Oklahoma was created by the Theater Guild to save themselves from bankruptcy. In order to resolve its financial crisis, the guild brought together Oscar Hammerstein and Richard Rodgers, one of the best composers for hit operettas and musical comedies (show time 299). This combination alone guarantees the popularity of the play. What’s more to the play other than reputation of the play wrights, is it’s creativity in several aspects. Unlike other musicals where the songs are merely used to cover scenic changes, Oklahoma uses songs as part of the storytelling and character building (show time 307). Music and dialogue, each is designed to work with the others, which makes Oklahoma a well-made musical play. Even the ballet is an inseparable part of the story. The ballet is completed by characters in the play, which makes it the same style as the entire show (show time 309). What’s more, the dancing adds to the story and the characters, which is unprecedented at the time. The beginning of the show is also quite unorthodox: it doesn’t begin with the typical pretty girls in provocative dresses dancing to jazz. On the contrary, it starts with Aunt Eller and Curly singing “O, what a beautiful morning!” just like in Rigg’s play. Afterall, broadway is always about breaking barriers. I think the innovations of this play is why it has earned such success despite its homogeneous rural setting. …show more content…
It shifted away from the urban, sophisticated “New York style” to a more populist folkloric piece. By doing so, the play reflects the cultural life of the nation, therefore rouses a consensual patriotic feeling among the masses which is vital during
Katherine Dunham, born on June 22, 1909 was an African American dancer. Her mother Fanny June Dunham died when she became sick and her father Albert Dunham Sr., left to work as a salesman. Dunham and her older brother Albert Jr., were raised by their loving aunt Lulu on the ghetto side of Chicago. At four years old, Dunham would go to the salon, her aunt’s workplace, and would always remember how much her mother loved music. It was not long before that when Katherine noticed how people would look at her aunt because of the color of her skin. It was why Lulu lost her job and had to move in with other relatives as her aunt could not afford their little apartment anymore. They moved several times with Dunham family members, where Katherine discovered
Eight Men Speak by Oscar Ryan et al presents a variety of epic devices employed throughout its composition. We see “the essential truth in every word of these six acts”(Foreword 5) come to life in this thought provoking presentation of didactic literature. Through the use of Epic Drama we see the effects of our corrupt government as it is brought into perspective using the epic devices of using the audience as active participants, using narration rather than action , and political engagement. These epic devices play a key role in portraying the didactic message of the play. The play causes the reader not only to be a present member of the audience, but to have presence of mind as well; to not only hear what the characters are saying, but to take initiative if they wish to see change.
University of Northern Iowa Dance Marathon is an organization that raises money for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network. The organization aims to provide emotional and financial support for families with children facing life threatening illnesses by raising money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and organizing events that increase student and community awareness. This money then is put towards things like research, education, equipment and pediatric ward enhancements so the children and families can feel a little more comfortable during their stay at the hospital. The big event was on March 1, 2014, but the organization completes events throughout the year to fundraise as much money as possible for the Miracle Network kiddos, like a 5k color run on campus, trick-or-treating for kids who can’t, and selling grilled cheese at midnight during homecoming celebrations.
Different Dance Styles by Doris Humphrey and Maud Allen that Presented New Dances that Displayed Innovative Movements.
In this essay, I am going to write about how the audience of this play
A general air of superficiality invades the production. Why? Unless done with reality, the play loses its “tam” (Yiddish for taste), fringes on mockery of the way of life being depicted, and weakens the accomplishment of the author’s purpose.
Jazz dance today is presented in many different forms. Jazz history and famous jazz dancers and choreographers have helped influenced what we know today, as jazz dance. It is incorporated in an assortment of styles including, hip hop and Broadway, Jazz dance today has its own movement, while there trendy modern types of jazz, traditional jazz never goes out of style. Over the years, jazz dance has become popular in the media and can be found in music videos, television, movies, and commercials. Jazz dance is always changing with the time periods, and can be found in social dance, musical theater, dance schools, and night clubs.
