The Landfill of the Heapers' Hangout (contains Fossilmaiden's Punnery)
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Comments
They never liked hanging out in the library, either, they didn't even like libraries.
nobody on TV ever seems to feel that way about breaktime
you might have one episode where the solitary "school bully" decides to pick on them for a bit
but that's never very convincing, the bully is usually a nasty-but-dimwitted kid with no friends who tries to pick on everybody
someone like that would be eaten alive in comprehensive education
they'd be the real misfit, if they didn't conform fast there's a good chance they'd get expelled
but they do normal kid things, they're into sports, video games, they're hanging out at the food court or whatever, maybe they cycle or if it's the nineties they skate, and they *do* have friends, so why *don't* they fit in with the popular kids, and for that matter, why do they care what the popular kids are into?
maybe some kids are like that, i dunno, but to me it feels sort of inconsistent
actually, i know what it's like
it's like how Ugly Betty was supposed to be into fashion, that's why she was so excited to work at Mode, so why did she dress like that, even after working there for a long time?
same thing with kid protagonists who want to be cool but aren't
i guess i'm not really qualified to talk about that, but i feel like they'd at least ask them out at some point, if they really cared that much
Having heard of the power and grit of John Steppling’s plays, I eagerly anticipated seeing a production of his play Dogmouth during Theater for the New City’s 2011 Dream Up Festival. The play, written in Paris and developed in London and Los Angeles at the Mark Taper Forum before its premiere in LA in 2002, is vintage Steppling: probing, incessant, angry and nihilistic, with repulsive characters placed in hopeless situations. As Steppling says, “Art is not your friend.” Evidently.
It is not often that we are treated to an opportunity to experience Steppling’s works here on the East Coast. Called “One of the Ten Best Political Playwrights in the US” by the NY Times Sunday Magazine and “The Beckett of the American West” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Steppling is an important West Coast playwright whose plays have been developed in Taper-sponsored workshops, presented at Kentucky’s Humana Festival of New American Plays, and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. His work is raw, incisive and powerful, giving voice to those on the fringes of our society who have none. He was influential enough that young writers who copied his short, cinematic-style scenes were referred to as being “Stepplingesque.” Recently returning to the States after an eleven year absence, he is now artistic director of the theater company Gunfighter Nation and had a new play, Phantom Luck, produced last fall in Los Angeles. He is a major American playwright, teacher, and director who, along with other cutting-edge artists, is working to create an experimental theater scene in LA reminiscent of New York in the '70s.
The play Dogmouth, based on a real person, is set in the '80s and revolves around the character of Dogmouth, a 55-year-old Vietnam vet who has acquired his nickname by breeding champion fighting dogs. The acknowledged leader of a band of unsavory rail-riding renegades in the Mojave Desert and later Phoenix, he has recently achieved a degree of notoriety for being featured in a TV interview about the rising crime rates along the railways by a gang of homeless men. Accompanied not only by fellow vet and “associate” Becker but also by his young pregnant girlfriend Nyah, Dogmouth is an intelligent man whose voluntary alienation from the rest of society has detonated him into a dangerous, bitter, merciless killer. Always submerging any human emotions that might somehow still reside within—he stifles his instincts to console Nyah after the death of her beloved parakeet and is determined to be detached from both her and his own unborn child—Dogmouth rejects human relationships in favor of an alpha male position within his own pack. His attempts to stay on top in his dog-eat-dog world drive the narrative thread that connects the episodic short scenes into a stark reflection of a man fighting not only society, cancer and death, but also himself.
As powerful as Steppling’s writing is, this world premiere of a new version directed and produced by Stephan Morrow doesn’t quite live up to expectations. It may have been the sparse attendance on my Wednesday evening performance or the Festival time limitations that eliminated an intermission, but certainly at times it was difficult to retain the intensity of the dialogue-driven performances.
