Pitch

Vows is a play densely packed with emotions. It examines the complexity of gender biases and gender roles through the relationship between a woman and a man whose children are getting married. Based on F. G. Lorca's Blood Wedding, the play focuses on Gala (the independent mother) and Pygmal's (father) discussion of their children's marriage. In the play, Gala pays Pygmal a visit in his home and confronts him about the marriage.Yet the characters find themselves more concerned with their own desires. Pygmal both intimidated by and hopelessly attracted to Gala has a hard time maintaining conversation; while Gala is overly concerned that in being a mother she has lost her identity and wants nothing more than to be found interesting.

This is all packed in an exciting, fast-paced, twenty minute play. It seeks to confuse audiences. Except for the bold look of the characters, everything about the play tries to repress the dramatic tension of the script, from the blocking to the line delivery. Thus the tension in the play escapes only through the characters. The point is to present the audience with a conflict examined only through the grandiose characters. The audience will see a small blank white stage, filled with two bold, brightly dressed characters. Leaving spectators flabbergasted with little time or space to reflect on what is going on. Forcing them to reflect to what they have just been presented with only after the play is finished.

Choosing Metaphor

I initially wanted the black square to be my metaphor, but I wanted a bit more. Instead I chose this rectangle balanced on one of its right angles. I feel this rectangle represents how rigid the scene is, while also representing the gender-related tension of the scene (the rectangle is precariously balanced).

• The rectangle with the empty middle: 
• I want the play to be very uniform
• to not be flowing
• to have very little movement
• almost to the point where the play seems boring, undramatic
• The red rim:
• The drama of the scene/play is all condensed into the characters' expressions. Everything else is uniform. Yet it is still the border of a rectangle, so the expressions aren't over-dramatic (there is an attempt at realism).

The characters are trying to hide their desires to the point where these emotions are almost lost (represented by the blank space of the rectangle). Yet, their feelings come out in the form of the red rim.

Initial Impressions

• Excerpt from Blood Wedding by Frederico Garcia Lorca (1898-1936)
• play takes place in the early 20th C.
• Mother and Father discussing their children's marriage?
• Mother leading conversation
• Male vs. Female relationships
• Father has a daughter....Mother has a son; interesting the way the genders are mixed up
• Very forced dialogue
• Rigid
• Very little movement
• High tension
• Black and white
• Not very emotive, language/words over emotion

It is the turn of the century, so the status of women is changing in society. This is what I want to pursue in this project: the relationships between men and women. It seems to me, the characters in the scene are hiding what they want to express through this forced discussion of their children. The characters are trying to get around the tension in the scene by avoiding it. Perhaps the Father doesn't like how the Mother is acting superior to him (she's in charge of the scene), especially because she is a women.

Also their children both seem really interesting. The son is handsome, yet "he has never known a woman". The daughter never talks, yet "she can cut a strong cord with her teeth". Neither of them are cardboard cut outs...they have characteristics that contrast. Perhaps the son shares some of his characteristics with the Father and the daughter shares some characteristics with the Mother. Keeping in mind that it is the Father who has a daughter and the Mother who has a son.

This 2-dimensional square represents some of the themes I was first feeling