“Playing the cloud circuit”

Abstract

Gags and bits without narrative continuity; absence of traditional exposition or plotline; surprise turns; unexpected entrances and exits; extended monologues, crossover dialogues, word games, ribald repartee and sexual innuendo; props used for shocking or humorous effects; simplification of stage settings; heterogeneity of material; snatches of song or musical routines; presentational acting style; rapid delivery and pacing to achieve affective immediacy and emotional impact; brief scenes with shifts in tone and subject matter; frequent climaxes at the end of discrete sections leading to the central climax, usually at the end of the penultimate scene; slippage from low to high art or the reverse and from comedy to tragedy. The items in this list are familiar to Albee scholars; examples can be found in varying degrees and forms throughout his dramatic canon. They also happen to be the significant features of vaudeville, that particularly American theatrical entertainment which the playwright's grandfather and namesake, Edward F. Albee II, is credited with developing and selling to the American public.