Seascape -- by Edward Albee (1975)

Description
Charlie and Nancy are at a beach. A jet flies over the beach several times throughout the play to serve as a multipurpose deus ex machina. They debate their future until two lizards, Leslie and Sarah, intervene. As the humans communicate with the lizards, a deeper appreciation for the human condition is reached. Gotta love Albee.

Here is Playbill.com's summary: "Edward Albee, in his second Pulitzer Prize-winning play, has a day at the beach, investigating the communication between couples — one, a pair of middle-aged American humans contemplating retirement; the other, a male and female lizard tiring of the sea and considering a landlocked life."

Candid Reaction

• Albee automatically presents the problems with utopian living. 
• There are echoes of George and Martha as Nancy tells Charlie that she will force him to make up his own mind. The paradox is wonderfully absurd. 
• Albee continues to pour on the e.e. cummings/T.S. Eliot ironical language as Nancy insists that Charlie will "not do nothing" (9). 
• One of my favorite lines from The Music Man is, "Pile up enough tomorrows and you'll find you've collected nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays." Nancy provides a variation of this sentiment by saying, "continue the temporary and it becomes forever" (12). 
• I love when short lines can pack such a big punch. For instance, Charlie argues, "There's no coves; it's all open beach" (17). Here, he explains his yearning for privacy and isolation which is fueled by self-consciousness. 
• Ah, yes. The old debate over reliving the past versus remember the past. 
• To divorce "is to become 18 again" (23)? Interesting assertion. 
• Nancy slams Charlie when she notes, "Now we've got each other and some time and all you want to do is become a vegetable" (37). Albee's focus on aging intensifies here. 
• The interactions between Nancy and Charlie at the end of Act One are both hilarious and transcendental. 
• Act Two really amps up the absurdity factor. While Charlie and Nancy educate Leslie and Sarah, they rediscover themselves. The process is fascinating to observe. 
• I don't know why I found the phrase "the fatal sandwich" (104) so funny. 
• So Albee is going to cover evolution, too! He has bitten off so much, but he chews it with finesse -- never thought I'd write that sentence!
• Consciousness of the human condition and mortality sobers all of the characters.
• The final exchange between Leslie and Charlie is breathtaking.     

Top Two Aspects/Reasons for Winning
1. Absurd Reality

Albee is heralded as one of the most prolific American playwrights. His mastery of penning and staging absurd theater is unrivaled. In Seascape, he allows the audience or reader to examine their philosophical beliefs and appreciation of the human condition through creating a conversation between humans and lizards. The genius is that Albee helps the audience enter into the conversation without a biased vantage point. Instead, Albee distracts the reader into a deep conversation. The material is not preachy, although the characters are didactic in their communication with each other. The human condition is more easily observed objectively through the means of an absurd situation.

2. -isms Attacked 

Albee tackles sexism, discrimination, and ageism in the play. Most prominent is his dialogue regarding behavior of aging individuals. How are humans to behave once they have entered old age?

Classroom Implications
I feel like the piece could possibly be enjoyed by enriched/AP level high school students. Perhaps it could be included in a unit on absurdist literature with "The Metamorphosis" and Waiting for Godot. I believe there could be a worthwhile discussion on foils. It would be a change of pace for the students because it is so blatantly absurd.  

Personal Takeaway

Theater of the absurd deserves recognition as an effective art form.

Ranking

	Dialogue	Characters	Plot/Conflict	Symbol/Literary Devices	Overall Enjoyment	TOTAL SCORE 8.5
0	Unfollowable; unrealistic; diction does not match character	Undeveloped; does not reflect humanity	Not engaging; predictable; reader can step away from text because it isn’t gripping	Devices are apparent for cleverness and do not enhance the story	Reader has no interest in re-reading play
1	Not consistently realistic	Well-developed; most depictions reflect humanity	Semi-engaging; some unnecessary plot-points (1.5)	Devices somewhat enhance story (1.5)	Reader would re-read with pleasure and reminded of work
2	Realistic; connotative; diction matches characters (1.75)	Fully-developed; depictions reflect humanity (2)	Engaging; unique; reader finds it impossible to put down text because the conflict is so gripping!	Devices seamlessly enhance the story and provide rich interpretation	Reader would re-read the play on own volition, enthusiastically (1.75)