In creating my solo piece, I was finally able to understand the interconnectedness of Stanislavski’s system. Emotional memory is key in realizing the “magic if,” the subtext and the given circumstances are intertwined as well. The physical method is necessary for relaying the objective, which can only be determined by the superobjective. The physical method is derived from the through line, which is derived directly from the superobjective. In this way, it is not possible to focus on specific aspects without employing all of the various aspects. In this performance, one of the aspects I will focus on is Stanislavski’s “magic if,” and, in accordance with the “magic if,” my own emotional memory. These aspects will tie well into the given circumstances: …show more content…
The process of determining the subtext of a piece theatre reminds me of analyzing a piece of literature—as theatre is driven by dialogue. The Stanislavski system, however, relies often on expression through action and movement, and, therefore, this analysis had to occur in separate pieces: firstly, I needed to find the mood of D.M. Larson’s piece, Pearls of Wisdom, and secondly, I needed to examine my own emotional memory in relation to the piece. Tyranny strikes me firstly as tired: she has lived more than her numbered years, and because she gave birth as a teenager, she was not able to age in a normal progression. She would hit an assailant with a “pickup truck” or “buy [her daughter] a butcher knife” in order to hide from reality. This is, in every sense, childish: as one grows into adulthood, they learn that it is absolutely necessary to face reality in all its forms. Tyranny refuses to accept reality because it is simply too painful for her to assimilate into everyday life. She cannot accept her own rape, and so she jokes that, around her hometown, it is only ever referred to as “courtship.” In her deeply sarcastic and macabre sense of humor, it is evident that she cannot grow up, as she is trapped eternally into childhood. It appears multiple times in the text, from her “courtship,” to the lullaby, she demonstrates the vindictive qualities of a child, undeveloped and inexperienced in the mature
Mrs. Turner, a woman Janie and Tea Cake met in the Everglades, was racist toward black people, she wanted Janie to meet her brother who had white features. Her plan was for Janie to leave Teacake for her brother. Teacake didn't like Mrs. Turnner because she always made it seem like Janie was wasting her time with him. When teacake overheard Mrs. Turnner telling Janie to leave him for her brother, and calling him a "no good negro," he was enraged. Her comments damaged Teacake self-confidence, plus he already felt like he didn't deserve Janie. Hearing Mrs. Turnner talks about him in such a nasty way made him think Janie was indeed too good for him. Thus, Tea Cake beats Janie to prove to Mrs. Turnner that he is the man in control of her body. Janie was his wife, whether Mrs. Turnner liked it or not. Teacake beat Janie not because she planned to leave him, but because his manhood was attacked. He felt the need to prove to Mrs. Tuner that he was not a little boy and that she couldn’t just come around and instill doubts in his wife's head. Janie, not fighting back and clinging to Teacake after the beating was proof that he had control. This brought back the confidence he lost because of Mrs. Turnner's
...hat she does not obliges to what she said to her daughter on about staring to other people. She stared and looked at the teacher twice, which would demonstration that the mother does not like something about her. “Her lips are quivering,” said the daughter showing that her mother had tremble when she was talking to her. They touch and press the lips as an old game but instead the mother put her hand down on her side that indicated it was not part of the old game it was different. The mother shoes as she walked down the hallway from her daughter and the teacher made a very loud sound. Singing and talking in the classroom as they walked towards the room was still not loud enough to take away her mother shoes walking down the hallway. Here the mother is showing emotions that she does not approve of the teacher as in her actions and having loud steps down the hallway.
Vogel’s writing exudes symbolism from the first word of the script to the last – from the rise of the curtain to its close. The glimpses into Li’l Bit’s past are sometimes explicitly and literally described, but Vogel also often uses extended metaphors to act as a detailed commentary on the action. Why, however, did the playwright choose symbolism to convey the effects of sexual abuse – as heavy as its subject matter may be – during the late twentieth century when seemingly nothing is censored in America? In order to answer this and better understand the way in which Vogel uses symbolism –in the smaller elements of the play and extended metaphors – the terms must first be defined.
Teenage rebellion is typically portrayed in stories, films, and other genres as a testosterone-based phenomenon. There is an overplayed need for one to acknowledge a boy’s rebellion against his father, his life direction, the “system,” in an effort to become a man, or rather an adult. However, rarely is the female addressed in such a scenario. What happens when little girls grow up? Do they rebel? Do they, in a sudden overpowering rush of estrogen, deny what has been taught to them from birth and shed their former youthful façades? Do they turn on their mothers? In Sharon Olds’ poem, “The Possessive,” the reader is finally introduced to the female version of the popular coming-of-age theme as a simple haircut becomes a symbol for the growing breach between mother and daughter through the use of striking images and specific word choice.
Speak, Memory begins with deep, existential implications about the fleeting nature of human life, with the image of a cradle rocking over an abyss, and human existence being compared to a brief crack of light. Throughout the first chapter Nabokov makes it clear that he is against the transiency of existence by writing his autobiography; by “pinning down” his memories, he is making some image of himself immortal, much like he would with a pinned butterfly. Throughout the book, the parallels between trapping and preserving butterflies and recalling and documenting memories are undeniable, and imply that Nabokov is writing Speak, Memory to ‘preserve’ himself like he would a butterfly.
