Wesley describes the suburbanization going on around them as a zombie invasion and tells her he dreams of going to Alaska. Ellis enters, laughing at the passed-out Weston who is slumped on the kitchen table. In act 1, while Ella prepares her breakfast, Wesley has a long speech in which he recounts his sense of life while lying in bed, not simply on this night but also on many other nights. He tells the lamb a story about an eagle who was diving very close down to the ground trying to steal the testes of the lambs he was castrating. Closely connected to the symbolic structure of the play is its use of motif, or a recurring image. After this outburst he passes out. Reading his plays is like taking a trip to the other side of town. She then pulls out a wad of cash and tells him that she's taking their mother's car and going into crime. Weston becomes grumpy and refuses to tell the rest of the story. Whenand where doesTheCurse of the Starving Class take place? At the end of the play, the skinned lamb carcass symbolically suggests the sacrifice of Wesley, or perhaps Emma, to a malevolent force. Taylor says that any deal Weston makes is void because he is considered incompetent by the state. View All Characters in Curse of the Starving Class, THIS FEATURE IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR PRO MEMBERS. Word Count: 269. Then WESLEY'S mother, ELLA, enters slowly from down left. Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Then a long silence. No sound. Word Count: 1160. In addition, playwright Sam Shepard is himself an actor and can be seen in over a dozen wide-release films (many with his longtime partner Jessica Lange), including Country, Places in the Heart, and The Right Stuff. Still, Ella and Wesley both convey their hurt and their ambivalence toward Westons power over them. The play presents a seemingly bizarre family and a series of events involving the sale of its home, but actually pointing to the disintegration of the family. Taylor declares that he will go to court and have the deed taken back and then buy the property from Ella, then leaves the house. Emma then yells down that she is going to take the horse and leave. Addressing the lamb, he sets a duffel and a grocery bag on the table. No answer. Curse of the Starving Class Jan 26 2023 Tells the story of a dysfunctional family living in a farmhouse they are planning to sell in the hopes of moving on to bigger and better things. Today, Los Angeles is one of the largest urban conglomerations in the world. She climbs up and stretches out on it as Wesley, completely naked, enters. Weston begins to tell Wesley about how he began to see the poison in his own father, and how Wesley can see it in him. Download the entire Curse of the Starving Class study guide as a printable PDF! Ella decides to take matters into her own hands and puts the house up for sale without consulting her husband. Then I heard the Packard coming up the hill. Back down driveway. I was lying there on my back. They menace the family a little and leave. Ella wakes up, and a huge explosion offstage follows upon this. Wesley, who has been listening to this story, then asks what happens next. Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall. Whys he waiting to get out? [2] The screenplay was written by Bruce Beresford, who also served as an executive producer. "Curse of the Starving Class - Dramatic Devices" Survey of Dramatic Literature He and Emerson represent the men that Weston owes money to, and have come to serve as a warning. Weston tries to be civil to Ella, but she starts screaming at him. Act III Act-by-act or chapter-by-chapter summaries and reviews of the plays and books I am currently reading. I could feel the space around me like a big, black world. Like the stock gangsters whose entrance signals the end of the play, these symbols break down the illusion of reality. Weston and Wesley discuss the poison that Weston feels has infected him all of his life. Malcolm enters and informs the family that Emma has been arrested for riding her horse through the Alibi Club and shooting up the bar. Language. In the end he was cheering for the eagle. He and Slater, another minor character, only appear at the end of the production when they blow up Weston's car for compensation. At the same time, land speculators were buying the land of Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, and Riverside counties and preparing it for residential development. Ella, in curlers, wearing a bathrobe, is angry with Weston for having broken the door during the night, but brightens at finding bread and bacon in the refrigerator. Then softly crying. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. Center stage is a table, downstage a . The Tates live on a farm where they formerly raised sheep and grew avocados. Monologues. Floating. Weston stumbles in, even drunker, and wants to know where Ella is. Joseph Chaikin & Sam Shepard May 18 2022 Friends since 1964, correspondents since 1972, playwright Sam Shepard and director Joseph Chaikin established . The tom cat and the eagle start fighting in midair, with the cat clawing out the eagle's chest, and the eagle trying to drop it. Both musicals, based on immensely popular eighties movies, feature performers who help you see the narrative behind all the flash. Then I could picture my dad driving it. Having the set self-destruct is meant to indicate, of course, that trouble is on the way, but why make such an overdetermined move when Shepard clearly reveals, in the ensuing dialogue and action, how troubling the story were entering is? Curse of the Starving Class premiered Off-Broadway at the New York Shakespeare Festival, on March 2, 1978, presented by Joseph Papp. Wesley begins a monologue narrating exactly what he saw and heard happen from the night before. Wesleys monologue is like the steady tapping of rain on a windowpane: melancholy and constant. Sound disappearing. In a way, Weston plays his role as a father perfectly: what would the patriarchy be without chest thumping? Looking at the lamb carcass, she asks Wesley to help her remember the story Weston always told about the eagle. I guess we had to be. He declares to them that he is a whole new person, and Wesley, finally stopped eating, tells Weston that the men who are after him are going to kill him. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance [2] The play was commissioned by Joseph Papp and premiered in London in 1977 before playing at Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival in 1978. Vol. Returning, Emma asks, What kind of a family is this?. He pulls out the $1,500, telling them that is the amount that Weston owes to some pretty hard fellas. Telling Wesley how to treat the maggot-infested lamb, Weston dumps his laundry from the duffel onto the table for Ella to wash. Start your 48-hour free trial to get access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. VerMeulen, Michael. Wesley re-enters and starts yelling to the offstage Emma about her chicken. 28 Feb. 2023 , Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. I could feel this country close like it was part of my bones. This play cannot be decoded as an allegory in which we can reduce the refrigerator to a representation of spiritual hunger, the lamb to a representation of sacrifice and innocence, and the door to a representation of the barrier between the family and the outside world. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. WESLEY I'm doing it. Researchers have studied how much of our personality is set from childhood, but what youre like isnt who you are. Feet stopping. Then crying softly. Shelves: plays, aty20. Weston enters, drunk, with a large bag of groceries. My listening was afraid. His mother, Ella (Maggie Siff), enters, wondering why her son is doing what hes doingcleaning up after the guy who broke the door down, otherwise known as Weston (David Warshofsky), Wesleys father and Ellas spouse. Today: Feminism is in its third wave. As many of the issues feminists initially fought for have become law, feminist groups turn their sights on other issues. Ellis, the owner of the bar where Weston drinks, enters with $1500 and says he owes Weston for the sale of the house; Ella orders her son to throw him out. Wesley and Ella talk about Westons eagle story as the play ends. If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original Weston tries to explain the poison to Wesley by comparing it to the way to you poison a coyote by putting strychnine in the belly of a dead lamb. Ad Choices. Sources He picks up the lamb and carries it off. Once she is arrested she says that she gains her freedom by offering sexual bribes to the sheriff. He has done his laundry, which is all nicely folded on the table, and the lamb is back in the kitchen. I could hear stock cars squealing down the street. While Ella eats her breakfast, Wesley urinates on Emmas charts. Wesley then begins to gorge himself on all of the food in the refrigerator. Wesley tells him to take the Packard and escape to Mexico. Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. When Weston comes to, he starts up again where he left off, rejecting Wesleys suggestions that they plant avocados on their land. While he is fulminating, Sgt. I could feel myself in my bed in my room in this house in this town in this state in this country. Mom screaming. date the date you are citing the material. Ever more land was needed, and the developers set their sights to the farmlands surrounding the city. Ella leaves with Taylor, telling Wesley to take the lamb with the maggots back outside. Mumbling about his experience flying planes in the Second World War, he passes out again. . Emma returns, still furious, and the three begin an argument about the starving class and whether or not they are part of it. Emma enters, carrying her riding crop. The plays action demands a working refrigerator and a working stove, yet there are no walls to define the kitchen, and the ruffled, red-checked curtains that are suspended in midair do little to confirm a concrete reality. Taylor enters and talks with Emma, who calls him creepy. *Our system only provides suggested monologues or songs for select characters if we have matching monologues and song information in our database. Swaying very quietly like they were being blown by someones breath. Pushing the clothes to the floor, she falls asleep on the table. Suspended in air, left and right, are faded curtains. His violent nature and utter lack of accountability are the crux of many of the family's issues. date the date you are citing the material. The family of four featured in this play live together in misery on a ranch. Dust laying on their wings. His teen-age sister, Emma (Lizzy DeClement), on the other hand, can only howl about being emotionally ripped off. Emma decides that Ella boiled her chicken and storms out. men who came back from the war, had to settle down, raise a family and send the kids to schooland they just couldnt handle it. That was what Shepard knew as a boy. I could feel the headlights closing in. . Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Scouting me. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! Wesley refuses to stop Emma, and Ella begins to tell him about her plans to sell the house. Head smashing. From a mile off I could tell it was the Packard by the sound of the valves. Marranca, Bonnie, ed. American Dreams: The Imagination of Sam Shepard. Ella is the mother of the family in Curse of the Starving Class. He pulls out the. Ella enters, asks why the lamb is back in the kitchen, and tells Weston that she has been at the jail, visiting Emma. The last date is today's However, the tom cat won't let go because if it does it will fall and die. Wesley re-enters, wearing his father's old clothes. 14. . Feet and hands tearing. Ella points this out to Emma and Emma storms off, insisting that she is going to take the horse and run away. When the Spanish first explored the area of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys, the region was arid, almost desert. Disclaimer: Some of the articles on Mighty Actor include affiliate links to sites like Amazon, Skillshare, and others. Emma is with him, and the two of them discuss the potential sale of the house and Ellas relationship with Taylor. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. He enters, drunk, and begins yelling at his son, Wesley. Shoulder smashing. We dont see Weston for a while, but hes everywhere in this run-down home, or everywhere that violence and destruction have taken place, including in his sons and his wifes consciousness. Wesley enters, sets up a small fenced enclosure in the kitchen, exits, and reenters with a lamb. 2003 eNotes.com Ella falls asleep on the table and Wesley, dressed in Westons old clothes, enters. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Even sleeping people I could feel. As she leaves, Ella wakes up, mistakes Wesley for Weston, and tells him to go after Emma because she's too young to leave on her own. They have blown up Westons car, unaware that Emma was inside. 2023 Cond Nast. Ella has called the police because Weston threatened to kill her, but she doesnt leave right away; Wesley is upset that his mother has summoned outside forces to their home. Weston explains his new outlook: He took a bath, walked around the place naked, cleaned everything, ate a good breakfast, and decided to fix things up. Also inevitable, and also treated as a curse, is Emmas menstruation (which is another image of the inside escaping to the outside). The curtain falls as Wesley and Weston discuss how to rid the lamb of the maggots that are infesting its digestive tract. 0. 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