Grenes Go Play Themes
After a tragic car accident claims the lives of two people, the families of the deceased struggle with loss, guilt, and the question of who's to blame, but all hell breaks loose when the funeral director accidentally double books both families on the same day.
STORY COMMENTS
GREEN MEANS GO is a character-driven stage play that deals with the emotional themes of grief, loss, healing and forgiven. The play has one location and it’s an appealing location – a funeral home. The cast is contained. The play presents with a solid hook with the concept of two grieving families, who blames each other for the death of their loved ones and due to a scheduling error, both families show up at the funeral home at the same time. It’s a terrific hook for conflict and humor as well as character growth. Each family has an external goal …show more content…
of having the funeral for their loved on and each family struggles with their inner goal of healing. The story is driven more by the emotional goal.
The story easily engages. The tone blend drama with humor and this works well. There are several twists and turn that move the story forward. The main twist with both families showing up is a clever twist that the audience doesn’t see coming.
One can envision this as a stage play given the cast of complex characters that can easily attract talent. The dialogue is sharp, and the play explores the realistic emotions of dealing with grief. This type of play would appeal to the mainstream adult audience.
The highlight of the play are the characters. They are complex with both an external and inner goal. The play does a nice job of peeling away the story revealing more and more, including the emotions of grief and guilt that the characters experience.
In addition, the stage play does a skillful job of making the audience care about all the characters. No sides are taken. The audience cares and roots for each one. Each of the characters, in their own way, learn a life lesson and grow as characters. Essentially, providing an emotional journey for the characters and the audience.
For the most part the structure and the pacing works, although there are some areas that will be discussed where the play feels like it begins to drag a bit.
First, the opening sets the tone. The ordinary world for Emmy is established. She’s dealing with the death of her father. Martin aka Riggs is quickly introduced and his ordinary world is established.
However, instead of saying “he probably smells like whiskey”, which the audience can’t “see” show more visually his personality and actions. For example, a strong introduction might be the idea of Riggs “burping” when he enters the funeral home. In fact, just visually showing them first in an awkward situation before Riggs begins to speak seems more realistic.
Overall, the opening and the first act show that each of the characters “suffer” in the same way. In addition, the first act does a good job of creating nice chemistry between the two characters and establishing their personalities. Each character has a distinctive personality.
More importantly, the first act ends on strong and smart tension with the terrific twist when they learn that their loved ones were in the same accident and each family blames the other family. The timing with the end of the first act also is nicely placed.
The second and the third acts are driven by the characters and their struggle with their guilt and anger, and their eventual solution. The story examines each of the character’s individual way of dealing with grief.
There are some additional, twists and turns, and pivotal plot beat, including the reveal that Riggs’ brother was drinking and that Emmy feels guilty about asking her father to go out.
To add more tension to Emmy’s guilt, consider the idea of her mother wondering why the father went out so late and what a fool he was to go out, only then to reveal that it was Emmy who asked her father to get her coffee. This could create a more powerful scene between mother and daughter, when Katherine learns the truth and then must deal with who to blame.
There are some areas in which the pace that can be enhanced. This is mainly due to the dialogue. Some noticeable areas include pages 40 and 42. Some of the dialogue about the aunt and Gina doesn’t feel essential and it loses the audience’s interest.
As mentioned, the characters are complex and engaging. They have a solid range of emotion and are driven by their inner conflict and struggle. They all feel authentic and believable. The main characters all want someone to blame, especially the character of Katherine, and so they blame each other and then they project their anger onto Terry.
Emmy is the identified protagonist.
She’s likable and well established as being conflicted. She is clearly uncomfortable with the idea of the funeral and death. She doesn’t like others suffocating her with their condolences. She feels like a loner. She’s consumed with guilt and she blames herself for her father’s death. She struggles with guilt, grief, and healing. She’s caught between a controlling mother who thrives on anger and blame, and her deceased father, who saw good in people and was more of a peacemaker; he wasn’t afraid to say sorry.
Emmy eventually must make a choice. She can be the angry girl her mother wants her to be, or she can be like her father. At the end, she decides to pay respect to her father by saying she’s sorry to the other family. She learns that nothing can “fix” the way she feels, but that healing is possible with time. Her voice reflects her personality. She also provides insight for Terry about his own grief. This is well done.
