"A terrific play about madness, illusion, sanity...and theatre"
Issues - COSI deals with issues of obsessions, disillusionment and self-identity, struggle and triumph and mental illness.
SYNOPSIS:
"First produced in 1992, COSI has become one of the most successful Australian plays produced in the last decade. A terrific play about madness, illusion, sanity…and theatre. “Real madness and angst only occurred when I worked with professional actors.” Louis Nowra In a mental institution in 1971, Lewis, a young director, takes on the task of mounting a production of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte in the burnt-out theatre while protests against the Vietnam War are being staged outside. Semi-autobiographical in nature, Louis Nowra has written a play about theatre, madness, illusion, sanity and life. COSI explores a life lesson for Lewis, a young director who takes on the task of producing a play with the patients who live there. As his life is touched by these extraordinary people and his operatic production (Cosi Fan Tutte) lurches forward, we learn, along with Lewis, that when chasing your dreams it helps to be a little crazy. On one level, COSI is a poignant look at life through the eyes of patients at an insane asylum. On another, it’s an hilarious take on the madness of creative endeavour and the chaotic terror of getting up there and making a fool of yourself."
Act I scene iii
1. What impression of Justin is created through his involvement in this scene?
• “The experiment is over” (p22)
• “Now the position of a social worker in an asylum can be precarious. This does not look good for me or for you, does it?” (p23)
• “Sorry is such an easy word to say.” (p23)
• “Straight out of university...” (p24) What are your feelings towards him? Note how Nowra has achieved this?
2. When Cherry announces, “It was me! It was me!” (p23), she takes the blame for the fire from Doug. Why does she do this? What implications does this episode have for the success of the endeavour?
3. Lewis joins the conspiracy by confirming Cherry’s story. How is this significant? How has Nowra positioned the audience here? What would they feel about this episode?
4. The patients create many problems for Lewis in this scene, problems that add to our perception of mental illness. As soon as he overcomes the conflict with Zac, another one, created by Ruth this time, develops. Ruth clearly has problems distinguishing between reality and illusion. How is this theme developed in this scene? What do these conflicts add to the audience’s picture of mental illness?
5. Cherry comments to Julie that Roy is performing a “Do it yourself lobotomy” (p27) Explain the significance of this comment? Consider how differently the patients and the audience might have received this if it had been spoken by Nick, for example?
6. Lewis recounts his experience with his ‘mad’ grandmother. How might his experience have influenced his decision to take this job?
Louis Nowra’s reading of COSI
“Everyone goes mad in their own particular way. The actors performing COSI have to go mad in their own individual way”, said Nowra.
Nowra thinks madness is too generalised, and it is based on each individuals past and experiences. At the end, Lewis is no longer afraid of madness. Lewis is thoroughly transformed by the patients.
Nowra uses a mixture of laughter and madness, which is a volatile mixture. “We usually see madness as dark and scary, so we can keep it in a corner and ignore it”. When Nowra adds humour to it, then we begin to be able to relate to it, they share similar emotions.
Nowra says: “Lewis has to face various hurdles throughout the play. He suffers from a lack of gumption at first. His major hurdle is Henry. Lewis realises that he has got to get Henry to stay. Through rehearsing he is falling in love with the patients. Every scene is a hurdle. Each time he learns to love the patients as individuals. He goes on what is called a character arc. It is a ‘fish out of water story’. Lewis is thrust into another world to transform him. Often, when someone doesn’t have a family or friends due to a dysfunctional past (in Lewis’ case his relationship with Nick and Lucy is going downhill) he then makes the patients his family, he finds a new sense of reality with them”.
Vietnam War is what Lewis believes in at first. But he will agree with anyone at the start, so long as it keeps the peace. When Lewis enters the asylum it is like an island (thrust into another world). The patients don’t even know there is a war going on. Lewis is transformed by his experience. How it works is that you stick people on this island, and watch how they change. They are forced to face their demons because they can’t get off the island. (https://australianplays.org/assets/files/resource/doc/CosiTeachingNotes.pdf)
Performance conventions found in COSI include: Doubling: when performers play more than one role in the performance. Settings: suggested by use of simple props and furniture. Suspension of belief: the audience has to ‘play’ with the idea that the performers are creating a play within a play. Direct address: characters address the audience, like a form of oral diary and, a revealing of inner thoughts or inner monologue. This can move the action forward and/or set a mood for the following action. Narrator: the character of Lewis acts as the play’s narrator, he is the character through which the audience views other characters and situations. Lewis is the audiences’ lens or viewfinder.
