Catastrophe reading

Reading Catastrophe on my own, I was suprised that such a short play was performed in front of an audience. I also thought that people would take time to travel to the theatre in hopes of spending at least 45 minutes to an hour there in order for it to be worth it. As far as the play goes, the director seemed kind of like an ass and more superior than his assistant. This was especially evident when he repeatedly asked her to light his cigar for him.
When I met with my group to prepare for a staged reading, we did a little background research. We found out that we could stage this to where the director and the assistant would be dressed in military like costumes and would be examining a prisoner. We added some lines in a few places, such as when the assistant tells luke what to do with the lights in technical terms. We also added in towards the end of the play where the director says, "there's our catastrophe". After that line we added: "the perfect citizen". From our research we found that this play was written before the fall of the Soviet Union in order to describe what they felt was the "perfect citizen".

Theatre Arts Introduction overview

Theatre- the workload of an upper level pre-med class, but opened my eyes to things that I never would have noticed or learned if not for this class.

ecstasis- out of body experience. Being ripped apart from your body.
Theatre- a place to see or place of seeing. Comes from Greek word, Theatron
A Theatre- a building with stage. Both a noun and verb. Also both a culture and subculture.
Theatre Equation: A (actor) pretends to be X (character) while S (audience) looks
Live Theatre- reality- real time, people, and place
-occasion
-action
-ephemerality- traces remain, the event vanishes
Memesis- representation or imitation- we are always imitating something. key
element in A pretending to be X

The Critics Basic Question
-Understanding- "what were they trying to do?"
-Vagina Monologues good example
-Effectiveness- "How well did they do it?"
-Worth- "Was it worth doing?"
-Why do we need a critics essay?
-to find out more about the performance (background)
-to gain some insight (purpose, meaning)
-to hear an opinion (judgement, argument)

Two Theoretical Approaches
Phenomena: observation at real concrete stuff
Semiosis: interpretation- looking through-hyper real (imagined)

The actor is her own instrument:
-body
-voice
-thought- imagination, memory, intelligence
-discipline- observation,control (actor is in control of what he does on stage- doing the same thing night after night), and style (doing the appropriate movement for a particular period or class)
-table work- engaging the text- primarily verbal

Creating a role: acting procedure- actor's extraordinary ordinariness- there's something extra that an actor does that lets you know they are present
-preparation
-exploration- movement, gesture, business (stage business)
-speech- intonation (pitch), articulation (control of sound), speed (interupts a particular pace)
-memorization- regulatory, polish
-performance- previews, performance, maintaining the role

Director
-mise en scene
-blocking- supports image of the action rather than just presence of performer
Directing: Approaches to play
-transcription- I render the playwright's vision faithfully (as possible) on stage
-translation- I translate the spirit of the play to the stage
-might depart from the playwright’s suggestions
-transformation- I transform and re-shape source material to create a new play
-today's motion picture
-some Shakespeare
-places far less emphasis on the script
-transcend- I invent in the medium of the stage; I write in the mise-en-scene
-virtually eliminates the playwright

Melodrama
-Music accompanying dialogue
-seen today as an intensification of a situation
-soundtracks
-some use it today to describe someone who is overreacting
Trajic Hero- a role in his own destruction
-ex- Rebecca and rosmer are responsible for their own destruction- divided
Against themselves
-drawn in by circumstances
Melodramatic Hero- fighting the world around him-
-fighting evil
-good vs. evil
-outsides forces put them in
Differences between rock concert and musical such as rent
-communicating
-conflict- agon- struggle or game- at the heart of theatre is a game
-multiple opinions- conflicting views- complex issues
-Polyphany- multiple voices singing at the same time
- takes you to an emotional place- is what enables conflict
-contrasting harmonies
-complex melodies

Quotes:

“Was this the face that launched a thousand ships?”- Shakespeare in Love movie- all the actors auditioning for the part would perform this dialogue as Shakespeare listened, lying on the bench in the second tier of the globe.

“Cut, Cut, Cut” – Trouble in Mind- Mr. Manners throws down piece of paper and tells Willeta to pick it up- we looked at a video of this in class

“Last night I had a dream of cyber land” Maureen, Rent, by Jonathan Larson

“This is the winter of our discontent” – video from Richard III movie- talking about his plans of getting everything he wants, including the crown

“I can do things, see things” –Cato from Fires in the Mirror

Richard III:
The movie shows the process characters go through to become believable.

