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Proxima B* by Robert Paul Moreira is about a woman named Judy who is constantly made a second priority, whether that be from big league scientist or her own significant other. I see a correlation to her reference at the end to no one hearing sound to none hearing her as a person. In this case, the only real person who seems to give her the time of day is this lady she barely knows. Her imagining what it would be like to be so far away in space, so much that you can’t even hear, makes me ponder how alone she is feeling in this instant, to even mention going to a place so far from her own mind with this woman she barely even likes. Additionally, I find comfort in them both singing towards the end of the play, it’s almost a simple goodbye to how she saw things before, so literal, so black and white, so much that she found the woman to be of lower stance than the big scientists who wouldn’t even talk to her. This big idea of Proxima B in my opinion is just Judy’s way of feeling important, her link to talk to the big leagues, so she feels more important than others, such as the woman. However, Proxima B holds a completely different meaning at the end when it makes her realize how foolish and alone and trivial all things become at that moment of solitude.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Campos
In Proxima B by Robert Paul Moreira, I had no idea what to expect. As soon as I saw the title, I looked up. I was curious as to what it could mean. Proxima B is about Judy and how she keeps trying to show her work to her stronger and more important coworkers, or bosses, I'm not all too sure, and her just getting rejected. She feels dejected and to make matters 'worse,' an old woman shows up just annoying her. The old woman is just trying to set up her telescope and lawn chair with a blanket, but Judy keeps telling her no and to get out of there. The lady had her fun and made her jokes, until Judy got really upset and ranted to her. Judy made the woman feel bad, I'm assuming, but the woman still let Judy use her blanket because she knew it was cold. I believe the woman adds warmth to the story. She gave Judy the blanket to keep her warm and kept the mood light and funny, while Judy was cold and fierce, and not a good kind of fierce. It was a really cool and interesting story and I wish I could have more.
ReplyDeleteSidney Carranco
In Robert Paul Moreira's "Proxima B*" we introduced to the character Judy who is an Astrophysicist. I can tell she is so passionate about her job and her work, but her higher ups will not give her the time of day. She seems like she's so confident in her work, but deflates momentarily any time someone rejects listening to her research. What doesn't help is a woman being on the land with her telescope to bother her with her jokes. The jokes become too much when Judy's own significant other piles on to the mess she already is dealing with and that's when the woman becomes a comfort for her in her weak point. I found a way to connect Judy's monologue at the end to herself. I found her comparing herself to space and how no one will really hear her.She also states if they "...braved it... raced at interstellar speeds... all the way to Proxima B..'(10)" to show if they only took the chance to give up some time to listen to her they would find out so many things about Proxima B. i find Judy singing Twinkle Twinkle really significant because it shows a point where she can relate to the song and is left to sing to Proxima B herself because it is the only thing/person that will listen to her talk about her discoveries and data (besides the woman).
ReplyDelete-Faith Ortiz
This play was very interesting to read, and I found it to be full of realistic themes. This poor girl wasn't being paid any attention to at her place of work while trying to tell her coworkers about her idea. While in the park she is working at on Christmas Eve, this old lady comes out with her telescope trying to enjoy the night sky, but she is being a nuisance to Judy. Judy confronts her numerous times about how that area is inaccessible to the public, but the lady simply pretends she doesn't hear. At this point Judy is being ignored and brushed off by her coworkers, a random stranger, and then towards the end her own boyfriend. She is feeling very alone at the end of the play, and breaks down and cries in front of the old lady. The old lady then realizes that the girl just wants to be paid attention to, and given some acknowledgement for all of her hard work also to be seen as important. Judy starts to realize that only a stranger pays attention to her and cares about her well being rather than the people she actually knows. This was proven when the old lady offered to give her her blanket because of how cold it was outside. At the end of the play both ladies start to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and this gave the readers a sense of how Judy felt having to share her Christmas Eve with stranger. I really enjoyed this play because it took a turn from how I thought it was going to be, and caught my attention with how insecure Judy was about her self-worth.
ReplyDeleteLianna Andrade
“Proxima B” by Robert Paul Moreira was a very interesting play. What I liked most about the play was the use of Spanish words and how the Spanish woman was super comical. I found that so funny for some reason, how she was cracking jokes left and right while the character Judy was having a rough time due to the top people at her job, ignoring her proposal or whatever it was.
