“SELF ACCESS WORKSHEET”

FACTS ABOUT THE PLAY

Title: A Daughter’s Seed

Author (Playwright): Jose Victor Torres

When Published: 1993

Type of Play/Genre: An example of one act play and a melodrama

CONTENT

1. Setting

          The action of this play takes place in only one setting: in a cemetery, at a corner of Loyola Memorial Park where Ana Marie’s father was buried.

2. When is it set?

          The set is in mid-afternoon, after the funeral of Hector Mendoza, the father of Ana Marie and former husband of Teresa.

3. The Plot

          The play is about how a young woman carries the pain of having a baby from her own father and how a mother accepts this kind of dilemma. This play is more on the issue of separation and regrets in the end. It also talks of a very confidential situation wherein a daughter and her father had an affair in the middle of loneliness, which is not normal in our society. In here, when Ana Marie was a child, she wasn’t able to cope up with the separation of her parents. So, when her father did something wrong to her, she didn’t insist because she was looking for someone to love and take good care of her, and this led to a big mistake in her life.

4. Characters

©       Ana Marie Mendoza- a 22 year old girl and the only child of Hector Mendoza and Teresa Mendoza. She is three months pregnant. Based from her experience, she is a loner and she has full of madness in her heart because of what had happened when her mother left her to her father.

©       Teresa Mendoza- a forty year old woman and the strange wife of Hector Mendoza and mother of Ana Marie. She is the present VP of an advertising firm in Manila. She left Hector when Ana Marie was still a child because he was abusing her before. And what she did made her a strong woman, but she was regretful in the end.

©       Hector Mendoza- he died of stroke in the play. Although he is not really present in the scene, he took a vital role in the play. He is the father of Ana Marie and based from the conversation, he was a brutal person for he was abusing Teresa before. Then, he had an affair with his own daughter that brought her into pregnancy.

5. Message

          This play wants to tell the readers that life is but a second chance. It is true that sometimes, people tend to make mistakes especially when they are in the midst of loneliness and depression. In case of Ana Marie, his father has a psychological problem. Her father slept with her and because she was in her weakest moment at that time, she wasn’t able to think right. So they made a big mistake. On the other hand, there’s Teresa, her mother, who’s willing to help her and take good care of her now that she was carrying a life in her womb. But Ana Marie didn’t give her another chance because she was hurt so much. In this situation, I realize that everything has a right time: that in their case, there would be a right time for forgiveness and a second chance to live again normally. It is a matter of learning from our own mistakes and standing again to correct it.       

LANGUAGE

Here are the four phrases and expressions I’ve learned in this play:

©       “White flowers means friendship.”

©       In life, it doesn’t matter how many times you fall. What matters most is how many times you stand up and take the journey ahead.

©       A person longing for love and care doesn’t know his/her limitations.

©       “So here I am with you, to pick up the pieces.”

OPINION

1. Here are the following adjectives that best describe the play:

©       Gripping.

©       Pitiful and touching.

©       Shocking but interesting and is filled with lessons in life.

2. The play is going to be performed and you are the director. Describe the costumes, scenery, lighting, etc. you want for each act.

          If I will be the director of this play and it is going to be performed, I’ll make sure that the scenes will be more realistic so that the audience will feel and understand its message. For the costumes, I’ll make it more detailed. Since the play took its place in the cemetery after the funeral of Hector, the two ladies should be dressed in pure black. The setting must be gloomy and quiet. That’s why the lighting must also used lonely and dull colors like brown and pallid. The sound effect must also be realistic that will hold the emotions of the characters and also the audiences.            

3. Would you recommend this play to anyone else? Why?

          Yes. Because this play contains an extraordinary story about a young woman and I think, many readers can relate to some situations in the play. The readers will also learn many lessons that can be applied in real life situations.

4. Does this play remind you of any plays in your own language? If so, what?

          Sadly, it doesn’t remind me of any plays in our own language. Because just like what I mentioned above, this story is extraordinary and this is the first time I’ve encountered this kind of story in a play.

Summary of the Play

“A Daughter’s Seed”

By Jose Victor Torres

                   This play is actually an example of one-act play and happened in one setting. This is about the story of Ana Marie Mendoza, a 22 year old girl and the only child of Hector Mendoza, a former diplomat. Her mother is Teresa Mendoza, a 40 year old woman and is a VP of an advertising firm in Manila. The setting was taken in a cemetery during the funeral of Hector Mendoza. Teresa and Hector were separated for many years, when Ana Marie was just a child. And at that moment, Ana Marie had a hard time coping up with the situation. She was left to her father’s care that became too busy with his work. So Ana Marie learned to live alone. When her father died, she was three months pregnant. During the funeral, that was the only moment when she saw her mother again after very long years. They talked to each other and Teresa saw how Ana Marie’s life turned into trouble when she left. Ana Marie got pregnant without any man to support her and the baby. Ana Marie was very liberal and she just found her friends as her family. She was changed a lot—into worst. As they were talking about their own lives, Teresa asked Ana Marie about her father. This is the turning point of this play because Ana Marie confessed a very confidential thing about her pregnancy. She gave her mother a clue that his father has another woman. But in the end, she confessed that the other woman she was talking about was her. That is why she was so angry saying this statement: “Oh God! I wish I’d die right now! There was no other woman! It was me!” So, she has her baby in her womb now. Ana Marie and her father had an affair and that was the painful reality that Teresa learned from her daughter at that moment. She still wanted to take good care of Ana Marie and be a mother to her, but Ana Marie didn’t accept her offer. Ana Marie was hurt so much that he couldn’t bear the pain she had in her heart. That is why she decided to live alone again just like before. In the end, Teresa was left by Ana Marie in the cemetery weeping and full of regrets.