Edits.

'For the Beholder' (edit 3)

I'm starting to really hate James and what Henry does to James that makes James such a mystery to me. I am no longer interested in Vendetta, who is, ultimately, the Woman in White, but the Woman in White is far more interesting than her human counterpart. Writing mentor brought up a good point--nothing happens in play. Characters are too comfortable in their environments. The stakes rise when you pull them out of their comfort zone and put them in a completely different situation, and not only that, but you get to explore their characters more. How would James act if he was in San Francisco on a business trip with a Chinese company? How would he react when his American associate makes a racist remark? Would he agree with the statements? Or would he start defending his ethnicity despite his hatred for all things that are traditionally Chinese?

If I explore that aspect, it would change my play considerably, and perhaps, it is no longer about Vendetta, but about Henry--which ruins the entire play that I had so angrily cultivated in Playwriting I, and it erases my muse from the story completely. Which is a problem in itself because she's the one who is fueling the play. She is the part of Vendetta that V can't escape, and the part of V that allows her to kill her husband for their unborn child.

The presence of the Woman in White in 'For the Beholder' was also problematic because it would either mean that 1) Vendetta is schizophrenic, or 2) the Woman in White is not an essential part OF Vendetta, but merely an overarching symbol (which is, in this current edit of the play, still unclear.) However, I feel that the fuzziness of the Woman in White gives a lot of meaning to the title 'For the Beholder'. Need direction. Lots of it.

[Cerasi comment]
I think someone mentioned in one of the readings of the play that there's kind of a battle over who's the man character. James or Vendetta. I think there's a way they can both be kind of the main characters. Mostly, I think that you need to make James have a more legitimate point of view, which is hard because it kind of means you have to rationalize the actions of a wife beater.

To me, the woman in white always seemed like the unspoken choking rage of Vendetta and her anger at James. No advice there, just a thought.

I think your mentor's comment about taking your characters out of their comfortable environments was an interesting one. I actually have a thought on that (whether or not you want to use it). What if James had to have some kind of conversation with Henry or ask him for something? It might be interesting to see him on Henry's turf, so to speak. It might change the power dynamic between them.

As for Henry himself, he's hard. He's a hard character. I think that he needs to be more noticeably flawed in some way, but I don't know how.

There is a way to balance this play between all of the characters, I promise. You should watch/read Angels in America. That play does a good job of balancing a lot of different characters all at once. Also, I just think you would like it anyway.