ReplyDeleteThe structure of the play was also very good. It included most of the things that Starkey states “makes a good play”, it consists of all the elements of playwriting (on page 238-239). I think that’s why it’s such a good play
What I also liked about the play was the part when Judy kind of goes into like a deep thought and explains how there’s no sound in space and goes on about that. I found that super insightful, we get a close look at what Judy’s mind might work like. Also, the comforting of the Spanish woman even when Judy was treating her poorly and basically telling her she didn’t belong there, even through all that, the lady stayed and kind of helped her realize that she is her and that that’s okay. It was a good play.
Ilene Guevara
Robert Paul Moreira’s “Proxima b” centers on two characters, one of which is a Latina astrophysicist, and the other, an older Latina woman who disregards rules by setting up her telescope on the observatory roof during the off-hours of Christmas Eve. I liked the believable, realistic dialogue of Judy and the older woman, and could hear their voices perfectly in my head. I liked how the underlying statement about women/Latinas in a male-dominated world came together nicely at the end, where the women unite in song (form of resolution) and aspire to “brave it” to the stars. I also really liked the line, “He’s brilliant. So…brilliant” on page 7, doubly suggestive of a star in the sky. I can remember wishing to be noticed by a smart guy during high school, and the disappointment of rejection and the constant striving to know more and more to impress…so the play was personally relatable. One question is I wonder how the play would have been different if it didn’t take place on Christmas Eve. I think of that date connoting family time, festivities, or the Star of Bethlehem, maybe new birth (Christ’s Nativity), and excepting the stellar allusions, it wasn’t clear to me if there were further connections to this date and this storyline.
ReplyDelete~Natalie Roeglin
Robert Moreira’s, “Proxima B*,” is focused on two strangers, Judy and Mirta, who are two completely different women struggling to find peace around one another. The audience doesn’t know much about Mirta’s past, but we do get a strong understanding of who Judy is as a professional. She’s an astrophysicist who is trying to show her work to two male doctors who do not give her the time of day. Both times she is left feeling dejected and she takes it out on Mirta who is seemingly minding her own business. There are moments where Mirta tries to get a laugh out of Judy, quietly wishing her to relax on this cold Christmas Eve, but Judy only reacts in frustration and annoyance. Mirta tells Judy that from what she can see the men don’t care about what she has to say which only angers Judy which showcases how important her job and her research are to her. Just when Judy thinks she’ll be able to get away from Mirta, her boyfriend, Shane, calls and tells Judy that he can’t pick her up. He’s just another man who has failed her.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that there is this unspoken bond that women have with one another. Despite Judy being incredibly rude, Mirta offers her jacket and tries to ease the tension with jokes. Being in her 70’s she certainly must have been put on the backburner by more men than Judy has and that’s why she tries to keep a smile on her face, even if Judy isn’t having it. It’s not until after the phone call that Judy decides to openly talk to Mirta by saying that if she were given the opportunity to go to space, she would because there is no sound just “endless, muted cold” (10). Judy is saying that she is over the ways of this world, and if Mirta feels the same, would she accompany her as well. Mirta agrees that she would with all her might. And the play ends with Mirta humming Twinkle, Twinkle and Judy singing aloud the words of the nursery rhyme.
Kimberlee Salas
“Proxima B” by Robert Paul Moreira was an interesting play that centers around two women, Judy and another woman, whose name is later revealed to be Mirta. Judy’s character is one that, when reading the first time around, I didn’t really like. By the end of the first reading I was having doubts and by the end of the second time, I couldn’t help but feel bad for her. She seems overworked and flustered to get her work seen by the people she admires, yet she still remains so passionate about it. It’s sad to see someone so excited about their work get pushed aside by her higher-ups. And her significant other too, for that matter. As for the other woman, Mirta, I thought she was pretty funny. I loved how she kept cracking jokes and, even when Judy had been so rude to her before, was still kind and caring in the end. She feels very motherly, from start to finish. I loved that they started to sing together in the end. The song had be racking her ears “like a jar full of rusty nails” (p.9) and even claimed to hate it after the phone call with Stan, and yet by the end she’s singing it alongside Mirta. I loved seeing that progress.
