Scene and Performance Reflection

          Overall, I felt that our group’s dialogue and performance was pretty good, but it did have room for improvements. When my group was brainstorming ideas, I found it hard to choose one specific idea. There were so many different possibilities with the characters and plot lines from Krik? Krak! to choose from. We chose three of the mothers in the stories to explore their relationships with others and explore their characters more than what was given in the book. We chose the mother from Night Women (NWM), the mother from Caroline’s Wedding (CWM), and the mother from New York Day Women (NYDM). I felt that the mothers from Caroline’s Wedding and New York Day Women would have the most common in their roles in their families at that point in their lives. They both have grown daughters who (for the most part) grew up in a foreign country to them. They saw their children change due to their surroundings and it was probably difficult to see that happens in front of their own eyes. I chose to add NWM in there, because her perspective with the new environment may be a little different than the older women. I thought that she might see America as a place of opportunity and even as an escape from her life in Haiti. 
          Another difficulty was finding the relationship between the three characters and establishing that in our scene. We thought about possibly having CWM and NYDM as sisters, so they could talk freely to each, but realized that showing that relationship with its backstory might be difficult. We settled on good friends for the pair, but our feedback from the class after our performance said that it was not clear from our portrayal. With our timing and limited blocking, I think it was hard to find a place to put in that connection. For a longer adaptation, it could be easier to add more dialogue or an introduction of some kind to help the audience understand the relationships. Looking back on our performance, I wish that we had more room to add to NWM’s role in the story. I feel like when she just left after calling out CWM and NYDM on their conversation, it was just an easy way to finish the scene. If there was more time to elaborate, I think adding a real reason why NWM was following them in the first place would be essential. It would help the audience to accept and understand her more. A different ending to the scene could also have been a setup for further follow-up scenes where the three characters could meet again or talk to other characters about their meeting. Overall, I think the two to three-minute limit was effective for the purpose of the exercise, but in our case, caused our group to leave a few gaps that could have been solved with more elaboration.    

Top Five Choices (in no particular order)

- Julia
- Sam
- Betty
- Johnny
- Nancy / Chantelle

Endgame Review

Endgame was unlike any play that I have ever seen. In fact, it was my first time watching a play that would be categorized as ‘absurd theater.’ Although it was a little abstract, I could clearly understand the themes that Beckett wanted to present. I think it was very important that we did do the background research that we did about Beckett and his life. Personally, that helped me understand the various themes easier. The entirety of Endgame took place in a bunker where Hamm, Clov, and Hamm’s parents lived after the end of the world. I think that the setting was very important for the characters. I noticed that there was a lot of symbolism involved in the entire play. For example, Hamm is stuck in a chair and cannot stand, while Clov cannot sit or leave the bunker. Leaving the bunker is something that the pair talks about multiple times over the course of the play. It is clear that Clov wants leave Hamm and escape, but there is something that keeps him there with Hamm. That observation led me to the theme of interdependency and its role in the play. For example, Hamm needs Clov to do everything for him. If Hamm wants to move to the window, then it is Clov who has to push him there. And that is difficult for Clov, due to his inability to sit down. Also, Clov has created a sense of a routine to help himself through the days. I think that is a interesting concept. It shows that he knows that for the foreseeable future he is stuck taking care of this man, who frankly, is not very nice to him. He pushes himself through these tasks that he has set for himself so he can feel the day passing by. It could be that the only reason that Clov wakes up in the morning is complete his tasks for the day. This is where we can see Beckett in his writing. I learned that Beckett had to take care of both his mother and sister when they were dying. I think he is trying to show how hard it can be to take care of someone when they are so dependent on you. It also takes a large toll on the caregiver as well as can see through Clov. Although the pair is so interdependent, they are very short with each other. They are not afraid to yell, or even abuse each other. This makes the audience wonder how long it will take for enough to be enough, when Clov will finally break. I felt that seeing the boy in the window was Clov’s mind giving him a chance to leave Hamm and live his own life. In the talkback after the play, the actors asked the audience if they believed that there was actually a boy in the window. The majority of the audience believed that there was, in fact, no real boy in the window, and that it was merely a figment of Clov’s imagination, while I and a few others disagreed. I think that this is why absurd theater is so interesting. It allows the audience members to make their own conclusions about the problems presented in the play. There’s a certain fluidity absurd theater that other plays just do not have. Overall, I enjoyed Endgame very much, and I look forward to the opportunity to watch more absurd theater.     

