I Like You Play Analysis

I like, LIKE you is a play created by the Voices Against Violence (VAV), it is a dialogue play that explores the idea of healthy relationships. The skits created by the performers demonstrate relationships between friends, heterosexual relationships, and same-sex relationships; each showcasing an issue in order to get the audience talking. The play is interactive where the audience is able to put their input and ideas on how a healthy relationship should be like based on their background information and on the facilitator's guidance. The play is able to touch upon issues among relationships with through the acts, the interaction between actors and audience, and the information given by the monitor. This play is unique in the sense that it uses only three actors to develop the
whole plot. The actors also act as the facilitators in order to interact with the audience and create a conversation on the topic of relationships. There is minimal use of props in the play; the characters itself use a cardigan to define when they are in character versus when they are monitoring conversation between them and the audience. Although there is only three actors, the story develops as the three girls give the audience an insight into their love lives and the friendship in between the three. Due to the lack of props and actors, the actresses actions actions and dialogue create a world that although it is not there physically, the audience can imagine and have a clear understanding of what is happening. The use of phones is also a major theme in the play, so the production made use of videos to exhibit to the audience what was happening through the phones of the actors. This is key because it helps to keep the audience engaged and it shows the use of technology coming together with theater. The videos were also used as an outlet to present videos of students talking about relationships which helped to start conversations among the audience. In this way the audience is engaged and at the same time has the power to have an impact on the development of the play. The play revolves around the issues that people may come across in a relationship during their time in college and in their lives overall.
The three actors portray their romantic relationships through their dialogue and actions; in this way they are able to express their feelings and obstacles in their relationship. In this piece the three actors are also roommates and friends and within each other they also encounter hurdles in their friendship. As the play progresses, the actors “relax” and become facilitators of the talks in which they engage the audience. Through these discussion they are able to give the audience a set up on how to talk about the issues in the play and how the issues need to be resolved. This gives the audience the opportunity to raise questions and give their opinions on how to walk through these issues not just in the play but in real life. The monitors not only guide these conversations but they also give information on the help that students can get on campus if they ever need any help. Having this incorporated in the play shows that the piece is not just set for entertainment but also serves as a way to raise awareness on abusive relationships and how to get
help.
This play is highly relevant to these times because there has been an increase on abusive relationships specifically toward women. Raising these topics through a dialogue play helps to create a conversation, and pushes the audience to have an impact beyond the grounds of the play. Having the audience become aware of these issues, specifically targeting college students, helps to have a positive impact on campus and on the lives of many who may encounter these issues at some point in time.