Resources to assist with understanding
On the Web and Multimedia Packages Theatres – The Open Stages http://www.openstages.com/help/thatres.htm Contemporary Australian Playwrights http://www.methuen.co.uk/contemporaryaustralianplays.html Australian National Playwright’s Centre http://anpc.org.au/ Stage Left Archive http://www.stageleft.com.au/archive.html Film Written – Essays and Commentary http://filmwritten.org/ La Boite Theatre http://www.laboite.com.au/ Queensland Performing Arts Centre http://www.qpac.com.au/whatson/supportingmaterials
Suggested topics for investigation
Theatre ensembles, Australian drama, the social construction and portrayal of mental illness, autobiographical storytelling, art therapy, opera, Australian involvement in the Vietnam War and black comedy.
Australian drama -Black comedy -Meta-narrative
Issues: class inequality, imperial racism, indigenous dispossession and the cultural displacements and hybridisations of a multicultural migrant society. Invasion, adaptation, resistance, renewal, metamorphosis and the amoral and transformative power of love are constant themes, typically figured through images of fires, exile, disease, madness and imprisonment.
Writing folio
Choose one character and write one diary entries as that character. Characters: Lewis, Henry, Justin, Nick, Lucy.
Second lesson divide class into two groups with a director each and perform by the end of class.
SYNTHESISING ACTIVITIES
Thinking, talking about, and responding to the performance
Drama (theatre, film and television) has become immensely important in our times. We see more drama than ever before and are more directly influenced, conditioned, programmed by drama than ever before. Drama has become one of the principal vehicles of information, one of the prevailing methods of thinking about life and situations. (Martin Esslin, The Field of Drama, 1987, p 13)
When talking about the play, focus on Lewis. He is the only one to occupy every level of the play's perspective at some point. Everyone shifts between at least two levels (example, Cherry is also a doctor [hypnotist]).
Questions to ask about Lewis:
· Is it his perspective that changes/grows more than anyone else's? Look for his moments of change.
· Do changes make his life more meaningful? Can he now take control over his self? What about the others? Compare.
· Relate to the idea of change in perspective. His tone changes. His assumptions change, and also how he relates to them changes.
Assessment Task idea
1) Understanding characters and their messages
Characters in a work of fiction are created for specific purposes and it is worthwhile to question why they are presented as they are on stage. In COSI we witness a transformation of the main character, Lewis, as he journeys to a new realisation of himself and his values. His experiences with the patients and his interaction with all the characters clearly show by the end of the play that he is a changed man. The character of Lewis provides us with a unique opportunity to consider the idea of changing perspectives. We can, however, also consider how the minor characters could be viewed from different perspectives.
2) Writing about Lewis
Prepare a brief profile of Lewis at the beginning of the play. You can use information found throughout the text but concentrate on writing about him as he is before he appears on stage.
Look again at the opening pages of the play. What is Lewis’ motivation for being there? How would you describe his initial reaction to the patients. Add these to your profile.
Compile a list of quotes that map Lewis as he changes throughout the play. You should also record any stage directions that reflect his personality. You might start with:
Performance Cues 2003 COSI by Louis Nowra 20
Consider how the audience relates to Lewis. Are we inclined to empathise with him or are we led to view him critically? What is it that makes us take this perspective?
3) Writing about the other characters
The values and experiences of the audience largely influence the way a character is perceived. Consider the following characters and how they would be viewed by yourself, Lewis, your parent or teacher and Henry.
4) Essay topics: Write about one of Stanislavki's techniques (Fundamental questions and given circumstances) and apply it to one of the characters - bring to class next lesson.
Issues - COSI deals with issues of obsessions, disillusionment and self-identity, struggle and triumph and mental illness.
