Bruce Goodrich’s “Frankenstein,” presented by Cal State Fullerton College Center for the Arts on September 29 at 8 pm, is about a man named Victor Frankenstein who creates a creature to see if he can resurrect the dead because of his mother’s passing. This creation is left to survive on his own while Frankenstein descends into depression and despair, and returns to his family. The creature figures out life alone and becomes disgusted and filled with hate toward those around him. He then realizes his creator left him, which in turn leads him to become vengeful.
“Victor Frankenstein” performed by Anthony Ayala and choreographed by Lisa Draskovich-Long grabs the audience’s attention throughout the performance. In this thrilling classic,
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Dr. Frankenstein pushes the boundaries between his brilliance and his crimes against nature. Every time Frankenstein feels infuriated or conquered, he shouts at the characters all around them. The audience witnesses Frankenstein’s obsessive nature through Ayala’s emphasis on his speech pattern. Desperation is heard in Ayala’s voice and in his rapid breathing as Frankenstein loses control of his creation, “the creature.” Victor Frankenstein spends his whole life trying to defeat his creation. His excesses finally destroy him. Casey Bowen who plays “the creature,” shows the vulnerability of a newborn child, conveying sensitive qualities from the start. Every time he imitates or stammers the words and actions of others, Bowen demonstrates the creature’s sensitivity. Through facial expressions of bewilderment and confused hand motions, he utters the creature’s constant turmoil while also demonstrating signs of interest in learning about who or what he is. Suspense appears as the cast articulates their hostility toward the creature. Believing that he is a monster, the creature begins to show signs of hateful intentions. When he sees his creator for the first time, the tension is apparent with body stances that heavily imply impending violence. “Frankenstein,” was played at the Thrust Stage Theatre.
It was a flat stage in front with one chair on both sides of it. A chandelier hanging above the chairs, made the setting more intimate. The back of the stage consisted of different heights that served as the scientist's lab and a bridge. The eerie lighting above the lab added to the effect that this was a mad scientist's lab. The lighting and projections perfectly accompanied the story. Each time a character has an important line or dialogue, the spotlight hits them with a color that set the tone, making their importance known. In moments of despair or suspense, blue lighting reflects the characters’ feelings. Blue lighting also gives the sense of cold weather, the nighttime, and the amber. Yellow light gives the sense of warmth. Flashing lights mimicked a storm. The red lighting gave the impression of a hot, destructive fire, or danger. The clothing in this play is that from the 18th century, with women wearing high-waisted empire dresses. Coat dresses were worn to keep warm. The men wore Waistcoats (vests), trousers, button shirts with a tailcoat. A great coat was worn to keep warm. Leather shoes and top hats completed the look. The look the writer was trying to convey is a gothic regency style, undermining the cool classic style from the middle
ages. Bruce Goodrich “Frankenstein” was highly entertaining. Although it’s a story that has changed into several different versions of pop-culture over the years, this theatrical play inspires a fresh start into a well-known classic. The stage had a great layout that made the audience feel that they were part of the play. The characters were entertaining and conveyed the characters personality which garnered the audience's attention. This play explains what has happened for centuries and how people, in general, treat someone who is different. It is the fear of the unknown and complete ignorance that lends itself to the display of hatred and fear. The play was very entertaining in that the classic story of Frankenstein is well known, and even though the story is familiar to the audience, the play left the audience captivated from beginning to end.
In Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, she addresses the challenges that arise in both the creation and life of a dead creature that has been brought back to life in hideous forms. The
Throughout Frankenstein Victor goes through an emotional roller coaster when it comes to the Monster. I chose different colors to represents the multiple emotions that Victor experiences throughout Frankenstein. For instance, the red represents anger, blue represents sadness, orange represent curiosity, yellow represents stress, and purple represents death. I chose colors to exhibit how Victor changes throughout the story because he indulges in life changing experiences. His mind was filled with multiple emotions during these times, to the point where he could not think straight. He had everyone’s life weighing upon his shoulders, if the Monster made one wrong move, it could change everything for everyone because he if made another companion
The lighting is used as colour symbolism through Priestley’s decision to imitate the emotions in the act, ‘the lighting should be pink and intimate until the Inspector arrives, and then it should...
Frankenstein, a novel by Mary Shelley, illustrates the trials including Victor Frankenstein's triumphs, a character who owned a lovely with memorable life experiences that shaped the independent college student he became. Despite Victor growing up in a welcoming setting, he struggled to find the intellectual purpose of acquiring a college education in his physical science interest to generate the likelihood of reviving a dead corpse with electricity to acquire the comfortability to feel like God. Mary Shelley used diction and imagery to convey shifts in mood that supported the plot of chapters one through five in Frankenstein to inundate the reader with the feelings the characters of the story were facing.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein describes a mad scientist by the name of Victor Frankenstein and the initially amiable creature assembled by him. Through questionable means of experimentation, this monster is constructed through the reattachment of several cadavers and a bolt of lightning. Upon achieving the magnificent feat of reanimation, Victor, rather than revelling in his creation, is appalled, abandoning the creature. The physical appearance of the monster terrorizes everyone he meets and is unfortunately shunned from the world. The newborn monster develops a nomadic lifestyle after being ostracized by nearly every community he travels to, but eventually finds refuge near a secluded cottage. While returning from a nearby forest, the creature
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is impressive, entertaining, and fascinating so is it no surprise there have been so many films and artworks influenced by her novel. Many of which have put their own spin to the horror novel, especially the character of the creature that remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction. However, there have been critics whom argue modern versions and variations have lost the horror and passion that is an essential to the creature. The start of the Creature is bound to one book. However, public impression of the Creature has changed severely since the publication of the original novel, leading to diverse styles and plot lines in its diverse film adaptations. People’s impression of the Creature have become so twisted and turned by time and decades of false film posters and article titles that most use the name “Frankenstein” to refer to the Creature itself, rather than the scientist who created him! It’s a shame! An understanding of literary history is a necessity to comprehend the truth of the Creature’s tragic history and how decades of film adaptations changed him into the hulking beast most people know him as today.