Director Morrow, who also plays the lead role of Dogmouth, creates a “junkyard dog” persona, ceaselessly growling and snarling obscenities throughout the entire first act but in later scenes allowing the real human being underneath to show. It is in Dogmouth’s monologues where we see him as he is: a man marginalized by choice and circumstances, but also a man who exhibits some vulnerability as he almost poetically reflects upon his own mortality and the meaning of existence. Clad in ripped jeans, denim jacket and with a dog’s choker collar around his neck, Morrow gives the physical impression of a human Pit Bull Terrier. He is, as his friend Becker explains, “Not what you call a good man.”
Ray Wasik as Becker, Dogmouth’s accomplice and fellow Vietnam vet, lights up the stage and considerably lightens the mood whenever he is around. I found myself looking forward to his appearances, which practically guaranteed laughs. His authentic portrayal of the submissive sidekick is the perfect foil against the dogmatic persistence and anger of Dogmouth. Kendra Leigh Landon as Nyah, Dogmouth’s whiney pregnant girlfriend, sympathetically portrays the hopelessness of young women caught in the trap of dependence upon the benevolence of abusive partners. She believably appears increasingly pregnant as the play progresses, her movements becoming more labored and physically “heavy.” L.B. Williams, as the top dog breeding champion Weeks, is detached and suspicious, but static.
Devoid of any other sound effects, which would have been helpful, the Johnny Cash song “The Man Comes Around” as the play opens is a hauntingly perfect choice to set the tone for the production, and Zen Mansley’s sparse set reflects the bleakness of a life spent alongside the railways of the desert.
John Steppling believes that audiences should leave the theater haunted by their experience. Despite the inherently weak ending and ponderousness of certain scenes, Dogmouth remains an important American play. It’s time for Steppling to take the express train east and become as recognized on this coast as he is back home.
why do you think i kept using that mouse with the sticky scroll wheel? because the rest of the mouse was still usable and i could use the scroll wheel instead as a middle click button
it also moves too slowly
it is instead a source of amusement
Please bear in mind that "sympathy" is an old word, and that it has historically just meant "fellow-feeling"; the exact sense in which that was meant has depended on context. It doesn't necessarily mean feeling sorry for a person; you can have sympathy for an idea or a cause, for instance.
In literature (as well as film studies and related fields), "sympathetic" is a long-established term of art, referring to a character who we expect to feel something towards, to regard them as likable, or their actions to be in some way justified. "Empathy", by contrast, is a modern psychological term with a fairly precise definition.
my dad's an English teacher, so when he gets angry about terminology like this, he does know what he's talking about.
i think "relatable character" annoys him because people keep using it in essays, which isn't really a casual context.
ihavenostrongfeelingsonewayortheotheronthis
i don't tend to agree with him very much on colloquial English, though Aliroz would probably find more common ground with him there. i usually avoid arguing with him though because he gets kinda intense and things can get weirdly heated.
It is true, though, that the latter sense of "relatable" is a much more recent coinage.
And that it only became popular even more recently.
#politicallyedgyshitposting
and then you click on it and it's an actual video you can watch, what's up with that?
As he stepped into the store,,which was bustling with activity, he was approached by a stranger, a man in a business suit.
Stranger: "Excuse me, do you have a moment?"
Andrew turned around to face the stranger, with a slight look of displeasure on his face.
Stranger: "Oh, I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm Daniel Reading, and I want to run to represent you in our state senate."
Andrew: "I'm sorry, Mr. Reading, but I'm not interested in paying attention to politics."
Reading: "Oh, don't worry; this won't take long. I'm just looking for people to sign my petition to be placed on the ballot. Could you help me do that?"
Andrew didn't want to think about this, but he knew that gathering signatures was a pain in the butt, having an uncle who had once run for office, and having helped said uncle with a few things back then.
Andrew sighed.
Andrew: "Sure."
Andrew signed the man's petition. "I hope this makes you happy today", he thought with a sense of dismissiveness.
Reading: "Thank you! You have a nice day!"
Andrew, politely but with a hint of dissatisfaction: "You too."
Then he continued his trek toward the dairy aisle in the store.