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Kristina Halvorson’s “Now We’re Getting Somewhere”, is about a woman named Jen who is seemingly unhappy about the confines of her workplace. This is especially evident in her strained relationship to her coworkers. In her dissatisfaction with Elaine’s lateness and Jack’s inability to have common decency in his work schedule, we begin to see Jen as a person who is unhappy, but relatable. We can share her strive for something better and reflect on times we too have become bottled up in our own mediocrity. This play embodies a certain amount of discontentment with one’s own person, and does this by using a short altercation between a few normal people from everyday life. Jack represents the common lifestyle, the monotony of it all. While Bethany can be seen as a supporting character, I feel she is much more prominent than what meets the eye. She encompasses passion, and even though she is only mentioned by Jen once in a significant manner, she is really giving an insight into what she wants for herself and what all people should strive for. A sense of purpose. This entire fight between Jen and Jack and Elaine is all for Jen in an aspect because Jen needs to find peace with herself in this long endless feeling of helplessness that is her job. Thus, Halvorson relates the message to her title and brings the entire play together into one cohesive piece.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Campos
This play was captivating due to the realistic workplace that we'll all experience after college. Jen and Bethany represent us ten years from now young, ambitious and starting to experience the real world. The workplace is a good setting due to its realistic atmosphere. there are people who work with a passion like Jen and Bethany, there are people who work with little passion like Jack and there are people who don't take a stand to fix the situation like Elaine. This setting gives the audience a glimpse of an argument between all three personalities in an average work discussion. I believe that the reason the writer decided to use a telecommunications company as the workplace of the play in order to appeal to average Joe's. Many people see sale's careers as bland and boring however this play showed the intricacies of such a work space. This leads the audience to become captivated by the discussion between co-workers. I believe that the theme of this play is confidence. This is proven by Jen standing up to Jack over his incompetence at work and Elaine over her laziness. Also she was confident enough to tell Jack all the reasons Bethany is a better employee than him. These examples support the them by showing a woman being confident enough to stand up to her employee and boss and berate them for their wrong doings.
ReplyDeleteKatia Garcia
The play “Now We’re Getting Somewhere” by Kristina Halvorson follows the life of an unhappy Jen at her job in a telecommunications company. Jen struggles with insecurities about her medicrity and gets upset at her coworker for not allowing people to speak their minds to their co-worker Jack who makes her job harder as not only does he poorly communicate, but his lack of passion, and his indifference about his lack of passion upsets Jen. I love how the author wrote the characters as employees in a telecommunications for ironic effect, as there was a clear lack in communications as stated in page 315.
ReplyDeleteRicardo Garcia
In "Now We're Really Getting Somewhere" by Kristina Halvorson we're given a glimpse into a work environment that contains a few characters that have issues with each other. This play was very interesting because it's very relatable, and I feel that many people struggle with situations like this on a daily basis. I really liked the dialogue in this play because I was able to gather a bit of information that can help me find out who the characters are. I really enjoyed that at first it was a basic conversation,and then when the meeting began that was when everything turned into shambles. I thought it was very clever to have made the most unhappy character cause a scene and stand up for herself and what she feels. I love the conflict in this because it made it very interesting to read especially the fact that workers weren't doing anything wrong. This allowed me to develop my own opinion on these characters by the way that they responded, and I could feel their frustration by the way that the dialogue was organized. The fact that this play contained very relatable issues is what made it appeal to me more because it made me think that maybe this is how employees feel when they're in a business like this. It was very interesting how they made everyone unhappy with their job. For example, when Jack said, " I sell telecommunications equipment to companies with two hundred and fifty employees or less. There's only so much to get excited about there." gave me the perfect amount of insight I needed to infer how he felt about his job.
