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Adam Kraar’s “Love on the B-Line” is centered on a couple, Marie and Robbie, and Robbie wants her to stay the night even though it is obvious she does not want to. I think this play depicts how much easier it is for people to look past boundaries than to respect them. This is especially evident in Robbie’s disregard for Marie’s personal circumstances, practically forcing her into staying the night. This play allows us to ask important questions throughout the play that concern Marie and also Robbie. Why does Robbie want her to stay so bad? Is his “love” for her the only motive? Can we question his love for her? I wonder if he really loves Marie truly because he never once considers her to be the cause for why she can’t go, and instead focuses on himself. It’s not until the very end that they are on the brink of a break-up, and she spills her guts out to him, that he realizes how shallow he is being in his wish. I wonder if he says it is okay out of love or out of insecurity. I don’t know exactly why he is so adamant about her staying over, but it leads me to believe at the very least that he is dependent on what little relationship they have.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Campos
Adam Kraar’s ten-minute play “Love on the B-Line” depicts a couple in their late twenties waiting for a subway train in Brooklyn. They dialogue with each other about how Robbie wants Marie to spend the night at his place, and she turns him down repeatedly, finally offering an explanation at his behest. I felt the tension throughout this play, of both Marie and Robbie wanting to be with each other, evidenced by her repeatedly kissing him, and he pleading with her to spend the night with him, but at the same time, each of them putting the other off: Marie not willing to go sleep with him, and he not responding to her affectionate overtures. A “B Line” according to the urban dictionary, originates with honeybees gathering nectar and then making a straight line back to the hive when they are done – when someone is in a hurry, they are said to make a B-line. The couple are truly experiencing love while in route: Marie back to her home after being with Robbie, and in the world, and he wanting to hurry and get her into bed. These are their “b-lines.” The play concludes with both in hand, taking the route back to her place where Robbie will drop her off like he always has.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Roeglin
“Love on the B-Line” by Adam Kraar, is about a couple’s long distance relationship. The play is staged on an elevated station in Brooklyn, a location in which they go separate ways each time they visit each other. In this play, Robbie wants Marie to stay with him, and is persistent about it. Marie is hesitant about staying, and offers him the excuse that she has to feed her cat. We later discover that there is a deeper reason why she is afraid of staying with him. The setting of this story was very significant, because it is a place where they have to say their goodbye’s. I did not like how Marie slapped Robbie when she smoked the cigarette, but I do not support Robbie in taking the cigarettes out of her mouth and nose. She should be able to be in control of her body and the decisions she makes, and the fact that Robbie said “it’s not attractive” kind of upset me even further. They were both frustrated, which caused them to do and say things that were uncalled for, but not excusable. I found this play to be extremely relatable because I have participated in a long term relationship. Emotions peak when you say goodbye, so I definitely felt the conflicting and intense emotions in this play.
ReplyDeleteValerie Jackson
In the play “Love on the B-line” by Adam Kraar, Robbie is having an argument with her girlfriend Marie while he is taking her home by train. He is trying to get her to spend the night at his place, but she is giving him excuse after excuse. After a while, Marie decides to tell him the real reason why she doesn’t stay over. Something that stood out to me about this play was the comedic side to it. It’s funny and sometimes a play needs something like that to keep the audience entertained. As the play escalates, so do the emotions of both Marie and Robbie and it seems like they are going to break up for a moment. You can feel the frustration in Robbie’s dialogue and for a moment it seems like Marie is being sarcastic and making fun of Robbie and his frustrations. Towards the end of the play, they seem to make peace and can be seen happy again. It was daring for Adam Kraar to have the setting of the play be in a train. You must include sound and movement to depict the feeling of being at the train station and experiencing the actual train ride. In the YouTube video of the play, they did a good job of including all these elements and made it a pleasant experience to watch.