SYNOPSIS:
"First produced in 1992, COSI has become one of the most successful Australian plays produced in the last decade. A terrific play about madness, illusion, sanity…and theatre. “Real madness and angst only occurred when I worked with professional actors.” Louis Nowra In a mental institution in 1971, Lewis, a young director, takes on the task of mounting a production of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte in the burnt-out theatre while protests against the Vietnam War are being staged outside. Semi-autobiographical in nature, Louis Nowra has written a play about theatre, madness, illusion, sanity and life. COSI explores a life lesson for Lewis, a young director who takes on the task of producing a play with the patients who live there. As his life is touched by these extraordinary people and his operatic production (Cosi Fan Tutte) lurches forward, we learn, along with Lewis, that when chasing your dreams it helps to be a little crazy. On one level, COSI is a poignant look at life through the eyes of patients at an insane asylum. On another, it’s an hilarious take on the madness of creative endeavour and the chaotic terror of getting up there and making a fool of yourself."
Act I scene iii
1. What impression of Justin is created through his involvement in this scene?
• “The experiment is over” (p22)
• “Now the position of a social worker in an asylum can be precarious. This does not look good for me or for you, does it?” (p23)
• “Sorry is such an easy word to say.” (p23)
• “Straight out of university...” (p24) What are your feelings towards him? Note how Nowra has achieved this?
2. When Cherry announces, “It was me! It was me!” (p23), she takes the blame for the fire from Doug. Why does she do this? What implications does this episode have for the success of the endeavour?
3. Lewis joins the conspiracy by confirming Cherry’s story. How is this significant? How has Nowra positioned the audience here? What would they feel about this episode?
4. The patients create many problems for Lewis in this scene, problems that add to our perception of mental illness. As soon as he overcomes the conflict with Zac, another one, created by Ruth this time, develops. Ruth clearly has problems distinguishing between reality and illusion. How is this theme developed in this scene? What do these conflicts add to the audience’s picture of mental illness?
5. Cherry comments to Julie that Roy is performing a “Do it yourself lobotomy” (p27) Explain the significance of this comment? Consider how differently the patients and the audience might have received this if it had been spoken by Nick, for example?
6. Lewis recounts his experience with his ‘mad’ grandmother. How might his experience have influenced his decision to take this job?
Louis Nowra’s reading of COSI
“Everyone goes mad in their own particular way. The actors performing COSI have to go mad in their own individual way”, said Nowra.
Nowra thinks madness is too generalised, and it is based on each individuals past and experiences. At the end, Lewis is no longer afraid of madness. Lewis is thoroughly transformed by the patients.
Nowra uses a mixture of laughter and madness, which is a volatile mixture. “We usually see madness as dark and scary, so we can keep it in a corner and ignore it”. When Nowra adds humour to it, then we begin to be able to relate to it, they share similar emotions.
Nowra says: “Lewis has to face various hurdles throughout the play. He suffers from a lack of gumption at first. His major hurdle is Henry. Lewis realises that he has got to get Henry to stay. Through rehearsing he is falling in love with the patients. Every scene is a hurdle. Each time he learns to love the patients as individuals. He goes on what is called a character arc. It is a ‘fish out of water story’. Lewis is thrust into another world to transform him. Often, when someone doesn’t have a family or friends due to a dysfunctional past (in Lewis’ case his relationship with Nick and Lucy is going downhill) he then makes the patients his family, he finds a new sense of reality with them”.
Vietnam War is what Lewis believes in at first. But he will agree with anyone at the start, so long as it keeps the peace. When Lewis enters the asylum it is like an island (thrust into another world). The patients don’t even know there is a war going on. Lewis is transformed by his experience. How it works is that you stick people on this island, and watch how they change. They are forced to face their demons because they can’t get off the island. (https://australianplays.org/assets/files/resource/doc/CosiTeachingNotes.pdf)
Performance conventions found in COSI include: Doubling: when performers play more than one role in the performance. Settings: suggested by use of simple props and furniture. Suspension of belief: the audience has to ‘play’ with the idea that the performers are creating a play within a play. Direct address: characters address the audience, like a form of oral diary and, a revealing of inner thoughts or inner monologue. This can move the action forward and/or set a mood for the following action. Narrator: the character of Lewis acts as the play’s narrator, he is the character through which the audience views other characters and situations. Lewis is the audiences’ lens or viewfinder.
