W;TLauren Metzger, Geralyn Palmer, Matt Christopherson, Narysse Nicolet, Martha Van Den Oever, Jordan Hoy, & Peter Hauck.

Setting

This play takes place in a room at the University Hospital

Comprehensive Cancer Center, a research center

over the course of months current time period

Characters

Vivian-· A 50 year old professor of seventeenth century poetry· very isolated (no relationships with people around her)· Very dedicated to her work· Has a sarcastic, unfeeling natureJason-· A 28 year old clinical fellow· Oblivious to “Bedside manner”, fails to treat people as people· Works under Kelekian, very interested in research and finding out more about cancer· Cocky/Arrogant

Susie-· A 28 year old, primary nurse of Vivian· Very kind and understands importance of kindness· Treats Vivian well and Is compassionate

More Characters Brah

Dr. Kelekian:- 50 year old, chief of medical oncology at hospital- very interested In research, even at the expense of Vivian

E.M. Ashford:- 80 year old professor of Vivian-tries to help Vivian understand not only the comma in place if a semi colon but also to go out and enjoy herself with friends- kind, motherly figure when she visits Vivian in the hospital

Topics- “Kindness” and grace “How the senior scholar ruthlessly denied

her simpering students the touch of human kindness she now seeks” Scene 10

In a hospital surrounded by researches absorbed by intellect, Susie illuminates the idea of human compassion through her interactions with Vivian by caring for Vivian on a more personal level. Through this kindness Susie displays, Vivian is able to find her own awareness and capacity for love.

Topics- Power of Intelligence

“I could draw so much from poems. I could be so powerful.” Scene 7

“I am distinguishing myself in illness.” Scene 9 “So. The young doctor, like the senior scholar,

prefers research to humanity.” Scene 10 Yet as the play and her cancer progress, Vivian

begins to realize that there are limitations to academic pursuits, and there comes a time where the power of intelligence will not provide, but rather human warmth and kindness will.

Motifs- Complexity vs Simplicity “It is not wit, Miss Bearing. It is truth…

Go out. Enjoy yourself with your friends.” Scene 2

“My only defense is the acquisition of vocabulary.” Scene 6

“Now is a time for simplicity. Now is a time for, dare I say it, kindness.” Scene 12

“I don’t understand the question and I’m running out of time.” Scene 13

Images- Vulnerability

“Vivian Bearing walks on the empty stage pushing her IV pole. She is fifty, tall and very thin, barefoot, and completely bald. She wears two hospital gowns- one tied in the front and one tied in the back- a baseball cap, and a hospital ID bracelet.”

“I have a fever of 101 spiking to 104. And I have bone metastases in my pelvis and both femurs. There is cancer eating away at my goddam bones, and I did not know there could be such pain on this earth.” Scene 13

Symbols- Carrot and Popsicle “Vivian, would you like a Popsicle?”

Scene 12 “’Have a carrot,’ said the mother bunny.”

Scene 16

Conflicts Jordan Smells

Vivian Herself Initially, Vivian believes her intellect will be

sufficient enough to allow her to overcome any challenges in life. 

She is internally conflicted when she begins to realize that her intelligence can’t be used to overcome all of life’s obstacles, in this case, cancer. 

This forces her to understand her brokenness and seclusion cannot be soothed by her smarts, but by connection and comfort of others.

More Conflicts No. Guys. Seriously. Smell him.

Vivian & Jason Both bright and rather independent Like Vivian, Jason is not bothered with

building with sound relationships. Exposes Vivian to the treatment she has

possibly shown to others. Jason’s arguably neglectful treatment of

Vivian is partly how Vivian begins to see the error of her ways

Guess what! Conflicts! Am I going to have to be the

one to tell him?

Vivian & Professor Ashford

When Vivian was a student, Professor Ashford disapproves of one of Vivian’s essays. 

The young Vivian fails to realize that her paper is unsatisfactory because she doesn’t get the idea of how important relationships are.

This conflict shows a specific example of Vivian’s largest flaw, which is amplified throughout the book, giving the play much of its meaning.

Main Themes/Position

Themes When it comes down to it, the value of

human interaction is more important than the pursuit of intelligence.

Love will always find everyone, even those who try and run away from it.

Position Edson demonstrates the importance of

human relationships and taking advantage of even the smallest things in life.

Power Scenes

Act I Scene II As the end of this scene nears, Vivian flashes back to

a moment that she shared professor E.M. Ashford when she was still a university student. The power in this scene is found in Vivian's first time exposure to her lack of interpersonal connection. Ashford tells Vivian to "Go out and enjoy [her]self with [her] friends", a concept the Vivian had never previously explored. Despite Vivian's problem being clearly pointed out to her, she is still incapable of grasping what she needs to do in order to become a fully functioning social member of society. It is not until later that the she grasps what Ashford was trying to tell her all along: that in the end human interaction and relationships are more important than the quest for knowledge.

More Power Scenes

Act I Scene XIV One of the most impactful and moving power scenes in this

entire play also happens to be one of the shortest. In this scene Vivian and Susie share their last conversation as Vivian is carried off to sleep by a heavy dose of morphine. This scene is not only powerful in the fact that it is the last scene where Vivian is a fully functional human being, but it is also powerful in the message that it delivers about Vivian's journey to a place of interpersonal emotional understanding. Vivian, in her last moments of coherent conversation, reassures Susie that she is not "dumb" and by lowering herself from the pedestal that her education and self confidence have placed her on. She is no longer "Vivian Bearing Ph.D." she is simply a "teacher". This shift in Vivian's level of emotional understanding works to reinforce the theme that love will always find even those who try to run away from deeper emotions.

Look At All These Power Scenes, Yo Act I Scene XVI In the very final moments of the play, Vivian's character

takes her final steps of her transformation. As the code team backs away from Vivian's dying body she calmly walks into a new world. She is carried away from the life that she lived as an uptight and unhappy person and brought into a point of light and rebirth. While where she is going can be argued, one thing cannot. Vivian Bearing, through the treatment of advanced metastatic ovarian cancer and the slow death that this cancer caused, now ironically understands exactly what it means to live. This final revelation on the part of Vivian successfully highlights the themes of love and connection that are echoed throughout this play. Vivian has learned her final lesson. She has passed her test.

Quotes

Vivian: I am waiting for the moment when someone asks me this

question and I am dead. It is not my intention to give away the plot; but I think I die at

the end. Give me the full dose, the full dose every time. Lucy, Countess of Bedford. It has always been my custom to treat words with respect. I admire only the studied application of wit, no its spontaneous

eruption. I am a scholar. Or I was when I had shoes, when I had eyebrows. Now is a time for, dare I say it, kindness. What we have come to think of me is, in fact, just the specimen

jar.

Quotes

Jason: No way. Full dose. She's tough. She can

take it. I really have not got time for this... Colossal waste of time for researchers. She wasn’t exactly a cupcake. She’s Research!

Humor/Satire

Technician 2: Name. Vivian: Lucy, Countess of Bedford. Technician 2: I don’t see it here. Vivian: My name is Vivian Bearing. B-E-A-R-I-N-G. Dr. Kelekian is my doctor.”Vivian is still able to find humor in a dark setting. Also humorous because the technician is so gullible.