One Possible Adaptation

For a book like Krik? Krak!, there are many possible adaptations. One that really interested me was a kind of book club that the various characters would join and come together for. I would think that it would be a Haitian book club, where they read books by Haitian authors, or about their culture and background. This would give a reason for the older women, like the mother from New York Day Women to be a part of it. The scene would start right before a club meeting starting with the various members coming in and getting settled in their seats. This would allow the audience to get familiar with the characters as well as introduce them. The majority of the characters would already know each other from previous meetings so the beginning of the scene would be a time for them to catch up on each other’s lives. People  already part of the club would be the mother from “Caroline’s Wedding,” the mother from “New York Day Women,” Edwidge Danticat, the father from “Children of the Sea,” the father from “1937,” the girl from “Seeing Things Simply,” and even possibly the boyfriend from “Children of the Sea.” I think it would be interesting to have the mother from “Night Women” and either Grace or Caroline from “New York Day Women be a new member for the club. This would be their first meeting and seeing the various characters react to each other would be very compelling.

"Another aspect I would like to explore would be the backstories of the characters. Although they are from the same ‘place,’ sharing their stories and childhoods with the youngers members. I think that the diversity in the group could create a cool dynamic onstage. Each character’s temperament is different and to see them all react about the same thing would be interesting. Other than the main idea of a book club, I also wanted to explore the relationships between the characters themselves. For example, I think if the girl from “Seeing Things Simply” had already known Grace from college or from a party or something would be cool. As a frequent audience member, I enjoy it when the characters have other, inner conflicts that they cannot share within themselves, or even with another character onstage. It creates a powerful connection between the two characters, which is interesting to follow. I think that besides Grace with the girl from “Seeing Things Seemly,” it would be very interesting if the woman from “Night Women” knew the father from “Children of the Sea” from one of her past ‘jobs.’ The characters have to really understand where their character is coming from, in order to create that connection. A third aspect of staging and blocking that I do not know would be possible would be to involve texting somehow. In my head, at first, I imagined, all others characters frozen while a character (we’ll use Grace as an example) Grace is saying her text while reacting and responded to the response. I currently do not know how it would be staging, or if it could even be done, but I think that it is a cool concept that would be refreshing.

I think that this setting allows the various characters to react to each other. For an audience, it allows them to create a comprehensive identity for each character, both in terms of them as an individual, and in relation to their fellow actors as well.

Dialogue between Krik Krak Characters

Characters

1: Night Women lady

2: Caroline’s Wedding mom

3: New York Day Women mom

(enters coffee shop)

1: Those two women walked all this way to drink coffee? And they still didn’t notice me? I’ll find out who they are. . .

(1 sits down close to table where 2,3 can be heard talking)

3: So how was the wedding?

2: It was at the Town Hall. Smaller than what I would’ve liked. I still don’t entirely like the boy. I’m telling you America has changed that girl.

3: My daughter is the same. But I’m happy for her; she has money and good health while I only had an empty stomach.

1: (to herself) I would’ve done anything for those opportunities for me and my son.

2: But don’t you hate how American they’ve become. Even Grace. She just got her own passport and now I’m afraid she’ll never go back.

1: Why would she?

3: I’m sure she will. At least when she gets older.

2: Speaking of, have you heard anything of Lili back home?

3: She hasn’t responded in months. It’s not like her to never write back.

1: I wonder if they’re talking about the same Lili that killed herself? Lili did know some people here in the United States. I remember bringing my son for a walk, looking up at her husband. He seemed so happy, free from the burden being poor. He smiled down, and we waved. My son laughed, but I knew it would not end well. Years later, Lili was found. She too was then free from the burden of being poor. Their son must see it all so tragically.

2: I hope she’s alright. Well, how have you been?

3: After so many years, I wish I could go back. I want to see father’s grave again and celebrate Kanaval. Haiti will always be my home.

2: I feel the same way.

(1 walks to the table, clearly fed up with their ungratefulness)

1: How? You guys are the lucky ones. You have everything here, and your children can live happy lives. What else do you need? Haiti is falling apart, I have seen it with my own eyes.

2: But our children have no care for our culture here.

