Being blindsided is one of the worst feelings, a person can get. Being blindsided by fascist Nazis is another thing all together. Northview High School’s drama production of Cabaret added shock to the musical by their portrayal of the arrival of the Nazi party. In the last scene prior to intermission, the audience witnesses a Nazi takeover of the once beloved and charming city of Berlin. The lights were a factor in marking the transition. The lights changed from bright white and cool colors to an ominous red. The bright white and cool colored lights fit nicely with the party that had been taking place as they made the party seem light and joyous, not somber and dark. The red, however, symbolized that a more fierce and distraught tone was taking over. The change of lights was subtle and not drastic. As a member of the audience, I hardly even noticed the transition until the stage was bright red, making it feel as though the Nazis crept up out of nowhere, but they were also too strong to stop them now. Another key factor in adding shock to the musical through the portrayal of the arrival of the Nazi party was with the placement of Nazi flags around the auditorium. Slowly, during the final number of act one, members of the crew unrolled the flags to hang …show more content…
The music at the end of the first act was a reprisal of a song sang previously within the musical. The first time the song was song, it sounded like a lofty lullaby or folk tune. Titled “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” the second time it is sung, it has a more mocking or ironic meaning than the previous time. At this point, the audience has already witnessed the unveiling of the Nazi flag and is aware of the Nazis’ presence, so they realize the fate to come of many of the characters as most are familiar with the Holocaust and what happened during World War II. This song, first thought to be sweet, has now been twisted into a menacing
1. The title "Strictly Ballroom" gives us the idea & impression of very stern & rules in a very rigid & strict environment with many expectations & restrictions. It also implies the concept of very orthodox textbook ballroom dancing which is very stiff & done exactly in a specific way which it's expected to be done.
The first song played is “The Sounds of Silence,” which is somber and melancholy with its soft voices and instruments. The song plays along with a dull and repetitive recording while Ben stands alone on the moving walkway at the busy LAX airport. The song’s lyrics reinforce Ben’s feeling of isolation, “And in the naked light I saw, ten thousand people, maybe more. People talking without speaking, people hearing without listening” (Nichols 00:01:34). Right away the unhappy music and lyrics give the feeling that Ben is absent from his life and is surrounded by people that have nothing important to say. The song establishes the anxiety that Ben will experience throughout the film which is that of not being able to connect with the generation above him and worrying that his own generation is becoming a superficial and apathetic culture. Later, there is a montage that uses “Sounds of Silence” and transitions into “April Come She Will.” The montage shows Ben going through his monotonous daily routine and then meeting up with Mrs. Robinson for their loveless affairs. The music reminds the audience how detached Ben is even in an activity that should be intimate. “April Come She Will” plays while Ben walks back and forth between the worlds of Mrs. Robinson and his parents, neither of which he is pleased with. This song is about a love burning
Set in Nazi German, with the occasional interruption from the 1980’s Reagan Era, A Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner has more in common with 2016 America than one may first imagine. Political upheaval in the wake of a devastating economic crisis and the rise of an influential and charismatic leader certainly may resonate with many in America today, even as this may not have been what the play write had imagined having written this play in the 1980’s. The story follows the events of the 1930’s as Hitler gains ground in Germany, and a small, odd group of friends who work to do their part politically. While some succeed more than others at finding a voice among the chaos, others are left behind in the wake of the war.
Music is constantly playing and it lightens the crowd to dance and sing. The piano produces sounds that can only make a room full of people forget everything and just make the night one of the best. One instance occurs in the movie when the music stops due to the arrest of Ugarte. When the music ceases, the people quit their fun to focus on Strasser. Then after a bit, the music resumes and the people do as well. A second instance, occurs when the Germans sing their prideful anthem because Sam had stopped playing. Then Mr. Laslow gets the people together to return the cafe back to its normal state. Mr. Laslow gets the crowd to sing “La Marseillaise”. The Germans quit their singing due to the overwhelming strength of the crowd to take the cafe’s normal tone
The Nazis are not portrayed in a good or friendly manner throughout the entire movie, especially during the La Marseillaise scene. When the German soldiers, led by Strasser, begin to sing their patriotic song, ?Die Wacht am Rhein? in French territory, it does not sit well with the French patriots. This singing represents the German invasion of France in their government, culture and territory because the Germans come into foreign land with their military and control all aspects of society. The movie depicts the soldiers as drunk and tone-dea...
Cabaret provides for its audience an animated and a uniquely exciting dramatization of Berlin, Germany just before the Second World War. The story of many Germans living in an uncertain world is shown through just a few characters. Life is a cabaret, or so the famed song goes. After watching "Cabaret," you'll agree to an extent, but also realize how unsettling the assertion is. Taking place in the early 1930s, a portrait of life in decadent Berlin, is both uplifting and grim. Not your typical musical, it is comedic and dramatic, realistic, very tasteful, and ultimately thought provoking.
