Please respond to the play "The Mystery of Irma Vep" by Charles Ludlum.
Remember that your responses should show critical thinking - what caught your attention as a new playwright? How might you use this script as an example for your own writing? What unique or clever ideas does the script hold? What character(s) was most compelling to you and why? Comment on the staging or the MDQ (major dramatic question).
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The most intriguing thing about The Mystery of Irma Vep was the use of only two actors. Obviously it would be clear what was going on if you were actually watching the play being performed, but it was certainly interesting, as a playwrighting student, to figure out how this would be staged with only two actors, what with the constant costume changes, and the need to be able to (at least somewhat convincingly) portray six different, distinct characters. It wouldn't be impossible to do this--after awhile, it became easier to figure out how exactly one would stage this--but it would be difficult. However, it definitely adds to the comedy of the play.
Zoe J.
The Mystery of Irma Vep was... interesting. And by interesting I mean disturbing, granted I think it I would be moreso if I had seen it on stage. Why was I disturbed? Frankly, people in drag just freak me out.
It seemed well written, suspenseful, and interesting. Nicodemus was mysterious and creepy, someone the audience wanted to pay attention to. Jane was just intraverted about information. She let out what was needed and nothing more. Also a character to keep a close eye on.
Like any play or story or whatever, the audience wants to know what's going to happen. Is there really a werewolf? Who is the werewolf? Why is the wolf significant? Why are Nicodemus and Jane so mysterious? The audience is wondering all of these things.
This play was especially interesting because it is meant to be performed with only two actors. This keeps the actors moving and on thier toes, as well as keeping the audience attentive. As a writer it was nice to see how one could use the least number of actors possible and still make the play flow on stage by having characters speaking from offstage,using dummies,etc.
Nicodemus certaintly seemed to be the most loveable characeter: his energy and vigor both entertains the audience and makes him endearing to them. However, upon finishing the play, Jane becomes the most intriguing character. In the beginning we see Jan only as a sweet obedient maid who has served at Mandacrest for some time and who has substantial knowledge as to its history. However, as the events at Mandacrest become more haunted and twisted, we ultimately learn that Jane murdered both Victor and Lady Irma and plans to kill again. She is driven by love (presumably for Lord Edgar) and a desire to never be a servant again. It is remarkable that a passion so strong that it compels a woman to kill two people can be hidden behind the guise of an obedient servant girl is certaintly intriguing. It makes you wonder about Jane's sanity.
I suppose the MDQ addresses the way that love can consume us and (in this case literally) turn us into monsters if we are not careful.
"The Mystery of Irma Vep" was certainly a very interesting play that held my interest the whole way through. I think the thing that caught my attention the most when reading it was the fact that there were only two actors playing six roles. I think in the future, I might try to do the same thing as a playwrite--it adds an interesting element to the play, because as I read it I found myself imagining several characters, when there were really only two. This technique is very unique and clever, along with the fact that the entire play is dealing with the supernatural, and draws the reader in on the basis of their own superstitions as well.
I think the most compelling character for me was definitely Jane, because originally she seemed innocent and just an ordinary maid, but then she ends up being the vampire that has killed all of the different people.
The MDQ was "What is the mystery of Irma Vep?" This question rises in the reader's mind just by reading the title alone, and is answered very well, in a very exciting way.
As a new playwright the thing that most caught my attention from Charles Ludlum's play "The Mystery of Irma Vep" was the use of two actors and how many ideas were borrowed from other plays. Most plays that I have read have a minimum of three main characters. However this play only had two main characters. There were a couple of other characters but they were not as significant. It was interesting in the way they took parts from other plays and/or scripts and changed them up a little to make them all fit together in a neat little way. I may use this script as an example for my writing in that I would add some of the suspense. The suspense just makes everything much better. The unique or clever ideas that this script holds is suspense, the use of only two main characters.
The character that was most compelling to me was Jane. This is because she seemed to be the one character that changed most or actually held the biggest secret. I never expected Jane to be a vampire so twists like that were also a cool technique.
The major dramatic question in this play or script was actually given to us right off the bat; it was given to us in the title. It was "What is the mystery of Irma Vep."
While reading this play, I couldn't help but think about how difficult it would be to perform. I think it is a very creative idea to have only two actors stage the whole thing, but incredibly tiring all the same. This made me want to try out some more creative ways of staging a play -- not necessarily in the plot structure of a play, but in the actual performance of it. I think that the space in which you perform a play is almost as important as the actual content of the play itself. If "The Mystery of Irma Vep" didn't have only two actors playing all of the roles, I think it might loose some of its charm. This is definetely the most unique part of the script.
I was most interested by the character of Jane, and least interested by the character of Edgar. I think that Jane had a very intersting part of the plot -- she is the mass murderer that kills everyone, and her reasons for doing so are crazy -- she thinks death is "glorious".
Edgar seemed to be the least incvolved character of the play to me for some reason. He was always gone, trying to shoot the wolf, haunted by his dead wife. I think that his character was not a major helper in the progression of the plot, but rather a source of comic relief -- everything that he did was explained by Jane or Nicodemus. I thought that his role was the least entertaining.
The major dramatic question in this play was "What happened to Irma Vep?" and "What will become of Lady Enid and the rest of the people in the mansion?" The last bit of the play seems to say somehting about death -- that once someone is gone, they are gone forever, and thought we may try, we can not bring them back.
The most interesting thing about this play was that the play only used two characters. It was kind of confusing at first but as i continued to read and picture the play being acted out in my head it became easier for me to tell what was going on and who was performing as who. The character that i reall enjoyed was Nicodemus. I thought that his part was well written. The whole play was well written but i really enjoyed his the most.
The thing that I really liked about The Mystery of Irma Vep is how the playwright only used two actors for a number of different roles. As a playwright, with more than two actors in mind, it would be easy to write. once the production started going up with only two actors, I can only imagine how difficult and rushed it would be to cater to the needs of the actors and the play and I admire the work that went into this.
^^ from zoe c. sorry, I always forget that part.
While reading The Mystery of Irma Vep I saw it play out in my head a bit differently then it did. I sort of thought of it as a difficult play because it seemed like too much was happening at one time..but maybe a lot is good? I have no clue. The MDQ would have to be, who is the wolf? Did the wolf really kill someone? And as a playwriting student I find it interesting the way Charles Ludlum plays with only 2 characters at a time. Though I think it would be difficult to be able and half only two people play about 3 roles a piece.
Sharliery
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