Cultural Response Paper #2
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Theater Form on The Play:
Hysteria: Or Fragments Of an Analysis Of an Obsessional
Neurosis
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
CULTURAL RESPONSE PAPERS:
Theater: Visit an approved Theater production.
Bring back a dated receipt and a program.
You will write about two CHARACTERS.
Character #1
Where: Raymond James Theater
Who (theater group): American Stage
Character name: Jessica (Performed by Stacy Fischer)
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
Playwright: Terry Johnson
Analysis: In this step consider the most significant theater principles that were used in
the work of art. Using three vocabulary words, describe how the playwright
(and possibly the director) used them. See the theater vocabulary list in The
Arts Guide. Give a minimum of two specific/descriptive details to support the
use of each vocabulary word.
1. The character Jessica had many soliloquies on the psychoanalytic couch reliving
her mother’s sessions with Freud. She would be facing the audience on the verge of
tears, exuberantly happy, and horribly scared. She relived her mother’s sessions in a
way that really hit the audience hard and everyone was deathly silent from Stacy
Fischer’s chilling performance.
2. One principle utilized that I found very interesting was Stacy Fischer’s use of rolein-the-wall. I found this interesting as it is normally a technique used by actors outside of
the play, but this was used in it. Jessica, played by Stacy, drew both Freud and Dali’s
attention in reliving her mother’s sessions. Through this, all the characters gained
greater understanding of Jessica’s mother through this role-in-the-wall principle used
within the play.
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
3. Through Jessica’s reliving of her mother’s sessions with Freud, Stacy Fischer
added more depth to her character in these scenes through exaggerated movement.
Jessica’s mother was anorexic because in the second act it is revealed that what she
thought was the taste of salt making her gag and not eat food was actually the taste of
her father’s semen after being orally raped before the age of five. Stacy Fischer’s
movements and sounds during these times of gagging in sessions were so violent and
loud that I felt myself pushing back into my seat and grimacing. Jessica’s mother also
had the tick of wiping her breast because of the memory of bird poop on her dress
there. Later revealed in the second act also was that it was in fact her father’s semen
that she was wiping off. Stacy Fischer exaggerated this movement by wiping faster and
faster with great intensity for long periods of time while her character, Jessica, was
reliving her mother’s experience.
Next, choose two descriptive adjectives that summarize the overall characteristics of the
character. Give a minimum of two specific/descriptive details to support the use of your
adjectives. (Stay away from qualitative works such as amazing, awesome, excellent,
etc.)
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
1. Jessica was chilling. Acting out her mother by profusely gagging, wiping, being on the
verge of tears, and screaming bloody murder were done in such a way that suspended
disbelief was almost completely gone. It all looked genuine, and that was scary to me.
Stacy Fischer’s performance was scary good.
2. I found Jessica very scary. The way she portrayed her mother was so real, it was
hard at times to differentiate between herself and her portrayal of her mother. Her
mother was such a troubled soul, but it was clear Jessica was troubled also, maybe
even more so, because of her ability to portray her mother like that. Her troubled
uneasiness and her instability really made her scary.
Interpretation: Write at least one paragraph explaining what you think to be the
purpose and intent of the character–
Jessica’s sole intention and purpose in the story was to answer her questions about her
mother’s suicide and expose Freud’s secrets associated with her mother. She showed
up at Freud’s study impersonating her mother, taking Freud a few moments to realize
that. After that realization, she explains herself and her purpose very vaguely saying
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
she’s a student researching her mother’s case history (she didn’t tell him she’s her
daughter). Throughout the whole play she was moving towards finding answers of her
mother’s death and Freud’s secrets about her mother, slowly revealing more and more
about her intent, prying at Freud for answers.
Some questions you may ask yourself: (do not answer every question.) Use this
list to help you create one paragraph of your own Personal interpretation)
*What do you think was the main statement the playwright was trying to achieve with
this character?
* Are we to learn something from this character?
* Why do you think the playwright included this character?
* What was the primary purpose of this character, to instruct? To explore? To inspire?
To expose? To entertain?
Are we to learn something from this character? I believe that I am. The play
revolves around the concept of diving into your subconscious, and no character is free
of that. Although I think she was prying at Freud the hole time, she was slowly revealing
more about herself throughout. She slowly opened up revealing more about herself than
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
expected. The most pertinent example of her opening up was the revelation later in the
second act that her mother was not actually raped, but the rape was just a fantasy
because of her attraction towards her father. This was just the beginning, because after
this revelation she came out and said that her mother’s father raped her. She slowly
opened up, and became so transparent.
Research: – Write one paragraph based on your research. In your research, you can
explore type of play, time period, or the history of the play. Do not give a
biography of the playwright. Include a Works Cited page at the end of your
paper, including the citations for both pieces. Do not include the citation
on this form.
The play mainly revolves between the meeting of Sigmund Freud and
Salvador Dali and their conflicting, but similar, personalities. Although the play is mostly
fiction, it does loosely follow actual events. Salvador Dali admired Sigmund Freud and
attributed him as the single most important influence in his life’s work. Dali finally got to
meet Freud, but that meeting was where Dali realized that was the end of the
surrealistic movement.
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
Evaluation: Evaluate this specific piece, not the entire event. Did you enjoy this
piece? Why or why not?