ReplyDeleteFrancisco Rosales
My first thought when I finished reading "Love on the B-line" by Adam Kraar was, "I'm confused." They seemed so in love and then things changed in a second because of one thing. Staying over at the person you love's home is very sweet and loving, so I understand Robbie's point of view in that sense. But when Marie started putting cigarettes in her mouth, I also understood her point of view. Feeling like you've lost something or someone so important to you makes you lose yourself. It's like Robbie helped Marie stay sane, happy. What made me confused, however, was the ending. I know there's some sort of meaning there, but I'm having trouble figuring it out. I hope we can discuss the ending in class and figure out the meaning of it.
ReplyDeleteSidney Carranco
When reading “Love on the B-Line” by Adam Kraar, I was confused at first. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t know why Marie was acting the way she was acting. I thought she would end up being a crazy character due to her flamboyancy and randomness. It wasn’t until the middle- close to the ending- of the play that I started to grasp what was really going on. The character Marie seems to have some commitment issues, she kind of goes into a brief explanation (on page 321) of why she is the way she is and I assume that she is telling Robbie that she doesn’t want to say “it” and I think what she doesn’t want to say is “I love you” and also that’s why she doesn’t want to stay over with him because she doesn’t want to get too close. It has me believing that she might have gotten her heart broken before by someone and went through a depressive phase and ever since then, she has commitment issues that led her to having Robbie feel sort of frustrated in a way. As we can see by the end of the play that they seem to patch things up after Marie gives her explanation on what has happened to her and why she doesn’t want to go back to that place (or feeling the way she felt) again.
ReplyDeleteIlene Guevara
In the play "Love on the B-Line" by Adam Kraar, we are given a scene of a couple that is in love. The whole entire play Robbie is trying to get his girlfriend Marie to stay over at his house, but she keeps saying no. He isn't being very understanding and instead starts to think maybe her family doesn't accept him as her boyfriend, or that she doesn't love him as much as he does. In her mind she is thinking something much deeper than just not wanting to stay over which is what she says later in the play. After Robbie saying he wasn't going to accept their relationship if she didn't stay over, and this causes Marie to expose all her insecurities as well as her secrets. I really liked how you can sense the love in this relationship by the stage directions that are in this play. I like how we are able to be given a little piece of Marie by how she chose to expose all to him because she loved him. I felt that towards the end Robbie accepted Marie's answer because he realized his reason was far less important than hers was. He felt shameful at making her say her lowest moments and darkest secrets. At the same time I really enjoyed how at the end of the play they both came together and strengthened their relationship by accepting each others reasons and flaws.
ReplyDeleteLianna Andrade
Adam Kraar’s “Love on the B-Line” is about a couple in their late twenties who are fresh in their relationship. They obviously admire one another, especially considering that Marie has already introduced Robbie to her family. An issue arises when Robbie asks Marie to spend the night at his house and she comes up with the excuse that she has to feed her cat therefore, she cannot stay. This upsets Robbie because he feels like he will have a better night’s rest if she is at his side. He keeps asking because all he wants is an honest answer out of her, but instead she distracts him by singing a song. When he startles awake, he pleads one last time and when she doesn’t reply like how he would like he entertains the option of breaking up with her. This angers her, and Marie takes out a pack of cigarettes which she then proceeds to light up and smoke. Robbie finds this act disgusting and he tells her so. She looks into his eyes and can’t help the overwhelming feelings that bubble up inside as she looks at the man she loves. In a quick string of dialogue Marie begins to tell Robbie the real reason why she won’t spend the night at his house. In the end, the audience learns that she would begin to feel stuck if they took the next step in their relationship. She tells Robbie that she had previously been “stuck in a cage” because of someone from her past, and she doesn’t want to repeat past mistakes. Robbie finally understands her hesitance and acknowledges that it is okay if they take their time before sleep overs.
ReplyDeleteThis play is centered around fear and hesitance, and although I feel that it doesn’t flow in a natural way, the idea is present and there is a distinct beginning, middle, and end. I didn’t get the sense that the characters are a match for each other, but perhaps I should revisit the video in which the two actors act out the play. I liked how the stage directions were simple and everything was straight forward and concluded with a definite end.
