thursday’s post

well its now at the end of the play.so here’s the last bit.

willy and biff have come to a minor understanding.biff is going to leave and willy is going to go on with living with linda and work out his problems.biff i think, is trying to help his parents or at least his dad,so he can stop worrying about biff’s life.

then they both have a father-son bonding moment!willy realizes that biff doesn’t hate him for cheating and biff finally told his dad that he can’t be the business man that willy wants him to be.but that he’s just trying to live his life as happy as he can.willy’s realization causes him to re consider living.

but then ben comes back.ben is trying to tell willy to hurry up and that they have to go,so willy WAS trying to die,but now that he and biff are ok,he wants to stay and he kind of blows ben off.and linda is trying to get him to sleep and it will be all over.

but willy doesn’t go.willy goes out for a walk and gets confused and wanders out in to the street (i think)(this is what i’m gathering happens artistically based on what the stage directions say)where he gets hit by a car and dies.which is so sad because he and biff were finally ok!

and finally the last scene,the funeral.

willy-dead.

linda-is now empty and she’s really messed up i think because a)she never knew about the cheating and b) everything willy was worried over is finally ok.

biff-i thnk is just content about life after he and his father cleared everything up.and is now just morning and living.

happy-is going to end up just like his father as i predicted.biff will be ben and happy will be willy.there is no way around it,history will repeat it’s self.

wednesday’s post

willy comes back into the present,and he i think at first has a sort of epiphany,which i thought at first was a good epiphany.i though he was finally going to forgive biff for catching him and he was going to make a garden and live his life happily,and that would be it.

but when willy starts planting the seeds and biff realizes what he’s doing,biff freaks out and runs to his dad.willy is outside talking to ben,which i don’t think is a very good thing in this case.willy is talking about this $20,000 deal with ben.but how would ben be able to help him at all? ben’s dead,he’s only alive to willy in willy’s head.

but willy feels alot of regret about linda,because she’s gone thorugh alot and she’s always stood by him.

i was really confused at first about this whole part with ben and willy.then ben said policy, and it clicked that willy is planning on killing himself and giving the money to his family to live off of.

ben brings up a good point though.biff will see willy as a coward.how at this point in this life something has to happen.either he dies and he’s remembered as a coward and biff still hates him, or he goes on living and solves things with his son.

biff does try to help his father now.he comes and tries to talk to willy.and tell him how he feels and let willy know what he’s going to do with the rest of his life.but willy still thinks biff hates him for whats happened with his future.when biff is trying to tell him that its not his fault.

tuesday’s post

so we find out that biff and happy’s buisness plan has fallen though.that there is no way to work out this great scheme to get tons of money for the family.biff is really torn up about it.i’m sure he feels like he’s letting everyone down,and he’s afraid for his dad’s sanity.he knows this can tip him off and make him kinda go crazy,which it does.

willy starts freaking out and is in his own head,when biff was graduation and he found out that biff had failed math.this part is interesting and confusing,because happy and biff are in the present time trying to explain to willy what happened and trying to calm him down.while willy is way back in the past listening to the people around him there in his head and not biff and happy.

biff really tries to tell willy what is happening with him and how he feels and why he thinks he failed,but willy isn’t listening.willy’s dream was a long time ago to work hard and watch his sons be these poster children of success.now that biff has come to realise that he can’t do that,willy’s disappointed and is blaming biff and himself.

at the same time,we learn more about what has happened between willy and biff.willy had an affair when biff came to tell him about failiing math,and biff found out about the woman,and willy has thought biff hated him ever since,whether he does or not we don’t yet know.

monday's post

so i left off with willy and howard,and willy was begging for his job.howard finally let willy go,which i kinda agree with.willy needs that break,but it just sucks that he can't pay for everything.

then willy goes back into his head and he talks with ben.this part is like what he wished happened,he's looking back on an opportunity that ben had for him,and he's thinking how he might have been better off with working with ben.which he might have,but he let his wife talk him out of it.i think willy is now regretting a lot of his life because he thinks it would have changed his current state.