ReplyDeleteTeresa Villarreal
“Proxima B” by Robert Paul Moreira is an interesting ten-minute play about an astrophysicist who is having a bad day at the observatory. While she can’t seem to get an interview with any of the researchers in charge, she bumps into a lady who is trying to look at objects with her telescope. Judy is rude to her in the beginning but ends up being her friend at the end. I like the message behind the play which is to be nice to everybody you meet because you never know how they might be able to help you. It was easy to imagine the lady as my grandma because of the way that she would talk and say mi’ja. She seemed like she was naïve to the world and nothing bothered her. It was very easy to imagine that the characters are Latino just the way that the talk. I could see Judy as being an overly ambitious researcher who just graduated and is trying to make a name for herself. I can relate to Judy because sometimes we got so caught up into things in our life that we stress out that we don’t realize it only takes a small break to clear our minds.
ReplyDeleteFrancisco Rosales
"Proxima B" by Robert Moreira is a ten minute play featuring two characters interacting with each other on Christmas eve night on a park bench with one character wanting to advance her career and the other star gazing. The play was good in terms of the setting and characters. the setting in my opinion was a good choice for the story. a park bench on Christmas eve night is an isolated place where two people must talk to each other. This setting allows Judy and the woman to converse without conversation. this is important in the play because these two characters are set up to talk and learn as much as they can about each other. The characters in the play are very compelling due to their interactions. Judy is a self-doubting astrophysicist Latina in her 20's who's desperate to impress her boss. The woman is a 70 year old Latina who spends her time gazing at the stars at night with a cheap telescope and a blunt personality. These two characters are polar opposites who would never interact with each other before the play. I believe that Moreira created these two different characters so that they can interact with each other and the readers can get a glismpse of the trope opposites attract.
ReplyDeleteKatia Garcia
"Proxima B*" is a ten minute play written by Robert Moreira. The play follows an astrophysicist named Judy who on Christmas Eve attempts to show her esteemed peers in the scientific community that she's possibly discovered a planet which she has named "Proxima B". The only person willing to listen to her is an amatuer astronomer named Mirta. After a quick google search, I found that the planet Proxima Centauri B does exist, only it wasn’t discovered by a Judy, it was discovered by a Swedish astronomer Mikko Tuomi. Another thing I noticed, as an aspiring linguistic who knows a little bit about a lot of languages, was the name of Dr. Nagafuchi. The surname “Nagafuchi” is an extremely uncommon Japanese last name, so one should assume that Dr. Nagafuchi should have a Japanese first name, but instead, he has the Cantonese surname “Yao” as his first name. It was also interesting that the author mentions that this individual “discovered the Dyson Sphere around KIC 8462852”, when a Dyson sphere is an exclusively hypothetical structure that if were to be discovered on a distant star would prove alien life existed, as there would be no other explanation as to how the structure got there.
ReplyDeleteRicardo Garcia
“Proxima B” is a ten-minute play written by Robert Moreira, the play is focused on Judy an Astrophysicist and Mirta an older lady two completely different people. I did not know what I was going to read from just reading the title but the play was great. I enjoyed the use of Spanish language in the play and how they women were funny. The dialogue was easy to follow along and it did have me lost. I do like how they show Judy struggle in male dominate field. In the beginning I did not find myself liking Judy because of her attitude but after a second time reading I felt bad for her. She was not acknowledged at work and I could understand how she felt overworked without any sort of praise. I loved Mirta’s character though she was a sweet little old lady, which I enjoyed. Even when Judy was being rude to her she still was nice to her.
ReplyDeleteAndi Rubalcava
In Proxima B, by Robert Moreira, a young latina professional and a older latina woman interact at an observatory on Christmas Eve. As the play continues, the audience is shown how the young latina astrophysicist, as it is later revealed, is disrespected by the veteran male astrophysicists who are seemingly in a rush and have no time for her. In addition to the embarrassment and verguenza the young woman feels, she is pestered by an older woman who has come to the observatory to set up a telescope. It seems as if the young latina is directing her anger towards the older woman, maybe because she is unable to release her anger on those responsible. As things seems to become increasingly more difficult for the young woman, including her boyfriend leaving her stranded and cold, she begins to unravel, and the older woman becomes her comforter in the end. This young woman is trying to make a name for herself, try to be where her mentors are and yet she finds herself laying flat on the floor. After all this, the older woman and the young woman sing a song together, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." As far as the reading entails, there is a sense of pity for the younger woman, yet we find her admonishment of the older woman to be uncalled for and rather nasty. Though I don't care much for the song selection, I find the premise understandable given the current political concepts of gender.