Kimberlee Salas
In Adam Kraar's "Love on the B-Line" we're introduced to what seems like a still fresh couple named Robbie and Marie. The conflict between the two is that Robbie wants for Marie to stay over at his place, but she keeps throwing excuses his way for her not to stay such as feeding her cat because only he abides by her. I found Robbie pushy when he kept asking her as he didn't seem to respect her decision. I'm a really firm believer of no means no and that really didn't seem to register until the ending when she gave the real reason for not staying. Her reason being she didn't want to stay stuck in a cage meaning her past relationship(s) waiting for someone to come back to her. This is why I found it understandable for her changing the subject (317-318) because she would take care of guys so well and give them so much of her love to the point she forgot who she was and forgot herself (321). This is when Robbie finally understood why she won't stay over and respects her decision because his reasoning becomes to small compared to hers which is a lot deeper and insecure. He even takes it upon himself to tell her the story about the time she got caught smoking in school, and I think he does this to allow her to find comfort in him again after their argument.
ReplyDelete-Faith Ortiz
DeleteIn the play by Adam Kraar “Love on the B-Line” shows the argument between Marie and Robbie about a train ride home while Robbie does not want her to go Marie insist that he she needs to go. Marie finally gives Robbie the real reason why she cannot stay because she does not want to lose herself. Robbie said he understands and would ride the train forever for her. Over all I did not like this play I found myself getting annoyed with Marie and the way she would just be sarcastic and would avoid the question until the end where she finally tells him why. I am not too sure why I kept finding myself annoyed but I did enjoy the dialogue between everything was easy to read and with the stage directions it was good. The video also helped me understand the play just seeing how it was acted out. Both the actors gave good performances and just seeing it acted out with a set was great.
ReplyDeleteAndi Rubalcava
"Love on the B-Line" by Adam Kraar is about a couple's long distance relationship. The setting is an elevated station in Brooklyn. The setting is important because its a safe space where the characters can talk to each other without being interrupted. this sort of safe space is very common in romantic relationships such as group chatting, bedrooms or a back corner booth. This screenplay is an example of the realities of long distance relationships. Marie and Robbie have spent the majority of the story arguing over the nature of their relationship. for example Robbie believes that the reason Marie doesn't want him to sleep over at her house is because she's ashamed of him. also Robbie wants to take their relationship further by asking her over to his house. and finally Marie is afraid that she will repeat past mistakes in their relationship. This screenplay gives us insight into what a real relationship is like. I believe that this screenplay gives us an example of "opposite's attract" couples. Robbie seems to be a very punctual man who likes routines while his girlfriend Marie is "A wild bird" this gives the readers a chance to see how these two different personalities collide and how they make their relationship work. I like this screenplay because it gives me insight to what a real relationship is like. I also like how the author uses a subway as a tether between the two characters.
ReplyDeleteKatia Garcia
“Love on the B-Line” by Adam Kraar is a play about a new couple who are clearly in love with one another but come close to ending it over one thing. Reading through it the first time, I found myself not liking Robbie. Marie didn’t want to stay over at Robbie’s house and even if feeding the cat was a lie, he should’ve just accepted it instead of presenting her with an ultimatum. Long distance relationship or not, one day together or ten years together, doing something like that to your S/O isn’t cool. Rereading it again I found myself becoming okay with Robbie but I’m still not 100% on his character.. I don’t know, I don’t like that Marie has to reveal her secrets just to get Robbie to respect her answer. Besides my conflict with Robbie, I really liked the dialogue and the characters. Marie is this ‘wild bird’ while Robbie is like the complete opposite; seeing them in a relationship and how their personalities clash is pretty interesting. I loved reading this play but I think my favorite, or one of my favorite, scene is when Marie puts all the cigarettes in her mouth and nose. In the end, I’m happy Robbie accepted Marie’s answer and that they’re still together. Maybe because Robbie knows about Marie’s fear he’ll be more open and respectful to what she wants.