1: But at least they don’t need to sleep with earplugs so mommy can “work.” I spend hours every night with married men, staring at the holes in my broken roof. I watch as the day women get up early every morning, looking for work. There is poverty and despair in Haiti. You have no idea how lucky you are.

(1 leaves)

Research on Endgame

• Four characters (Hamm, Clov, Nagg, and Nell)
• Hamm: old, blind, stuck in his chair
• Clov: Hamm’s servant/son?, cannot sit down
• Nagg: Hamm’s father, stuck in a trash can
• Nell: Hamm’s mother, also stuck in a trash can
• Main conflict: Will Clov be able to leave Hamm?
• Samuel Beckett (author of play)
• Suffered from depression as a young man
• Met his wife in hospital after being stabbed
• During WWII fought w the resistance
• After war, won award for bravery & started to write
• Very influential writer in 20th century
• Endgame = his favorite, & most profound
• Theater of the absurd
• Just presents an idea/problem, no solution
• Leaves big questions for audience to decide
• Uses techniques like broad humor, tragic images, hopeless situations, parody or downright no realism
• Characters usually symbolic
• Existentialism: philosophical background to absurd theater  
• Two approaches to play: end play where it began, or this day is the worst day for characters
• Themes
• Caring for sick (Beckett taking care of his parents while dying)
• The apocalypse (Cold War-like situations, little supplies, no one around
• Death/leaving (Clov wants to leave Hamm, constant threat of loss of their life)
• Interdependency (Everyone relies on everyone else)
• Chess (Beckett liked to play, Hamm = king, moved around by Clov, but who is really in power?)
• Director (Gordon Edelstein)
• Wouldn’t do this play until he got the right ppl to act for him

Danticat on Storytelling

It is clear from Danticat’s book Krik? Krak! that storytelling is an important part of both her culture and background. From the way she writes her short stories, to the actions and opinions of her characters, it is only highlighted by her use of storytelling. For one, I would say that her writing style is a form of storytelling in, and of itself. The way that she presents these stories allows the readers to understand the events easily. It is almost as if she is telling the stories to you personally. Danticat uses language that is straightforward but is relevant to the story. For example, she says in A Wall of Fire Rising, “‘Papa, could you play lago with me?’ the boy asked. Lili lay peacefully on the grass as her son and husband played hide-and-seek” (Danticat 53). At first, I did not know what ‘lago’ was, but Danticat smoothly defines it for me in the next sentence. It shows that she knows what she is talking about and deepens her authenticity.

The title of the book alludes to a part of Haitian storytelling as well. Danticat explains in the very first story how the people on the boat would tell stories when they had nothing to do. Part of this almost ritual-like event was that one person would exclaim ‘Krik,’ and the rest of the group had to respond ‘Krak.’ Through storytelling and call-and-response activities like these, the people on the boat were able to realize that they were not alone. Especially in the setting of a boat, leaving your own country to find a better life, it can be difficult. This allows them to know that there are others who are going through the same emotions and thoughts as them. Danticat mentions this again in the Epilogue. She writes, “And over the years when you have needed us, you have always cried ‘Krik?’ and we have answered ‘Krak!’ and has shown us that you have not forgotten us” (Danticat 195). I think that, in addition to the communication between the two groups, the remembrance of their background and culture also plays a large role in this. She shows the readers that through the telling of these stories, their own histories will never fade. They want to maintain their Haitian identity while also looking to their future. I think these themes resonates with Danticat as a person because, in her talk, she discussed how it felt to be stuck in between two worlds; that of the U.S., and her homeland Haiti. I believe she felt more connected to her Haitian background when she wrote about various traditions and beliefs of the Haitians. For her, I think that remembering and informing others about her culture, allows it to thrive and continue to live on. She knows that telling these stories to others is another aspect of who she is. And to share her own stories is ensuring her stories will get passed down, and kept for future generations. Without telling stories, the intimacy and reality of those stories are lost. Danticat writes to keep her passion and her people alive.

Thoughts on Danticat's Talk

Danticat's talk brought a brand-new take on modern-day Martin Luther King Day. She was able to bring together the events of the past with things that are going on today. I think that the way that she explained her life and how it changed after coming to America really struck me. She explained how even as a grown up, she felt the need to return to Haiti to visit her roots. Personally, I really connected with that. For me, India will always be a place that I can call home. That calling to 'come back' really shines through in her writing as well. I think that especially in Krik Krak, her connection with Haiti and its culture is prominent. The way that she weaves American lives with the Haitians is very intriguing.

