The Dreams of My Life:
When I was a young girl, my father used to sing me to sleep every night before I fell asleep. Although my mother has been somewhat less than supportive of my passions, from a very young age my life has been intertwined with music. Perhaps that's where my love for singing originated. For me, singing is a true expression of all of my emotions and a form of art which delves deep into my heart. Although I realize the improbability of my success, my ultimate dream is to travel to Moscow with Oksana (The Cook), and pursue a career in professional vocal performance.
I have studied at home for many years-- reading, writing, learning- in order to be educated enough to one day feel comfortable in such a culturally superior city. To be able to study with a famous vocalist would be the most wonderful learning experience I could hope for, and I yearn to abandon this dreary country life for the bustle and mayhem of the city. Even with the chance that I will never become truly great, to be allowed to devote my entire life to music would fill a hollow in my life that has been with me since the death of my father.
However, in the meantime, my current position as a maid in the household of the famous Arkadina provides a unique opportunity to socialize, albeit on a minor level, with artists of extraordinary talents and emotions. In observing Arkadina and Trigorin, I have been learning much of what the life of a true artist involves, yet for some reason, I feel myself drawn toward the doctor, Dorn, in a way which mystifies and enthralls me. Although I know he is far too old for me and that I can never equal his level of status and success, when he sings, my heart echoes. He seems to understand life, with the suffering that is inherent in each of us, and all of his passion and knowledge of the world drips from his voice with every song. I am currently trying to build up the courage to approach him, for since my father died last winter, I have longed to hear the songs from my youth again, and I cannot imagine a more suitable representative of the emotions they contain.
University of Puget SoundGretchen Haley, University of Puget Sound dramaturgy scholar and production dramaturg for The Seagull, created this site with the help of company members. It has been revised by Lori Ricigliano.