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Bone China is a very well constructed play from start to finish. It had a well-constructed setting and dialogue that made the story flow fluently. The title of the play I believe was a perfect title for this play. With this tea cup that these sisters found while looking through the boxes it was as a description of their childhood a momentum of what has passed. This story brings back memories from start to finish and I believe that is something the play comes to action with. We were able to see how they tie in the mother’s memory with the attack. How they tie in the memories of their childhood and the static’s on how recent a child can remember an event in there life, the sisters also were able to tie into this by giving there memories. Lots of things in the play pooped out when reading it, but in my perspective this play could use better language I did not find it necessary for the bad language for some it might make the play come to life as if it was two sisters having a normal conversation, but when reading the play and going with the flow of it you do not get the sense of the characters being “bad” but instead being very humble. The characters setting and time made the play come to life along with the scene descriptions. When reading this play once more I was able to see other things that I did not see when I read it the first time. The character Lainie speaks about the how death should make you think about heaven but that you are found worrying about other things such as family, and things that you want to do before your passing. To me this was something that stood out, because it brings this play down to a sense that death is so common that you don’t even have to think about what comes after. She even states that she wants to start planning ahead of time instead of being left planning last minute like for her mother.
ReplyDelete-Alicia Lucio
Bone China by K. Alexa Mavromatis. Throughout the play, Lainie is building up a collection of her childhood items that she is keeping in a separate pile from the ones she is throwing away. Lainie was a complex character, in my eyes. She is 29, but still demonstrates an outstanding amount of maturity by accepting the fact that her time will come soon due to her tumor. Apart from her maturity, she is two years older than her sister Mary, and there are several instances where Lainie’s attributes of being the older sister are shown, her sentences appear more demanding and interrupts Mary at some points. Since Lainie’s time is limited, I was asking myself; why is she making a “keep” pile? This could be due to her belief that her daughter, Sarah, will not be able to remember her as she’s still too young. Perhaps she is passing on some of her items onto her daughter, to have at least a memorabilia of her mother. Now another thing for us to look at; the tea cups! Lainie firmly believed that Mary had broken all but one of the bone china tea cups. At the end, Mary, by chance, spots and pulls out a similar tea cup from inside a box. Followed by the notion of actions speaking louder than words, she places the cup next to the other in the center of the box. I was trying to find the right answer to this, but this symbolized many things to me. The two girls are the teacups, finding a way together in the end. Also, Mary’s action sort of represents a “I was right” attitude, holding up the cup for her to see and positioning it next to Lainie’s, for her to clearly receive the message.
ReplyDelete-Jesus Pena
“Bone China” by Alexa Mavromatis is a very interesting yet real play. I looked alexa up and found that she got her MFA in dramatic playwriting and is also in a drama guild. So naturally her plays, like “Bone China”, should be filled with drama and would provoke the reader to feel sad or at least some type of way. Alexa’s writing style is interesting because I found myself subconsciously speeding up and slowing down to how fast I thought the two sister were talking. Alexa also uses the bone china as an item that represents how fragile they are while simultaneously being the best. Which, in my opinion, is supposed to represent Lainie’s state. Lainie is alive but dying which is the same as the china, the china is there and intact but at any moment it can break and be destroyed which is a symbolism to how lainie’s life is coming to an end. There’s also the whole door situation which is very symbolic for moving on and the afterlife. Mary is the one who accidently locked it but after she came to terms with her sister dying and actually felt at peace with it then Mary finds the screwdriver thus opening up the door. I think my most favorite visual was the part where Lainie is talking about how she had the tumor in her while she was pregnant with her daughter and then she goes on to say how it’s crazy that she was carrying life and death at the same time within her. That’s such a crazy thing to even think about or to even realize and Lainie intended it to be funny but Mary took it as a much more serious thing. –Lowen Sauceda
ReplyDeleteBone China by K. Alexa Mavromatis just might be one of my favorite playwrights. I feel this was written exceptionally well the way she gives the audience a little bit of information at a time allowing us to slowly unfold the story as we lead up to the meat of the play. As soon as the dialogue begins, I can sense sadness and from there as you continue to read, Mavromatis allows us to understand these characters more with details about their past as the play goes on. Slowly we are able to uncover what these young women have gone through, and what they still have to go through. Lainie and Mary’s characters were written well too.They were written as typical Sisters. Without knowing their ages, throughout the dialogue it’s apparent to me who the oldest is the way Lainie leads the conversations. I also love that Mavromatis added a sisterly fight towards the end making their relationship even more realistic. The title was perfect. To me, Bone China represented the family. Being the best and strong is how I think Mavromatis wanted to portray this family. Towards the beginning out of the tea cup set, there’s a “sole survivor” and even though Mary still has living relatives, I felt that one cup represented her. Out of her mom and older sister, two women Mary has probably looked up to all her life, Mary might soon be the only surviving female out of that trio. Then at the end, when Mary finds the screwdriver she also finds another cup out of the tea cup set! She places it next to the original cup which leaves me wondering, maybe this is done to symbolize that Lainie has more time to spend with her sister than they think. Maybe she even survives like the tea cup they once thought was lost forever.
