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NAME: Maynard A. Lontoc DATE: 03.26.2021

COURSE: BSED - English SECTION: PCED-02-601P
SUBJECT Contemporary and Popular PROF.: ELMER MONES
: Literature

ACTIVITY 4: Drama
TASKS
1. Watch the contemporary drama/play entitled “Stop Kiss” by Diana Son.
https://youtu.be/MH6kpLym1Jo
2. Critique the theatrical structure used in the drama/play.
A. Literary
1. Script
Son is an ally of the LGBTQ community wherein the script has a feministic perspective
2. Plot

A traditional love story where Sarah and Callie meet through friends and Callie agrees
that Caesar the cat can lodge with her while Sarah settles into New York before she finds
somewhere to live where a cat is welcome too. The friendship between the couple is
tinted favorably from the beginning with potential as they are very comfortable with one
another and chat easily right from the moment they meet. The stage depicts a messy
apartment in a nicer area of New York rented by Callie where the main parts of the story
take place. The working intercom allows you to suspend your disbelief and imagine that
people are actually visiting her. After the girls are attacked we never see any of Sarah’s
life-threatening bruises or injuries. These are described to us through the cast. There are
elements of homophobia during the play. Especially from the tone that Detective Cole
adapts when he is interviewing Sarah afterwards to ascertain what took place before and
after. He asks repeatedly throughout their interview, what did Sarah say to provoke him?
How could anyone provoke a stranger to the degree of smashing their head into a wall
repeatedly? Mrs Winsley is their only witness and scared the attacker off by throwing
plant pots at him.

3. Characters
Callie
- is described by the playwright as being a woman in her late 20s to early 30s. Originally
from upstate New York, she has lived in New York City since entering college at the age
of 18. Callie works as a traffic reporter for a nondescript news station for an undisclosed
period of time. She views her job as being meaningless, and mentions several times that
she is unhappy in her occupation. Callie mentions that she feels as though she has no
credibility and wouldn’t be able to seek out a different job on her own, and goes
through no effort to change professions despite being very unhappy in the one she
currently holds
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Sara
-a is a very sweet, but adventurous Midwesterner in her mid 20s. She is originally from
St. Louis, MO and has come to New York for a fellowship she was awarded. For the
fellowship, Sara works for a low-income school named Taft located in the Bronx. Sara
loves life and her job. She is good at working with underprivileged children and takes
great pride in her occupation as a teacher. Sara’s attitude towards life is contagious;
Callie eventually cannot resist it. Her enthusiastic outlook keeps her character in search
of new and exciting adventures.
George
-is one of the only characters who offers the audience light comedic relief. He is in his
late 20s and has been a friend of Callie’s since college. George works as a bartender in
the restaurant business. His group of friends knows him as a socialite, both friends from
college and his coworkers.
Peter
-Like Sara, Peter is a Midwesterner from the suburbs of St. Louis. He is his early 30s and
has been in a relationship with Sara for the past seven years until a couple months prior
to her move to New York City. Peter makes his living in the restaurant business and
speaks with Sara about coming to New York to try various cuisines, though his motives
are probably less than honest. He saw himself as marrying Sara and leading a life with
her. The break of their long-term relationship was devastating for him, and most likely,
Sara’s parents. He is still very close to her family, so when Sara is comatose in the
hospital, Peter comes to her aid. Peter hopes that through her recovery she will resign
to being in the suburbs of St. Louis with him. He is patient and genuinely cares for her,
ultimately wanting her to be happy.
Mrs. Winsley
-being in her early 40s and has been a New Yorker for the past 20 years. Originally from
outside of Cincinnati, she’s more New Yorker than small town girl now. Mrs. Winsley has
fairly self-absorbed character traits in her two scenes. With Detective Cole, she wants
recognition for the heroic act of lobbing a flowerpot off her balcony at the assailant. In a
scene with Callie, she implores Callie for information while not listening to what Callie
has to say.
Detective Cole
- is the stereotype of masculine embodiment. He is around the age of 30 and has been a
detective/officer of the law for an undisclosed amount of time. His character wants the
truth and isn’t afraid to go through aggressive means to obtain it. In his opening scene,
he assumes Callie to be in a romantic relationship with Sara. When Callie denies this and
is elusive about the details of that evening, Detective Cole gets very frustrated
Nurse
-The nurse is only seen in two scenes, making the part quite small yet the purpose
rather large. The nurse is the only character who gives Callie an opportunity to take
ownership of her relationship with Sara. In one scene the nurse offers Callie validity in
her relationship with Sara by speaking to her as though she were a partner of Sara;
Callie goes on to deny this opportunity of validation. In another scene, Callie embraces
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the opportunity posed before her by the nurse in the previous scene and embraces the
recognition of her relationship. By offering Callie a very concrete pathway to show Sara
and herself that she is accountable, through bathing her in the hospital, the character of
the nurse is vital to the development and audience resolution of Callie and Sara’s
relationship
4. Story Organization
-For me I get confused on the sequence of the scenes
5. Setting
New York
6. Dialogues
-Since the play/drama was filmed or created 5 years ago, I think that the dialogues
and/or lines should be updated. Some of the words or events will not be relevant to
today's generation.
B. Technical
1. Scenery (theatrical equipment)
-a realistic apartment configuration center stage, with a smaller hospital room stage left
and a café/office room stage right.
2. Costumes
-They wear the natural costumes or the everyday clothes that is use in New York
3. Sound and Music
-Although the quality of the video and audio is poor, I can say that the audiences are
appreciating the sounds and music
4. Lightning
- The light is steady and is centered. The cast was visible in the light.
5. Make up
- The makeup was very natural and is not exaggerated
C. Performance
1. Acting
-Although the quality of the video and audio is poor, I can say that the actors are great
because of the audiences impact
2. Speaking/Voice
-Although the quality of the video and audio is poor, I can say that the actors are
delivering the lines perfectly and with conviction because of the audiences impact
3. Non-verbal Expression
-Although the quality of the video and audio is poor, I can say that the actors are using
their facial expression effectively because of the audiences impact
3. Explain the changes and or developments happened in the contemporary drama/play.

Language plays a big role in drama. Language is seen as a game, language as sound,
language as a barrier, language as a reflection of society. Realism also plays a big role in
paving the way for contemporary drama. Contemporary drama is natural in nature because
it addresses issues from modern time and present more relatable characters to the
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COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
CITIES OF MANDALUYONG AND PASIG
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFIED TUV 100 05 3494

audience. Also, experimentation with new forms and ideas were evident because there are
different types of audiences.

NOTE: Document your sources.

Criteria for Checking:

Content/Completeness 35
Quality of Answer 45
Timeliness 10
Mechanics/Grammar 10
TOTAL 100