The book follows Dana who is thrown back in time to live in a plantation during the height of slavery. The story in part explores slavery through the eye of an observer. Dana and even Kevin may have been living in the past, but they were not active members. Initially, they were just strangers who seemed to have just landed in to an ongoing play. As Dana puts it, they "were observers watching a show. We were watching history happen around us. And we were actors." (Page 98). The author creates a scenario where a woman from modern times finds herself thrust into slavery by account of her being in a period where blacks could never be anything else but slaves. The author draws a picture of two parallel times. From this parallel setting based on what Dana goes through as a slave and her experiences in the present times, readers can be able to make comparison between the two times. The reader can be able to trace how far perceptions towards women, blacks and family relations have come. The book therefore shows that even as time goes by, mankind still faces the same challenges, but takes on a reflection based on the prevailing period.
Chekhov himself, a renowned actor, used the technique in blockbusters such as Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Spellbound’. The ‘psyco-physical’ approach innovated by Chekhov has been used by many actors such as the Marilyn Monroe, Clint Eastwood, Anthony Hopkins, Helen Hunt, and Jack Nicholson (Backstage.com). Actors such as Jack Nicholson, while accepting his Golden Globe Award in 1999 and Anthony Hopkins, during an interview have both admired Chekhov’s psychological Gesture. Currently, the Chekhov technique has started gaining popularity as many actors seem to be interested in approaching Chekhov’s psycho-physical
Yet, according to Yaeger, The Awakening does deserve to be read as “one of the great subversive novels” and for reasons entirely unrelated to the plot mechanics attending Edna’s adulterous urges. A “real transgressive force” animates this novel, Yaeger argues, gathering a narrative momentum through its successive attempts to articulate a language that corresponds to Edna’s interior landscape, “a language which nobody understood,” as Chopin’s narrator says. While Edna may never possess this language nor delight in sharing its spoken cadences with another, the reader of The Awakening experiences a gradual liberatio...
Her husband walks into the house and is immediately looking for a confrontation. It is throughout this confrontation that the exploitative and abusive nature of Delia and Syke’s relationship becomes clear. Syke taunts her with his bullwhip, rolls around laughing in mirth at her fear, and continuously kicks the piles of clothing she is working on. Syke, overbearing and dominating, paints a startling portrait of sexist masculinity. He stands in clear contrast to the ways in which Delia is described in his presence: her “thin, stooped shoulders” sag deeper and deeper.
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.
Throughout history society has been controlled by men, and because of this women were exposed to some very demanding expectations. A woman was expected to be a wife, a mother, a cook, a maid, and sexually obedient to men. As a form of patriarchal silencing any woman who deviated from these expectations was often a victim of physical, emotional, and social beatings. Creativity and individuality were dirty, sinful and very inappropriate for a respectful woman. By taking away women’s voices, men were able to remove any power that they might have had. In both Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” and Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening”, we see that there are two types of women who arise from the demands of these expectations. The first is the obedient women, the one who has buckled and succumbed to become an empty emotionless shell. In men’s eyes this type of woman was a sort of “angel” perfect in that she did and acted exactly as what was expected of her. The second type of woman is the “rebel”, the woman who is willing to fight in order to keep her creativity and passion. Patriarchal silencing inspires a bond between those women who are forced into submission and/or those who are too submissive to maintain their individuality, and those women who are able and willing to fight for the ability to be unique.
Throughout the story there are several aspects of the Protagonist’s character that play a major role in the shaping of her future. During her childhood she often demonstrates a sense of fear when she is sent to her bedroom. “We were afraid of the inside, the room were we slept (pg. 549).” She is intimidated by her personal space because she does not have control over it. Later, she gains control by adding lace to her side of the room; symbolically adding personality to herself and slipping into womanhood. When she felt uncomfortable she exercised her imagination, to psychologically regain control over the confusion in her life. Her subconscious effort to control confusing times were carried on to her later years as she was constantly put in difficult situations, which helped her to adjust quickly to change during adulthood. The dreams she created changed when she began to place emphasis on her appearance-that which she could control, other than past dreams of heroism that seemed so distant from reality. The Protagonist filled her childhood with much pride and maintained a consistent focused upon the activities that filled her childhood. She relished working at the side of her father, taking immense pride in every aspect of her assigned duties. She proclaimed, “I worked willingly under his eyes, and with a feeling of pride (pg. 551)” Once after her father introduced her to a feed sales man as “my new hired man (pg. 551),” the Protagonist was flooded with pride as she “turned away and raked furiously, red in the face with pleasure (pg. 551).” In her later years her pride helped her to assemble strong self-confidence she used in her years of growing. Passion and depth were characteristics that impacted her future as a woman. Her passion and depth was revealed early on in the story ...
... mind. In attempt to tug at the audiences heartstrings through his poetic language of love and romance it makes it difficult to look past the beautiful language and see the unraveled events of Lolita in their true light: vulgarity.
On the other hand, Bergson’s idea of intuition is a means to immediate, absolute knowledge. This knowledge is perfect, without limits, and inexpressible through symbols, or even language. It is a result of an interior experience, which Bergson claims, involves “sympathy” towards the object. As intuition entails “sympathy,” analysis entails a “desire to embrace the object” (161 The Creative Mind). In an attempt to illustrate the distinction between intuition and analysis, let us propose that the object is a choreographed dance. If I analyze it, I may observe the dancers or make a chart of the dance steps, and memorize the rhythm. I may compare various dancers or relate some steps to other steps in a series. In general, I understand the structure of the dance, but nothing more; my analysis does not lead me to coincide with the act itself, and it results in an eventual limit to my knowledge of the dance, which cannot be expanded. However, when I become a dancer, I coincide with the act. I utilize introspection and experience its entirety.
Every performer, no matter how long they’ve been in the business will be effected by psychological setbacks. These effects can cause major upsets to the level of a performer’s performance, so something must be done to control these feelings. All performers have different techniques to cope with these symptoms, and in this next section I will provide some of these.