Then stopping. The speculators and developers then began building subdivisions in the areas immediately surrounding the city. Later, she becomes so angry about Ellis buying their house, she rides the family horse into his bar and shoots the place full of holes. Wesley refuses to stop Emma, and Ella begins to tell him about her plans to sell the house. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Afraid of sound. The second date is today's 14. Ella re-enters with groceries and throws the artichokes on the floor. The set similarly incorporates both realistic and mythic elements. Ed. Cutting through the orchard. Tense. For instance, sprinkling sand on the stage to evoke Shepards edge-of-America Western localeshe grew up on an avocado farm in Duarte, California, near Route 66as is done in the current revival of his 1977 play Curse of the Starving Class (at the Signature, under the direction of Terry Kinney), does little to get at his genius, which was not about surfaces but about how peoples lives can be mangled by their belief in surfaces. Lights go off. nada! She and Weston argue heatedly. He tells Wesley and Emma that he has already purchased the house from Weston and shows them the cash. She is just waking up and winds an alarm clock in her hand as she watches WESLEY sleepily. Today: After riots, fires, a major earthquake, landslides, and flooding, Los Angeles continues to grow. eNotes.com The lifters have a sound like nothing else. Hes woken up with dew on the hood before. He has done his laundry, which is all nicely folded on the table, and the lamb is back in the kitchen. [9] The play focuses on the disturbed Tate familythe drunken father, burned-out mother, rebellious teenage daughter, and idealistic sonas they struggle for control of the rundown family farm in a futile search for freedom, security, and ultimately meaning in their lives. Closely connected to the symbolic structure of the play is its use of motif, or a recurring image. Who or what can fill these people up? Ella is the mother of the family in Curse of the Starving Class. [5] After this outburst he passes out. Man yelling. Join the StageAgent community
Emma is enraged that her mother is selling the house and Taylor tries to convince her that selling the property is in their best interest. Teeth covered with peanuts. Freezing headache. I am aware that I have taken on characters that are outside of my RACE, GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, DIALECT, and AGE. Upgrade to PRO Sign Up for PRO to view suggested audition pieces! First gear grinding. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. He asks what happened to Wesley, who had clearly been beaten up. Mom screaming for police. 353 subscribers Episode 10: Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class Sam Shepard wasn't just a playwright but an actor himself, fully into the arts. Wesley embarks upon a long monologue narrating the events of the previous night before leaving, at which point Ella begins talking to nobody in particular about the start of menstruation. Mumbling about his experience flying planes in the Second World War, he passes out again. Even all the sleeping animals. He tells her to take a nap on the table because itll do wonders for her. Wesley then explains to Emma that it is not typical homebuyers who are going to purchase the house, but that it is land developers. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. A 1994 film adaptation of the same name stars James Woods (Weston), Kathy Bates (Ella), Henry Thomas (Wesley), Randy Quaid (Taylor), and Jim Fitzpatrick (Emerson). The play closed on April 9, 1978. Today, Los Angeles is one of the largest urban conglomerations in the world. Weston yells at him, telling him that they didn't need the food, because the refrigerator is full for once. Tate Family patriarch Weston, is an alcoholic, who leaves his family for days at a time, buys into scam business deals, and owes money to all the wrong people in town. Emerson, a small well dressed thug, enters, giggling about the explosion. Ella pushes all the laundry to the floor and lies on the table. No sound. The curtain opens on Wesley again, who this time is building a new front door for the house. The property requirements suggest a realistic, if not a naturalistic play. Ellis enters, laughing at the passed-out Weston who is slumped on the kitchen table. They have blown up Westons car, unaware that Emma was inside. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Their conversation quickly turns to an issue of thematic importance: restlessness and dissatisfaction in heartland America. Ella talks about the curse that is plaguing their family. He pulls out the $1500 that he owes Weston for the purchase of the house, and Ella tells Wesley to throw him out. 28 Feb. 2023 . Gale Cengage Soon, the music is interrupted by a great rumble, and the kitchen walls break in half. She reassures the refrigerator that soon there will be little eggs, butter, and other foods tucked away inside of it. Gale Cengage 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. Wesley deduces that Taylor is the one who sold Weston worthless desert property in the first place. As the crisis ends, both politicians and the public realize that these shortages were created arti- ficially by oil-producing countries and oil companies in order to boost profits. It is morning. As Ella calls her name out in a dream, Emma quickly leaves. Wesley and Ella talk about Westons eagle story as the play ends. He advises Wesley to do the same. "Curse of the Starving Class - Compare and Contrast" Drama for Students Ella warns Emma that swimming during her period could kill her. She appears to be the most bizarre character in the play, yet is also the most normal member of the family. