9 Parts Of Desire Analysis

Submitted By tjkwan2
Words: 553
Pages: 3

1. The production of 9 Parts of Desire was a representational performance. At the beginning, it appeared that the production would be presentational because when Layal was telling her story about how she enjoys the company of men, she seemed to be talking directly to certain individuals in the crowd; she would turn to females to try to get them to relate, or she would turn to males with a seductive look. However, I think this was effective in drawing the audience into the story and to feel those emotions that she felt, especially since she was one of the first people to tell her story. Through the empathy, the audience began to identify with the emotions that flowed out of their stories. The point of this representational performance was to make the audience feel the story, rather than just seeing and hearing it, which allowed them to live a little part of the character’s life. In particular, I “lived” the most with The American. She was constantly scared for her family back in the Middle East, but never had any way to contact them. She could see the bombings and deaths on TV but was helpless. She did not need to wait for my feedback or applause like a representational performance, but her delivery of the story and emotion transported me to her world.
2. Because 9 Parts of Desire seemingly had so much going on, it was difficult to pinpoint a single central conflict. However, every single story and character in the production dealt with an identity crisis. This central conflict of identity was most apparent at the end when the actor was asked to make a giant mosaic of someone’s face inside a museum and she felt so controlled and helpless. She was burdened by the lack of freedom and thus, she went out of control and in the end she died. All the characters came together and mourned for her death and her suffering in life. It was very apparent that they all felt the same restrictions, choked by society and the environment in which they lived. The