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Faith Smith

Creative Project – Theatre Appreciation

Image Rationale

1.

Jon Hamm’s dark,

scruffy, yet handsome

appearance matches

‘Peck’s’ war-torn

romantic spirit. Hamm’s

mix of ease and

aggression would suit the

scene between ‘Peck’ and

‘Li’l Bit’ when he teaches

her how to “drive like a

man.” The sort of man

who would plead for the

attention of his hesitant

romantic interest,

Hamm’s style and body

language read as entirely

able to play lovestruck

and encouraging. With a

smirk and dark charm,

Hamm embodies ‘Peck’s’

tendency toward

perverted romance and

ability to coerce an

impressionable girl with

his attractive

handsomeness.

2.

Rachel Bilson’s face

permits her to play both

the young and old

versions of ‘Li’l Bit.’ Her

darkness (hair and eyes)

matches that of Hamm

and would make for a

stunning stage pair that

differ greatly from the

lighter toned cast

majority; I intend for their

connection to be visually

obvious through color.

Bilson’s petite frame,

Student Name

large eyes, and thick licks

recall a sense of

immaturity and naivety

that would represent her

view of ‘Peck’ as a leader

figure during the

photography scene. The

roundness and softness of

her features would ideally

be attractive to the older,

more square ‘Peck.’ I also

feel that Bilson would be

able to express the

appropriate sort of anger

required during the dinner

scene in which she

berates her grandfather.

3.

Tyne Daly’s hearty,

south-raised appearance

would suit the

grandmother’s hesitance

to discuss sex with her

granddaughter. Daly

exudes a fear for the

repercussions of

controversial behavior

that would read well as a

contrast to Gwyneth

Paltrow’s openness.

4.

I genuinely enjoy the

contrast between the

blonde mother and

grandmother and the

brunette daughter.

Something about the

daughter’s darkness

speaks to secret keeping

and perversion. Gwenyth

Paltrow appears to be

sexually confident and

open and perfectly

represents the mother

figure that would joyfully

discuss sex with her

daughter. Her openness

would also be a

believable attribute to her

absence from the majority

of ‘Li’l Bit’s’ narrative.

5.

Jessica Chastain’s

‘redness’ expresses ‘Aunt

Mary’s’ anger at her

husband and her niece’s

affair. A somber sadness

fits well on her

traditionally beautiful

face. With the appearance

of a serious woman,

Chastain’s presence

would further illuminate

the Bilson’s youthfulness

and Hamm’s misfired

lust.

6.

Stan Lee appears to be a

crotchety senile man and

would splendidly recite

the grandfather’s crueltist

line: “How is

Shakespeare going to help

her lie on her back in the

dark?” His white hair

matches that of his ‘wife’

and the bald spot atop his

head signifies that

‘something’ is mentally

missing. I also feel that

Stan Lee has a Hugh

Hefner-vibe that would

satisfy the grandfather

role’s sexual

perverseness.

7.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s

non-descript, rat-like

appearance suits the

waiter role. His face and

eyes read as “money

hungry” and “compliant”,

two feature that are

especially necessary to

his enabling an under-

aged girl to get drunk for

her uncle’s pleasure in

exchange for a hefty tip.

8.

Anna Camp’s

nondescript, high school

mean-girl appearance

suits the play’s necessity

for a throwaway high

school girl to make ‘Li’l

Bit’ feel inferior about

her breasts during the

shower scene.

9.

This image represents the

vulnerability that should

be present during the

opening scene between

Hamm and Bilson in the

parked car. The spotlight

represents the pressure on

Bilson to please a

watchful Hamm. The

character’s curled

position represents the

sense of hesitance and

fear that should be

present in regard to the

female character during

this scene.

10.

The too-vivid colors and

pictorial offness of this

dinner scene capture the

insanity of the dinner

scene within the play. The

disbelieving expression

on the man in brown’s

face should be palpable in

Bilson’s character during

the staging of this scene.

The goal is to match the

sinisterness of this photo.

11.

A strong pedophilic sense

of control over ‘Li’l Bit’

should be present in the

photography scene. The

wrongness of the man’s

hand touching the child’s

thigh captures the

disturbingly sexual,

violatory nature of

‘Peck’s’ photoshoot.

12.

The restaurant scene

between Bilson and

Hamm should carry the

same sense of laughter

and lightness as this

photo. Bilson should

reach a state of absolute

comfort and bliss as the

alcohol loosens and

lessens her nerves.

13.

The mixed sense of

darkness and light/

negative and positive/

gratefulness and sadness

within this photo belongs

in the scene of ‘Li’l Bit’s’

recollection of ‘Peck’

after his death. While she

is grateful to have learned

from his example, she is

relieved to be free of his

pedophilic control over

her. In the same way that

this photo is neither

bright, nor dark, ‘Li’l Bit’

should feel neither fully

happy, nor fully sad to be

without ‘Peck.’

14.

The calm gold of this

photo and the bounty of

nature depict the freedom

and pleasure ‘Li’l Bit’

experiences during the

final moment of the play

when she describes her

driving procedurs and,

then, “floor[s] it.”

15.

The implication of carnal

knowledge in this

collection of apples

represents ‘Li’l Bit’s’

acquisition of carnal

knowledge from ‘Peck.’

Sliced open to expose its

secret contents, the

sensation of the apple

(and its implications)

should be detectable in

the private scenes

between Bilson and

Hamm. The apple is

symbolic for their

“student”-“teacher”

physical relationship.

This imagery is especially

useful in the construction

of the how to “drive like a

man” sequence.