Cosi Essay Example

Cosi Essay Example Cosi Essay Cosi Essay Act one Scene one: Plot: Lewis along with his girlfriend, Lucy, and his friend, Nick, enter â€Å"a burnt out theatre. † As they struggle to find a light switch they joined by Roy. Lucy leaves and Nick who is frightened joins her. Lewis meets Justin the social worker and then the other members appear. Doug, a pyromaniac, Henry, who says nothing and Zac, a musician. The women join them soon after, Cherry, who is violent, Julie, a drug addict and Ruth, who suffers obsessive compulsive disorder. Lewis is in an unusual situation and doesn’t know what to say to the members.Roy jumps at this opportunity to suggest Cosi Fan Tutti. Roy tries to sell the story but no one shares his enthusiasm. Pg1- â€Å"A burnt out theatre† (mental health system) Pg2- â€Å"This is where I belong: in the theatre† (Roy) (Importance of Art) Pg3- â€Å"Part of this project is to bring out people like Henry† (Importance of Art) Pg5- â€Å"They are normal people who have done e xtraordinary things, thought extraordinary thoughts† (Mental health system) Pg6- â€Å"Go burn a cat† Pg7- â€Å"Detoxed yet† Pg12- â€Å"I prefer this to the ward† (Importance of Art) Act one Scene two:Plot: Lewis auditions the singers, only to find that none of them can sing. Lewis decides that the opera will be done in English. During a lunch break, Lewis listens to a radio interview that Nick gives about the moratorium. â€Å"They’ll want the war to end, they’ll want changes in our society, they’ll want to overthrow the establishment. † Doug continues to ask Lewis personal questions and then reveals the story of burning his mother’s cats. Cherry flirts with Lewis and feeds him a sandwich. Doug suddenly appears and yells there’s a â€Å"fire in the dunnies. Cherry â€Å"throttles him†. Pg15- â€Å"I aim for the stars† Pg16- â€Å"let’s make love not war† (War) Pg17- â€Å"Theyâ€⠄¢ll want the war to end, they’ll want changes in our society, they’ll want to overthrow the establishment. † (War) Pg17- â€Å"to be against the Vietnam war is also to be against the old fossilised government we now have†(War) Pg20- â€Å"If it wasn’t for that damn cat, I wouldn’t be here† Act one Scene three: Plot: After Doug’s fire, Justin announces that the project will be disbanded and blames Doug for the incident. Cherry claims responsibility so that the play can continue.The rehearsals continue only to have more problems. Henry refuses to speak, Zac insists on playing the piano accordion, Ruth becomes obsessed about the coffee and â€Å"how many steps† she needs to take and Roy bangs his head on the floor out of frustration. During a break, Lewis is reading a student newspaper only to be disrupted by Julie. She tells him about her drug addiction and questions him about his love life with Lucy. Cherry enters and for ce feeds Lewis cake. At this point, Doug’s new fire begins to explode and Cherry pulls out her flick knife.Pg22- â€Å"Roy is devastated, as are the others† (Importance of Art) Pg23- â€Å"This experiment was to bring them out of their shells, not to allow them to wreak havoc. † (Importance of Art) Pg23- â€Å"It was me! Doug isn’t to blame. † (Courage) Pg25- â€Å"You believe me that I didn’t start the fire deliberately? † (Trust) Pg27- â€Å"Cosi offers you a chance to do something successful† (importance of Art) Pg33- â€Å"She hates me doing an opera about love and fidelity while thousands of Vietnamese are being killed by American troops. † (War) Pg33- â€Å"I read this stupid libretto, trying to remember the lines. † Pg34- â€Å"It’s urning like a beauty† (Betrayal) Act one Scene four: Plot: Doug has been committed to a closed ward after setting the theatre alight. Julie arrives and talks more about her drug addiction and what the play means to her. â€Å"I like it because I’m doing something. Using up energy. † Cherry arrives and offers her knife to Lewis because Doug has threatened to kill him. Ruth insists that they will have to continue because she has learnt her lines already. Roy announces that Lewis will need to take over Doug’s role in the play. Nick arrives to help with the opera but gets into a fight with Henry about communists.After convincing Henry that he is not a communist, Lewis decides that the characters will instead return disguised as Australian soldiers. Pg35- â€Å"Put in by you-know-who† (Roy feels betrayed by Lewis) Pg36- â€Å"Getting out of my ward. God, how I hate that ward† (Importance of Art) Pg36- â€Å"Cosi gave me something to think about, something to do. † Pg37- â€Å"Lewis is angry with Roy but says nothing. † (Patience) Pg40- â€Å"He’s having shock treatment. Been a bit depressed lately† (Mental Health system) Pg46- â€Å"Jerry, do whatever Nick says. † (Roys trust in Nick) Pg46- â€Å"You support the communists. Yes. † (War) Pg47- â€Å"What’s this about Vietnam?It’s a place somewhere in Asia. There’s a war going on. (mental health system and War) Act two Scene one: Plot: Cherry suggests that they use electro-shock equipment in a scene where Roy rehearses this approach. Zac arrives with a model of the set which is painted plain white and a poster of Mozart in a straightjacket advertising the opera. Roy becomes alarmed because he feels that the production is moving further and further away from his vision. â€Å"I had a dream, Jerry, and it is fading. † Lewis misses the moratorium so that they can rehearse and Henry announces that the women of the opera remind him of his wife.Zac gropes Ruth who responds with hostility. Julie and Lewis exchange a kiss as Cherry looks for them. Suddenly the lights come back on. Pg59- â€Å"Brings back too many memories† (mental health system) Pg61- â€Å"It’s only white walls. May as well be back in our wards† (Mental health system) Pg62- â€Å"A lower dosage. It’s amazing how much more bright the world seems. † (Mental Health system) Pg64- â€Å"Isn’t that the first day of your moratorium? This comes first. † (Lewis’ loyalty) Pg68- â€Å"Julie kisses Lewis. He responds and they kiss passionately† (infidelity)