ReplyDeleteTeresa Villarreal
Love on the B-Line, by Adam Kraar is a play set in an elevated subway station in Brooklyn. The characters, dating for a little over 5 months, begin to discuss how Marie is unable to stay at Robbie's home. The argument begins to escalate, and the couple eventually make up. The situations stem from levels of insecurity- Robbie feels like he is considered inadequate by Marie's family, and that Marie is hesitant to move forward in the relationship. Marie, on the other hand, is unsure about moving forward, or letting go of her past as she is worried that history may repeat itself and she would become the heaping mess she became during her last relationship. The train in the play can be considered a metaphor for their relationship. Robbie is ready to take the leap, to move forward like a train, at a speed which is unsettling to Marie. It seems like Marie is too afraid to advance, too fearful. Therefore, she clings to her past and to the present. Marie is terrified of what lies at the end of the tunnels for their relationship- would it sour and leave her as devastated as before? In the end of the play, this disharmonious relationship seems to unify, as they stand united waiting for the train to come in.
ReplyDelete-Jose Montoya
"Love on the B -line" is about a woman and man who are stuck in subway station waiting on their train. They're a fresh new couple who have only been dating about five months Robbie is wanting Marie to go home with him and I was kind of getting the feeling of him wanting more and Marie doesn't seem to be ready. I feel like Marie and Robbie both don't know what they really want and they both bring up the past. Obviously when they were in the dating stage it seems that it went well and they spoke more often of there problems, but now they're at this stage where Robbie is wanting to move on faster than what Marie wants to go. Which I find it weird how Marie isn't ready to want to go over to Robbie's because towards the end of the story Marie tells of a time back in middle school of when she was caught smoking. The play ends of Marie Telling the story when she is interrupted by the sound of the train they both stand up holding hands walking to their train.
ReplyDelete-Krystdamayne Guerrero
Love on the B-line is a play about a couple who seem to be childish in their own ways as well as inlove. marie is embarrassed of Robbie clearly because she hasn't brought him home since the last time Robbie was talking about his job to her father, also some childish traits was Robbie being dramatic and doing the stuff with the cigarettes and Robbie being childish by giving her ultimatums and nearly dumping her because she wouldn't sleep over, to have sex? I mean on page 321 we saw Marie say that they've been together for 5 months and questions if wants to.... what? I mean what else. then he nearly dumps her because shes not ready? that's not someone who is mature. I enjoy the play overall but I dont enjoy the characters individual savageness they reveal towards eachother, but everyone is different and that's what makes this play interesting because there are people out there like this or similar and this has a lot of potential to have been a real situation in reality.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Ruiz
This performance of “Love on the B-Line” was a particularly boring piece in my opinion, and I think such a thought arises along the lines of its performance and location. To be fair, the play was recorded by camera, so sound quality most certainly was affected when viewed from a video versus witnessing the performance in person. (During the length of the video, I had to adjust the sound volume here and there.) I found myself constantly disturbed by the visibility in contrast between the actors and the audience members, which detracted from what immersion the performance could lend to me. The simplicity in props is an interesting choice, but the detail put into its simplicity felt subpar; for instance, the lighting was made centered and obviously came from overhead, however there was no illusion of the light originating from a prop on stage, like a lamp post, say; the lighting was bright enough to make sense of what was occurring on stage, however its dimness was a detriment to the play, in my opinion, and could have been used as more opportunities for interactive behavior on set.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have not been able to see for myself the exact script for “Love on the B-line,” I am convinced the absence of stage directions between several lines leaves enough leeway for creative nonverbal interaction: touching a light post or staring up at its dim lighting. While it may violate the conventional performance the script looks for, I believe it is important for the actors to bear some liberty in exposing their characters in a light they themselves understand best. I was not thoroughly convinced these two were in love, more so that they were committed to each other under obligation - whether that was the play’s intent or not - their interaction between the two felt stale aside from physical tension displayed; their movement involves back and forth away and from the bench, never much apart of that, and so I felt disillusioned with a setting I felt lacking partially because of this. Although, to be fair, I don’t think I’ve ever been much of a fan of romantic plays anyway, so perhaps there’s some bias present that I’m not looking thoroughly over. Maybe.
- Gary Tolar
Man, I wish I could go back and edit with a grammar checker on this. Real shame.
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