COWBOY MOUTH PLAY ANALYSIS                                                                     by Alper Caglar I.  GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES 1.  Geographical location, including climate A messy and trashed room which is possibly a part of a suite or a home. Many littered objects all seemingly serving a purpose. According to the biographical qualities of the play though, it may be assumed that it is a reflection of the hotel room that the actual real-life couple stayed in. The play may be set in New York, according to the depiction of Shepard's real life, yet the exact location is not specified. If it is New York it may be supported by the fact that Gramercy is mentioned (which is in Manhattan). It could be said that if that is the case, the climate is temperate. 2.  Date: year, season, time of day None of the above are specifically mentioned, although we may assume that all of these categories are shaped by will throughout the play. There are scenes in which the season is altered with mere wishes in a surreal way. 3.   Economic environment The economic environment of the setting is an open market economy, akin to the present day economy. The characters however seem to be economically comfortable, yet do not act that way. The food that Slim orders may be considered upper class since the type and the amount is quite satisfactory and expensive. 4.  Political environment  [public & personal] The political environment is a democracy with an elected President, as it is the United States of America. The personal state of politics could be considered as a state of coercion, as Cavale has kidnapped Slim at gun point in a previous occasion in order to make him a rock star. 5.  Social environment The social environment is very neuter in relation to the characters. There are no apparent distinctions in terms of socially assigned roles in any of the three main characters. 6.  Religions environment The characters have interesting views on religion and combine facets of both Christianity, and surprisingly Rock 'n Roll to create a creative criticism of today's society in which rock stars are as influential and significant as saints or perhaps messiahs. A.  Previous Action  Shepard gives us a very brief and summarized previous action, in which Cavale has kidnapped Slim a few weeks before the play starts, with the aim of turning Slim into a rock star through intimidation. But it is obvious that they, at some point, learn that they have more in common than they thought and fall in a romantic relationship. II.   DIALOGUE A. Choice of words There is quite a bit of profanity and cursing that adds great authenticity and flavor to the fast paced scenes which contain insidious punch lines and subtle nuances full of subliminal messages that all work for the main idea of the play. B. Choice of phrases & sentence structures  The sentence structures are chaotic and disoriented, some sentences end abruptly and some begin abruptly and often with intentional grammatical errors. This shattered use of the English language adds a verbal illustration of the rising conflict that ends with the climax. C. Choice of images created by the words….. The images evoke a sense of chaos, yet the voluble use of description sometimes becomes too overwhelming for me. A delirious repetition of the same image becomes disturbing after some time. D. Choice of peculiar characteristics such as dialect etc. One of the differences between the use of phrases between the characters is that Slim tends to speak more with a sort of "cowboy" accent with "yer"s and "you was a punk". Cavale shifts between a similar dialect and a seemingly normal dialect, emphasizing her disoriented state. E.  Sound of the dialogue  I was under the impression that the lines were yelled out, even when they were without exclamation marks. Strangely (perhaps as an after effect of our music painting project) I began hearing Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries every time Lobster man was in the spotlight, for reasons unbeknownst to me. F Structure of the lines and speeches as they appear on the page… I was unable to spot a consistency towards the structure of the actual writing. Shepard likes to briefly describe most major actions in parentheses but does not do it as to limit the possible interpretation of the actor's input and interpretation. III.   