I enjoyed the character Jessica. The actress, Stacy Fischer, who played Jessica, was
chillingly good. The intensity she kept up throughout the play really hit me. The most
intimate moment I had in the play was when Stacy’s character was portraying her
mother violently gagging, to the verge of throwing up, and crying. After she finally
stopped violently gagging, she got really quiet, so did the audience, and she looked me
right in the eye. I was taken by surprise at that moment, as it was one of her most
intense scenes, and her direct eye contact was beaming into me.
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
Character #2
Where: Raymond James Theater
Who (theater group): American Stage
Character name: Salvador Dali (performed by Justin Campbell)
Playwright: Terry Johnson
Analysis: In this step consider the most significant theater principles that were used in
the work of art. Using three vocabulary words, describe how the playwright
(and possibly the director) used them. See the theater vocabulary list in The
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
Arts Guide. Give a minimum of two specific/descriptive details to support the
use of each vocabulary word.
1. Justin Campbell really got into character and this was the clearest in his accent.
Justin Campbell is not Spanish, but he took on a Spanish accent while playing Dali
phenomenally well. I never heard a slip in Spanish/American accents.
2. Justin Campbell really used projection, enabling the audience to hear him well.
He spoke with a volume that was much louder than normal, so everyone could hear
him. Not only that, but he did it in such a way that it was loud, but it did not sound like he
was yelling, just loud talking.
3. Lastly, gesture was huge in Dali’s character. The gesture and body language
was really clearly expressed, making Dali’s personality really stand out. For example,
when he saw a naked women, his feet moved faster than his body could keep up, so he
was moving tilted back, this was very funny.
Next, choose two descriptive adjectives that summarize the overall characteristics of the
character. Give a minimum of two specific/descriptive details to support the use of your
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
adjectives. (Stay away from qualitative works such as amazing, awesome, excellent,
etc.)
1. Dali was hilarious. His attraction to women was so funny, as he was always in this
desperate chase. He also was obsessed with Jessica’s armpit and would do anything to
have 15 minutes with her “divine” armpit, for art inspiration.
2. Dali had much admiration. He admired Jessica very much, as he loved women. He
also deeply admired Freud, as he was his single most important influence in his life’s
work.
Interpretation: Write at least one paragraph explaining what you think to be the
purpose and intent of the character–
I find the intent of Dali was to add more ridiculousness and antics to the storyline. The
story could have done without Dali, and only with Freud and Jessica, but it would only
be a drama. Dali is that integral character that gives the play comedy. Most all of the
comedy is sparked by his crazy self inserted into the situation making it more and more
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
complicated, but in a good and hilarious way. Dali’s purpose was to make the play
comedic.
Some questions you may ask yourself: (do not answer every question.) Use this
list to help you create one paragraph of your own Personal interpretation)
*What do you think was the main statement the playwright was trying to achieve with
this character?
* Are we to learn something from this character?
* Why do you think the playwright included this character?
* What was the primary purpose of this character, to instruct? To explore? To inspire?
To expose? To entertain?
I believe the main statement the playwright was trying to achieve with Dali, was to
explore and dive into the sub consciousness, but in a different perspective than Freud.
This gave the crazy and lots of times funny, side to psychoanalysis. Dali gave this
much-needed perspective on the sub consciousness that contrasted with Freud’s
perspective, sparking thought in the audience. Dali had a much more active and explicit
perspective, while Freud had a more calm and collected perspective.
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
Research: – Write one paragraph based on your research. In your research, you can
explore type of play, time period, or the history of the play. Do not give a
biography of the playwright. Include a Works Cited page at the end of your
paper, including the citations for both pieces. Do not include the citation
on this form.
The play Hysteria: or Fragments of an Analysis of an Obsessional Neurosis
is a play by Terry Johnson. Its story line is a fictionalized version of the actual event of
the meeting between Sigmund Freud and Salvador Dali. The play first premiered in
London on the first of August in 1993. It first was shown at the Royal Court Theater,
then in 2007 at the Birmingham Rep. This year it was shown at the Theater Royal, Bath
in England, and then later brought over to the U.S.
Evaluation: Evaluate this specific piece, not the entire event. Did you enjoy this
piece? Why or why not?
I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Dali. His thick accent, womanizing personality and
overall craziness embodied Salvador Dali immensely well. The acting was superb, and I
felt that if I met Dali when he was alive, he would have been like that from what
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034
research I have done and know about him. Dali was funny, serious, and ridiculous, I
loved it!
Works Cited
Clear, Marty. "American Stage Opens 'Hysteria,' a Real Head Trip about Freud, Dali
and a Mystery Woman." American Stage Opens 'Hysteria,' a Real Head Trip
about Freud, Dali and a Mystery Woman. Tampa Bay Times, 12 Sept. 2012.
Web. 14 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.tampabay.com/features/performingarts/american-stage-openshysteria-a-real-head-trip-about-freud-dal237-and-a/1250909>.
Macnair, Ben. "Hysteria at the Birmingham REP." BBC News. BBC, 27 Apr. 2007. Web.
14 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2007/04/26/hysteria_rep_feature.sht
ml>.
Noah Brown
10-14-12
Ms. Smith
Humanities I/ Tues. 9:30-10:45
Cultural Response Paper #2
Word Count: 2034