Tuesday, June 23, 2009

N.A.S.A Grant Awardee Margot Lasher on "The Stranger"

Newton Baker, David Klein & Naomi Flanders

Newton Baker, Naomi Flanders & David Klein


Monday, June 22 - "In Act III, a Stranger enters the play. In the first photo you can see the Human looking at the Stranger anxiously. In the next, Dog cowers at the Stranger’s feet. We had an interesting discussion—is the dog, who is brave and wise until now, suddenly neurotic in his fear of the stranger? Or is the stranger a real danger? Is that rhyme symbolic? The interpretation is up to you.


"Those of us who live with dogs know that sometimes they have humorous fears. We have a dairy farm near us, and for the first time in years the farmer has brought the cows to the pasture right next to the house. In the middle of the night Shiro, forgetting that they are cows, wakes up and barks at them. On summer evenings, before he gets used to them, he barks at the fireflies who look suspiciously like blinking animal eyes.


"However, dogs often sense real danger way ahead of us and save us from disaster. They smell and otherwise sense the menacing presence of a predator, human and non-human. They do not hide from their fear. In this situation, they are brave and wise."












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