As caricatures rather than characters, they maintain a consciousness of their presence on stage as well as the stereotypical rules and emotions they are meant to display. Through his one-act play The Sandbox, Edward Albee has extended the allegory his characters not only exist as symbols, but are more than vaguely aware of themselves as such. As he directs her to be still, he reveals that he is the Angel of Death and says, ".I am come for you." Even though he says his line like a real amateur, Grandma compliments him and closes her eyes with a smile. It is at this moment that the Young Man finally stops performing his calisthenics and approaches Grandma and the sandbox. Although Grandma, who is lying down half buried in sand, has continued to mock the mourning of Mommy and Daddy, she soon realizes that she can no longer move. As daylight resumes, Mommy briefly weeps by the sandbox before quickly exiting with Daddy. Acknowledging that the sounds are literally coming from off-stage and not from thunder or breaking waves, Mommy knows that Grandma's death is here. Once brightest day has become deepest night, Mommy and Daddy hear on-stage rumbling. While still talking with the Young Man, she reminds someone off-stage that it should be nighttime by now.
Grandma feels comfortable talking with the Young Man as he treats her like a human being (whereas Mommy and Daddy imply through their actions and dialog that she is more of a chore that they must take care of). Grandma and the Young Man begin to converse with each other. As Mommy and Daddy cease to acknowledge Grandma while they wait, Grandma reverts from her childish behavior and begins to speak coherently to the audience. Throughout the play, the Young Man is very pleasant, greeting the other characters with a smile as he says, "Hi!". As Mommy and Daddy wait nearby in some chairs, the Musician plays off and on according to what the other characters instruct him to do. Mommy and Daddy have brought Grandma all the way out from the city and place her in the sandbox.
The Musician: (no particular age, but young would be nice) He does not speak and must be directed to play or stop playing his music.īeginning with brightest day, the Young Man is performing calisthenics (which he continues to do until the very end of the play) near a sandbox (or sandpit) at the beach. He is from Southern California, but hasn't been given a name yet. The Young Man: (25, a good-looking, well-built boy in a bathing suit) He is the Angel of Death, performing calisthenics that suggest the beating of wings. Grandma is at conflict with her family, society, and death. Her husband died when she was 30, and she raised Mommy by herself from there on. Grandma: (86, a tiny, wizened woman with bright eyes) She is the protagonist of the play. She gives her mom an army blanket, her own dish, and a nice place under the stove.ĭaddy: (60, a small man gray, thin) He is the rich man that Mommy married. After marrying Daddy, she brings her mother from the farm and into their big town house in the city. Mommy: (55, a well-dressed, imposing woman) She is Grandma's daughter. The play is approximately 15 minutes long and touches on elements of the Alienation Effect by having the actors talk to the audience, acknowledge they are performers in a play, cue the musician, and deal with the sandbox as if it were the beach.
The first performance of this play was Apin The Jazz Gallery in New York City. The Sandbox is a one act play written by Edward Albee in 1959.
0 kommentar(er)