Tragedy shows no discrimination and often strikes down on those undeserving of such turmoil. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a creature more repulsive than one can imagine is brought to life by a young scientist. Although this creature is horrifying in sight, he is gentle by nature. Unfortunately, the softer side of the creature is repeatedly overlooked and the so called “monster” is driven to a breaking point. Even though the Creature committed many crimes, Mary Shelley’s Creature was the tragic hero of this story because of his efforts rescue the life of a young girl and helping destitute cottagers.
Frankenstein, the doctor, aims to create a man in his own image. His personal ambitions drove him mad and into isolation. He leaves school in pursuit of better facilities and free rein to test, create and revision life. He becomes obsessed with the idea of reanimation of flesh and is ultimately successful. However, the project is beyond the boundaries of what is thought possible and acceptable, and the actions taken to create the monster are unethical. In the opening scenes Frankenstein and his assistant, Fritz, are seen wandering through the graveyard taking bodies, and stealing experimental parts for their creature. In comparison to the novel, the opening scenes of the film display a different perspective which changes the imagery of the actions taking place and the audience’s connection with the c...
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is a very complex book riddled with underlying messages. From the characteristics of each individual to the main storyline Shelley depicts a world of opposites. Victor Frankenstein, a privileged young man, defies nature when his obsession with life and death has him attempting to bring someone/something to life. He succeeds and quickly goes from obsessed over its creation to disgust with its form. He then rejects his creation, which sets the stage for the terrifying events to come. This is the embodiment of a modern novel as it contains alienation, disillusionment, and a critique of science.
The lights helped the audience determine who was speaking, by putting a spotlight over the actor and dimming the rest of the lights. Also, the color of the lights changed according to each scene and the mood for that particular scene. For instance, a musical number about a character’s tragic past would include soft, golden lighting while a scene about dancing in dance class might include purple lights to show the overall mood of the scene. In addition, the costumes used in the musical added even more life to the musical by providing a visual representation of each character and his or her personality. The costumes allowed the audience to determine the character traits of each character while also deciding the type of homes the characters came from. For instance, one of the characters was dressed in pants and a shirt that would normally be seen worn by an older man or a father. This lead the audience to believe that the character might be an older person who has a family of his own. Later, it was revealed that the character actually had a wife and two kids, proving the audience
In Frankenstein, Shelley creates two very complex characters. They embody the moral dilemmas that arise from the corruption and disturbance of the natural order of the world. When Victor Frankenstein is attending school, he becomes infatuated with creating a living being and starts stealing body parts from morgues around the university. After many months of hard work, he finishes one stormy night bringing his creation to life. However, “now that [Victor] had finished, the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled [his] heart” (Chambers). Right after Victor realizes what he has done, he falls into deep depression and must be nursed back to health by his friend. Victor spends the rest of the story facing consequences and moral problems from creating unnatural life. When he realizes that the ‘monster’ has killed his brother, even though no one believes him, he feels responsible for his brother’s murder because he was responsible for the existence of the ‘monster’. Also feeling responsible, Victor...
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a truly famous novel that has been revisited by many, as well as revised by the author in the many years since its original publication. Within this novel Shelley conveys the tragic fictional story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster that he thoughtlessly brought to life, as well as the lives of those affected by his hideous creation. Throughout the novel it is made quite apparent that the monster was not inherently evil, in fact the monster was quite benign, however through its interactions with society the monster is slowly shaped into a being that can truly be called just that, a monster. All of the aforementioned change to the monster are brought about in part by the societal standards of the time period
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein (sometimes also known as The Modern Prometheus) is the classic gothic novel of her time. In this eerie tale, Dr. Victor Frankenstein – suffering from quite an extreme superiority complex – brings to life a creature made from body parts of deceased individuals from nearby cemeteries. Rather than to embrace the Creature as his own, Frankenstein alienates him because of his unpleasant appearance. Throughout the novel, the Creature is ostracized not only by Frankenstein but by society as a whole. Initially a kind and gentle being, the Creature becomes violent and eventually seeks revenge for his creator’s betrayal. Rather than to merely focus on the exclusion of the Creature from society, Shelley depicts the progression of Dr. Frankenstein’s seclusion from other humans as well, until he and the Creature ultimately become equals – alone in the world with no one to love, and no one to love them back. Frankenstein serves as more than simply a legendary tale of horror, but also as a representation of how isolation and prejudice can result in the demise of the individual.
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is a story about a man, Victor Frankenstein, who is infatuated with the concept of life and how it plays into the human body. He becomes so obsessed with the science of life and death that he creates a monster. However, once he creates the form of life, Frankenstein is overcome by horror and regret which results in him abandoning the monster. Throughout the story, Frankenstein battles internally and externally with his creation. In Frankenstein, the reader can better understand Frankenstein’s cowardliness, drive, and lack of compassion when considering the creators in the “Myth of Prometheus” and the book of “Genesis”.
In the novel “Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley she tells a story about a man named Victor Frankenstein and his success as he reanimates a dead body, and then his guilt for creating such a thing. When the "monster" realizes how he came to be and is rejected by man, he seeks revenge on his creator's family to avenge his own sorrow. Mary Shelley first wrote “Frankenstein” in 1816 and published it in 1818. According to the author, Mary Shelley, Frankenstein's monster symbolizes the coming of industrialization to Europe and the death and destruction that the monster shows symbolizes the ruin that Shelley feared industrialization would eventually cause.