chorus, who also play all other roles in Lil’ Bit’s story. When the play premiered Mary-Louis Parker played Lil’ Bit and David Morse played Peck. The most recent version of the play was performed in 2012 on the Second Stage Theatre in New York City making it 15 years since the last professional production. The cast consisted of Elizabeth Reaser as Lil’ Bit and Norbert Leo Butz as Peck. How I Learned to Drive received great reviews each time.

1.     A note in the script says Uncle Peck should be cast with someone fit to play Atticus from To Kill A Mockingbird. Why do you believe this is important to state? What would having that type of character accomplish?

2.     Why do you think Vogel chose to have memories be anachronistic? What is the benefit of that? How would it differ from having told the story in chronological order?

3.     What do you think was the basis for Uncle Peck’s affectionate relationship with Lil Bit, love or lust?

4.     What is the purpose of having the Greek Chorus and why do you think the playwright reverted back to that method?

5.     Do you believe Lil Bit ever instigates Uncle Peck’s behavior towards her?

6.     What is the purpose of having the educational driving messages between the scenes? What kind of feeling does that create?

7.     Aunt Mary admits that she knows something is going on between Uncle Peck and Lil Bit. What does this say about the family? Was this a surprising revelation?

8.     Lil Bit asks Uncle Peck in the hotel room on pg. 86 “Who did this to you Uncle Peck. How old where you?” This suggests that Uncle Peck may have had a similar relationship in his adolescences. Does that seem feasible? How would it change your perspective of Uncle Peck?

9.     The grandmother holds the mother responsible and she in turn hold Lil’ Bit responsible for their mistakes with men at a young age. Is this reasonable? Are they passing off guilt? What does it say about the women in this world?

10. What does the car symbolize to Lil Bit? Why do you believe that she decides to keep its gender a woman?

Pounding Nails In The Floor With My Forehead

Eric Bogosiam was born April 24, 1953 in Woburn Massachusetts. He started out as a performer in theatre, but is most famous for his play Talk Radio, and 1988, it was made into a movie. he graduated from Oberlin College located in Ohio, and then moved to New York. When writing his plays, he focused on social realism and dark comedy. Acting in the screen play Born in Flames was where he made his first appearance on-screen. it was a documentary that addressed sexism and was made in 1983. Shows Bogosian acted in consisted of: Special Effects, Miami Vice, and Arena Brains. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Talk Radio. He became very popular for his role of Satan in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. He also recieved the Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear Award. Between 1980 and 2000, he performed six solo performances Off-Boadway which he won three Obie Awards for. These plays were: Men Inside; Fun House; Drinking in America; Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll; Pounding Nails In The Floor With my Forehead; and Wake Up And Smell The Coffee. Bogosian also stared in Law and Order: Criminal Intent on NBC.

Pounding Nails In The Floor With My Forehead is a one-man show. A one-man show is obviously a solo theatre piece that is meant to show the abilities of a single performer. These shows are designed to fully explore characters. This type of theatre originated in the 18th Century. Solo entertainers would perform one-man shows that featured songs, sketches and impersonations. Now solo performers also use the style of a one man show to investigate controversal cultural events. Some shows can be personal and autobiographical. Others can be central themed.

Pounding Nails In The Floor With My Forehead premiered January, 1994 at the Minetta Cane Theatre in New York City.

1. In America, who is the man with him in his nightmare, and where are they?

2.What message does Bogosian try to get across in The Messenger?

3. What does the man do at the end of Blow Me?

4. What is the setting in Art?

5. Name three people that reappear thorought this solo performance.

6. What is the last line of the play?

7. Which piece did you think was the strongest? Explain.

8. Which piece spoke to you the most and why?