Abstract

The two one-act plays presented here explore the lengths to which one will go to justify one's worth. Through acts of emulation, the characters in Virginia and Raven for a Lark attempt to discover their own identity and rationalize their questionable actions. Following in the footsteps of childhood heroes or fictional figures, they cling to unrealistic images. Nevertheless, they push themselves to physical, moral, geographical, and artistic limits in the view of discovering and justifying their place in the world. Through intertextual allusions to Shakespeare, picture books, and travel accounts, these plays explore the sources and forces of inspiration, motivation, and agency. Loneliness and yearning for connection are expressed through monologue form; the speakers reach out to the audience and to absent characters but are ultimately alone on stage, observed and judged.