DRAMATIC ACTION   At the beginning I saw as both Cavale and Slim in a stalemate in terms of forcing action. There is a state of confusion about their dilemmas and dreams. As the story goes on, Slim begins to control the action until Cavale equalizes the situation by being passive (laying motionless). I believe the state of stalemate ends as soon as Lobster man arrives and the main characters begin forcing action on Lobster Man, until the moment he reveals himself as the savior they had both been waiting for. At last Slim becomes free, and Cavale gets her wish to see a rock 'n roll star immolate himself similar to a messiah self-sacrificing for a certain belief. I think there is a very real possibility that this is my subjective opinion, as it was very hard for me to analyze dramatic action because of the hectic speed the act proceeds in. Yet I Was able to uncover one specific thing, which was the connection between Cavale's name, and the Lobster and the implied suicide which I describe in the change characters go through. I think Slim goes through a lesser change compared to Cavale, and they both finally become content. Cavale's symbolic name becomes synonymous with suicide as she relates the Lobster Man's click of the gun on his own head to a definition of escape. Verbs: Cavale: pressures, invites, reassures, taunts, fears, despairs, escapes, accepts, defends, devises, inspects Slim: targets, evades, reveals, adjusts, serves, suggests, threatens, surmounts, rescues, flees IV.  CHARACTERS  For each principal character complete the following by filling in the attached charts. A.  Desire Cavale: Confirmation Slim: Freedom B.  Strength  (How much strength does the character have to achieve this?) Cavale: A lot Slim: Moderate C. Moral Stance  (To what lengths will the character go, break the laws Of state, society, church?) Cavale: She has already broken a law by kidnapping Slim at some point, and would do anything to find her own meaning. Slim: Possibly through emotional despair may go to great lengths. D.  Decorum  Cavale - A lithe and petite girl with a scruffy look about her. Wearing a loose and worn black t-shirt. Her dark hair chaotic and reaches out like the tendrils of a medusa. Her rugged black jeans do not seem comfortable, but are bent and twisted from repeated use. She is upright but her eyes gaze up from her lowered head with a subtly menacing look. Slim - A sanguine shirt with rolled up sleeves and unbuttoned top half. His dark hair is ruffled up. A deep crimson pair of pants end with bare feet. He stands with a hunched back, yet his muscles are taut, and tense. E.  Summary list of Adjectives Cavale: entropic, coercing, semi-psychotic, fragile, blithering, impulsive, agile, inattentive. Slim: malleable, violent, troubled, bitter, exhausted (emotional and physical), brash. F.  Nervosity Cavale 1.  Heartbeat Neutral: rapid High Adrenaline: frantic 2.  Perspiration   Neutral: moderately intense High Adrenaline: very intense 3.  Stomach   Neutral: unsettled High Adrenaline: nauseous 4.  Muscle   Neutral: relaxed High Adrenaline: apathetic 5.  Breathing Neutral: shallow High Adrenaline: heavy   Slim 1.  Heartbeat Neutral: fast High Adrenaline: very fast 2.  Perspiration   Neutral: none High Adrenaline: moderately intense 3.  Stomach   Neutral: calm High Adrenaline: stretched 4.  Muscle   Neutral: taut High Adrenaline: lashed out 5.  Breathing Neutral: quick High Adrenaline: menacingly deep V.  IDEA A.  Meaning of the Title Why to you think the playwright selected this title? What do you think that it means to the play? I think Cowboy Mouth was selected as a title for several reasons. One is because it symbolizes the extraordinary quality that a star must possess to lead the masses into a euphoria of rock and roll, as expressed by Cavale. People no longer respect a polite and eloquent speaker but an impulsive spitter of quick and devastating words as if singing in a rock 'n roll song. It also could be a similarity of the situation they are in, as they are using profanities to express their feelings, without necessarily being polite or considerate. B.  Philosophical Statements: Primarily, the playwright is depicting moments of his life slightly altered into a more dramatic state. Other than the biographical aspects that are evident in Shepard's play, there is also the theme of rock being compared to religion in cultural terms. It is mentioned as a source of massive influence it may have the impact on the American culture as if it were a religion. "People want a street angel. They want a saint but with a cowboy mouth. Somebody to get off on when they can't get off on themselves. I think that's what Mick Jagger is trying to do...what Bob Dylan seemed to be for a while. A sort of god in our image" C.Write the bottom line lesson of this play. We find pain ourselves, and are freed of it through others. VI.   TEMPOS   The tempo of the play is non-stop and very rapid aside from few "calm before the storm" moments. It restlessly leads towards a climax which is disturbingly quiet and sudden. It is a sort of reverse psychology, as the singing and the guitar sounds and the shouting as well as the bestial role-playing all lead us to expect an even more explosive climax, whereas we are confronted with a silent and collected moment of truth which comes to us after a rising tempo with the duo singing together as the lobster begins to shed its shell. The tranquility of the lobster committing suicide haunted me with its sheer brilliance because I was not expecting it. VII.   MOODS Smell: desolate stench (of a room without circulation) Taste: bitter Touch: calloused/weathered Sight: obscure shadows, lifeless lighting Sound: muffled

Copyright belongs to Caglar Arts Entertainment and the owner