Otfinoski's The Power Of One: Pirate Plays

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The Power of One: “Pirate Plays” Reader Response Before seeing Steven Otfinoski’s monodrama plays entitled, “The Pirate Plays,” I had never experienced a one-person show. Different from a monologue, a monodrama involves a character alternating from serving as the narrator to interacting with other, imaginary characters on stage. Although a monodrama may sound strange or even seem to be crazy in writing, the power of a person’s imagination makes this type of theater possible and enjoyable. Throughout Otfinoski’s two “Pirate Plays” the characters Stede Bonnet and Anne Bonny find themselves both at sea, living on a ship with other men, and ransacking other stranger’s ships. In other words, Stede and Anne both, in order to find themselves, turn…show more content…
The audience realizes by the end of the play that Stede Bonnet, who at the beginning is convinced that pirating will fill the lonely void in his life, never does fill that void and never attains his dream. This can be seen through his mad, sad state as he walks up to the gallows. This is similar to when we first met Stede Bonnet, who explains to the audience that there is a girl with raven-black hair whom he wants. This girl stands for something much larger than a possible lover for Stede; she represents this seemingly unattainable dream or state of being that Stede constantly has strived for. In this way, Stede greatly reminded me of Gatsby from Fitzgerald’s novel “The Great Gatsby,” who constantly reaches for the green light on his dock. In contrast, Anne Bonny, who at the start of the play desperately strives to find a man to love her, by the end of the play, even though she had to suffer much, gained the love of her life—her baby boy. Overall, even though these plays were performed by one person, due to the theatrical elements, the nature of the script, and the actors’ talent, I was able to understand and take away the ultimate meaning of the “Pirate

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