Introduction
The play, “Soap Opera”, is one of David Ives popular plays. David Ives is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist born on July 11, 1950. He is popularly known in the world of art for his comic one-act plays. David spent most of his childhood on the South Side of Chicago and attended Catholic schools before joining Northwestern University. He later studies at Yale Drama School. David Ives tells an interesting story of love and companionship in his popular play “Soap Opera”. The story is captivating given its comical nature and one can keep on laughing from the start to finish, depending on his or her taste of humor. The playwright utilizes several dramatic elements to liven up the play and pass his central message.
Dramatic Elements
The major dramatic elements commonly utilized by playwrights in plays include theme, plot, characters, dialogue, music, and spectacle. The elements allow the playwrights to effectively engage their audience by attracting their attention. The elements also ensure that the audiences get to understand the main message conveyed by the play. The paper will focus on four dramatic elements utilized by David Ives in the play; theme, plot, and dialogue.
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Theme
The main theme of the play “Soap Opera” is love and companionship. Manny the Maypole repairman is a love triangle with the washing machine and Mabel, his childhood girlfriend. The washing machine and Mabel compete for Manny’s affection, with each of them seeking to attract the attention of the man. Manny is overly impressed by the washing machine’s perfectionism and he falls in love with her. He had observed that the machine never broke down and worked perfectly. On the other hand, Manny’s childhood girlfriend, Mabel, was generally imperfect. She always had a spot of jelly on her blouse, something that Manny did not like (David 1145). As such, Manny preferred the washing machine to the flawed Mabel.
Plot
Plot refers to the order of events occurring in a play. David Ives uses plot to convey the central message of the play in a logical manner. He demonstrates that love and companionship can be influenced by other factors such as the pursuit of perfection. The play begins with Manny entering the restaurant along with the Maypole washing machine as a date. Manny reveals to Maitre d’ that he liked the Maypole washing machine. Manny later engages the washing machine in a conversation where he spends much time praising it. Mabel then arrives. Manny is not happy with her because she is untidy. Manny, seemingly disappointed, tells Mabel, “You got a spot of oil on your blouse” (David 1145). It is surprising how Manny compares Mabel to a machine.
Dialogue
Dialogues are generally used to take forward the story of a play through the interaction of the characters ( Culpeper, 2014) . The major characters in the play are Manny the repairman, Maypole washing machine, Mabel, Maitre d’, and Mother. David Ives utilizes the dramatic element of dialogue to personify the washing machine. The conversation between Manny and the washing machine serves to give the machine a female personality, giving the story a whole new form of character. Besides, the dialogue sexualizes the washing machine to an extent it is seen as a real woman.
Relevance and Meaning
David Ives’ “Soap Opera” is relevant to our society. Oftentimes, women are treated as sexual objects instead of humans. The personifying and sexualizing the Maypole washing machine seems to reflect the notorious view of women as sexual objects that need to be perfect in terms of their sexuality ( Peter & Valkenburg, 2007) . The play demonstrates that a typical woman like Mabel has her flawed and needs to be accepted along with her imperfections rather than being objectified. As such, the play generally makes the audience to examine the difference between women as people and women as sex objects. Women are often judged based on their level of conformity to social constructed gender characteristics (Findlay, 2014). As such, they should maintain their femininity to appeal to their male counterparts.
References
Peter, J., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2007). Adolescents’ exposure to a sexualized media environment and their notions of women as sex objects. Sex roles , 56 (5-6), 381-395.
Ives, D. (2000). Lives of the Saints: Nine One-Act Plays . Dramatists Play Service Inc.
Findlay, A. (2014). Women and dramatic production 1550-1700 . Routledge.
Culpeper, J. (2014). Language and characterisation: People in plays and other texts . Routledge.
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