{"id":48,"date":"2006-03-22T23:51:00","date_gmt":"2006-03-23T04:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/03\/22\/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-sure-thing\/"},"modified":"2008-02-13T20:58:57","modified_gmt":"2008-02-14T01:58:57","slug":"theres-no-such-thing-as-a-sure-thing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/03\/22\/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-sure-thing\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s no such thing as a “Sure Thing.”"},"content":{"rendered":"

A bit of background information here…. up until college I had been acting all my life.\u00c2\u00a0 Commercials and what not as a child, high school plays, private theatre, the GMU forensic team my freshman year here at GMU, yadda yadda.\u00c2\u00a0 That being said, “Sure Thing” by David Ives<\/em> is a one act that I’ve not only come into contact with (both by reading as well as watching others perform it)\u00c2\u00a0but also acted in myself.\u00c2\u00a0 I think it is safe to say that I might be a bit biased because of this but I feel that Ives has created a work that is such a true reflection of real life.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Without that truth and that brutal honesty, this play wouldn’t have nearly as much impact as it does.\u00c2\u00a0 (Although I will admit that the effect is that much greater when seeing it performed as opposed to simply reading it.)<\/em>\u00c2\u00a0
\nFirst take a look at the characters names: Betty and Bill.\u00c2\u00a0 Typically female and male, they are both names that people can identify with, they do not hint at a certain ethnicity, race, or other background.\u00c2\u00a0 This enables the reader\/viewer to relate to the situation.
\nAlso consider the situation itself.\u00c2\u00a0 Dating and romantic relationships (love in general) are core themes in almost every facet of life.\u00c2\u00a0 We read about it, watch it on tv or in the movies, experience it on our own; and we all struggle with it.\u00c2\u00a0 In any kind of relationship there are awkward moments, things we wish we wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have said, things we wish we had said, and times where we wish we could just pause and rewind.\u00c2\u00a0 Ives acknowledges that and indulges us in that fantasy of being able to undo what we just did wrong.<\/p>\n

In that sense, Ives lets the reader\/viewer live vicariously through his characters in a way.\u00c2\u00a0 He presents us with a common situation and lets it unfold naturally.\u00c2\u00a0 Not that hearing a bell ring and then letting the conversation resume to where it was before things started to go wrong is natural, but the progression of the conversation itself mirrors what we know to be typical.\u00c2\u00a0
\nThe errors and mistakes made on both parts are also humorous.\u00c2\u00a0 This aspect serves many functions.\u00c2\u00a0 First of all, both the male and female character make mistakes, cause the bell to ring, and are allowed to start over.\u00c2\u00a0 This shows that both males and females are equally as awkward in the same situation.\u00c2\u00a0 Furthermore, by filling the situation with humor it takes the focus away from what could be a potentially stressful situation.\u00c2\u00a0 We have all heard the expression \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll look back on that one day and laugh.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Ives allows us to do that as the play progresses.
\nFinally, it allows people to relate.\u00c2\u00a0 It allows for an escape from reality (as does all theatre) but still shows that people are not alone.\u00c2\u00a0 That everyone experiences these situations.\u00c2\u00a0 It allows for wishful thinking and provides the reader with an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153if only\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009d type of reaction.
\nIf only everything were a sure thing.\u00c2\u00a0
\n\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A bit of background information here…. up until college I had been acting all my life.\u00c2\u00a0 Commercials and what not as a child, high school plays, private theatre, the GMU forensic team my freshman year here at GMU, yadda yadda.\u00c2\u00a0 That being said, “Sure Thing” by David Ives is a one act that I’ve not … Continue reading There’s no such thing as a “Sure Thing.”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reflections"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.samplereality.com\/gmu\/spring2006\/325\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}