Luty 1

Jordan Luty

8 Apr. 2016

Jeff Farber

Acting II

Final Scene Written Analysis #2

Section 2.1:

In my acting scene from Nice People Dancing to Good Country Music, there exist five

main actions:

1) Catherine Bemoans the State of the World

Opening the scene, Catherine and Roy have been left alone. Jason has just been

emotionally badgering Catherine, and she wants to escape. However, Roy appears and tries to

square dance Catherines dancing squares, if you know what I mean. Catherine, in response to

this and Jason, begins to explode. She thinks back to her past, going into the nunnery as well as

her childhood. She states, When I was a little girl, I was offended by human beings (53). Shes

reaching into her past to look at the facades shes placed since then. She hated human beings so

much as child, yet she entered into a life with the literal opposite implications. Becoming a nun

for her wasnt to escape a facade; it was to enter into one. She states, I wasnt attracted to God, I

was repelled by the world He made (54). She entered the convent to avoid ourin her

opiniondystopian and selfish society.

2) Catherine Deliberately Offends Roy

This motion evolves into a sense of anger at Roy. After all, HES part of the problem

with the world. Catherine states, A stupid act will destroy the world someday (54). This

whole time, shes been thinking about how incompetent, immature, and naive that she believes
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Roy to be. This culminates in Catherine screaming out, Youre stupid! (54). She knows this

does nothing but harm him, and yet she continues talking. Roy reacts initially and then decides

theres no hope in trying to prove her wrong. In fact, he tells Catherine that he doesnt read the

interesting parts of the papers, saying he only does the crossword puzzles.

3) Roy Flirts

After a bit, Roy decides that Catherines entire problem is that she puts too much weight

in negativity. He observes that his stupidity to the world is actually just a blind facade. He

knows of the wars and depressing aspects of humanity that Catherine is referencing, but he

believes in the now. Thus, he completely shifts the tonality of the scene with his line, Are you

a virgin? (55). Everything before this scene has been very negative and upsetting. It has had

Catherine all worked up, and Roy has been rather mute. Now, he wants to show her the beauty of

the world, however selfish that may be.

4) Roy kisses Catherine

Some would assume that this belongs in the flirting section, but this kiss truly changes the

mood of the scene. Roy has been mute and very one-sided throughout the scene. Any long lines

hes had have been about others realities. He hasnt talked about himself or shown any of his

actual character depth, of which he has a myriad. I dont even mind if you think Im stupid, as

long as you liked kissing me (55-56). He shows his actual perception of the world: one that is

completely opposite of Catherines. At some points, it seems hes agreeing with Catherines way

of the world. Houston is stupid, he states (55). However, he says it with such admiration and

wonder that it seems positively exuberant.

5) Catherine has Tourette Syndrome

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As a result of this conflicting world view, Catherines facade deteriorates (as Roy has just

undergone). Because of this, her worldsher overarching, negative perception of the holistic

world and her intimate relationship with the Nice People barcollide. This results in an extreme

mental confusion for her, and she suffers Tourettes as a result.

These five actions perfectly display the quintessential conflict of the play: Veiled Human

Facades vs Worldly Reality. After all, Catherine and Roy both have facades in place during the

scene. Throughout the entire play, every character experiences their own sense of dissatisfaction.

This derives from the emotional and southern ideologically influenced fronts that every

character has emplaced. These facades show the simplicity of life in the South but also display

the struggles and bigotry that each southerner faces. Encrypted within the plays text is a

gargantuan amount of social commentary that is pushed aside with the statement that appears in

its title. They are nice people, but the niceness is all a semblance of an unpleasant underly.

Section 2.2:

While the conflict of the play remains Veiled Human Facades vs Worldly Reality, the scene has

a smaller, more precise dispute. Catherine and Roy see the world in different ways. Their two

ideologies epitomize their conflict: Pessimism vs Optimism. After both Roy and Catherine

deconstruct their facades, their remaining perceptions can be taken quite literally. Catherine

speaks of stupidity, selfishness, and agnosticism, while Roy marvels in wonder, content

ignorance, and romanticism. Quite obviously, both can see the others theories but reject them.

Catherine says outright, To witness even one act of cruelty or anger or laziness is like like

being loved (54). Similarly, Roy states, I dont care if Houston is stupid The city dont know

what its doing anymore Guess thats about as stupid as you can get (55). Truly, these

characters clash in state of mind, which epitomizes the conflict of the scene.
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Section 2.3:

Much of this scene is self explanatory, for a formidable amount of it is motivated backstory.

Catherine speaks of her history with the convent, and Roy speaks of his job as a trench digger

(53-55). However, there is some helpful information. Pages 21-23 are valuable information,

stating why Roy feels the desire for Catherine. He wants more out of life than simply being a

ditch digger. Also, it helps to understand Catherines history with the nunnery and why she was

kicked out. She speaks to Eve about this from pages 38 to 43. This simply gives background on

their relationship and the nature of their meeting. To do the scene, though, no information is truly

required, but background on the two characters and their current situations isof course

beneficial.

Section 2.4:

This scene is not only a romantic ploy for two characters; it completely changes Catherine and

displays the sublime ignorance that infiltrates the South. Catherine has put so much effort into

living and being cognitive of the world around her that she has neglected her own life. She states,

I know what my problem with the world is Im trying to understand the world. Thats my

problem Im going to sit here and stare at Houston I mean, why should the world explain

itself to me? (61). She doesnt have to read the papers to understand her current situation, her

current livelihood. It exists in her interactions and relationships, and Roy has shown that to her.
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Works Cited

Blessing, Lee. Nice People Dancing to Good Country Music. New York: Dramatists Play

Service

Inc., 1982. Print.