i think ben is the man willy has always wanted to be.and now willy is talking to ben in his head when he really feels down.ben is like his constant comparison to himself.

plus i think willy compares himself to biff too.how he kinda failed biff,because he pressured him into playing this really big football game basically for his future.and we learn later on why biff and willy have so many problems.something happened when biff failed math that caused willy to do or say something that caused biff to not go to summer school.i really want to know what exactly happened.

then willy goes back to the present and goes to charley's house to get money,and he talks to bernard.who again i think he compares himself and his sons especially to.bernard was always smart and worked to get very successful.willy thinks that biff could have been as successful as bernard.especially because they were so close.

 

charley is what willy wanted to be with his normal job,just this easy life,after he works hard for a long time he can retire and just live an easier life.rather than have financial problems and have to ask for money weekly.but to have the freedom to have money to give out.

 

then the family has their dinner.happy i think is the one loman boy that can support himself and possibly his family if he had to.or the family history could repeat its self.happy going to support his own family and work to support his parents,working himself to the bone like willy does.while biff ends up traveling and enjoying life like ben does.

thursday's participation

pg-100

today we had our speed through.failed the first time around.which is so frustrating because i had the lines!!!but then emily and matt gave us a 2nd try,and passed.looking forward to the tech weeks coming up.and i'm going to post all my journals because my blogger has finally started to work again.

wednesday's participation

pg-100

so today we took the freshman picture.yay kneeling in wet mudd and our fail of a pyramid.then we worked in the pit sorting wood and getting plenty of splinters.which wasnt all that bad,besides the fact that the stage is 1 million degrees when your working.

tuesday participation

pg-100

today we really only went over schedual.which i now have all fixed in my phone/calender agenda thing.and today we continued our debate about musical theatre as art.and even though i was told not to talk at one point because of my voice,i still participated in the debate.

thursday’s post

willy goes to talk to his boss howard.i think this scene shows how old willy is and how this newer generation is ahead of him.

howard will have his form of the american dream because he just goes with it.willy tried to force this dream on to himslef and his family.howard just seems like someone who appreciates the small things.like his son and daughter’s voices,and laughing with his wife.its not all about money for him.but that could also be because he has money and a successful job from his father.who might have been exactly like willy,and he ended up dying.maybe willy’s on that same path.

and when you think about it thats the difference between willy and his sons.the younger generation has a different american dream than the older generation.just different things happen for them.the same things happen in todays world too.

and i like how willy is afraid of the recorder.its like the older generation today,and how its stereotypical to think that they know nothing about technology.

wednesday’s post

so begining act 2.

well i thought more about linda and willy’s marriage.it seems like willy has become this work machine and is staying with linda because its easier than divorcing and moving on to someone else.while linda has only grown more in love with willy.she’s completely head over heals while willy is so over her.willy might have been in love with linda as part of his happy family dream,but now he’s pver and done with her i think.willy is only in it to see his light at the end of the tunnel before he dies.

willy doesn’t even want his wife saving money,he wants her to be able to have that free will as if they were rich.he wants to own everything and just be settled in his life.he’s 60 years old and he’s finally starting to stand up in his job,while he’s not going all that great anyway.i want to know what going to happen at his job,why hasn’t he retired yet?couldn’t they down size or simplify their life in some way were willy could just relax?i think miller is trying to say something about how americans just kinda waste their lives for what?material possessions? but you can be perfectly happy with just living out your life.

friday’s participation

pg-100

so today i think i deserve a 100 because i can into school sick,just for rehearsal.plus i tried really hard today with anything emily threw at us.i may not be doing everything great,but failure makes you better.so mistakes here i come!

tuesday’s post

post number 2!