There’s nothing major that should be changed about Emmy, even though she presents with a tough exterior. While she can be abrasive, the audience forgives her and roots for her to find
resolve.
However, if one holds back the reveal that Emmy is the one who asked her father to go out that night, then she can have a stronger visual and emotional reaction to her mother when her mother keeps wondering why her father went out that night, so late.
Katherine presents as a force of nature. She’s controlling. She’s determined to blame someone whether it’s right or wrong. She’s the type of person, who can’t accept being wrong. She speaks her mind. She also has a tough exterior and she’s afraid to show her vulnerabilities.
Don’t compromise Katherine’s personality. She can show vulnerability when Emmy confronts her about her father, and maybe for a moment expose Katherine’s vulnerability, but then immediately put her walls back up and have her say something that protects her heart. If she learns that Emmy was the one who told her father to get her coffee, then this would give Katherine more to emotionally deal with.
Martin aka Riggs is an intriguing and complex character too. He considers himself the black sheep of the family. He’s cynical and he also feels like a bit of a loner. He, too, feels guilty and wishes he had been the one to die. He is angry and wants someone to blame. He’s upset when he learns that his brother was drinking, because he considers his brother the “good one” who doesn’t act recklessly.
What works is that Martin’s father lied to him about this brother’s drinking.
Martin shares conflict with his father. He knows his father isn’t the best father and has his own struggles. They don’t fully resolve their issues and that’s fine. They share good chemistry.
Jeremiah is a very conflicted man. He can’t verbalize his real feelings or deal with genuine emotions. He relies on alcohol to get through the ordeal. Regardless of what his sons have done, Jeremiah seems to be the type of person who will defend his sons, even if he knows he’s wrong. Alcohol is his way of dulling the hurt and the guilt that he feels. At the end, he “runs away” from dealing with his feelings. The idea of him walking out of the funeral home and not returning works well as it keeps him consistent and believable.
Terry as the funeral director has his own inner struggle over the death of his wife. He has a habit of saying sorry. He tries to be a peacemaker. He believes he’s helping people but it’s just a way to deal with his own grief. He thinks if he helps others, that he will find meaning in his wife’s death. Emmy nicely confronts him. The audience comes to like Terry and forgives him for his mistake.
It should be noted, the ending scene with Terry is very emotional and poignant as he finally confronts his own anger, grief, and as he finally begins to heal. It’s clever because he’s the one for years who has been trying to help others and fix them, when he hasn’t even begun to deal with his own grief. It’s the right ending.
What doesn’t feel consistent with Terry is the idea that he wants Martin arrested. This sounds out of character for Terry, who seems a bit meek as a character. It’s challenging to believe he would be this mean.
Overall, the dialogue is consistent with the personalities of each character and reflects their values and morals, as well as their conflict. The dialogue also conveys the themes and the messages about grieving, healing, and moving on with life.
Katherine is controlling and one hears this in her voice. She has a wicked tongue. Her voice reflects her view of life, “life isn’t fair.” Emmy is more conflicted and introspective, although her voice can be abrasive. Her voice reflects her struggle with trying to prove her independence, “I can open my own fucking doors.” Emmy also conveys the message that grief just can’t be “fixed” so easily.
Martin’s voice is cynical and true to his nature, “And if you have some whiskey”. Over time, Martin’s voice softens a bit as he arcs. Jeremiah’s voice also reflects his complex personality and he’s going to defend Roger regardless of the facts. He can’t deal with the grief and responsibility. His voice nicely conveys his inner vulnerabilities.
Terry’s voice is meek and he wants to have peace, but he creates more conflict than peace.
The overall tension works as there’s plenty of personal and interpersonal conflict to sustain the storytelling.
There’s a tendency to explain and tell emotions rather than provide visual emotional cues. For example, “not knowing Katherine and Emmy’s last name, the information hasn’t landed for Martin… but the emotion is insidious…” This can’t be “seen”. On page 43, both Martin and Jeremiah visualize the words butt pee. It’s the best one yet, can’t be understood by the viewing audience.
In summary, the plot makes for a good stage play. The drama and humor blend well, there’s one main setting and a contain cast of engaging characters.