Written in 1962-3, Play depicts three characters, a man (M), and two women (W1 and W2) trapped in urns with only their heads showing. These characters each present their own version of a love triangle, which once occurred between them. It becomes clear during the play that the characters, once tortured by each other, are now tortured by their situation. A spotlight acts as a "unique inquisitor," compelling each to speak when it shines on them, and to stop when it goes out. As this assault continues, the characters become increasingly maddened by the light, and increasingly desperate to make it stop. The play repeats itself, providing the audience with a sense that these characters have been saying the same words for an eternity, and will continue to do so until the light decides they can stop. Beckett demonstrates how "A style of living, theatrically communicable, is used to express a state of mind."
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
Lincoln is a marriage between music and dialogue. The music enhances emotions that dialogue alone might not. The film score provides greater understanding of the characters and the setting of the film. In Lincoln, Williams uses different settings from winds and strings to brass chorale in Freedom’s Call to bridge the public and personal side of Lincoln. In the Remembrance Theme the solo piano expresses sorrow and regret allowing us to empathize with Lincoln’s loss of a son and the tragedy of the Civil War. People attend films as a sort of catharsis. Film scores enable us to laugh, rejoice, and cry – to go through the highs and lows with the characters we are viewing.
The theater that the play was preformed in proscenium theater. The audience was only able to sit on one side of the stage make it look like the production had a frame. The scene design was very complex for such a small local production this allowed the audience to feel as if the show was being preformed at a more lavish venue. The lighting provided select visibility at times when the audience was to be focused on a specific individual. The lighting also provided rhythm and structure allowing the light to make changes so the scenes flowed smoothly. The mood was also set by lighting when the characters were in a calm state the lights were low and focused only on the person who's emotions the audience was suppose to connect with. Most importantly the illusion and motivation was set my the lighting this is what allowed the audience to feel as if time was really passing. The lighting allowed for the audience to feel connected to daylight conversations, moonlight walks, and indoor functions. The costumes reflected the time period of the early 1900's that the play was set in. This allowed the audience feel as if they are able to be part of the past. The women had simple long skirts and blouse with floral patterns. Hairstyles were neat and tidy like the time period they were portraying. The men wore three piece suits and hats that appeared to be fitting of the 1900's. The costumes
Act I begins with a festival known as Lupercalia. As the scene opens, a sense of mood is provided. That is very fitting for this act because it is the exposition. The exposition is expected to provide background information, as well as “expose” the mood. Not only is the mood exposed, but so are the feelings of the people. Learning the peoples feeling’s gives a big clue on what actions are to expect from them. Also, knowing how people feel toward an upcoming action in the play, gives a better understanding of what they may do.
Mysterious, fun, dramatic, and contemporary summarized the main genres of music played. Occasionally, pop music from China played, to put a modern twist on the performance. To me, the music resembled adding cherries to the cake, as it added theatrics to the show. I also liked the lighting component. This department used different colors that represented the emotions of the story. Such as (Blue: calm, Green/Yellow: Happiness, Red: War, White: Peace and freedom). This enhanced the background scenery of the stage as well as the props. I had undergone quite a few emotions during this performance. Such as fear for the performers safety, shock for the stunts, and even anger for the show being too
The stage was a small circle and the audience was circling around the stage. On the stage was a single small bench. I was surprised because I am used to being in a theater that has a stage with numerous props. Once the production started, I immediately realized that the play was character based. It relied on only the characters to tell the story, since there was no props or scenery on the stage besides the bench .This complemented the play because it made the audience pay more attention the dialogue, and it gave the characters meaning. For example, usually the props are what carry the play, but this time since there was hardly any props or scenery, the characters are the ones who gave the play life and meaning. It made the play appear more real and full of life. In my personal experience, I felt a connection the characters and found myself feelings emotions for them, whether it was being angry at them, sad for them, etc. Additionally, the lighting and sound design where done extremely well. There wasn’t too much music in the play, but the small amount there was gave the scene that the music was playing in more emotion. For example, when Proteus starts singing about loving Sylvia, it made the audience feel more heartbreak for Julia, since she was able to hear what Proteus was singing about. I wasn’t familiar with John Kander when I went into the theater, so I could not tell which songs where is. However, I did enjoy the music and the sounds, for example crickets in the background, boats departing, etc. The sounds gave the scenes more life, since there was hardly any props used in the stage. Additionally, the lightning helped create different scenes. For example, when it was night, the lights turned a darkish purple/blue color. When it was morning, the lights where bright, and even sometimes orange. This made the scenes more dramatic, since the audience can see and hear what is going on
The treatment of Lola in terms of how the camera represents her further emphasizes the male discontent of the Weimar Republic in the way the mise en scene reduces her character to an image. Additionally, it is clear that the male gaze is the lens that Lola’s presence embodies as is articulated in Jennifer Williams’s article “Gazes In Conflict: Lola Lola, Spectatorship, and Cabaret in The Blue Angel” where she states: “capturing a gaze, the body becomes inscribed with the cultural anxieties that motivate the gaze”. In fact, Lola’s characterization as a cabaret performer codes the male gaze in that fact itself as her role is to perform for (mainly) male patrons, tempt their desires, and then act on said desires. Her “image” is built up throughout
In this paper, I will be focusing briefly on my knowledge and understanding of the concept of Applied theatre and one of its theatre form, which is Theatre in Education. The term Applied Theatre is a broad range of dramatic activity carried out by a crowd of diverse bodies and groups.