FREE ESSAY ON ALICE GERSTENBERG'S "OVERTONES"

ALICE GERSTENBERG'S "OVERTONES"

In Alice Gerstenberg's "Overtones", she presents two deceitful women, both insanely
envious of the other, who meet one day over coffee. Two other actors living out their
true feelings and being honest show the jealous, rude, but truthful, side of each of the
women. The real women put on an act, saying or doing nothing that they actually feel
towards each other; they are entirely dishonest. The play illustrates how envy leads
straight to hatred and unhappiness, which I believe to be the theme. How can you love
yourself when you are longing to be someone else, wanted everything they have and hating
them for it? The message I got from the play was that deep jealously has only negative
effects and to be happy you must be your true self and true to yourself. The play made me
see how silly it is when one puts on phony layers to impress another. Because there were
two different mindsets of the women, I would have two of everything, one on a lower stage
and then a set just like it on a raised stage. The women hid their true feelings, so I
would place the primitive ones on the raised stage back from the audience, behind a layer
of sheer material. The raised stage can be thought of somewhat like a mind bubble. As
everyone shows a fake side of himself sometime, I want the audience to relate to the play
and to see themselves in somewhat of a similar situation. I want there to be known
tension between the real women, but I also want to create humor between the counterparts
as a relief of the tension between the two different women, using a lot of sarcastic
language and actions. I want the audience to leave feeling thankful for what they have.