Making the Familiar Unfamiliar

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the part of the process of staging a play that makes the familiar unfamiliar, that isolates elements so as to suggest reality, the familiar, in an unfamiliar way. Maria Irene Fornes' play, "Conduct of Life", is examined and compared with other literary works. A brief background of Fornes is presented.

From the Paper:

"Part of the process of staging a play is to make the familiar unfamiliar, to isolate elements so as to suggest reality, the familiar, in an unfamiliar way. Plays do not take place in the real world but in a created world, a world set in one isolated spot (the stage) with several specific individuals isolated from real life (characters) interacting in a manner that conveys thematic issues and concerns to the audience. Such communication is controlled in a way that real life is not. Issues are isolated from the extraneous and conveyed in a way that has been shaped by the playwright for maximum impact. In the play "Conduct of Life" by Maria Irene Fornes, the familiar is made unfamiliar first in the setting, which is suggested as a set of four horizontal planes selectively illuminated and selectively populated as characters move from one area to another, evoking images of life but not life itself."

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