Choose a primary character? Type the name of the character and the play that they are in.
The primary character that I chose was Lloyd from the play Nursing by Adam Rapp.
What are five relevant Given Circumstances to that character? Use a sentence to explain each one so you have five sentences total.
One given circumstance is that Lloyd’s perception of the world is cynical and pessimistic due to the strains within his familial relationships. This given circumstance results in the other circumstance of him being a suicidal person who in page 15 of the play was trying to hang himself. That waiver that Lloyd was made to sign allowed him to be used by the museum company as much as they wanted, practically being able to take advantage of him. The waiver also leads to Lloyd being trapped in a cage that is made up of one way glass, designed where the audience can see every little move that he is doing (literally every move, as there are no doors or curtains that hide him from doing things like showering, going to the toilet, etc.). Finally, Lloyd’s “time” with Joan in the shower made him too crazed to even realize what was happening with Andy and Joan, which later led to his ultimate death by Blackfrost.
What do they want and Why do they want this? Use three sentences to answer this.
Lloyd wants to kill himself because all of his life he was led to believe through himself and others that he is meaningless and nobody important. Even though he is told time and time again that people both inside and outside of his museum life care for him and his existence as a person, he sees it as nothing more than them either being fake or doing it for the sake of their jobs. His desire for death is the most intense at page 15, when he tries to hang himself using blanket cloth to “test” his nurse Andy.
What are five examples of tactics/verbs that they use throughout the play? Five Verbs.
Five examples of tactics/verbs that Lloyd uses throughout the play are ignorance, empathy, detachment, and arrogance.
Cite an example/moment in the play where they use that tactic/verb? One sentence.
One example of Lloyd using detachment is when he explains to Erin that should their child ask about where Lloyd (their dad) is, to tell them that “I was a coward and I got mauled by wolves and I deserved it” on page 46.
What page number is the monologue you are looking at from? Single word.
Twenty Seven!
Who are they speaking to and what is their relationship to that person/people? Single sentence.
Lloyd was speaking to his brother Joe in that monologue.
What do they want from the person/people they are talking to? Single sentence.
Lloyd wanted Joe to know in that moment that everything he was able to do exactly what he wanted, as Lloyd proceeded to go into detail about how Joe and Carla were doing it, walking around in their house afterwards to use one of their Kleenex to go off in and feed to Joe’s dog (compared to Joe’s previous statement of Lloyd having the capability to not having anything he wanted in his current state).
Why do they speak uninterrupted? Think about this a little. Normally, we don’t get to just talk a long time without another person answering us. Political Speeches are an example where the speaker is uninterrupted. A Thank You speech after getting a reward. Why does this character get to speak uninterrupted? What is your opinion? Five Sentences.
I believe that Lloyd speaks uninterrupted because of how his current life circumstances are. Joe knows that Lloyd isn’t living his best life right now - getting injected with numerous amounts of diseases and being trapped in a room where several pairs of eyes watch your every move. Another possible reason that could factor into why Joe doesn’t interrupt Lloyd is because he wants to be careful of the things he talks to him about. Being his brother, Joe is most likely aware of Lloyd’s suicidal tendencies and realizes that if he kept trying to push his own life mentality on Lloyd while being stuck in such a vulnerable position, then he could trigger said tendencies and make him lose it. These reasons could be why Joe just lets him talk seamlessly about such an intimate moment that should’ve been private.
What would you identify as the theme of the play? What is the play About? Five Sentences.
I would identify the theme of the play as the fragileness of emotional health. The play is about Lloyd (The Subject), a former army veteran who served in Afghanistan that was used for demonstrating the effects of past diseases to show their modern world what being sick was like. With a combination of the trauma of his early childhood and adult life, Lloyd wanted to feel important. From joining the army for the sake of protecting America, to becoming the museum’s subject of diseases, Lloyd wanted that validation from people that he was doing something right. He was suicidal because he believed that people would never cease to see the fact that he needed help out of that mindset. Instead of getting it from people however, Lloyd believed that his best bet to do so was by going through a constant cycle of physical pain that would keep his mind off of it.
What in the play resonated with you right now? What felt relevant to you? What did you identify with? Five sentences.
The idea of pushing people away not because you don’t care for them, but because you’re afraid of being the one who ruins everything or makes mistakes in everyday relationships resonated well with me. Throughout the play, you can see that Lloyd is not emotionless, but is instead suppressing his emotions. The circumstance of feeling as though the whole world is watching your every move (literally for him) makes people worry about whether or not the actions or words they are saying are right or wrong. For example, when Lloyd tells his ex-wife Erin to explain to their son that Lloyd was a coward mauled by wolves, it’s Lloyd trying to tell her that he IS a coward...a coward who doesn’t face his feelings head on. It’s only after his former lover leaves that he realizes the detrimental effect that his emotional distancing affected his loved ones, resulting in the tears he savagely cried.
Lovely work Brianna. Your exploration of the play's themes is just great; I appreciated how much you dug into the background of Lloyd's character. Remember that many of the things you discussed are part of his given circumstances. I am only saying this to remind you how deep you can dig when identifying given circumstances in the future.
I do want to check in about your Verbs though. Try to find Actions that the character can DO towards another person. While I agree that Lloyd is arrogant and detached, those are more States of being or Emotional States rather than tactics Lloyd can do to get what he wants. Let's look at the monologue you chose on page 27. Your analysis of it is really spot on!
But what would you say Lloyd is doing to his brother there? Is he punishing him? Hurting him? Destroying him? Dissecting him? Think about tactics a character can DO to another person. This will be helpful when you are working on your monologue. Rather than being sad, you could imagine pleading with the person you are speaking with. Or perhaps because you are sad, you sad you are drawing them in? Or pushing them away?
Keep working on getting your imagination to use those verbs! A character DOING something to someone else!
Excellent work as always.