Balance can be a difficult characteristic to hold within one’s self as well as their pieces of work. To obtain this quality, an equal amount of time and effort must be put within the creation of any type of design. There should not be any form of emphasis towards a certain topic unless another placed on its opposite. Artists, musicians, and dancers alike have the option to convey these characteristics in their works; either having that balance clearly noticeable, or placing emphasis on other features or a specific one at that. The people under analysis; Pollock, John Cage and Merce Cunningham, all had constructions in which freedom, control, purpose and purposelessness are exhibited. The question, upon examination of these works is whether
The similarities that I observed is that modern dance pioneers placed emphasis on body movements. Martha Graham stated that modern dance is easy, glamorous and delightful. To me is a dance that is difficult to perform even when some of the body movements appeared easy for people do such as arm movement, falling and getting up. Moreover, the differences that I observed were the techniques of movements that each choreographer/pioneer used. For instance Martha Graham technique includes the used coordination, "contraction and release". Duncan for her part used simple gestures. Furthermore, Humphrey created dance entirely without musical accompaniment, she also used imbalance as the base for her movement such as fall and recovery. The modern dance
There is something beautiful about dance, but there is something more beautiful about dancing with others. When a group of 13 girls and 1 boy can come together from 14 different ways of life and move together as one, then a dance team become more than just a dance team. This was not something that happened over night, it took time, effort and about 7 conversations with our coaches about our values. Without all of those components this team would have never became the successful, fighting, dream team that we became.
The pressure to comply with the traditional conventions of society induces the central characters of both the plays to masquerade. Appear...
Bertolt Brecht’s epic play Mother Courage and her Children has a didactic aesthetic that is achieved through withholding of catharsis. Whilst Mother Courage could be classed as a tragedy due to the suffering and loss of its characters, Brecht’s focus on society and his use of techniques common in ‘epic theatre’ (such as music) result in the play being epic rather than tragic (Curran 2001, 172). The focus on society in Mother Courage is seen through Brecht’s exploration of the theme of war, which is a mimetic response to the socio-political context of the time. Marxist influence is also apparent in Brecht’s belief that art and society are mutually exclusive and through the continual criticism of capitalism and Aristotelian aesthetics. Furthermore,
“Dance, the art of precise, expressive, and graceful human movement, traditionally, but not necessarily, performed in accord with musical accompaniment. Dancing developed as a natural expression of united feeling and action.”
Epic theatre, pioneered by Bertolt Brecht, was a popular theater form in the 20th century that utilized song (‘musical insertions’) as a prominent dramatic feature. Not only were songs used for the purpose of entertainment, but to present a theatrical experience unblemished by emotional judgment evoking critical and objective opinions and thoughts within the audience. Brecht’s use of song in Mother Courage and her Children highlights the character of the independent, tenacious and persevering protagonist, Mother Courage and draws attention towards the recurring idea of historicisation and capitulation in the lives of a common man in the historical context of war. Brecht’s simultaneous use of song as a commenting, alienating and dramatic device helps to successfully detach yet entertain his proletariat audience. This further provides a critical representation of reality and social ‘gestus’.
Over the past 250 years, America as a nation has evolved. Its beliefs, customs, and citizens have undergone changes with the times. It seems only natural, then, that its drama would also evolve. American drama of the 20th century was far removed from that of the 18th century. The differences are stark and many, and to fully appreciate what American drama is today, it helps to know where it came from. The evolution of American drama, from its earliest form to the modern works of Eugene O’Neill and Arthur Miller, can be traced through three plays from the 18th and 19th centuries. By studying Thomas Godfrey’s The Prince of Parthia, Royall Tyler’s The Contrast, and James A. Herne’s Margaret Fleming, the evolution of American drama can be seen through the development of plot, character, language, and setting, each of which bring us closer to the naturalism that is prevalent in modern American drama.