There’s plenty of emotional conflict, resolution, and character growth. There’s a life lesson and message. In the end, the audience feels emotionally satisfied by the journey.
STORY COMMENTS
GREEN MEANS GO is a character-driven stage play that deals with the emotional themes of grief, loss, healing and forgiven. The play has one location and it’s an appealing location – a funeral home. The cast is contained. The play presents with a solid hook with the concept of two grieving families, who blames each other for the death of their loved ones and due to a scheduling error, both families show up at the funeral home at the same time. It’s a terrific hook for conflict and humor as well as character growth. Each family has an external goal …show more content…
of having the funeral for their loved on and each family struggles with their inner goal of healing. The story is driven more by the emotional goal.
The story easily engages. The tone blend drama with humor and this works well. There are several twists and turn that move the story forward. The main twist with both families showing up is a clever twist that the audience doesn’t see coming.
One can envision this as a stage play given the cast of complex characters that can easily attract talent. The dialogue is sharp, and the play explores the realistic emotions of dealing with grief. This type of play would appeal to the mainstream adult audience.
The highlight of the play are the characters. They are complex with both an external and inner goal. The play does a nice job of peeling away the story revealing more and more, including the emotions of grief and guilt that the characters experience.
In addition, the stage play does a skillful job of making the audience care about all the characters. No sides are taken. The audience cares and roots for each one. Each of the characters, in their own way, learn a life lesson and grow as characters. Essentially, providing an emotional journey for the characters and the audience.
For the most part the structure and the pacing works, although there are some areas that will be discussed where the play feels like it begins to drag a bit.
First, the opening sets the tone. The ordinary world for Emmy is established. She’s dealing with the death of her father. Martin aka Riggs is quickly introduced and his ordinary world is established.
However, instead of saying “he probably smells like whiskey”, which the audience can’t “see” show more visually his personality and actions. For example, a strong introduction might be the idea of Riggs “burping” when he enters the funeral home. In fact, just visually showing them first in an awkward situation before Riggs begins to speak seems more realistic.
Overall, the opening and the first act show that each of the characters “suffer” in the same way. In addition, the first act does a good job of creating nice chemistry between the two characters and establishing their personalities. Each character has a distinctive personality.
More importantly, the first act ends on strong and smart tension with the terrific twist when they learn that their loved ones were in the same accident and each family blames the other family. The timing with the end of the first act also is nicely placed.
The second and the third acts are driven by the characters and their struggle with their guilt and anger, and their eventual solution. The story examines each of the character’s individual way of dealing with grief.
There are some additional, twists and turns, and pivotal plot beat, including the reveal that Riggs’ brother was drinking and that Emmy feels guilty about asking her father to go out.
To add more tension to Emmy’s guilt, consider the idea of her mother wondering why the father went out so late and what a fool he was to go out, only then to reveal that it was Emmy who asked her father to get her coffee. This could create a more powerful scene between mother and daughter, when Katherine learns the truth and then must deal with who to blame.
There are some areas in which the pace that can be enhanced. This is mainly due to the dialogue. Some noticeable areas include pages 40 and 42. Some of the dialogue about the aunt and Gina doesn’t feel essential and it loses the audience’s interest.
As mentioned, the characters are complex and engaging. They have a solid range of emotion and are driven by their inner conflict and struggle. They all feel authentic and believable. The main characters all want someone to blame, especially the character of Katherine, and so they blame each other and then they project their anger onto Terry.
Emmy is the identified protagonist.
She’s likable and well established as being conflicted. She is clearly uncomfortable with the idea of the funeral and death. She doesn’t like others suffocating her with their condolences. She feels like a loner. She’s consumed with guilt and she blames herself for her father’s death. She struggles with guilt, grief, and healing. She’s caught between a controlling mother who thrives on anger and blame, and her deceased father, who saw good in people and was more of a peacemaker; he wasn’t afraid to say sorry.
Emmy eventually must make a choice. She can be the angry girl her mother wants her to be, or she can be like her father. At the end, she decides to pay respect to her father by saying she’s sorry to the other family. She learns that nothing can “fix” the way she feels, but that healing is possible with time. Her voice reflects her personality. She also provides insight for Terry about his own grief. This is well done.
