Three different reviewers watched, analyzed, and created their own interpretation of the play Britannicus that was directed by Woodruff. These reviewers, Louise Kennedy, Frank Rizzo, and Thomas Garvey all put forth their opinion on how Woodruff decided to have the play acted out. Each one of them had their own bias assessment of the performance. What differentiated their reviews from one another was their viewpoint on the performance of the script. Their critiques on the performance varied from praise to disapprovals. Kennedy’s review starts off with immediate appraisal for the production of Britannicus by stating, “With a profoundly intelligent, complex, and impassioned interpretation of Jean Racine’s “Britannicus,” Robert Woodruff has turned …show more content…
From the very beginning of his review, Rizzo’s critique is not based purely on his bias opinion. In paragraph 3 Rizzo claims that, “Reality – and perceptions of it – are entirely relative in a Woodruff production” (Rizzo, paragraph 3). Unlike Kennedy, Rizzo doesn’t base his review solely on pure opinion. As he proceeds to evaluate the production of Britannicus, Rizzo implies that, “In these circumstances the performance style is heightened to the extreme: Characters are stunned into apoplexy, wild with grief, anxious with apprehension” (Rizzo, paragraph 3). Alongside this, Rizzo also affirms that, “Racine’s focus is on the increasingly unstable Nero as he tries to free himself from his mother ( Joan MacIntosh), his advisers and the possible threat of Britannicus. But for Nero it is the dominating mother problem that’s most troubling and – for the audience – most juicy” (Rizzo, paragraph 5). These two quotes that came directly from the critique, accurately displays how Rizzo was able to pull apart aspects of the script from the performance. Alongside that he was also able to keep a consistent positive tone throughout the review. Both Rizzo and Kennedy had positive toned reviews, but Garvey on the other hand dabbled in both a positive and negative
When Mary Zimmerman adapts a play from an ancient text her directing process and the way she engages with text are woven together, both dependent on the other. She writes these adaptations from nondramatic text, writing each evening while working through the pre-production rehearsals and improvisations during the day with the cast. The rehearsal process influences the text, and the text enriches the rehearsal process, so that one cannot exist without the other. Every rehearsal is structured the same but each production is unique because as Zimmerman states in “The Archaeology of Performance”, she is always “open to the possibilities”. The piece is open to everything happening in the world and to the people involved, so the possibilities are honest and endless.
Shakespeare's first tragedy has been a topic of discussion since the day it was written. Titus Andronicus "was staged on 24 January 1594 by the Earl of Sussex's Men at the Rose Theatre" (Welsh 1). Though this tidbit of information seems somewhat irrelevant to Titus, we must note that there are certain standards and practices established by a play from its first performance. It is also important to establish the general attributes that audiences attribute to Shakespearean performance.
WORKS CITED Meyer, Michael, ed., pp. 113 Thinking and Writing About Literature. Second Edition. New York: Bedford/St. Martin, John J., 2001. o Joan Murray, "Play-By-Play".
...ss. Arthur Miller, on the other hand, was disappointed by critic’s reactions. He claimed, “No critic seemed to sense what I was after, which was the conflict between a man’s raw deeds and his conception of himself”. Not only was he disappointed by critic’s reviews, he was disappointed by the “hostility of New York audiences”.
It was difficult for me to find many parallels between this play and the works that we studied in Canadian Literature because this play does not follow a plot line and does not include many elements that could be relatable to the works we studied. It also does not relate to the themes that were emphasized in our course. However, I found the close analysis of the final scene of a play, acted out forty- three different times to be reflective of the close analysis’ we have done many times in class with poetry and prose. It was interesting to watch these close analysis’ to understand all of the possible interactions these characters could have had. It led me to question the endings of the works that ...
In the two plays, A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Juno and the Paycock by Sean O'Casey, the reader is presented with a definite struggle for power among its main characters and society's ideals. These plays also serve as functions of drama, where the reader or viewer can also perceive much more in the way they are portrayed by the actors and the director as well, as the overall thematic plot and significance.
My choice of characters for this paper was based upon the impressions and the energy I got from them. I thought the play would not be as captivating and impressive without these particular characters and their behaviors. Dorine gives the play a certain spunk and scandal, while Tartuffe impresses the audience by his ability to senselessly lie without hesitating. The overall impression of “Tartuffe” is certainly positive. To be honest, I did not expect the Production to be at such grand level. Usually, when you think about a college play you imagine a middle-level cast, minimal props and “okay” acting skills. Normandale’s “Tartuffe” completely brought down that image and demonstrated that a college play can be a great success when professionally directed.
I will be there. Therefore, the Elizabethan audience would have a total. different opinion of the play to the modern. In addition, with the... ... middle of paper ... ...
To realize the vision of the play, the script, set-up, costumes, stagecraft, sound design, and acting have to communicate a unified message with which the audience will relate. The script will be tailored to ensure that the audience can understand the play as it proceeds. This is in terms of the language and terms used. Though the language will not be modern, it will be English that can be understood by the audience. This will be English of antique England as it will give the play a feeling of ancient times. The scriptwriter will carry out research on the level of understanding the local people will have of ancient English so as to ascertain that the script matches this level. Although many plays of that era were sung and accompanied by dance, this play will be acted out with spoken word rather than songs. This is because speaking will ensure the audience hears the conversations as they go on and that they understand. This is ...
This article provided valuable information that assisted me in the making of my essay. It helped me to form paragraphs 2 and 3, and provided enough background information of the plays being talked about for me to produce those paragraphs. For paragraph 2, i read and used information on the pages 64-70 (these pages sometimes do not work). Within those pages was the idea of the all knowing audience, and the unaware othello, creating suspense within the audience about the future event of othello's life. For paragraph 3 i read and used pages 102. On these pages was the aspect of how modern novelist elicit empathy towards their character and the way shakespeare elicited empathy from his audience to character within the play. Overall this article was extremely useful
Theatre Journal 37.4 (1985): 426-439. Print. Wheeler, Kip. " Literary Terms and Definitions M." Literary Terms and Definitions "M" Carson-Newman University, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
Pölling-Vocke, Bernt. "The Stylistic Purpose of Animals and the Disgrace of a Nation in J.M.”
William Shakespeare's Hamlet and Sophocles Oedipus the King have long been included on academic lists for scholarly study as literary texts. As someone who has studied both texts in just the manner Hornby mentions, I would suggest that what is lost when a scholar treats a play text as literature is precisely that `central part of the play's meaning' which is illuminated by consideration of how a play was `designed to work on stage'. I intend to look at the crucial opening moments of each play, heeding Hornby's words, and keeping the text's status as `pretext' to an eventual performance very much at the forefront of my analysis.
Addison, Joseph. “The Spectator, No. 69 The Royal Exchange” The Norton Anthology of English Literature vol. 1. Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen. and Carol T. Christ, eds. New York: Norton, 2012. 2649-2652. Print.
In many cases, people think of a utopia as a foreign concept. However, the concept and presence of utopias have been quite prevalent in the modern world. From the English Pilgrims who arrived to the New World on the Mayflower to the contemporary Amish communities, each of these utopias has a distinct set of characteristics that makes it utopian—a perfect society for those who live in that community. As such, there is not a list of traits that every utopian community shares; three characteristics that are pertinent to most utopias are prosperity, harmony amongst citizens, and equity. Utopias are created to advance the prosperity of both their citizens and the community.