Alison's Husband

pg. 160

"... he could have been
a cardboard cutout posted
at the kitchen door with a
recorded message."

Props and Memory

This post on Boing-Boing reminded me a bit about the prop inventory we are doing.

I was looking at the list of props and imagining what it might look like if all the props mentioned in the book were accumulated and displayed.

The boing-boing post is about scientists studying memory... and suggesting that a memory, when recalled, plays out in one-seventh the time as the original experience.

How long does Gerald's Party last? 7-10 hours? If we were to present the memory of this party, it would last a little over an hour. But how? Is the memory "faster"? Are extraneous details edited out? Would the display of every prop from the book suggest the story they are a part of? What is left of the party when actions NOT related to the props are purged?

Props, pgs. 81, 83, 85 & 87

pg. 81

• no props

pg. 83

• dressing table stool
• two empty glasses, one with ice
• a can opener
• a medicine dropper
• shriveled oysters
• bumpy little marbles

pg. 85

• no props

pg. 87

• Charley Trainer's scotch, flying

Ros's performances

i miss the days when she was my professor, and i had the occassional pleasure of waking up to 8 AM phone calls from Ms. Finley:

re: chalk outlines

chalk outlines

Publish Post>

Props pg. 26, 28, 30, 32, 34

pg. 26
pipe
lamps
apparatus stuck in Ros's mouth (an X-ray unit maybe)
tobacco pouch
hi-fi

pg. 28
knife
yellowed handkerchief
Tanya's spectacles

pg. 30
cop's hat
pistol
wrenches
glass cutters
hammers

pg. 32
fob watch
smashed film gear
tripod
Gerald's expansion-band watch
Alison's compicated green leather watch
roast beef sandwich

pg. 34
tweezers
filter paper
a pick glass
roast beef sandwich
sketchbook

In response to "The Party"

makes me think of a trusty old soap opera!!

General Hospital
Bacchanalia Ball
1998

Props, pgs. 77 & 79

pg. 77

• soft linen slacks
• a rust-colored open collared wrap-tie shirt
• socks

pg. 79

• Sally Ann's blue jeans
• needle and thread
• two whiskey glasses on the dressing table
• the half-eaten sandwich
• open jar of petroleum jelly
• the dressing table mirror
• a blood-stained sheet with a small brown hole burned by a cigarette
• coins
• crumbs
• a wet spot
• someone's false eyelashes

The Party (1968)

Directed by Blake Edwards
Starring Peter Sellers
This is the last couple of minutes of the film. Dig that party music...

Naomi makes a mess of the bathroom.

Props, pgs. 71, 73 & 75

pg. 71

• baby oil
• one of Mark's drawings, "It was a picture of a castle with a war going on, blood and flags flying, bodies scattered like jacks."

pg. 73

• Howard's scout knife

pg. 75

• Eileen's empty glass
• Gerald's electric razor
• a washcloth

Props, pgs. 61, 63, 65, 67 & 69!

pg. 61

• Gerald's wife's manicure set

pg. 63

• Tania's dirndl

pg. 65

• watches (on Lloyd Draper's arm)
• "Woody had something he was showing to everybody...."

pg. 67

• a gold loop (Alison's earring)

pg. 69

• bathtowel
• Tania's dirndl
• a valentine