ReplyDelete-Brittany Garcia
OKAY, well this was interesting to read! Bone China by K. Alexa Mavromatis, was very dramatic! I love how the actions in this play take account for everything; everything falls into place like a puzzle, it makes sense, also as well for the diction of an older to a younger sister, what I had in mind for their voices, when they hide something as well as when they act all innocent and in denial. I like how it takes place in the present yet, with every memory it recreates the past and you can see the little things that have changed and the ones that have not changed one bit. I also think that Mavromatis, does an amazing job in creating tension between the two sister characters, and as well as how she had the technic in making other characters important, even if the had past away, or just did a minor thing in their life to them. To be honest this play seems very real, and it serves a purpose in showing that no matter what happened between the characters, both Mary and Laine they seemed to let go so easily. This playwright gives me a vibe of kindness, gentleness, and of pointing fingers, yet being okay.
ReplyDelete-Maria Salinas
I found this play very interesting and sweet. You don’t really see a lot of plays about siblings nowadays, they’re mostly about people falling love or everything else that’s common. The first thing that struck me about this play was the title. I found it interesting that the girls had a bone china tea set at such a young age, especially since it’s made from bone ash. It’s not something common for little girls to play with. The play typically revolves around death, the death of their mother and the foreseen death of Lainie. Similar to the China, Lainie is strong. Unlike her mother, she is prepared for her death, as is her sister Mary. Other symbolisms in the play include the finding of the other tea cup, hence both of them having something that resembles each of them as strong. The closed door is also very important to the story. It symbolizes the tough situations people have to talk about. The sisters were bound to have the conversation, and it just so happened that after they had it they found the screwdriver. I also enjoyed the dialogue of the play. It didn’t feel like it was planned out or like they had to say certain lines. It felt like 2 sisters just talking and reminiscing about old times as children. The stage directions give a good picture on what the characters are doing as they are saying the lines, it does not make it difficult to see the play being acted out. Mavromatis also gives us a good sense of imagery. The readers are able to tell that the sisters are in a cluttered garage, and able to see that Mary is secretly watching her sisters every move. One of the things that stood out to me in the dialogue between the sisters was when Lainie was telling Mary how long it had taken for her tumor to develop. The line about her body creating life and destroying it at the same time was so powerful. It’s almost like she’s not meant to die, but at the same time she has accepted death with open arms.
ReplyDelete-Alyssa Ramos
At first when I read the title I expected the play to be about the country or something, but after reading the play and it does not really out front mention it but I think China is referring to porcelain that is used for display like porcelain dolls. Although and I’m not completely sure but I think that “China” is spelled differently. So referring back to play… I think and if the type of china I’m talking about is what the author was actually referring it, I think it subtly describe life and how like China and the human anatomy can be so fragile like one day someone is here and there is no way to know if they will be here tomorrow and especially for someone so close like mothers. And I read the play before this a little too fast and it does mention Bone china, it’s a tea cup set.
ReplyDeleteI liked the content of the play because the relationship Lainie and Mary have is so real and open and they are talking about little things like if mary kissed an ex boyfriend Lainie had to when Lainie died what Mary should tell her daughter where her mother is actually going. Also Lainie’s character is so inspiring in my opinion because she is being very brave and preparing her self and the people around her for what is coming and subtly letting them know that it okay and that reminiscing is good.
-priscilla pena
In the play “Bone China” by K. Alexa Mavromatis is an exceptional playwright that I greatly enjoyed. Mavromatis did a great job in the character and story development throughout the play. I felt an immediate tone shift from the beginning to the end due to the drama incorporated within the playwright. In the start of the play I get a sense of two happy sisters just enjoying their childhood nostalgia then it shifted to a gloomy depressing like tone. The audience can tell there is something not right when Lainie says, “I know—you don’t think I should waste a weekend this way.” This is when the play really gets interesting and you can feel that gloomy tone. Mary and Lainie get stuck up in the attic by themselves and this happens for a very particular reason. The reason being is that they are able to vent out to each other and let their feelings or get whatever they need to off their chest. Lainie is able speak out about her cancer and how her two year old daughter will not have any memories of her whatsoever. Which begs the question as to why she is in the attic looking through her old childhood toys, maybe to pass them down to her daughter? There is also a sense of relief as Mary confesses to have had a crush for Lainies boyfriend and so Mary is able to come clean about it. Ultimately by getting locked in the attic together they are able to spend quality time together and relive past memories through toys and the yearbook they found. Overall, I really enjoyed this playwright as it dealt with real life hardships that people go through in life and how they cope with them.
