This short play by Neena Beber
was commissioned by the Actors
Theatre
of Louisville. The original cast was Maryann Urbano as Ruth
and Jennifer London as Simone.
5 Anna Karenina: a
novel by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. It was published in installments from
1875 to 1877 and released in book form in 1878.
Anna Karenina, dir. Basil Coleman, perf. Nicola Pagett,
Eric Porter and Stuart Wilson (1977 TV mini-series; video clips,
part
1 48:41 min., part
2 52:20 min., part 3 53:59 min., part
4 55:22 min., part
5 57:18 min., part
6 52:37 min., part
7 54:34 min., part
8 54:46 min., part
9 54:38 min., part
10 56:00 min.)
Anna Karenina, dir. David Blair, perf. Helen McCrory,
Kevin McKidd and Douglas Henshall, Masterpiece Theatre (2000;
video clips, part
1 1:15:51, part
2 53:07 min., part
3 52:01 min., part
4 56:50 min., part 5, part 6)
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Moscow 1876
Photo: Sokolnikov
6 amortize:
1: to pay off (as a mortgage) gradually usually by periodic
payments of principal and interest or by payments to a sinking fund 2: to gradually reduce or write off the cost or value of (as an
asset) <amortize goodwill> <amortize machinery>
(Merriam-Webster)
7 Dr. Ruth: Dr.
Ruth Westheimer is a psychosexual therapist and media personality in the
United States. She is known for her syndicated column "Ask
Dr. Ruth," her The
Dr. Ruth Show (first called Good Sex with Dr. Ruth Westheimer)
running from 1984–1991 on the cable TV channel Lifetime,
and her radio program "Sexually Speaking." People call in or write to ask
her about sex, love, and relationships. You can see from the video clips
below that Dr. Ruth has a very ebullient quality. She has a friendly,
frank, and cheerful manner of speaking and listening that invites people
to share their problems with her and to feel as at ease as possible
expressing the difficult issues they have. This is a marked contrast from
the character Ruth in this play who seems dismissive and unfeeling, though
Simone calls her Dr. Ruth.
7 waltz: especially
in the expression "you/he/she/they can't just waltz + prep.": to walk or
move in a blithe or inconsiderate manner, or with such an attitude
(Merriam-Webster) intransitive verb 1: to dance a waltz 2: to move or advance in a lively or conspicuous manner: flounce 3 a: to advance easily and successfully: breeze —often used with
through b: to approach boldly —used with up <can't just waltz up
and introduce ourselves> transitive verb 1: to dance a waltz with 2: to grab and lead (as a person) unceremoniously : march
Examples of WALTZ
He waltzed with his daughter at her wedding.
He waltzed her around the dance floor.
He came waltzing into the room.
She waltzed right up to him and introduced herself.
(Oxford
Dictionaries) 1: dance a waltz: I waltzed across the floor with the
lieutenant 2: [with object] guide (someone) in or as if in a waltz: he waltzed
her around the table 3: [no object] move or act lightly, casually, or
inconsiderately: you can’t just waltz in and expect to make a
mark; it is the third time that he has waltzed off with the
coveted award
(Cambridge
Dictionaries Online) informal to walk somewhere quickly and confidently, often in a
way that annoys other people
You can't just waltz into my bedroom without knocking - it's
private!
My idiot wife has gone and waltzed off with my car keys and
left me without any means of transport!
8 Drew Barrymore:
American actress known for her bubbly personality.
8 L-Seven: Note
that in the Humana Festival '97: The Complete Plays collection
this line is Simone's:
RUTH.
[...] you might not be so behind in class if you spent a little less time
watching television.
SIMONE.
Drew is a film star, she’s in films. Don’t you even go to
the movies? Probably only the ones that are totally L-Seven. And I know
you don’t know what that means. (She makes an ‘L’ and a ‘7’ with her
fingers.) Square? Anyway, Drew was on TV because she was being
interviewed. […] (56)
8 square: to be
square or to be a square is to be a boring, old-fashioned person who is
out of touch with current trends
10 All happy
people...in their own way: Simone's rewriting of the opening line of
Anna Karenina: "All happy families resemble one another, but each
unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
10 Any world that I'm
welcome to is better than the one that I come from: beginning words
from the chorus of the song "Any
World (That I'm Welcome To)" in the 1975 album Katy Lied by
the American rock band Steely Dan.
Study Questions
What
is Simone's first presence in the play?
What
makes Ruth think that Simone is not interested in
class?
Misreadings
How
does Simone read Ruth, and vice versa?
How
did you read Simone's opening lines the first
time? After finishing the pay, how do you
reread those lines?
In
what ways does Simone misread Ruth, and vice
versa?
In
what ways did you, as reader, misread these two
characters and the situation? Why?
Self-Reflexivity:Ruth's exam
question, like many other aspects of Neena Beber's Misreadings,
reveals the play's self-reflexivity. The test
prompt that asks "how the novel Anna Karenina
moves inevitably toward Anna's final tragic act" (9)
refers back to the play itself and makes us consider
"how the play Misreadings moves inevitably
toward Simone's final tragic act." What clues do
you find along the play's "inexorable progress" that
shouldn't make the suicide a surprise but does any way
(10)?
Worth, Value, Cost: Simone
goes through a list of things that she would kill or die
for ex. "a pair of Prada velvet platforms in deep plum"
(4) and love. What do you think she does
kill and die for at the end of the play? Is it, as
she asks, "worth it" (10)?
Readings: Look closely
at some of the following words or lines. How many ways
might they be read? What meanings and resonances does the
play evoke for them?
light, lights, lights up (4)
I'll be outta here. (4)
I try to bring it home. (4)
disruptive (4)
take a bullet for (4)
die, already dead (4)
I wanted her gone (4), gone
(10)
Why not give it a shot? (5)
Why read stuff that brings
you down? (5)
move, moved (5, 8)
moving, move on (9)
paying for (5)
broke it down, broken down
(6)
amortize (6)
useful skills (7)
connection (7), relate (8),
reach out (9), reach toward (10)
I don't think we're getting
anywhere (9), Now where was it you were hoping we'd get
to? (9), Any world that I'm welcome to is better than
the one that I come from (10)
And that is so sad (9)
time, a matter of minutes,
down-to-the-last-second (9)
dead, death (10)
Sample Student
Responses to Neena Beber's Misreadings
Study Question:
Response 1:
Student Name
2202234
Introduction to the Study of English Literature
