[5] The cast was as follows: Wesley - Ebbe Roe Smith Ella - Olympia Dukakis Emma - Pamela Reed Taylor - Kenneth Welsh Weston - James Gammon Ellis - Eddie Jones Malcolm - John Aquino Another risk in weak productions of Shepards work is that directors will make too little or too much of his surrealism. His symbolsthe lamb, the broken door, the refrigerator, the old carjump out at the viewer and almost announce I am a symbol! But Shepard uses them less as true symbols than as evocative images. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance 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. New York, NY, Linda Ray Hello, this is Emma's monologue from Curse of the Starving Class by Sam Shepard. Man throwing wood. When the Spanish first explored the area of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys, the region was arid, almost desert. The open spaces that once separated them have largely disappeared; similarly, the farmland that once was the areas largest economic resource has long since given way to other industries. Emma leaves; then Taylor and Ella leave for a business meeting. Wesley is left on stage, talking to the lamb, when Westons voice is heard outside. Michael and me -- well, we're closer than most brothers and sisters. I could feel this country close like it was part of my bones. He is the one who actually put the bomb in the car that kills Emma. Freezing headache. New landPlymouth Rock, California, Alaska, or anywhere in betweenis settled and cleared for farming or industry by rugged individualist pioneers; more people move near that newly desirable land, and towns spring up; the towns grow so big and encroaching that the rugged individualists feel crowded by city life (or are unable, economically, to survive) and move on to find new frontiers. The second is the date of Ellis, the owner of the Alibi Club walks into the house and sees Weston on the table. Motif Both musicals, based on immensely popular eighties movies, feature performers who help you see the narrative behind all the flash. The three of them converse tensely until Ella enters. As his mother fries him some bacon for breakfast, he recalls the images going through his mind as he lay in bed listening to the splintering of the door. He remembers a time he was castrating sheep and appeased an eagle by throwing testicles up on a tin roof where the bird could get them. Shifting unconsciously. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Westons only way of being a father is to exercise his paternal privileges, which, in Shepard-land, include wreaking havoc, fucking up your kids and your wife, and squandering the future; we learn by the second act that, in order to pay off loan sharks, Weston has already sold the property, to a bar owner named Ellis (Esau Pritchett, who has a lot of strength and appeal, though Kinney doesnt temper his performance, either). He tells Wesley to go clean up, and he'll make him a big breakfast. VerMeulen, Michael. On the one hand, I want you to experience the extraordinary power of Shepards alternately disciplined and unwieldy languagelanguage that pulsates with a unique imaginationbut, on the other, I dont want you to see and hear what Shepard brought to the American stage in less than ideal circumstances. Gale Cengage Woman screaming. Emma tells Ella of her dream of going to Mexico and becoming a mechanic. He then came inside and took a bath, made a big breakfast, drank some coffee, and did everyone's laundry. Man cursing. An enormous explosion is heard. As she is falling asleep, and Weston is talking to her about the benefits of sleeping on the hard table, Wesley walks into the kitchen, naked, and takes the lamb outside. Wesley refuses to stop Emma, and Ella begins to tell him about her plans to sell the house. While Ella eats her breakfast, Wesley urinates on Emmas charts. The last date is today's Whatever the cause, the Tates will do just about anything to raise themselves out of the downward spiral into which they've fallen. date the date you are citing the material. The curtain falls as Wesley and Weston discuss how to rid the lamb of the maggots that are infesting its digestive tract. Ella has not returned from her meeting with Taylor. Emma asks the refrigerator why it doesn't have any food because they aren't part of the starving class. Ella finally enters and says that she is going on a business luncheon with Taylor. They wanted large houses, cars, two-car garages, front and back yards. Taking pictures of the enemy. She has just started her first period, and has several mood swings during the play. See more characters from Sam Shepard. Log in here. All rights reserved. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. 14. Ella returns with groceries and says she knows there is a curse working against family. SHARE. SUZIE. My P-39. Vol. As the play opens, she and Wesley are both surveying the chunks of the door broken down by her husband . He is the representative for several large corporations that are looking to buy up land. eNotes.com Sources Sound disappearing. Vol. Then stopping. Wesley is not happy with his mother's decision, and she continues to try and ask him to go stop Emma. Floating. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. During their argument, Wesley goes to Emma's posters and begins to urinate on them. Lahr, John, A Ghost Town of the Imagination, in Village Voice, July 25, 1977, pp. Taylor, a land developer, is courting Ella. In the fridge, she finds some bacon and bread and, as she fries up the last of the familys meat, Wesley thinks about himself and his father and recalls a memory: I was lying there on my back. Then no moving. Dads voice. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Sergeant Malcolm from the police department enters and tells Ella that Emma has been arrested for riding a horse into the Alibi Club and shooting the place full of holes. Incapable of driving or holding a job, he is a profoundly unstable man controlled by the alcohol that runs in his system. Wesley enters, sets up a small fenced enclosure in the kitchen, exits, and reenters with a lamb. 