There’s nothing major that should be changed about Emmy, even though she presents with a tough exterior. While she can be abrasive, the audience forgives her and roots for her to find
resolve.
However, if one holds back the reveal that Emmy is the one who asked her father to go out that night, then she can have a stronger visual and emotional reaction to her mother when her mother keeps wondering why her father went out that night, so late.
Katherine presents as a force of nature. She’s controlling. She’s determined to blame someone whether it’s right or wrong. She’s the type of person, who can’t accept being wrong. She speaks her mind. She also has a tough exterior and she’s afraid to show her vulnerabilities.
Don’t compromise Katherine’s personality. She can show vulnerability when Emmy confronts her about her father, and maybe for a moment expose Katherine’s vulnerability, but then immediately put her walls back up and have her say something that protects her heart. If she learns that Emmy was the one who told her father to get her coffee, then this would give Katherine more to emotionally deal with.
Martin aka Riggs is an intriguing and complex character too. He considers himself the black sheep of the family. He’s cynical and he also feels like a bit of a loner. He, too, feels guilty and wishes he had been the one to die. He is angry and wants someone to blame. He’s upset when he learns that his brother was drinking, because he considers his brother the “good one” who doesn’t act recklessly.
What works is that Martin’s father lied to him about this brother’s drinking.
Martin shares conflict with his father. He knows his father isn’t the best father and has his own struggles. They don’t fully resolve their issues and that’s fine. They share good chemistry.
Jeremiah is a very conflicted man. He can’t verbalize his real feelings or deal with genuine emotions. He relies on alcohol to get through the ordeal. Regardless of what his sons have done, Jeremiah seems to be the type of person who will defend his sons, even if he knows he’s wrong. Alcohol is his way of dulling the hurt and the guilt that he feels. At the end, he “runs away” from dealing with his feelings. The idea of him walking out of the funeral home and not returning works well as it keeps him consistent and believable.
Terry as the funeral director has his own inner struggle over the death of his wife. He has a habit of saying sorry. He tries to be a peacemaker. He believes he’s helping people but it’s just a way to deal with his own grief. He thinks if he helps others, that he will find meaning in his wife’s death. Emmy nicely confronts him. The audience comes to like Terry and forgives him for his mistake.
It should be noted, the ending scene with Terry is very emotional and poignant as he finally confronts his own anger, grief, and as he finally begins to heal. It’s clever because he’s the one for years who has been trying to help others and fix them, when he hasn’t even begun to deal with his own grief. It’s the right ending.
What doesn’t feel consistent with Terry is the idea that he wants Martin arrested. This sounds out of character for Terry, who seems a bit meek as a character. It’s challenging to believe he would be this mean.
Overall, the dialogue is consistent with the personalities of each character and reflects their values and morals, as well as their conflict. The dialogue also conveys the themes and the messages about grieving, healing, and moving on with life.
Katherine is controlling and one hears this in her voice. She has a wicked tongue. Her voice reflects her view of life, “life isn’t fair.” Emmy is more conflicted and introspective, although her voice can be abrasive. Her voice reflects her struggle with trying to prove her independence, “I can open my own fucking doors.” Emmy also conveys the message that grief just can’t be “fixed” so easily.
Martin’s voice is cynical and true to his nature, “And if you have some whiskey”. Over time, Martin’s voice softens a bit as he arcs. Jeremiah’s voice also reflects his complex personality and he’s going to defend Roger regardless of the facts. He can’t deal with the grief and responsibility. His voice nicely conveys his inner vulnerabilities.
Terry’s voice is meek and he wants to have peace, but he creates more conflict than peace.
The overall tension works as there’s plenty of personal and interpersonal conflict to sustain the storytelling.
There’s a tendency to explain and tell emotions rather than provide visual emotional cues. For example, “not knowing Katherine and Emmy’s last name, the information hasn’t landed for Martin… but the emotion is insidious…” This can’t be “seen”. On page 43, both Martin and Jeremiah visualize the words butt pee. It’s the best one yet, can’t be understood by the viewing audience.
In summary, the plot makes for a good stage play. The drama and humor blend well, there’s one main setting and a contain cast of engaging characters.
There’s plenty of emotional conflict, resolution, and character growth. There’s a life lesson and message. In the end, the audience feels emotionally satisfied by the journey.