ReplyDelete-Jose Montoya
In Proxima B it is about two men one named Judy and the other woman who has not been given a name. Judy is a very educated woman who is trying to talk to Doctor Heineman about data of Proxima B. She starts the play by first trying to get him through the phone and she is later one able to speak through him in person. While waiting to speak to him there is a woman who is humming while looking through her telescope while singing the song “twinkle twinkle little star”. I feel Judy is very upset about her phone call and instead of taking it out on the person who was making her upset she was being rude to a woman who was just minding her own business. With the small talking going on between the two doesn’t go to well especially when Judy finally has her chance to speak to Doctor Nagafuchi the woman in the background makes hand waves towards her butt making fun of him. Which I personally did find it rude I understand if maybe she did it to get back at Judy, but in all honesty, it was very uncalled for. At the end of story it starts to get cold the woman hands over a blanket to Judy which at first she doesn’t want to take and ends up taking it the woman goes up to her caresses her hair and they both look up to the sky and hum together.
ReplyDelete-Krystdamayne Guerrero
Proxima B is more a realistic sad story, mostly on judys part because of the three men who blow her off to do what they have to do, including her own boyfriend who isn't spending Christmas eve with judy apparently. also I found woman annoying yet comforting, she was a nice annoying. judy was stressed and bummed that the doctors were passing her by not wanting to take a chance or take judy seriously to look at what she had to show them her data. woman was very opposite from judy, woman didnt seem as intelligent however we aren't given much background on woman, for all we know the woman could've been like head of nasa or something just like how yoda plays off luke that hes some bum when in reality luke needed that bum to grow spiritually. anyhow, woman taught just patience and surrender, judy surrendered to woman at the end of the night by showing the audience her singing with woman a lullaby.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Ruiz
I don’t have too much to share on this piece right now, so I’ll try my best. Proxima B is, for the most part, in my own opinion, interesting due to how Judy faces the audience when addressing any of the passing astrophysicists. I think the significance behind such an act is to enact a metaphor that the audience represents the many stars streamed across the night sky; the astrophysicists in particular are also accompany these stars, yet Judy is enamored by their “brilliance,” similar to how stars shine brilliantly. Another curious set of lines: “Look, ma'am, you're going to need to move from here. (pointing to Audience) The amateur section is right over there, past the hedge.” (Page 2.) If the audience represents the many stars in the sky, then does these set of lines indicate that while everyone is a star, some stars, such as the astrophyscists give off such luster, yet are unreachable. It should be remember none of the astrophysicists are ever present on stage and nor do they speak, as if they were unreachable, in a very much figurative sense. The mention of the hedge also indicates there is an obscure view from Judy to the audience, perhaps because the brilliance of other stars blind her from observing the rest. Judy’s haughty nature is ironic, as she puts herself much above others, yet is least above everyone else when it comes both literally and metaphorically. She is not given the time of the day, even for an excited discovery, though whether the astrophysicists do so out of spite or genuinely have a reason to be off is left ambiguous, perhaps because the reason is unimportant; even more so, the woman she meets is completely “down to earth,” and has acknowledged her place and is content with observing from afar, much to the comparison to a Judy who wishes to reach the intangible.
ReplyDeleteGary Tolar
I would edit, but edits on anonymous posts can't happen.
Delete“Proxima B*”, by Robert Moreira, is about the interactions between a young latina woman, Judy, and an older Latina woman, Mirta. Their conversations and interactions occur on Christmas Eve, in The Griffith Park Laboratory in Los Angeles. These two women are polar opposites, and struggle to find common ground with each other. Though I couldn't gather exactly what Mirta’s occupation was, I determined that Judy is a professional in the field of science. She is a astrophysicist who is trying to present her work to two male doctors. These doctors brush her aside, and do not give her any attention whatsoever. Judy takes out her frustration on Mirta. It seems as though Mirta tried to find the positive, and Judy dwelled on her anger and remained annoyed. I understood Judy’s attitude, but I didn't like how she projected it onto others. Mirta seemed wise, almost as if she had experienced this treatment dozens of times. I enjoyed the realistic dialogue among the two women, and I feel as though the setting was perfect for this story. Women are often times overlooked when it comes to scientific developments and achievements, so I liked how this profession was chosen to emulate the struggles women face.
ReplyDeleteValerie Jackson