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How It Works
Daniel MacIvor's How it Works introduces us to four unforgettable Al, his ex-wife Donna, his new partner Christine, and his troubled daughter Brooke. Brilliantly weaving past and present, this play illuminates these four lives as they come to terms with their own stories.
- GenresPlays
96 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 3, 2025
Did they seriously hold that teenage girl hostage? How did the parents trust an almost-stranger to be alone with their daughter for that long (against the girl’s will)—and even lock the two of them in the house? And then it’s somehow a transformative moment for the girl?! Come on! Nonsense! It should be considered as domestic violence!🫤
But it would also be unfair to overlook the playwright’s incredibly engaging style of writing! A quick read that I enjoyed.
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Christine: “As far as I can figure, the way that it works is this: everyone has something that happened to them. The thing that we each carry. And you can see it in people, if you look. See it in the way someone walks, in the way someone takes a compliment, sometimes you can just see it in someone’s eyes, in one moment, of desperation, of fear, in one quick moment you can see that thing that happened. Everyone has it. The thing that keeps you up at night, or makes you not trust people, or stops love. The thing that hurts. And to stop it, to stop the hurt you have to turn it into a story. And not just a story you play over and over again for yourself, but a story that you tell. A story’s not a story unless you tell it. And once you give it away it’s not something that hurts you anymore, it’s something that helps everyone who hears it. It’s the kind of thing that’s hard to explain. It’s probably best if we just show how it works.” (Page 13)
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یادداشت شخصی:
مونولوگ رو به تماشاچی ۱۳
مونولوگ رو به شخصیت ۷۸
But it would also be unfair to overlook the playwright’s incredibly engaging style of writing! A quick read that I enjoyed.
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Christine: “As far as I can figure, the way that it works is this: everyone has something that happened to them. The thing that we each carry. And you can see it in people, if you look. See it in the way someone walks, in the way someone takes a compliment, sometimes you can just see it in someone’s eyes, in one moment, of desperation, of fear, in one quick moment you can see that thing that happened. Everyone has it. The thing that keeps you up at night, or makes you not trust people, or stops love. The thing that hurts. And to stop it, to stop the hurt you have to turn it into a story. And not just a story you play over and over again for yourself, but a story that you tell. A story’s not a story unless you tell it. And once you give it away it’s not something that hurts you anymore, it’s something that helps everyone who hears it. It’s the kind of thing that’s hard to explain. It’s probably best if we just show how it works.” (Page 13)
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یادداشت شخصی:
مونولوگ رو به تماشاچی ۱۳
مونولوگ رو به شخصیت ۷۸
November 17, 2021
Having scene it in production I know this script can easily be a five star show, it's one of the best plays about the aftermath of sexual assult I've encountered as a survivor.
The gaps in the script are lovely in production, so that it's never exploitative. And the right actors will know how to fill the space with the intention and care required. That said, the script still needs the actors interpretation for this text to be fully realized, and as reading material, the same gaps lack the connotation that would make it a five star experience as text alone.
Still, one of my favourite all time plays. I read the script in under 90 minutes.
The gaps in the script are lovely in production, so that it's never exploitative. And the right actors will know how to fill the space with the intention and care required. That said, the script still needs the actors interpretation for this text to be fully realized, and as reading material, the same gaps lack the connotation that would make it a five star experience as text alone.
Still, one of my favourite all time plays. I read the script in under 90 minutes.
November 24, 2021
An utterly fantastic play. Terrific pace and story. Extremely moving. A Canadian masterpiece. Good characters, easily one of my favourite plays of all time.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews