The Laramie Project Critique
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The Laramie project captured the audience's attention by utilizing different design methods on stage. This included sound, stage and hand properties, light, and music. With an ensemble of 10 actors playing over 30 roles, this proved to be an amazing play to experience. The playwright was constructed in a clear manner, which eliminated the confusion of "who is who." Through the usage of the stage elements as well as the dynamics of each character, this brought about an effective plot.
The first element that made the play dramatic was the sound effects. The sound of the "Wyoming wind" was constant throughout the whole play, but as emotional scenes and climaxes occurred, the sound of wind was intensely noticeable. I believe it was Misha Johnson that played the character of Matthew Shepard's good friend, as she was expressing her emotions about how she could not believe how people could do that to one of her best friends, and how Matthew or as his friends called him, "Matt" -- was just looking for a friend to relate with in the world. The scene was particularly dramatic in the sense that the amplitude of the wind increased, the actor became emotional and angry all at once, and as Misha finished her lines in sorrow, the sound of wind was all that was left. The directors, designers, and actors all combined made an impacting decision to have the "Wyoming wind" present throughout the play. All of these factors successfully conveyed to the audience that everyone in the town was affected by this hate crime. Which left the end of the first act intense, dramatic, and touching all inspired by sound effects.
As the sound effects were impacting, another element that influenced The Lar...
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...ding myself.
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.
My least favorite aspect of this play was the ending. The ending confused me and was anticlimactic. It was not funny and not entertaining at all.
Laramie project is very sensitive and crucial issue which was wisely broad up in the form of a docudrama in front of the community. The story of Matthew Shepard's highlighted many issues like hate crime, gay/lesbian relationship and personal identity which are still considered as tactful for many peoples. This play also described the role of media, police and an individual in the entire process and shows the influence of this incidence on a person's life.
The characters address the audience; the fast movement from scene to scene juxtaposing past and present and prevents us from identifying with particular characters, forcing us to assess their points of view; there are few characters who fail to repel us, as they display truly human complexity and fallibility. That fallibility is usually associated with greed and a ruthless disregard for the needs of others. Emotional needs are rarely acknowledged by those most concerned with taking what they maintain is theirs, and this confusion of feeling and finance contributes to the play's ultimate bleak mood.
However, the clever and deliberate use of props, costumes, and the stage helps it establish its themes and context and set it apart from other plays. In the beginning, the props are set to evoke the setting of a slave ship. The chains surrounding the pedestal in the middle of the stage invoke the idea of being imprisoned, the images on the side depict slaves being shackled, and the basic idea how the living conditions were on the boat. In addition, the screens often depict vivid imagery of the time period, or historical figures of the time. The images along with the sound effects add to the atmosphere, as it makes a stronger statement than words alone. The costume choice is well-done, and they serve well to differentiate the actors from each other or the different characters. The man in shackles that was hidden underneath the cloth in the moving dolly gives off the appearance of the stereotypical slave. Considering Malik Proctor also portrayed the kid, the waiter, and Flo’rance, the audience does not focus on the actor but the character he is playing. The characters portrayed are differentiable as the costumes set them apart, aided by the tone and inflection in the way the characters speak and act. Having the characters being able to be told apart gives the play immersion, as it allows the audience to focus on what is happening, not why the actors are playing
the play. It looks at the person he is and the person he becomes. It
The Laramie Project, written by Moisés Kaufman, is a compilation of interviews by The Tectonic Theater Project, news publications, and journal entries. After the brutal murder of Mathew Sheppard in 1998. Kaufman along with his theater troupe made six visits to Laramie, Wyoming, where the murder took place, to interview people about what happened and how they felt about the crime in their community. They interviewed about two hundred people, of which about sixty were included in the play. The play showcases a small town in America in a historical time of tragedy. The production of The Laramie Project was simple. The stage setting was minimal and the the actors consisted of eight people portraying more than sixty. Through the patchwork of interviews The Laramie Project conveys the themes of identity, representation, and change.
The music and sound effects are in the same pont with what the author nedded to say in that play. In the smok and sword fight on the first act we thought will be a play where every body is confusing and fight each other. The phone ringing all the time and this help the actors to play around in the hury and action come up with rehearsal process. The purposes of the phone is any time we heart that something is going to happen, so we expectin to change the sequence in the play. Ringing the phone open a problem, hanging up the phone close the problem. Opening and shoutting the door of dressing room as a slamming it create for the audience understanding the flow of the show and leaves the flexibility as we see white and black to the performance. Crying with tears make the player dramatic, but afraid of discover which it trying to keep things together laughting and
project of the play, of which is touched upon in Act One. It is this
...le for them throughout the play, and it came to a head at the end of their lives. This play highlights the importance of identity, by showing what happens without it. Without your identity, you will pass through life with no purpose, until you stopped living.
A young child grows up seeing many things and remembering many memories. But the most important things that a person can remember are the memories from home. In families there are things called traditions and in most cases families past their traditions down from generation to generation. Traditions are what separates many families from one another and in some cases bring them together. The play Crowns shows us how an institution can bring not jus black people together to praise there lord, but the traditions that goes along with the many years of holy celebration.
...successful collaboration of sound, colour, camera positioning and lighting are instrumental in portraying these themes. The techniques used heighten the suspense, drama and mood of each scene and enhance the film in order to convey to the spectator the intended messages.
The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own.
Wilder uses devices such as the lack of props and connecting us to the cast to enable us to better relate to the play, thus showing us that these lessons are true in our own lives. He then uses strong shifts in perspective on events in our lives to drive home what is truly important in life. Wilder shows us that while time passes, our lives stay relatively the same. Wilder uses these
There wasn’t any particular scene on stage that made me doubt the integrative work of the director since all the staging work such as lighting, design, costumes and performance were well coordinated and blended for a very good production. The lights were well positioned with well fitted costumes and a very ideal scene to match. There wasn’t much change of scenes in the play except for some movement of tables and chairs. There was an entrance and exit for the performers which made their movements uninterrupted. There was a loud sound of a bell when school was over while the lights were dimmed whenever there was a change of scene. The pace of the production was very smooth since one scene followed the other without delay and most likely because most of the performers wore the same costume; especially all eight students wore the same costume for the entire
...h other or from their situation in general. The optimistic view of the play shows a range of human emotion and the need to share experiences alongside the suffering of finite existence; governed by the past, acting in the present and uncertain of the future.