“Dress Rehearsal” seems to be about Kate’s ambiguous
feelings towards her friend Sean. However, it also explores the relationship
between Kate and her sister, Diana. Kate has an almost parental attitude
towards her sister, so she feels pressured to make Diana responsible for herself,
since Kate will be headed to college soon.
The writing is polished—there are almost no tense, point of
view, or usage problems, and I always knew who was speaking and what was going
on. I like the relationship between Kate and Diana. Kate has a lot of insight
into her sister’s personality, which contrasts with her inability to think
about Sean in a reasonable fashion. You did
a great job of raising the stakes; the fight between Diana and Sean’s asking
Dina to the prom kept me interested. The story was tightly focused. Everything
was in place and had a purpose. I never felt that you were giving to much
summary or exposition. There were a couple of really awesome lines that
emphasized the themes of the story. Kate’s lonesome character in the play was a
revealing, subtle detail.
The first time I read “Dress Rehearsal”, I thought that Kate
decided to not go to the prom with Sean. It was completely unexpected, and I
liked it. In the back of my mind, I knew that Sean and Kate would work
everything out, and going against the reader’s expectations in always good..
Kate’s attitude toward Sean confused me. Developing their relationship might be
helpful, and elaborating on why Kate does not want to go to prom with Sean
might give her personality more depth. Sean himself was a bit opaque; I never knew
anything about him other than the fact that he was Kate’s friend. And while
Kate is overall well characterized, it seemed like her faults were only vaguely
hinted at. Were we supposed to agree with her when she did not help Diana with
Andrew, or were we supposed to find her superior? Why was it that she would not
go to prom with Sean? Was she threatened by commitment? Was she afraid of
alienating him?
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