Resources to assist with understanding
On the Web and Multimedia Packages Theatres – The Open Stages http://www.openstages.com/help/thatres.htm Contemporary Australian Playwrights http://www.methuen.co.uk/contemporaryaustralianplays.html Australian National Playwright’s Centre http://anpc.org.au/ Stage Left Archive http://www.stageleft.com.au/archive.html Film Written – Essays and Commentary http://filmwritten.org/ La Boite Theatre http://www.laboite.com.au/ Queensland Performing Arts Centre http://www.qpac.com.au/whatson/supportingmaterials
Suggested topics for investigation
Theatre ensembles, Australian drama, the social construction and portrayal of mental illness, autobiographical storytelling, art therapy, opera, Australian involvement in the Vietnam War and black comedy.
Australian drama -Black comedy -Meta-narrative
Issues: class inequality, imperial racism, indigenous dispossession and the cultural displacements and hybridisations of a multicultural migrant society. Invasion, adaptation, resistance, renewal, metamorphosis and the amoral and transformative power of love are constant themes, typically figured through images of fires, exile, disease, madness and imprisonment.
- divided into small group within a class and assigned sections or read as a group
- Read the text for social background (class, social standing). What social groups does the play represent and what are the values and lifestyle of those groups?
- Read the text for story. Be clear about what is happening in the play: What is the action? What are the events? What happens?
- Read the text to find out about the characters. Find obvious, basic information: age, size, temperament, relationships. Avoid making value judgments — for example, a good person.
Writing folio
Choose one character and write one diary entries as that character. Characters: Lewis, Henry, Justin, Nick, Lucy.
Second lesson divide class into two groups with a director each and perform by the end of class.
SYNTHESISING ACTIVITIES
Thinking, talking about, and responding to the performance
Drama (theatre, film and television) has become immensely important in our times. We see more drama than ever before and are more directly influenced, conditioned, programmed by drama than ever before. Drama has become one of the principal vehicles of information, one of the prevailing methods of thinking about life and situations. (Martin Esslin, The Field of Drama, 1987, p 13)
When talking about the play, focus on Lewis. He is the only one to occupy every level of the play's perspective at some point. Everyone shifts between at least two levels (example, Cherry is also a doctor [hypnotist]).
Questions to ask about Lewis:
· Is it his perspective that changes/grows more than anyone else's? Look for his moments of change.
· Do changes make his life more meaningful? Can he now take control over his self? What about the others? Compare.
· Relate to the idea of change in perspective. His tone changes. His assumptions change, and also how he relates to them changes.
Assessment Task idea
1) Understanding characters and their messages
Characters in a work of fiction are created for specific purposes and it is worthwhile to question why they are presented as they are on stage. In COSI we witness a transformation of the main character, Lewis, as he journeys to a new realisation of himself and his values. His experiences with the patients and his interaction with all the characters clearly show by the end of the play that he is a changed man. The character of Lewis provides us with a unique opportunity to consider the idea of changing perspectives. We can, however, also consider how the minor characters could be viewed from different perspectives.
2) Writing about Lewis
Prepare a brief profile of Lewis at the beginning of the play. You can use information found throughout the text but concentrate on writing about him as he is before he appears on stage.
Look again at the opening pages of the play. What is Lewis’ motivation for being there? How would you describe his initial reaction to the patients. Add these to your profile.
Compile a list of quotes that map Lewis as he changes throughout the play. You should also record any stage directions that reflect his personality. You might start with:
Performance Cues 2003 COSI by Louis Nowra 20
- “I need the money, Lucy” (p 1)
- “Do you think we should be doing something like this? ... In these days, you know, the Vietnam war?” (p 9)
- “I mean about the theme. Love is not so important these days.” (p 10)
Consider how the audience relates to Lewis. Are we inclined to empathise with him or are we led to view him critically? What is it that makes us take this perspective?
3) Writing about the other characters
The values and experiences of the audience largely influence the way a character is perceived. Consider the following characters and how they would be viewed by yourself, Lewis, your parent or teacher and Henry.
- Nick
- Lucy
- Justin
- Julie
- Roy or Henry
4) Essay topics: Write about one of Stanislavki's techniques (Fundamental questions and given circumstances) and apply it to one of the characters - bring to class next lesson.
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