Shakespeare in Love:
While watching the movie the audience must be able to suspend disblief for authenticity and accuracy. The audience must also make the distinction between love and lust.

Rosmersholm:
John Rosmer
Beata
Rebecca West
Professor Kroll
Ulrik Brendel
Peter Mortensgaard- publisher
Mrs. Helseth

Catastrophe
-by Samuel Beckett
-Director, Assistant, Luke, protagonist

Fires in the mirror
-Carmel Cato
-Al Sharpton
-Rabbi Joseph Spielman- “What the liberals have told us all these years…”
-Ntozake Shange- “Identity is.. it’s a way of knowing that no matter where I put myself…”

The Shawl- by David Mamet
-John
-Miss A
-Charles

Some themes:
-SHAWL- everyday life
-JOE TURNER- plays relationship to identity- staging problems
-TROUBLE IN MIND- actor and director- individuals trying to find own identity- socially conscious theatre- aware of prolems
-RENT- music in theatre- it role- identity- living with constant reality of death
-ROSMERHOLM- ambiguity- melodrama and realism
-FIRES IN THE MIRROR- actor technique- approach to character- means of communication- try to understand each other
-SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE- love and lust- authenticity- realism
-LOOKING FOR RICHARD- encountering a text

The Production of Rosmersholm

I went to the saturday night production in Ida Green, and got there just in time for the lights to dim. The first thing I noticed was the set of the stage. While I was reading the play, almost the entire time, I was thinking of how it would be staged. I knew that there would be a window that would be utilized and that it would just be mere reactions and second hand accounts from the actor and that we wouldn't actually see a crossing. I liked how the study was above the living room and could just be lighted up whenever a scene was to be played out there. I also really like the furniture and all the pictures on the wall. Being able to see the front door was something I didn't think about at all when trying to picture how it would be staged. While watching the play, I was trying to think of alternative ways of staging it and couldn't really think of any, so I was pretty impressed by that. This was probably the most enjoyable play that I've watched for this class. I was afraid that 2 1/2 hours was going to be rather grueling, going on the previous plays that I had attended. But it actually turned out to be not that bad at all. I think the reason that it wasn't that bad and that I actually enjoyed it was probably because I had read the play before hand and found myself catching a lot of familiar lines that I remembered. As far as what I saw and experienced, having music played in the background for parts of the play was interesting and I wondered about any significance behind it. Also, the changes in lighting both, between scenes, but also during a particular scene. The lighting would go from being spread throughout the living room to on just a certain part of the room/stage. I also noticed the light coming in through the window alot as well. Overall, a good play with a scream at the end that actually gave me chills for some reason.

Rosmersholm

Though this play was an easy read due to the characters being fairly realistic and believable, I found myself drifting a lot while reading it. I was excited about reading it because I'm a pretty big fan of stories about hauntings and ghosts, but the ghost is only talked about in witness testimonies by the characters. We are not given any data or hard facts/ proof of the past. There isn't any props, just talk about a white horse. Then, at the end of play, the reader has to decide whether to take it literally or figuratively. It is yet another case of eye-witness testimony and does not show the action actually taking place. The play does get interesting as each act comes to close. It seems as if the acts are increase in action and then drop off as the next act begins.