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission at no additional cost to you. goose eggs! Wesley says that Emma doesn't want to do it just because she is on the rag, so she throws down her markers and gets up to add the water. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Ella Tate is the mother of the family. Weston is proud of Emma, saying that it takes guts to do something like that at her age. Kauffmann, Stanley. Symbolic dramas were popular, and Shepard wrote those kinds of plays in his early career. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. Taylor is in disbelief, and Ellis threatens him. Ella is the mother of the family in Curse of the Starving Class. Still, Ella and Wesley both convey their hurt and their ambivalence toward Westons power over them. Our Essay Lab can help you tackle any essay assignment within seconds, whether youre studying Macbeth or the American Revolution. Sam Shepard's coming of age drama about a dirt-poor 1950's-era farm family. Ellis, the owner of the bar where Weston drinks, enters with $1500 and says he owes Weston for the sale of the house; Ella orders her son to throw him out. Foot kicking door. Weston tries to explain the poison to Wesley by comparing it to the way to you poison a coyote by putting strychnine in the belly of a dead lamb. Advertising in newspapers around the country, they encouraged people to come to Sunny California! to retire or simply to flee the frigid northern climates or unhealthy cities of the East. [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 Emerson and Slater warn him to pay up. Dogs. Center stage is a table, downstage a . Weston looks around and moves to the refrigerator. Man throwing wood. Download the entire Curse of the Starving Class study guide as a printable PDF! Wesley asks her how she got out of jail and she tells him that she made sexual overtures at the guard. Act-by-act or chapter-by-chapter summaries and reviews of the plays and books I am currently reading. eNotes.com The lights go down with him staring in the open fridge. After the walls split, we see a young man, Wesley (Gilles Geary), picking up whats left of the kitchen door. Emma enters, carrying her riding crop. Sign up today to unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. Gale Cengage His violent nature and utter lack of accountability are the crux of many of the family's issues. Ella enters, asks why the lamb is back in the kitchen, and tells Weston that she has been at the jail, visiting Emma.
Michael Venzor was featured in a 2011 Equity Showcase of "Curse of the Starving Class" by Sam Shepard. The play ends with Ella and Wesley staring at the lamb carcass. Taylor declares that he will go to court and have the deed taken back and then buy the property from Ella, then leaves the house. He pulls out the. DeRose, David J. Sam Shepard. 28 Feb. 2023 , Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Some critics consider it part of a Family Trilogy that includes Buried Child (1979) and True West (1980). ELLA ( after a while) You shouldn't be doing that. Wesley wanders in, dazed and naked, wet from his bath. Wesley enters and they discuss Weston's laundry and the best way to help the lamb with the maggots. He is a wicked man, a villain in the story. The curse on the family is described by both women as something that breeds internally in Weston and Wesley and is inevitable. They tell him that they have blown up the car with Emma in it. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. The lamb is heard before the lights come up on act 3. Ella has called the police because Weston threatened to kill her, but she doesnt leave right away; Wesley is upset that his mother has summoned outside forces to their home. See more characters from Sam Shepard. Word Count: 57. Heart still pounding. 2425. They finish the story, saying that a tom cat had come to sniff around in the testes and the eagle picked it up. Then, looking in that bloody fridge, he, like his children, finds nothing: zero! Try it today! Sam Shepard: The Life and Work of an American Dreamer. He is easily taken advantage of and when his debts are not paid, it takes an even more terrifying toll on the people close to him. When the Spanish first explored the area of Los Angeles and the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys, the region was arid, almost desert. "Curse of the Starving Class - Historical Context" Drama for Students However, many people move back into the central city to work in the burgeoning entertainment industry. 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. Inviting Wesley to have some breakfast, he tells him (as Wesley walks off) that he is reconsidering the idea of planting avocados. Wesleys monologue is like the steady tapping of rain on a windowpane: melancholy and constant. New York, NY, Linda Ray
While Wesley is bathing, Weston yells in to him that he agrees to become an avocado grower for the Grower's Association. Paper bag covering Tiger Rose. Feet coming. Wesley and Emma then argue over who is going to go add water to the artichokes that are boiling on the stove. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. She often changes topics when she feels it in her best interest and tries to ignore the things going on immediately around her. 