ReplyDelete-Brandon Garcia
I think the play Bone Chine was really good. It is about life and death and looks into a family's life of two sisters. It was something when they clean out the house and are getting rid of old things and keeping things they want from their childhood home in boxes. They find old tea cups of bone china the late mother of theirs once gave them and they talk of their memories. Unfortunately the sister Lainie is slowly dying of a tumor and Mary does her best to help her sister. The whole play does symbolize death. The sisters have a good bond and can talk to each other well. It is fun to talk to a sibling about memories and they make good points in living it up in life. That is all Lainie can do and she feels bad Mary has to go through all that. Mary understands and it is life. Lainie is happy that her 2 year old daughter Sarah will at least have her husband, father, and sister Mary in their lives. I thought it was cute that thought they were stuck in the garage Mary found the screwdriver and teacup because it made everything better and gave them hope of moving forward no matter what happens in their lives.
ReplyDelete-Adelisa Fuentes
In Bone China, I wasn’t very engaged with the story, even after the big reveal concerning Liane. The dialogue between the two wasn’t very engaging, I often found myself skimming through the play. Although one part that did catch and keep my attention was Liane’s thoughts on how her daughter won’t remember her. I have never read anything or even contemplated the thought of something like that happening. I enjoyed seeing something that I would have otherwise not ever thought of.
ReplyDeleteI personally do not have anything that serious that I can put into a play and I believe that an attempt at that would come off as to forced. However, one thing that I can take away from this play is the close bond between the two characters. The way in which both of the sisters talk about their past helps to really establish the close relationship they share. It makes me think back on the conversations I had with my sister or my close cousins. I can put those conversations directly into my plays and that will make the dialogue all the more engaging.
I honestly don’t have much more to say about this play other than the fact that it only contained a few notable aspects that I can incorporate. If anything I feel like I can take more away by seeing of what I shouldn’t do. From the start of the play everything seemed pretty dry, I didn’t feel like it ever picked up and the few times that it did it wasn’t enough to keep me engaged. In my writing I would like to pace my writing in a way that would keep the reader engaged and If not at least add a part that would make it worth the duller parts of my play.
-Alvaro Pulido
I initially thought this story was going to be sad. I also assumed the mother died of some type of ailment based off the first couple pages. I think the author definitely hit the nail on the head with the tones and writing the play how she did. I definitely got the vibe of two sisters sitting just with each other and connecting, having a sister-sister moment. The flow of the conversations and language was so smooth, I felt like I was actually there, like a fly on the wall listening in. Although the story is centered around death and what I assume is a type of cancer, the play did not have a melancholy or sad feel to it. It kind of had a “remember the good times not the bad” kind of flow to it, like make the best of your time while you have the opportunity to prepare for what is coming. I am neutral on this piece, did I love it? No, and I also didn’t hate it. I did however wish it didn’t end how it did, I think it kind of just cut off real quick. I was expecting the story to continue at least until the father came home and let the girls out of the attic.
ReplyDelete-Alfredo Montemayor
This was probably my favorite ten minute play because it felt so real, it felt like this really does and could happen to someone. As I read the beginning when the door shuts, and lainie reaction “wait!” it was a splitting image of the scene from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” where the father is in the attic and gets stuck up there while the family goes Christmas shopping and ends up watching old video recordings and begins to sob. This went perfect and I feel this was somewhat the same because the girls are going through their old toys, and old memories, and photos and it’s bringing them a little bit closer because they are reminiscing. In my opinion, women have a more understandable, kind, whimsical, types of plays and it sounds something a lot of women can relate to. I was thinking, that maybe the loss of their mother is what pulled these sisters apart and it just so happened they got locked in to bring the memories back together. When the author added the photo of one sister’s crush, I thought was funny because this just brought humor to the play. I loved the ending because it’s like they found the missing piece to the teacup and it makes everything better. I feel like the missing teacup that has been recovered is the missing piece to their sisterhood and will bring them back together. I love how the author brought up the missing mate of the other teacup – it really had a pop at the end. I really enjoyed this play because it’s something I wish that could happen to some sisters, or friends who have lost each other and need some rekindling. as far the title, i feel like it went perfect because bone china had me thinking like an fossil. and this is what was up in the attic that needed to be found.
ReplyDelete-arianna tabares