pirandello 6 characters in search of an author

The Boy, demonstrating the final scene, shoots himself and dies.

These crises have been condensed into one bullet point for conciseness. Each time, the Characters eventually decide, reluctantly, to accept a less-than-perfect portrayal of their story.

Each time, there ensues a discussion on the “reality” of what the Company is portraying, versus the reality of the Characters’ story. *At several points during the play, the Director is confronted with situations in which the Characters are unhappy with the scenery or the look or performance of the actors, or the direction that the Director is giving. After some discussion with the Father, he agrees to continue. *The Director realizes that the Characters are not actors looking to rehearse, and that they expect him to serve as their author and write their play. Contrariwise, the Director argues that some license must be allowed for the physical and temporal restrictions that stage production puts on their “reality. The Characters argue that they way that the Company play their roles is not “real” enough, not “true” enough. Not long after the first scene is played, it appears that there is some disagreement between the Characters and the Company, regarding the direction that the scenes should take.

The director agrees, and the characters tell their story, demonstrating scenes that were to be played. Before they are able to begin, however, the Characters enter and explain who they are, and that the author that created them had not been able to finish their play, and that they were in search of someone who would help them by finishing the job. A theatre company is preparing to rehearse one of Pirandello’s plays, “which no one understood when it was written and which makes even less sense today” (Director, I).

Pirandello 6 characters in search of an author