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. Taylor enters and talks with Emma, who calls him creepy. Video . Ellis grabs the money back from Wesley (feeling that now he is owed for the damage to his bar), and the act closes as Ella agrees to come to the police station to pick up Emma. Emerson, a small well dressed thug, enters, giggling about the explosion. Ella and Taylor leave together, and Emma runs off again. The speculators and developers then began building subdivisions in the areas immediately surrounding the city. 1. There are three acts. Ella is a stressed out woman trying to cope with intense emotional damage and frustration. No answer. Ella tries to take the money from Wesley, but he tells her there is not enough to go to Europe on. The "curse," as Ella puts it, of the Tate family is that they have nitroglycerine liquid dynamite running in their blood. But with the millions of people who now lived there, there simply was not enough room in the city. . It is shocking to see a live lamb on stage and even more shocking to see it bloody and dead; similarly, the centrality of the refrigerator to every scene and the constant opening and closing of its door reminds us of the theme of hunger and starving, but Shepard refuses to nail down its meaning for us. The Tates live on a farm where they formerly raised sheep and grew avocados. Scouting me. . Breakdown; Suggested Audition Pieces; Videos; Related Products; Useful Articles; Breakdown. Solutions . Finally, highway patrolman Malcolm appears with the news that Emma, having shot up the Alibi Club, is in jail. Slater also brings the dead lamb's carcass into the house. The Tate family is a lower middle class, rural California family, trying to hold on to the last shreds of a family bond and traditional living. As Wesley and Ella argue, Ella speaks of the curse she sees operating on the family. In a 1997 Paris Review interview, Shepard, whose own father was an alcoholic, made a powerful point about the men he grew up around. Ella is on stage alone for the beginning of the talk, but her daughter, Emma, walks on stage mid-talk and joins the conversation as though she has been there all along. No sound. New York, NY, Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall [6], The play was produced at Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut, in February 2000, directed by Jim Simpson and featuring Kristine Nielsen, Guy Boyd, Mandy Siegfried, Danny Seckel, Paul Boocock, Ron Faber, Steve Mellor, Dan Moran and Chime Serra. Taylor then enters and Ella tells him what is happened. He and Slater, another minor character, only appear at the end of the production when they blow up Weston's car for compensation. The three of them begin arguing about whether they are the starving class, while Wesley urinates on Emmas chart. Then, far off the freeway could be heard. However, many of the same issues (such as access to abortions and birth control, equal pay for equal work, and affirmative action) still remain to be resolved. Word Count: 494. The play opens on an image of the breakdown of the barrier between outside and inside, the shattered front door that allows all sorts of undesirable elements to enter the house. Alone, Ella stares at Weston asleep on the table; he sits up, they look at each other, she runs off, and he lurches toward the refrigerator, kicking artichokes out of his way. 28 Feb. 2023 . SymbolismCurse of the Starving Class uses symbolism a great deal, but Shepard uses it in a jarring way. "Curse of the Starving Class - Literary Style" Drama for Students Gale Cengage Him just sitting in the car. Its themes include the struggle for dignity, moral obligations to family members, and the effect of money in America. Perhaps that's the reason they're stuck where they are: broke, hungry, and fighting. Disclaimer: Some of the articles on Mighty Actor include affiliate links to sites like Amazon, Skillshare, and others. Sam Shepard. Curse of the Starving Class: Directed by J. Michael McClary. 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. Wesley tries to tell them that Weston is his father. The play ends with Ella and Wesley staring at the lamb carcass. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. 28 Feb. 2023 , Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Man throwing up. Word Count: 57. Floating. . 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. Emma hates living with her family and repeatedly announces plans to leave home. Kaufmann, Stanley, What Price Freedom? in New Republic, April 8, 1978, pp. Ella returns from jail, exhausted, to find Weston cooking breakfast for Wesley. Note: When citing an online source, it is important to include all necessary dates. Ed. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. The laundry is still on the table; a pot of artichokes boils on the stove. 14. View All Characters in Curse of the Starving Class, THIS FEATURE IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR PRO MEMBERS. Whenand where doesTheCurse of the Starving Class take place? Suspended in air, left and right, are faded curtains. American Gothic: Sam Shepard's Family Trilogy.. Ella tries to feign innocence and Emma storms out. Hart, Lynda, Sam Shepards Metaphorical Stages, Greenwood Press, 1987. eNotes.com Like any second something could invade me. Emma and Wesley keep opening the fridge and looking for something thats not therea crystal ball filled with absence. At first, Weston can't remember who all he has loaned money to, and begins to rant about how this is his home and nobody ought to be able to take it from him because he has nowhere else to go. While Ella takes steps to get away by trying to sell the old homestead, through a lawyer named Taylor (Andrew Rothenberg), Wesley can't imagine his life as anything other than what it is: he. DeRose, David J. Sam Shepard. Having escaped jail by having sex with Officer Malcolm, Emma has decided to become a criminal. Downshifting into second for the last pull up the hill. When Wesley tells her that there will not be enough money from the house to move to Europe Ella gets angry that Wesley is ruining her dream. 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