ReplyDeleteLianna Andrade
‘Now We’re Really Getting Somewhere’ by Kristina Halvorson is surprisingly real, so much so that by the end of the play all I thought was literally, “Oof”. After reading through the character descriptions, I thought Bethany would be the one to break down instead of Jen. I think Jen and Bethany’s characters are extremely human. These are people right now, people we have a chance of becoming. They’re both unhappy where they are but they handle it differently. Bethany tries to fight that unhappiness by using every opportunity she helps someone as something to be joyful about. She helped someone, she made a difference. Jen doesn’t feel this. She doesn’t feel inspired or thinks what she does makes a difference. She knows there needs to be a change and addresses the situation but is met with resistance. Her last line is something that all of us can relate to. We try our best everyday but no matter what happens, we have to pick ourselves back up to face the same fight over and over again. I love these two characters. On the opposite side of the play, I can’t stand Jack and Elaine. I had low expectations of Jack from how the ladies talked about him before he entered, but Elaine was someone I thought was going to be one of the “good guys”. Elaine walks on eggshells to avoid angering people but that only works out well for her. The workers on the other hand are stuck in the same place they were yesterday. She's trying her best in general, I know, but so is everyone else. More so than her, I think. They’re all real people and this play gives us a look into what’s probably happening in these workplaces every other day.
ReplyDeleteTeresa Villarreal
“Now We’re Really Getting Somewhere” by Kristina Halvorson is a ten-minute play depicting three women and one man having a conference room meeting at a telecommunications workplace. Right away we see the pessimistic outlook of Jen, contrasted with Bethany, her coworker, who is trying to get her to see the bright side of their job, even though their boss and the salesman are not up to company standards. Elaine, the team leader’s, solution to Jen’s complaint about the salesman, is to ask him, “What could we do to help make you as effective as possible at what you do?” (313). While Elaine’s question is typical of the nonpartisan approach of many bosses, I was confused why she didn’t feel more boldness to call out the salesman’s poor work ethic – what does she have to lose? I wondered if maybe she and Jack were friends outside of work, or something else about their relationship could be implied. Jen changes the tune of her original complaint on page 315 when she says, “Bethany is convinced Jack is the problem…but it’s really you,” to Elaine. The tone shifts at this point when Jen starts to realize that Elaine is really the one, not Jack, who holds back the work of the company, by not addressing issues and choosing to roll on as if there were never a problem that may need confronting. Jen concludes the play with the repeated line, “I’m doing the best that I can” (316), which seems to imply the answer to the dramatic question: doing the best one can is the only solution to coping at work, and some coworkers don’t do all that they can, which creates the issues in the first place.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Roeglin
In Kristina Halvorson's "Now We're Getting Somewhere" we get to experience what it is like to work amongst telecommunications through four different characters: Jen, Bethany, Elaine, and Jack. Both Jen and Bethany are unhappy with how things are panning out in their workspace. Elaine is their supervisor who is obviously just working towards making everyone happy and making sure the workspace is friendly and happy, not really caring if someone is unhappy in their work. Jack is just there to do his job, honestly. Once Jack is called into the conference we saw how Elaine is trying to make the conversation friendly, but Bethany and Jen were not having it and trying to find ways to tell Jack he needs to put more effort into his work. There is then a transition and this shifts more into a conversation int wanting to contribute more at work and feel like you're actually making a change. I struggle and relate this a lot because I am in this place right now where I want to do something in my life that creates a real, long lasting impact somewhere. I can relate so much to Jen because I don't want to settle for mediocre work and effort. I can feel how dramatic the ending is on page 316 when she repeatedly says "i'm doing the best I can." seemingly to make it stick in her head because that is what she has to deal with in this situation- settling. It's a harsh reality when you realize you can't do much even when you want more out of something for yourself and your environment.
