Draft Rewriting

Questions for the Playwright (Rewriting)

1.What did you like about your piece?

I liked that my piece played upon the mother and son bond instead of the stereotypical mother and daughter bond. In addition, many parents blame the children or take their anger out on the children but instead my son takes his anger out on his mother who he clearly respected because he has adopted her coping mechanisms.

2. What’s the major conflict? How strong is it?

The major conflict is simply that the mother is beside herself with grief at her husband's death and the son wont let her live it down; blaming her for all that has gone wrong due to anger and confusion.

3. What’s the dramatic action of the play?

The dramatic action of the play is the cigarettes being discovered by the mother. It leads to the most dramatic section where the son sees the mother break down and pray.

4. Did anything confuse you about your play?

I was slightly confused on how to end the play. I had introduced a drug that was intended to be used but never used it; intending that the son gave it up in respect for his mother but it seems odd that he'd have such a change of heart so soon. I feel it would be better, and possibly more light hearted, if he smoked with his mother as they do share a strong bond. The other confusing part was how to introduce some of the concepts between the two characters.

5. What’s the most important image or moment to you in the piece?
The most important moment is when the mother is praying. It's a huge thing for a child to see vulnerability in a parent. It makes them more human and less authoritarian. More likable instead of hard and impersonal.

6. Did your characters all sound the same or like different people with distinct voices?

They each had a distinct voice. One of a mature, concerned adult and the other of a sarcastic and snide youth.

7. What did each character want?

The mother wanted to be forgiven and loved by her son while the son simply wanted answers and attention from his mother. The son was confused by the incident and didn't have any way of making sense of it all. The mother simply didn't have a way to undue the pain and fracture of her family.

8. Are they going after something that is critically important to them?

The son is not going after anything that is critically important to him. Instead, he's waiting for the answers to come to him. He's not trying to put undue stress on his mother and wants to avoid confrontation but lashes out at her due to fear of what the answers could be. The mother on the other hand is trying her best to win back her sons love as she feels he is pulling away from her and she doesn't want to lose what is left of her family.

9. Were the stakes high enough?

Considering the situation, the stakes for the mother were certainly high enough in her mind. The son on the other hand had very little more to lose or gain. He was merely interested in self destruction as a convenient escape from everything that he adapts from his mother's lack of motivation to continue fighting a losing fight with him.

10. What sections made you cringe?

No sectins really made me cringe. I'm not sure if it was supposed to or not but nothing was really cringe worthy except when Helen finds the cigarettes but even that seemed somewhat tame.

11. Which ones surprised you?

Both characters are meant to surprise the reader. It's unexpected that Jake would relinquish his anger so easily and somewhat surprising Helen would fall apart so suddenly.

12. Explain what the play is about in one or two sentences. (The clearer you are, the clearer it will be in the play.)

The play is about a mother and son's relationship after the death of her husband Tom. As each one strives toward their respective goals they each find comfort in each other's company while they sort out the gory details for themselves in order to move forward.

13. Is there anything you’d like to see more of? (A more developed relationship? More specific

behavior from a character? Stronger needs?)

I'd like to see a stronger need from the son and perhaps more variation in the relationship between the mother and son.

14. Were there any loose ends? (Is something introduced in the play that kind of drifts away?)

The introduction of the weed slips by somewhat fast and that somewhat bothers me.