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. Finally, highway patrolman Malcolm appears with the news that Emma, having shot up the Alibi Club, is in jail. Then I heard the Packard coming up the hill. Having escaped jail by having sex with Officer Malcolm, Emma has decided to become a criminal. . publication online or last modification online. Whatever the cause, the Tates will do just about anything to raise themselves out of the downward spiral into which they've fallen. Ella looks at the carcass, remembering Westons story of the eagle. Weston exits and Emma enters. "Curse of the Starving Class - The Play" Survey of Dramatic Literature Directed by Robin Lynn Smith, the cast featured Kathy Bates (Ella) and Bradley Whitford (Wesley). They wanted large houses, cars, two-car garages, front and back yards. Word Count: 1530. Ever more land was needed, and the developers set their sights to the farmlands surrounding the city. Ed. publication in traditional print. As the play opens, she and Wesley are both surveying the chunks of the door broken down by her husband Weston. Word Count: 509. The three of them begin arguing about whether they are the starving class, while Wesley urinates on Emmas chart. When: what time period Where: city and state. Dads voice. Hart, Lynda, Sam Shepards Metaphorical Stages, Greenwood Press, 1987. I was looking straight up at the ceiling at all my model airplanes hanging by all their thin metal wires. We dont see Weston for a while, but hes everywhere in this run-down home, or everywhere that violence and destruction have taken place, including in his sons and his wifes consciousness. Something indescribable. Word Count: 1160. Wesley, who has been listening to this story, then asks what happens next. Wesley then enters and sets up a small enclosure in the kitchen. They say that they blew up Westons car. . Ella sits up and screams, and Emma departs. 28 Feb. 2023 , Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Log in here. Ella talks about menstruation as Emma, who is having her first period, enters. SHARE. He tells the children that he has found a buyer for the house, and Emma leaves abruptly. Slater also brings the dead lamb's carcass into the house. Yes I am aware =)#Respecttheplaywright #ZakiyyahBG #Monologues#Bestmonologues #SamShepard #Curseofthestarvingclassmonologue #Ella Ella. Dad calling Mom. Emma, by way of contrast, often shouts her lines from offstage. President George W. Bush proposes an energy policy that stresses greater production, but many citizens mistrust this policy because of Bushs and Vice-President Dick Cheneys ties to oil companies and the energy industry. The central city suffers while middle-class people flee to suburbs that sprawl ever farther into what was once farmland. Further Reading I picture him just sitting. Word Count: 89. He then came inside and took a bath, made a big breakfast, drank some coffee, and did everyone's laundry. Property he had there has proved worthless, so he decides to sell the familys home. Ella, in curlers, wearing a bathrobe, is angry with Weston for having broken the door during the night, but brightens at finding bread and bacon in the refrigerator. Emma returns, still furious, and the three begin an argument about the starving class and whether or not they are part of it. Wesley begins a monologue narrating exactly what he saw and heard happen from the night before. 2023 Cond Nast. WESLEY keeps cleaning up the debris, ignoring her. Addressing the lamb, he sets a duffel and a grocery bag on the table. If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original Man cursing. professional theatre, regional theatre, university / college theatre, community theatre, Ages 12-17: Camp Broadway Ensemble @ Carnegie Hall. He tells Weston that he has butchered the lamb for food. Ella tries to get Wesley to go down and stop Emma from taking the horse. The eagle carried the cat away, and they fought until both came crashing down. Ella returns with groceries. Monologues are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. His teen-age sister, Emma (Lizzy DeClement), on the other hand, can only howl about being emotionally ripped off. Also inevitable, and also treated as a curse, is Emmas menstruation (which is another image of the inside escaping to the outside). Already a member? American Dreams: The Imagination of Sam Shepard. Like the stock gangsters whose entrance signals the end of the play, these symbols break down the illusion of reality. . He looks at his parents; they do not notice him, and he leaves with the lamb. Weston explains his new outlook: He took a bath, walked around the place naked, cleaned everything, ate a good breakfast, and decided to fix things up. 14. During their argument, Wesley goes to Emma's posters and begins to urinate on them. Emma begins a rant about how she raised the chicken and hand fed it every day, then killed and cleaned it and her mother has gone and boiled it. Emma walks out. I was lying there on my back. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Sam Shepard: Yes, Yes, Yes. Esquire 93 (February, 1980): 79-86. [1] Others consider it part of a quintet that includes Fool for Love (1983) and A Lie of the Mind (1985). 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. Whys he waiting to get out? 0. Emma Tate is the daughter of Ella and Weston Tate. Ed. Gale Cengage 2003 eNotes.com 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). Jump-start your essay with our outlining tool to make sure you have all the main points of your essay covered. I could feel myself in my bed in my room in this house in this town in this state in this country. Download the entire Curse of the Starving Class study guide as a printable PDF! Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. absolutely zero! Can you send me character analysis of characters of Sam Shepard's play "Curse of the Starving Class"? Curse of the Starving Class is a play by Sam Shepard, considered the first of a series on family tragedies. Wesley returns as Weston fills the refrigerator with artichokes he bought in the desert. They swipe at each other viciously over their conflicting hopes and dreams until they rip each other to shreds. Allow Necessary Cookies & Continue His wife, Ella, is utterly burned-out and will do just about anything to leave her husband behind. The prospect of selling the land to real estate developers has a significance far greater than the loss of a mere house, but his family. Hello, this is Emma's monologue from Curse of the Starving Class by Sam Shepard. Ella has not returned from her meeting with Taylor. Ellis is the owner of a bar, the Alibi Club, where Weston spends his time when he is not at home. Can you send me character analysis of characters of Sam Shepard's play "Curse of the Starving Class"? Dogs barking down the road. Two motifs, very near each other in meaning, recur throughout Curse of the Starving Class: images of inside/outside and images of disease and sickness. 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. 1 Mar. Our Essay Lab can help you tackle any essay assignment within seconds, whether youre studying Macbeth or the American Revolution. Ella goes downtown to get Emma out of jail. to read our character analysis for Ella Tate and unlock other amazing theatre resources! Whenand where doesTheCurse of the Starving Class take place? Weston enters, drunk, with a large bag of groceries. Curse of the Starving Class was adapted as a film in 1994 by Shepard and Bruce Beresford and produced by Breakheart Films. Take a look at our library of free monologues . He tells her that as he put them on he could feel his own essence slipping out of him, and his father's essence coming into him. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. 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. 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. Planes still hanging. Peacocks. Cobwebs moving with them. Like so much else in Curse of the Starving Class, she is presented realistically, but there is a mythic quality to her character. She then becomes angry with the refrigerator and slams it shut. Even all the sleeping animals. The Curse of the Starving Class Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Wesley leaves and Emma returns, covered in mud from being dragged by the horse. Waiting to get out. Ella and Taylor leave together, and Emma runs off again. Emma picks up Ellas pocketbook, steals from it, and then tells Wesley that she is going to begin a life of crime. 28 Feb. 2023 , Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. Wesley then leaves and Emma returns, covered in mud after being thrown from the horse and dragged through the mud. Maggie Siff, as the wife of an abusive man, in Shepards story of a broken family. "Curse of the Starving Class - Summary" Drama for Students Ella does not tell Emma that she plans to sell the house, but Emma tells Ella that she dreams of moving to Mexico and becoming a mechanic. Caught up in this are families such as the one in Curse of the Starving Class, whose land is coveted by subdivision developers like Taylor. Shoulder smashing. Sam Shepard. [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. Even sleeping people I could feel. He has brought a bag of artichokes that he bought while visiting his worthless desert property. The playwright Sam Shepards matter-of-fact observations about where his characters stand in the world tell us so much about the world they inhabit. Mans voice. Then I heard the Packard coming up the hill. Ellis says that Weston must have sent Emma down there and takes back his $1,500 and runs off to his club, swearing he will get revenge on Weston. Urban Sprawl When Wesley tells him that Ella is thinking of selling the house, Weston explodes and threatens to kill her and Taylor. "Curse of the Starving Class - Media Adaptations" Drama for Students Wesley is cleaning up shards of wood from the door his father broke down the night before during a drunken outburst. Wesley takes the money, offering to deliver it to the people his father owes money to. I could feel the headlights closing in. 28 Feb. 2023 , Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. eNotes.com But with the millions of people who now lived there, there simply was not enough room in the city. Having the set self-destruct is meant to indicate, of course, that trouble is on the way, but why make such an overdetermined move when Shepard clearly reveals, in the ensuing dialogue and action, how troubling the story were entering is? When the bodys defenses fail and intruders are allowed to breed inside the body, the play tells us, the body will soon fall to those forces that threaten it. My listening was afraid. 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. Some population geographers see the U.S. cities of Los Angeles and San Diego and the Mexican city of Tijuana as one immense megalopolis, a mega-city with tens of millions of inhabitants. Emma then yells down that she is going to take the horse and leave. date the date you are citing the material. 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. Looking at the lamb carcass, she asks Wesley to help her remember the story Weston always told about the eagle. The lights come up on Wesley, building a new door, and Emma, in a Western shirt, jodhpurs, and riding boots, making new charts for her demonstration. Door slams. Ella is a highly dysfunctional individual with no capacity to cope with her husband's alcoholism. In addition, playwright Sam Shepard is himself an actor and can be seen in over a dozen wide-release films (many with his longtime partner Jessica Lange), including Country, Places in the Heart, and The Right Stuff. Taylor argues that Weston is legally incompetent to sell the house and boasts that he has corporations and executive management behind him. [2] The play was commissioned by Joseph Papp and premiered in London in 1977 before playing at Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival in 1978. Their ambivalence toward Westons power over them 2015, by eNotes Editorial she and wesley staring at the for. Passed-Out Weston who is going to go add water to the floor place. 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