so we learn more about what willy does.and his attempted suicides.plus their family life.willy and happy seem very close while biff and linda also seem closer.their family seems like they’re disconnecting over the years.biff has been out of touch with his family.happy is trying to pull the family together however he can.he tries to solve the problem between willy and biff,which we still don’t know what happened,and he tries to help his parents have more of a life.

and linda tells the boys about willy’s suicide attempts.i guess his chasing of the american dream hurts him.and thats the proof.he isn’t happy with how his life has worked out.

i also noticed that willy always tells linda to shut up,even in his flashback he tries to control linda’s actions.i think its more of that american-ness how the wife is supposed to sit and smile and be happy and not talk.seen but not heard.

monday’s post

finally i actually can write my journals.so here goes journal 1.

one thing i don’t understand is why ben comes for such a short time,he comes to visit for a bit,then leaves about 5 minutes later.the contrast between himm and willy is really interesting.willy is the one who tried to have that all-american dream,of the hard working dad,happy children,and a wife who just cleans the house and looks happy.while ben i think is the one who is actually living the dream.he’s traveling and enjoying himself.he’s not working all that hard and getting nowhere.he’s just living his life to the fullest while whilly’s life is slowly deteriorating around him.

willy i think sees biff as a regret or a disappointment because he’s doing what willy couldn’t. willy never went out and enjoyed himself like ben and biff do.they live for their dreams or what makes them happy while willy works for his family.

i think the title of this play isn’t the literal meaning “death of a salesman” but more of a metaphoric death.his enjoyment,happiness,and sanity all die.and like you said,he’s chasing the american dream that isn't there for him.and its ruining him.

thursday’s participation

pg-100

this is just the begining of my posts for tonight, 2 more on the way.today was a very good rehearsal i think,we tried some improv with our characters,which was interesting and went well.plus we tried an exercise with our scripts while looking for something,which was fun.

wednesday’s participation

pg-100

so today we were divided into our groups for freshman showcase.go lights and set!!my group learned about drafting,something i actaully have some clue on how to do,thanks to 2 years of tech/woodshop classes.and we learned about scales and fractions.

tuesday’s participation

pg-100

today we learned more about the off broadway movement and the off-off-boardway movement.and we had our debate.broadway is an art vs broadway should burn in hell.quite entertaining.i like our debates.personally they give me a better outlook plus i feel like i think more critically in those situations.

monday’s participation

pg-100

congrats on the girls!today i’m writing my blog from windows live writer,because i found out how to connect it to my blogger.so yay technology!in class today we of course rehearsed, and after all my great character work this weekend,emily has decided to switch our parts.so new character work begins.

wednesday's participation?

well not positive if this still counts but hey worth a shot.

pg-100
so today i helped dan and kelsey clean up the sound loft.we organized microphones and what not.plus we organized some props.and we brought the new bookshelf up,which wasn't too much fun.and i learned how to properly store mic stands.other than that,i ran up and down the stairs to throw things out,which is so annoying for little pieces of crap.but the loft is clean atleast.

wednesday's post

wednesday's post

so willy is still in his flashback.it seems like willy was that ideal father, the kind you'd see on old school family shows.the dad that worked well,was always happy,playied sports with his sons and gave them advice on girls.that all american dad living the hard working american dream.untill it comes to biff's grades.bernard comes to try to help biff and willy freaks.i don't think he wants his son to not be that perfect son, gets good grades, and is the jock.so when bernard insists biff needs help willy just tries to sweep the problem away and keep thinking that his son has it all.

i think thats why he's on biff's case now.he feels guilty for not accepting that his son isn't all that bright.and that sometimes he needed help.i think now he feels he should have helped and maybe he'd have more of a life or a better future.rather than working on a farm.

though one thing he is proud of would be his sons looks.both of the sons know that they can get girls easily.obviously they are attractive and they know that.they flaunt it.even into their adult lives!happy is clearly the womanizer of the two,biff knows of his ability but he does want relationships,not just one night stands.

then it gets weird.linda comes to talk to her husband and all of a sudden this other woman's voice comes?its obviously in his head from that time,but who is it?it it someone he cheated on his wife with,someone from his past maybe a lost love?or just some random voice?

