Night mother by marsha norman monologue

The twocharacter drama originally opened on broadway in 1983 and ran for a year, earning tony nominations for best play and best actress for both stars, anne pitoniak and kathy bates. This monologue is from night, mother a play by marsha norman, which also became a movie. Night, mother a very brief summary the litterateurs. Both have some good monologues, and are pretty obscure, so five other people at an audition wont be doing the same thing. It was somebody pink and fat who never heard of sick or lonely, somebody who cried and got fed, and reached up and got held and kicked but didnt hurt anybody.

Weve got a good life here, says thelma cates to her daughter, jessie, in marsha normans new play, night, mother. These are both simple country women, with jessie being the quieter and less demonstrative and thelma being more talkative. Jessies monologue from night mother by marsha norman. Powerfully acted by two magnificent actresses cissy spacek and the late, great, much missed anne bancroft. Case in point, kathy bates and anne pitoniak as jessie and thelma cates in marsha normans pulitzer prize winning night, mother, a ninetyminute argument for and against jessies intended that also reveals the lifelong complexities of the motherdaughter relationship. In brief, night, mother is a oneact play with two characters on stage. Marsha normans night, mother produced by the kaleidoscope theatre of parsons directed by high school students, luke gilmore and.

At the end of the period, please pick up night mother by marsha norman from the library. Jessie from night, mother by marsha norman monologue search. Riveting drama building to a heartwrenching crescendo marsha normans screenplay from her stage play has echoes of eugene oneill im thinking of long days journey into night and tennessee williams, not to mention some of the films of ingmar bergman in its confrontation of. The entire drama is contained in the single act of the mother mama and daughter jessie talking. With sissy spacek, anne bancroft, ed berke, carol robbins. Sep 21, 2017 write the rest of the story after deciding where to place the monologue you have written. The main two characters mama thelma and her daughter jessie futilely talks about the trivial things and jessie reveals her wish and plan to commit suicide that night. Like why do you have to know so much about things, jessie. Theres just not that much to things that i could ever see. The scene is the living roomkitchen of a small house on an isolated country road, which is shared by jessie and her mother.

Night, mother is marsha normans play that won the pulitzer for drama in 1983. Jessie cates, late thirties to early forties, who lives with her mother, thelma. Outwardly normal sissy spacek calmly informs her mother anne bancroft that shes about to commit. Oprah winfrey eyes night, mother for broadway debut the. I couldnt help but remember night, mother, which i had no idea was a playfurther yet, that it garnered the pulitzer prize in 1983. Monologues are often pieced together for auditions and this is the audition cut. Marsha normans 1984 pulitzer prize winning play, night, mother, focuses on the compelling drama between these two women on the final night of. The subject of their conversation surrounds the casual yet sudden announcement by jessie that she is going to end her life. Burkman examines the nature of the mother daughter relationship in night, mother by comparing jessie and thelma to the mythic demeter and persephone. Check out night mother by marsha norman and five women wearing the same dress by alan ball. Discussion of themes and motifs in marsha norman, marsha williams night, mother.

Study guide for night, mother night, mother study guide contains a biography of marsha norman, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. A middleaged epileptic unable to hold a job or drive with a failed marriage and a drugaddicted runaway. A monologue is used in drama and is when the character directly addresses the audience on their own. Mama, i only told you i was going to kill myself so i could explain it, so you wouldnt blame yourself, so you wouldnt feel bad. Among the numerous honors bestowed upon the play, it. Some actors leave an indelible mark on roles that they create. Mother was adapted by marsha norman from her own harrowing pulitzer prizewinning play. Marsha norman jessie i am what became of your child. Marsha normans night, mother is a play about most peoples inability to. Write the rest of the story after deciding where to place the monologue you have written. Night mother marsha norman characters jessie cates jessie is in her late thirties or early forties, pale and vaguely unsteady, physically. I think there are quite a few in that play, but here is one.

Jessie is the divorced mother of a hoodlum son, who unsatisfied and depressed struggles with life as an unemployed epileptic. Born in 1947 as the daughter of a fundamentalist methodist, marsha norman had a solitary childhood in louisville, kentucky. Used this monologue from the play night mother by marsha norman to get one of 162 spots in the country at the nhsi cherubs program in. Normans plays like night, mother explores the psyche of someone who plans and coolly organizes her suicide. The play opens with jessie asking her mother where a particular gun is kept. Night, mother themes marsha norman this study guide consists of approximately 42 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of night, mother. A oneact play spanning a few hours, this quite simply is the story of a woman, jessie, preparing for her death, and her candid, endearing conversation with.

