Throughout this unit, I enjoyed learning about gothic plays such as Ithaca Road, which we had studied immensely in term 3. In my opinion, I enjoyed the concept of being in a small group acting out a scene of the play, rather than reading it line for line as a class. It was more enjoyable and built on our skills in the aspects of performing and developing a different personality. However, due to the lack of time availability, various members didn’t act to their full potential, with absolutely no blocking being implemented. Whilst watching this play, I immersed myself into its brilliant, well-constructed storyline. The play brought to my attention to how a gothic story can be portrayed. Moreover, the film most definitely cleared up any confusion
of how it should be performed. The response from the audience (in the film) was brilliant. All children were laughing frequently from the humor that was depicted from the characters including Ben and most of all, Tilly. I personally favoured Tilly, as her personality was quite strange as well as unique. Furthermore, the storyline was creative where they used the stage to their advantage. The beginning of Ithaca road was slightly boring at moments. However, this increasingly changed once the story was at its peak (the complication). I didn’t believe that the play was classed as gothic. However, as I don’t have a good understanding of that specific genre, my opinion may be inaccurate. Ultimately, the entire performance was excellent, and I hope I can expand my knowledge on this unit in the future!
It is imperative to understand the significance of the profound effects these elements have on the audience’s response to the play. Without effective and accurate embodiments of the central themes, seeing a play becomes an aimless experience and the meaning of the message is lost. Forgiveness and redemption stand as the central themes of the message in The Spitfire Grill. Actors communicate character development through both nonverbal and verbal cues; their costumes serve as a visual representation of this development by reflecting the personal transformation of each character. In the case of The Spitfire Grill, set design is cut back to allow for the audience’s primary focus to be on the actors and their story. Different from set design, the use of sound and lights in The Spitfire Grill, establishes the mood for the play. In other words, every theatrical element in a play has a purpose; when befittingly manipulated, these elements become the director’s strongest means of expressing central themes, and therefore a means of achieving set objectives. Here again, The Spitfire Grill is no exception. With the support of these theatrical elements, the play’s themes of forgiveness and redemption shine as bright as the moon on
The play that we read for this unit is Too Much Punch For Judy, by Mark Wheeller. It is a form of Verbatim Theatre, meaning that it is based on the spoken words of real people. This play is about the story of a young woman who kills her sister in an alcohol related accident. When I first read the play I couldn’t empathize with the story as I haven’t experienced such a shocking event before. In this essay I will describe, analyse and evaluate both my work and the work of other actors in my group, focusing on the mediums, elements and explorative strategies of Drama.
Throughout the play, there is a level of intensity that can be seen. Sound effects, lightning and props help make the story seem intensely realistic. It helped engage the audience's attention and emotions throughout the entire play. It is as though we are living vicariously through these characters. With these characters, there is a life lesson to be learned. We create education in favor of ourselves from which we learn and journey to travel through time and time again. The playwright leaves an impression on our lives, which is to say that as society moves on, so should our paths that lead to greater understanding. A project such as moving on as a society and gaining better understanding of people and their lifestyles are elements the entire cast and the playwright has presented, a project that is appropriately entitled -- The Laramie Project.
In this reflective piece I am going to answer the questions “why is it important to know the beliefs and tradition of those who came before us?” And “what could happen if we ignore the past?” I am going to answer these questions using the following passages Freedom Walkers, Jo Ann Robinson and I am a Native North American. I am also going to talk about how if we don't study the past, we can miss a big turning point in our lives.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a comedy that has been interpreted in different ways, enabling one to receive multiple experiences of the same story. Due to the content and themes of the play, it can be creatively challenging to producers and their casting strategies. Instead of being a hindrance, I find the ability for one to experiment exciting as people try to discover strategies that best represent entertainment for the audience, as well as the best ways to interpret Shakespeare’s work.
―Fences.‖ Drama for Students. Ed. David M. Galens. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 180-197. Gale
Galens, David, and Lynn M. Spampinato, eds. Drama for Students. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Print.
I feel the University of Illinois Department of Theatre choose this play because it was a great play to surprise you on how much you may like theatre. Personally, I really enjoyed the play because all of the assignments I have completed I saw put into work. It made me think about things I could’ve done to be more creative with my treatments, which made me appreciative of the play. For example, the thunderstorm added sound effects, a background, and water dropping to enhanced the experience of the audience. Another example would be how all the actor were on point at all points of the play. I thought to myself if you are not one of the main people talking at the moment, you would be talking about random things or doing nothing, but this was not the case. I looked around at all the actors and they all played their roles and took even their smaller roles
” Drama for Students. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. Vol. 21.
On stage, these points were, looking at the opinions of a majority of both the audiences and the critics, presented successfully by Brook and the cast he worked with. From the prison guards who loomed in the background, clothed in butcher aprons and armed with clubs, to the half-naked Marat, slouched in a tub and covered in wet rags, forever scratching and writing, to the small group of singers, dressed and painted up as clowns, to the narcoleptic but murderous Charlotte Corday, Weiss and Brook offered a stage production that both engaged and amazed the audience, while at the same time forced them to question their role as the audience; no better exemplified than at the very end of the play, where the inmates, standing menacingly at the edge of the stage, actually begin to applaud the very people who applaud their performance, aggravating and confusing some, but forcing most t...
Schlegel, August W. Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature. Trans. John Black. 2004. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. .
Tim Blake Nelson’s O takes Shakespeare’s Othello and shifts the action from 16th-century Venice and Cyprus to a very current day Charleston, South Carolina. The issue with updating a film adaptation of Shakespeare to present-day is that often, the essence of Shakespeare is lost. Some modernized film versions of his works utilize the original text, like Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. But O chooses to update everything about the play, leading viewers to wonder whether or not it fully captures Shakespeare’s mastery of character, dialogue and intense thematic elements. Tim Blake Nelson’s O is, to some extent, a successful film adaptation in that the nature and spirit of Othello are still the basis of the film.
This assignment made me realise how much I love theatre and the arts. South African theatre has a certain originality that makes me proud to be South African. It has come a long way and in all honesty, if it wasn’t for Apartheid, I don’t think it would be as great as it is now. Not that I’m saying it was good, not at all, it just brought a rare art culture unique to South Africa.
Overall, I really enjoyed this play and I would say it is the best play I have seen in my Academic career. Along with the great editing and direction of the play, the production team did a great job which was quite prevalent since the vibe of the play seemed very realistic and relevant to the
There were many different options to choose from for this essay, and I chose to attend the play,The Caucasian Chalk Circle. It was a great experience to have seen a play like this. There are many different aspects of a play that have to work together to have a successful overall outlook. A few major aspects that contribute to the overall outlook are; the quality of the acting, if the plot is enjoyable, how the characters present themselves and how the lighting ties in with the mood.