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thursday's post

SUPER MEGA MIND CONFUSION...no more.

ok so this flash back confused the hell out me.now i caught on more.FINALLY.so willy talks to uncle ben in his mind,but who is uncle ben in the first place.is he willy's brother or maybe willy's uncle?or just osmeone he called uncle ben?willy knows him,and i've think they've met a couple of times because willy tried to send him away with a kind of normality,like oh yeah its ben,he's back.

i like the little interaction between charley,willy,and ben.how willy is talking to both of them at the same time,and charley is confused out of his mind,while ben and willy are completely ok with him being there.but linda can see him.so its a scene within a scene kind of.willys flash back and the reality with charley.

so who is charley?is he just a friend or a brother or a neighbor?they never really said who he was.or how he came into the house after happy talks to willy.so alot of questions on charley.

i'm guessing that the memory of ben is from a time when he visited or something,because biff and linda both know him.maybe willy has flashbacks about regrets.like with biff's future,and maybe ben died and he regrets not seeing him more.

thursday's participation

pg-100

so today we worked on our scenes.i realised that i hate taking direction.which is like horrible for actors.so thats going to be fun.i'm learning more about my character with constant help from emily and matt.i'm trying and i'm scared.yay.

monday and tuesday's post.

monday's

so the first day of death of a salesman.just a wild guess here,but i'm going to say willy dies.whether literatly or metaphoricly.one thing i noticed was the stage directions and the set seems very confusing.judging by the picture it looks simpler than described.but it sounds complicated.

and when they talk about linda i don't quite get how she feels about her husband,she has more love than he knows?and constantly patient with him.but his affections are what they are on the surface i guess?i'm just wondering how that relationship is going to affect the rest of the play.or how the couple will even interact with themselves.

but the set designes to tell you a little bit about willy.he's a day-dreamer.they have a set place for his dreams and thoughts.he even says it.he dreams and sleeps while driving.his sons say he talks to himself,and you hear him talk to himself about the old car.and he dazes and thinks back about that.

obviously there are some problems with the sons.both are these attractive men,and things have come easily for them,and now they're both growing up and trying to figure out where they belong in the world.willy at first is disappointed in biff's return and how he's not really going anywhere.but he's not angry with happy.he's only 2 years younger so they should boht be in their place in society,and not be living at their parents house "looking for themselves".

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tuesday's post.

so more on the sons this time.i noticed that this play doesn't have any scene breaks,but i feel like it flips between people,past,and present and thats kind of like un-official scene breaks.how it went from willy and linda talking and happy and biff talking.

both happy and biff have "jobs" or some sort of lively-hood.but they're both womanisers and they just have these cocky additudes of "we can do whoever we want".but i can see how they're both "lost" in their own ways.and they're both looking for a way to settle they're lives.

then willy has a flash back.he really goes back to that moment.has this full on conversation.but its not in his head at all.it really happens infront of him.how would young happy and biff come out?just come as new actors or could the old actors play biff and happy?because that would be cool to see if all the actors playied themselves,just younger.i think it would be a really interesting directorial choice.probably not what is suppost to happen,but i would love to see it that way.

i'm really trying ot think about the flach back points now,how they could look on stage.how the lights could be used to show the change of time,because it mentions that leaves were made using light designs,specifically during the flashback.and since they don't use the set,i want to know how the actors would make their surroundings on the empty stage.

pg-100
today i worked on my memorizing lines for house full of babies.in class today i worked with kelsey on the light of evil.plus we learned how to use and set up movie lighting.i took notes in class and i was trying to understand the whole history aspect.plus we learned about broadway and off broadway movement.

monday's participation

pg-100
today i worked with arianna and emily on our freshman showcase!we worked on character backround a bit.began a bit of memorizing.and we also did a run through,just to kinda work it out.all very exciting.