Feb 06, 2014 night, mother was written by marsha norman, who worked with ms. Night, mother is a sharp, terse play that examines the issue of hopelessness in all areas and. What would you do if someone you loved sat down with you one night and calmly told you that they were going to end their life before morning. Apr 01, 1983 weve got a good life here, says thelma cates to her daughter, jessie, in marsha normans new play, night, mother. The female canon, edited by june schlueter, faileigh dickinson university press, 1990. Produced the year after beth henley won the pulitzer for crimes of the heart, the two women ushered in a renaissance of southern female play writing. A oneact play spanning a few hours, this quite simply is the story of a woman, jessie, preparing for her death, and her candid, endearing conversation with her mother, who desperately tries to both. In writing a monologue, there are several important things. Jul 06, 2016 night mother by marsha norman is a thought provoking play.

Adapted from the play by marsha norman, night, mother is the story of a parents worst nightmare. In marsha norman s pulitzer prizewinning play, a daughter announces to her mother that she will kill herself at the end of the evening, leading to an uneasy completion of routine tasks and a. Dramatists play service, one of the premier playlicensing and theatrical publishing agencies in the world, was formed in 1936 to foster national opportunities for playwrights by publishing affordable editions of their plays and handling the performance rights to these works. I am not your child, i am what became of your child. Jessie monologue from the play night mother by marsha norman. Burkman in the demeter myth and doubling in marsha normans night mother 1990. Riveting drama building to a heartwrenching crescendo marsha norman s screenplay from her stage play has echoes of eugene oneill im thinking of long days journey into night and tennessee williams, not to mention some of the films of ingmar bergman in its confrontation of.

It was somebody pink and fat who never heard of sick or lonely, somebody who cried and got fed, and reached up. Im just not having a very good time and i dont have any reason to think itll get anything but worse. It has only two characters, jessie cates, the daughter who lives with her mother, thelma cates. Rather than having a true appetite for life, mamas appetite for sweets symbolizes her need for a slave for her deathinlife experience, a way of filling up emptiness and hiding from her fear of life and death. Feb 06, 2014 i think there are quite a few in that play, but here is one. The play is about a daughter, jessie, and her mother, thelma. Nov 14, 2004 marsha normans 1984 pulitzer prize winning play, night, mother, focuses on the compelling drama between these two women on the final night of jessies life. The play won the 1983 pulitzer prize for drama and was nominated for the tony award for best play.

The monologue has to be related to night, mother by marsha norman, but not from the play itself. On this night, jessie comes into the room asking her mother about the whereabouts of her fathers old revolver. She received the 1983 pulitzer prize for drama for her play night, mother. This detailed literature summary also contains bibliography on night, mother by marsha norman. Help i need a monologue from the play night mother. Selected monologues from night, mother including video examples, context and character information. The demeter myth and doubling in marsha normans night, mother in modern american drama.

A middleaged epileptic unable to hold a job or drive with a failed marriage and a drugaddicted runaway son on the wrong side of the law, jessie can find no reason to go on living. Food, love and death in normans night mother inquiries. Marsha norman born september 21, 1947 is an american playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. It begins with jessie calmly telling her mama that by morning she will be dead, as she plans to commit suicide that very. She wrote the book and lyrics for such broadway musicals as the secret garden, for which she won a tony award and the drama desk award for outstanding book of a musical, and the red shoes, as well as the libretto for the. You may edit and reshape some details if you need to for your plot and theme. Its a normal saturday evening in the catess home where mother and daughter, thelma and jessie, live out a rather mundane, humdrum existence. Burkman examines the nature of the motherdaughter relationship in night, mother by comparing jessie and thelma to the mythic demeter and persephone. Night mother by marsha norman, the 1983 pulitzer winning drama is an emotionally draining play. Thelma, who is a widow, and jessie, who is divorced. Summary night, mother a worldclass play by marsha norman opens in the kitchen scene. When jessie finds it in the attic, she confesses to her mother that she is going to kill herself. These are both simple country women, with jessie being the quieter and. In marsha normans pulitzer prizewinning play, a daughter announces to her mother that she will kill herself at the end of the evening, leading to an uneasy completion of routine tasks and a.