Summer of the seventeenth doll

ESSAY: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

Good morning my cast and crew. The play we are preparing to perform in a few months time is ‘Summer of the Seventeenth Doll’. It deals with the clash between dreams and reality and many dramatic techniques need to be considered in our production. The plot, setting, characterization, symbolism and costume are all used to convey the main theme in the play, Dreams Vs Reality.

The play is set in the 1950’s era. For the past sixteen years sugarcane cutters Roo and Barney travel to Melbourne during their five month lay-off season to carry on the tradition of returning to meet the girls. Barmaids Olive and Nancy wait for the arrival of the boys but things are different for the seventeenth summer, Nancy has left to get married. Olive tries hard to maintain the dream of the past sixteen years but reality invades and things start to change.

The play opens with a set full of colour and activity, provided by the sixteen dolls, bright colours of ...