ReplyDelete-Faith Ortiz
“Now We’re Really Getting Somewhere” by Kristina Halvorson is a phenomenal piece of work that follows the work exchange of four co-workers who are unmistakably unhappy with their work environment, as well as their peers. Halvorson shows the reader four different characters who are in the prime of their life, yet completely miserable with their 9-5. Jen is the star of the play and kicks things off by blatantly showing her animosity towards Jack, the salesman, and then her target shifts towards Elaine, who is the team leader. Both Jen and Bethany have separate moments where they publicly speak of their dislike for how Jack runs the sales department because he doesn’t include them in the way they would like. Both women openly show passion for their job even if seems as if they hate what they do. At one-point Jen argues that Jack has no passion for what he does and gives an example of how Bethany is passionate about what she does. She notes that there is a difference between getting things done and helping others because of the willingness to be good at one’s job. This play is a great example, and I think testament, to follow what you’re passionate about because in the end your job won’t feel like work. These four people are so unhappy, resulting in making others miserable too, that everyone becomes despondent over the course of their career which leads to disrespect and outbursts. These four characters are real people, there is no denying that we’ve either seen this attitude or have felt this way in the workplace, and Halvorson does not shy away from her character’s honesty over what is happening. This play is honest, and I can feel the frustration that radiates off of the page. The dialogue easily flowed from beginning to end, and I enjoyed every part of it.
ReplyDeleteKimberlee Salas
In the play called “Now We’re Really Getting Somewhere” by Kristina Halvorson, Jane and Bethany are not happy with the way things are going at her work. Even though their boss Elaine has set up a meeting to work things out with their co-worker Jack, the situation doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I like how the setting is based at an office in today’s time because if we haven’t already, we might face a situation like this one where we don’t get along with other co-workers. Elaine is very relatable in this play because it gets to a point where sometimes you just want to ignore the problems that are going on around you to not stress out. You can hear Bethany and Jen’s frustration just through the dialogue itself. The way the characters talk to each other gave me an idea of how they get along at work and the attitude they have towards each other. At the end of the play, Jen tells Elaine that she doesn’t respect her and everybody walks out of the conference room without saying anything, and Jen is left saying that she is doing her best like if she’s about ready to quit.
ReplyDeleteFrancisco Rosales
Kristina Halvorson’s “Now We’re Getting Somewhere” shows the frustrating parts of working at times the main character is Jen a girl who is not very satisfied with life and expresses that she does not like another character Elaine lateness. While Bethanie attempts to reassure her that things get better Jen just cannot stand for the work environment she is in. Eventually Jen snaps and tells Jack that he is incompetent and tells Elaine she does not respect her. Leaving Jen alone telling herself “I’m doing the best I can” (316) repeatedly just trying to get through everything even though she is not happy with what she is doing. The play is very realistic which I liked because it feels that in some point in time we may have gone through that situation or frustration in the work environment. I enjoyed the dialogue it was easy reading to follow along and kept me entertained I figured Bethany would have told Jack off not Jen which was a nice twist for me. But the surprise Jen telling Elaine that she did not respect her what a great part of the play. It was very satisfying to read that.
ReplyDeleteAndi Rubalcava
In the play, "Now We're Really Getting Somewhere", the characters Bethany and Jen begin to challenge the status quo and the definitions of success and unity in their company. The play is set to take place at a conference table, with office supplies and files which are brought into the meeting (but are never actually used?) The women in this play are similar, yet so different in their perspective of their jobs and purpose. While Elaine is a "yes man", subservient to Jack, the salesperson whose ego is as large as life. While Jack is so immersed in his superiority, Jen is NOT having it. Jen's cynical nature allows her to see beyond the perception of unity and teamwork to see that her job is not appreciated, that she is not appreciated, and that for all the hard work they do, they will only be stagnant, never moving forward. Jen understands her nature, accepts it, but does not accept that her job will not have passion or value. She is angered by the fact that an Elaine is working hard to please an incompetent salesman rather than to address the issued which her employees are facing. Jen is moving the conversation forwards, and is taking no prisoners.
ReplyDelete- Jose Montoya
After reading “Now We’re Really Getting Somewhere” by Kristina Halvorson, I felt like I could relate to the characters Jen and Bethany. I think we all have that one coworker we hate because they don’t do what they’re supposed to at work and while reading this play... I was thinking about one of my coworkers.
ReplyDeleteI really liked that this play was so relatable, and I really enjoyed Jen’s character for some reason. She was kind of just like “Yeah, whatever” at some points until she goes to speak her mind against Elaine her “team leader” and a guy who works in sales. Bethany and Jen are a part of customer support and they both feel like the guy who works in sales sucks because he doesn’t really do anything to help them out. I hated Elaine’s character though, she’s like the typical boss who wants the work environment to be perfect, with little to no confrontation and Jen seems to call her out on her little façade.
