Actually

by Anna Ziegler

Amber and Tom, finding their way as freshmen at Princeton, spend a night together that alters the course of their lives. They agree on the drinking, they agree on the attraction, but consent is foggy, and if unspoken, can it be called consent?--Page [4] of cover.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

53 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the 5th or 6th of Ziegler's plays I've now read, and this is by far the worst of the batch. There are basically three irremediable problems. The first is that it tries to tackle the very serious topic of college date rape, but does so in such a frivolous manner that one becomes annoyed. Secondly, it is known virtually from the beginning that there was no 'rape', and the female character, Amber, is so obnoxious, needy and borderline psycho that one cannot feel any sympathy for her. But the most egregious error is that virtually 98% of the play is done as direct address to the audience, so there is no dramatic action or tension between the two characters at all. A wasted opportunity.

[Tuti · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. a smart and timely play about a presumed date-rape at princeton.
what i liked about it: the feeling of „real people speaking“; the choice of subject/issues (college date-rape, race); the structure starting in a dialogue-scene, continuing with interspersed monologues where the characters talk about themselves and also about the inquiry
the ambivalent motivations for starting the complaint
on the down-side:
the monologue structure does take away some of the dramatic tension;
the character of amber felt a bit too frivolous, excessively self-analysing all her self-doubts and „wanting and not wanting at the same time“ which at some point makes a discussion about a (presumed) „date-rape“ somewhat pointless;
also i was wondering about the perspective (shared by both characters) that going to college (even princeton) is mainly about „getting wasted“ and having sex.

[Steven Felicelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

at the intersection of gender, race, privilege, desire, consent, etc. - problematics rather than judgment

[Laur · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give this between a 3.5 and a 3.75 but again, you can't do that on here so here we are.

This play has a lot of interesting ideas about a super complex topic and it lays them out in a generally easy to follow way. Though I think watching rather than reading this would definitely be better, which goes to show how well written this play is, as just by reading it I could tell how intense it would be to watch.

It leaves you with questions but also with some answers. It portrays our society in a 'bad light' but also in a very truthful way - how do you know who the 'bad' person is in a sexual misconduct case especially when both parties were drunk? (As a feminist I'm all about the, if they are 'drunk' at all then no one can give consent on either side so therefore the person who initiates it may be more to blame but that is just a whole other can of worms isn't it?)

It handles the topics it covers well, and gives them each weight and a pointedness but doesn't shy away from also trying to be entertaining. For me there was less of a humor aspect to this piece than just a slight lightening of some sections but it made it bearable to read as you were still questioning things but had moments to breathe in between. Something which these characters wouldn't have had during their 'trial.'

I think this is one, I will read again in future and would love to see done, the one act structure and therefore shortness of the piece I think really added to it -- everything would have happened so quickly once this situation was reported so it being done in a quick way and you then left hanging as to which side the feather will land on really drove her point home on this weird way of finding out 'who is to blame' and this strange way of looking at the evidence.

Give it a read if you have some space to question some things, and or want to think of an issue other than covid.

[Viv B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rate everything 5 stars istg

ANYWAYS this play is such an interesting conversation about consent. The introduction by the author gave such good context and it was so jarring to realize that the motivation to write this play and to start this conversation was Trump being elected. And here we are again, scared of the same things.

I, of course, am a staunch feminist, and practicing feminism means acknowledging both sides of the story in a situation like this. And this play put me to the test! I so badly wanted to believe Amber with no questions, but by the end of the play, I almost saw no one at fault. And I really like that the play doesn’t end with a blame, but a circle of events. Because this will continue to happen if we do not improve our culture around consent.

Lmk if you want to barrow this play so we can discuss it. I really want to talk about it!

[camilla]

This was SO good. The storytelling is INCREDIBLE.

[Will Schmitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

If Amber was male-identifying and all of her dialog and everything was kept the same the show would be elevated ten thousand notches by introducing a much richer complexity and coving topics that are not shared often. I’d call it brilliant at that point and think it would absolutely make this piece stand out much much more. With how it’s written now, it’s an important story and I enjoyed reading but I just couldn’t help thinking about the potential it had to become a really good show if finessed more.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

This is such an important topic/dialogue/conversation to be having right now. However, Amber feels more nuanced than Thomas Anthony. I wonder about cliches and stereotypes when it comes to his character details versus hers. I love the feather metaphor and the end is quite effective, and/but the characterizations make the play feel unbalanced, which is problematic because the premise of the play is to be caught in the middle.

[Emma Rund · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW talk about a play that makes you think. I love them both. I hate them both. I cried for them both. This is brilliant.

[Elysia Rohn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Messy and uncomfortable, but then again so is the subject matter. Some really lovely dialogue, and I like the way the narrative jumps between self reflection and the hearing and the date in question. However, there’s a LOT of direct address to the audience, and in a play about the messy complexities of human interaction, I kind of wish there was more…you know, human interaction? Without more engagement between the two characters directly, it leaves the whole thing feeling rather half-baked.

Definitely a surprising read for something I picked up sight-unseen from a Goodwill.

[Alexa Teleki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great 2 person play with lots of monologues! Obviously a very strong trigger warning of sexual abuse throughout the book, but very similar to the play “Really Really” by Paul Downs Colaizzo it’s kind of up to the reader (and the directors choices when the play is being done) about what really happened.

Personally, I think Amber wants attention and is lying! Great scene snippets for a white female and black male to do, but I don’t think Amber had many great monologue. Tom had some really strong ones that I would suggest for people who could actually play the character!

[Ed Dougherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok the weird thing is I read this cause of an acting class I audited yet the scene from the class wasn’t in this. Will I ever solve this mystery? But also the scene didn’t seem like it belonged in the play. Could the teacher have been mistaken? Really seemed like she knew everything. I suppose this isn’t a review of the play.

[Summer Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually... very poignant

As in life the characters inability to fully express their true feelings becomes the crux of what is taken out of context by everyone else. If Amber and Tom were able to openly express themselves to each other, and their friends the play would be completely different. It was a just bad date.

[Daniel Cluskey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't plan on marking up my copy of this play, but there were several sections that I just had to mark for later. This was an incredible story forcing the reader to confront the humanity of those who commit crimes. It blends together the lives of the two main characters so quickly that you immediately feel for both of them. Through their monologues, both characters reveal how pain from past experiences can hurt the people who may have been trying to help. It also forces us to ask the incredibly difficult question: "am I really seeing the other people in my life"?

[Andy Myers]

Not sure what rating I want to give this ambiguous confrontation of date rape. Absolutely unpleasant, but that was likely the intent. Having read it, I'm not sure I'd want to see it performed. Not a dig on it, but I have to confront humanity's uglier qualities on a daily basis, I want the art I consume to reflect something happier, or, at least, more positive.

[Kristen Lo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really dives into the gray area of date rape. Difficult (but had quite a bit more humor than I thought it would) and necessary.

[Sami Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

so many GREAT monologues.

[Karis Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for class