I really enjoyed David Ives' Sure Thing. The play depicts all the different ways this first conversation between Bill and Betty could play out. It’s hard to decide on who the protagonist is. It could be Bill since he is the one interested in Betty. The conversation, though, focuses on Betty. The audience learns a lot about her since Bill says exactly what she wants to hear. They are finally able to hit it off, but by now, they have already decided on how many children they want to have and they are already talking about marriage:
Bill: Do you still believe in marriage in spite of current sentiments against it?
Betty: Yes.
Bill: And children?
Betty: Three of them.
Bill: Two girls and a boy.
Betty: Harvard, Vassar, and Brown.
Bill: And will you love me?
Betty: Yes.
The hard questions and doubts are all taken out of the way even before the first date! By now the audience has a clear idea about what Betty is like and what she wants in a man. The play in itself, having only two characters and taking place all the while in a café, wasn’t too complex. I could easily picture the play in my head as I read it. It’s really funny though, how Bill keeps guessing at Betty’s interests to try and keep the conversation going. Even when Bill has lines that are more packed, it is Betty who has the whole say, the scene ends if Betty lost interest in Bill. This leaves Betty as the main character.
1 comment:
I enjoyed it as well! I think because it can be so realistically paralleled with our lives. As we meet new people we want to say the right things because first impressions are crucial but many a times the pressure of doing this causes one to utterly stumble and generate an impression that is unlike the actual person. Also, it focuses on how timing is vital! How the absence of talking can have just as much or more impact as the act of actually talking. Sorry, that might be a little confusing??? You did a great job and thought in much the same way that I did!
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