The play was also well structured and very comical in my opinion. I liked it and I feel like I would be able to actually sit through a play like this.
Ilene Guevara
In the play "Now We're really getting somewhere" Throughout reading the beginning of the story I thought the girls were going to have a problem with their co worker jack. Elaine tells Bethany and Jen that she has invited jack to their usual Monday meetings. The girls feel the need to tell Jack about the issues they have, but would rather not tell him. Throughout the whole conversation Bethany feels that since they're customer support that they should be given the same information that Jack gives the customers so that they could better assist the customers. The conversation takes a huge turn when the girls give their sides of the story to jack about how they feel and rather acknowledging what they had to say he just saw the time and walked out. Elaine seems like the type of character who rather than facing the problem she will just agree to what everyone says so no one will get after her from not agreeing with them.
ReplyDelete-krystdamayne Guerrero
Every character in this play fulfills their own variation of the status quo: Bethany’s, to dissuade negativity from the workplace, to prevent it from impacting her sad attempts at staying optimistic; Elaine’s, to function as the leader within their group under the pretense that communication and a lacking of tension equates to productivity; Jack’s, to complete the work given to him by all costs, without much attention given to anything outside of its completion; finally, Jen’s, to convince herself that everything she’s done has some meaning, some productivity. Every single character deceives themselves in some manner, so much that it hampers productivity: Bethany’s is an obvious one, as she attempts to stay optimistic over the hypothetical “worst,” when it is an excuse to justify her struggle with a neglectful staff and workplace; Elaine is burdened with the role of leadership, and sees her work as a means of mediating a democratic setting amongst the members, though her work is flawed as simply mediating is not necessary leading, as the conflicts presented in this play do not work out in any form of reconciliation; Jack is negligent toward his peers’ emotional state, and has convinced himself that he is uninvolved with their affairs - at worst, he is narcissistic; at best, apathetic; for Jen, she is dissatisfied with herself, up to being petty, and is willing to project her frustrations onto her peers.
ReplyDeleteI would say for this play, the themes present are productivity, the insecurities that prevent productivity, and the self-deceptions we hold over ourselves. What I find interesting about this play is that every character has some merit of ambiguity within the workplace, as we, the readers, are only an outsider in this presented setting. The setting is left ambiguous, and it is up to our knowledge of the characters to interpret if any of their words hold truth of what they believe their workplace actually is. This is the strong point of the play: a matter of perspective.
- Gary Tolar
The play Now We’re Really Getting Somewhere by Kristina Halvoraon was very interesting to read because of how realistic the setting and dialogue was for the readers. I don’t enjoy Jens character in the beginning because of how negative she is but towards the end I realize she is simply unhappy with her life and basically snaps when she tells off Elaine about her incompetence of handling her job. I enjoy her at the end because she spits out the reality of the issues in her working environment and I respect and admire that she was able to do so, because clearly Bethany might not had when elaine on page 314 tried concluding the conversation. I enjoy the play all together because of its simplicity and realness.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Ruiz
Upon reading “Now We’re Really Getting Somewhere” by Kristina Halvorson” I was incredibly interested with the title. I thought it might be about some sort of eureka moment, or positive progression in a relationship. The vast amount of characters allowed the play to have more movement, more than what “Trash Anthem” had. In this play there is conflict and tension amongst the coworkers. They seemed to be looking for someone to put their faults on throughout most of the play. The conversation between Jen and Bethany sounded very natural. I enjoyed reading the beginning because it was easy to relate to the language; I immediately was able to follow along. I enjoyed how the author included actions, while also including what the other characters thought about these actions. I thought that the stage directions were well thought out, and easy to follow. In this play, I noticed many social issues being brought up. Issues such as feminism, and workplace issues that include speaking up for your rights, and then getting fired because of it. I think many people can really relate to this, due to the fact that we are human and find others irritable at times. I do not like how I couldn't find how the title and play correlated.
ReplyDeleteValerie Jackson