Women in Haiti versus America

The women in Danticat’s stories are intertwined in a way that shows the effect of a new country on the younger generation. This difference is very clear when one compares the way that Little Guy’s mother, for example, is portrayed and how the readers see Caroline. The stark differences in how others see them and the role in their communities are just two areas where they differ. For example, in A Wall of Fire Rising, Lili says, “‘I am here with my husband,’ she said. ‘You are here to protect me if anything happens.’” (Danticat 52). The fact that she knows that her husband will be the one to protect and provide for the family tells us that she knows her place in the family. She has to take care of Little Guy and the house. Standing up for herself, or even protecting herself is a job of the males and a line that she is not willing to cross. Also, because she told Guy this is also significant. She wants to please him and make him happy and saying statements like this probably adds to his own confidence and image of himself. It is clear that she puts her family’s success and happiness over her own. This can also be seen with the pride that she has for her son and his role in the play. For her, this means that her son can have a chance at having a better life than she did. This is why she chooses to push back on her husband when he suggests putting the son on the ‘work’ list. She is willing to speak her opinions when it comes to things that she truly believes in.

That is a quality that I believe transcends the difference in native countries. We can see this spirit and fearlessness in Caroline as well. She knows that her mother does not approve of her fiance. But she knows that her relationship with him is true and important to her. She overlooks her mother’s views in order to be with the man that she loves. To be able to speak their minds and rely less on parents is something that changed a lot for the American women. For example, Grace and her sister both keep things from their mother. The best example of this is with the red panties. Her mother felt that they would protect them from their father’s spirit, when in reality, they wanted to see their father in their dreams. I think this shows the distance in their mother-daughter relationship. It is hard to them to talk and connect with their mother because of the vast differences in their background and upbringing. They have understood how this gap is something that separates them. But the sisters have filled that void with each other. To have someone who understands what they are going through is all they need. I think that Danticat wanted to highlight the difference between the Haitian women and American women because there is a part of her that identifies with both types of women. To be an immigrant, like she was, at such a young age puts you in a situation where you have grown up with things that your parents cannot even begin to understand. You can’t talk to your parents about it because they will not have any meaningful advice because their own experiences can you so far. I think that she understood the feeling of being in between two countries. This understanding really shined through in her writing of the women of this book.

Krik? Krak! Notes: Night Women, NY Day Women, Seeing Things Simply

Night Women

• Sees her husband in her son
• Compares son’s actions to her own line of work (following in her footsteps?)
• Doesn’t like the women who do nothing all day (undo their weaving at night)
• Weird references to sexual things when talking about her son
• Talks about client’s wife before having sex
• Thinking about son all the time (reason for work, watching him, protecting him)
• Reliant on son too much maybe?
• Dreamy tone, smoothed out?

New York Day Women

• Happening in NYC
• Bold mother’s voice (very distinct)
• Mother’s voice = past conversations (things she’s said) or things she would say?
• Lots of “My mother, who does this” My mother, who is like that”
• Still following this women who reminds her of her mother
• Mother has shorter, more to-the-point sentences, Daughter has longer, more descriptive sentences
• Mother’s voice = playful, sassy even as if she’s actually talking to her daughter

Seeing Things Simply

• Creepy old guy who bothers Princesse & doesn’t the town
• No one knows about Princesse’s modeling status
• Theme of femininity coming up again
• Slowly gets more comfortable with Catherine
• Why does she go see her? To get art advice? Money?
• Although her models naked (unapproved), she still limits herself with no rum
• Princesse sees Catherine as above her b/c she’s the artist? She’s rich?
• Some connection b/w the two because she come everyday, but she didn’t know when she left
• Story starts and ends w Princesse near cock fight

Night Women: Tone

I think that the tone of this story is different than many of the others that are a part of this book. In this story, the mother has accepted what her job is and although she knows it is not the ideal situation, she understands that it is what she has to do for her son. Her relationship with her son is very interesting because she cannot tell him outright what she is doing. The way that she crafts her explanation about her life is so unique. She smooths out all the problems and creates a narrative that her son can understand. But she knows that her situation cannot stay like this forever. For example, she sees the other women in the village and says, “These women, they destroy their toil so that they will always have more to do. And as long as there’s work, they will not have to lie next to the lifeless soul of a man whose scent still lingers in another woman’s bed” (Danticat 72). I think that these quotes show that she thinks that the fact that these women undo their own work for the sake of just doing work is not a good way to live. She would rather live her poorer life with her son than have to make up work to avoid their husband. She feels that her son is what makes her work worth it, because if she can provide for him, then he can live a better life than she did. Her tone mimics her feelings about her situation.  She knows that one day, her son will understand what she is doing, and one day, there may not any clients for her, but for now, her life is not bad. She is making the best of it, for her son.    

Themes in the First Three Stories

I think that one major theme that has plays a large role in all three of the stories we read was freedom. Each story plays with the idea of freedom a little differently. For example, in the first story, the boy is physically stuck in the boat. He shares his living with many other people and there is nowhere he can go. Another aspect is that although he left Haiti to be free of their problems, there is not much that he can depend on for the rest of his future. He left a job in a radio station, a spot to go to university and even a serious relationship when he left the island. Now, there is no telling if he could use his education, or if he will ever leave the boat. He writes as if he is informing someone of his coming death. For example, he writes, “I must throw my book out now. . . Perhaps I was chosen from the beginning of time to live there with Agwe at the bottom of the sea. . . Maybe this was my invitation to go. In any case, I know that my memory of you will live even there as I too become a child of the sea” (Danticat 24). This tells a lot about the boy’s thoughts. It is clear from his writing that he thinks that he is destined to die on the ship. He has already resigned himself to this future as if he has no choice in the matter.

In the story “A Wall of Fire Rising,” freedom is also the main theme. Guy believes that he has no freedom and that he is stuck in his situation. This is clear, especially when it comes to his relationship with his son. Because his son Little Guy is getting an education, it gives him many opportunities that Guy could not imagine. At times, he feels inferior to his son because Little Guy has so much more potential than he has. Guy must provide for his family and because of the lack of jobs, it is difficult. He feels powerless and stuck in his life. He says to his wife one day, “I want to tell you a secret. Sometimes, I just want to take that big balloon and ride it up in the air. I’d like to sail off somewhere and keep floating until I got to a really nice plane with a nice plot of land where I could be something new. Just be something new” (Danticat 60). Guy feels so stuck in his position that he thinks that the only way that he could be happy is if he starts all over somewhere new. The fact that he does not mention his family is another sign that they may be adding to his unhappiness.

I think that Danticat portrays this one theme very differently in these three stories. It shows what freedom (or the lack of it) looks like for different people. It’s interesting because each person reacts to their lack of freedom differently. The boy from the first story basically accepted his fate on the boat, while Guy found a solution by taking his own life. In this case, there was also an age difference involved. Perhaps Guy felt that there was nothing he could do in his lifetime to improve anything so he decided to just end it, right there. The younger boy might have been the ‘wiser’ one because he did not try to ‘fight’ it. Because many of the stories center around events relating to the Haitian Revolution, it would make sense that freedom would be a main theme. Maybe by the end of the book, there might be a similar overarching theme.   

Edwidge Danticat Quote Analysis

Quote One: "The past is like hair on our head. I moved to New York when I was twelve, but you always have this feeling that wherever you come from, you physically leave it, but it doesn't leave you."

I think that this quote really cuts the center of that feeling of home. She talks about how many different places can feel like home and even though you may leave a place, there's a part of you that stays with you always. I think that this relates to Kirk? Krak! in the first story because. The boy has to leave, but he continues to write to his lover back who is back home. It shows that for him, home means that the place where his lover is. Because that is what he he thinks of, that is what he remembers. He feels as if there is a part of him that will always stay at his home.

Quote Two: "It is the calm and silent waters that drown you."

I think that this quote is very profound because it is so valid. I think that many people do not realize that many of this things that kill you, build up slowly, and 'kill' you from the inside. It could be boiling inside, bottled up. This really relates to the third story, with the father in the family. He obviously was unhappy with his life, but he was forced to keep his emotions inside himself. He knew that his wife and son should not be affected by his feelings, and due to this, he did not act on anything. I think that this was why, when he was faced with the opportunity to use the hot air balloon, he took it. He probably didn't realize how much he wanted to use it, until the opportunity came. In the end, that was what ultimately killed him.

Krik? Krak! Notes: 1937, A Wall of Fire Rising