Trilogy of Medieval Women

I arrived to Ida Green on a rainy Friday at 7:00 p.m. We had to wait outside before being let in. When I walked in I was told to sit in the reserved section if I didn't speak spanish. I was unfortunately the one who had 6 wires with two or three splicers lying across my lap so that everyone in my row could hear the english translation of the play. The translator was saying stupid stuff like "learn a language" and "_____'s class is easy, take it", while we waited for the play to begin.
As far as the play went, the actors were very passionate and the younger girl came from the back of the theatre and down the center aisle, trying to scare those audience members in the aisle seats. I wasn't really sure what was going on throughout the play because the actors on stage were being so passionate and loud and I was trying to take that in while listening to some guy whisper a translation through my headphones. It was a distracting task which I felt took away from the experience of the play. I eventually took off my headphones periodically in order to listen to the play itself. I eventually really didn't have any idea what was going on but felt like I would rather not know what was going on than try to listen to a whispering translation of a rather dramatic performance.
Basically, this play was a journey through the three cultures in Spanish Middle Ages: the Christian Hispania, The Moorish Al-Andalus, and the Jewish Sefarad. It was written by Antonia Bueno. In the first culture, it tells a story about a woman who managed to become the ruler of the Spanish Empire in the 11th century. The second culture is about a medieval moorish girl and how she connects with an African girl trying to escape from a life without hope. It shows an attitude towards problems such as immigration and racism. The last culture is a backward travel through the Jewish culture, guided by her protagonist. The audience witnesses the terrible stories of six Jewish women who had to fight to survive in a world, inhuman and cruel to those who were different.

Melodrama in Blood Diamond

Realism and Realsitic. Basically, realism is trying to make somehing appear to be real or seem to be something that you would normally see. It attempts to give the appearance of everyday life. This is common in the theatre since they are usually only able to use props. Realistic is more about making something seem as close to reality as possible. This is achieved through special effects and actually filming a scene on site rather than in front of a painted background. Realistic depictions are common in films and almost even expected from its audience. To heighten a dramatic scene, films will often incorporate music that will sometimes be louder than what is going on in order to evoke a certain emotion from the audience. A good example of this (an example can be found in practically any film) is in the movie Blood Diamond. Towards the end, the character played by Leonardo Dicaprio has been shot and realizes that he can not make the rest of the hike up the hill to the escape plane. He sends the other guy and that guy's son with the big diamond, to keep going to the plane. He provides cover fire for them as they run up the hill. He loads a new clip in and lies against a rock. Soft music begins to play in as Dicaprio stares into the distance. He then picks up a phone and calls the girl that he meet earlier in the film. He tells her to meet up with the father and the son. The two exchange a few sweet nothings as the music becomes a little more present. Then the conversation ends with her saying "I wish I could be there with you" and Dicaprio replying "I'm right where I'm suppossed to be". The music picks up a little bit more and is now no longer a background noise. The camera pans back and you can see the valley below and the beautiful African Jungle skyline. Then you see the plane flying away into the sunset. The music gets soft again as the plane gets farther and then the scene changes to a busy street in London and car engines and honking, to bring the audience back to reality. There was enough time allotted for the audience to morn the death of the main character, Dicaprio, but you are then brought right back into the plot by the loud noise of a busy street, as if the film is saying, now lets get back to the rest of the story plot.
Melodrama uses the style of realism, but intensifies it, making it more exciting and tries to evoke certain emotions from the audience. Two terms are used to describe melodrama: Phenomena and Semiosis. Phenomena is the act of looking directly at the performance, the concrete, real thing. Semiosis looks through the play and reads between the lines for deeper, hidden meanings; the hyper real or imagined.

Trouble in Mind

Alice Childress' Trouble in Mind is basically about a play within a play containing actors acting as actors. It is important to note when this play is set because it was at a time when race and racism was prominant. The play was bold because it incorporated blacks as actors during this time period. Manners, the white director in the play, is a dominant presence who uses sly strategies to get a desired reaction out of the characters so that he can show what kind of mood the character being played is in. Willetta seems to be affected the most by Manners' personality and style of directing. The two clash on views in a number of instances. Somthing that I thought of while reading the play was that it was hard to tell whether Manners is racist or not.

Things to remember from this play:

-beginning of Act 2- speech by Bill with applause being corrected in the background by Manners
- "My friends, if all the world were just, there would be no need for valor..."- Bill
-Sheldon speaking to himself in his mind
-Manners trying to show to Wiletta that there is no difference between their sons
-this is a metatheatre- a play within a play

“Cut, Cut, Cut” – Trouble in Mind- Mr. Manners throws down piece of paper and tells Willeta to pick it up- we looked at a video of this in class

Talley's Folley

I went on thursday night to see Talley's Folley. I found the introduction to be pretty interesting when he was talking directly to the audience. His accent caught my attention first. I think its impressive for someone to be able to fake an accent, especially one that different, for almost two hours straight and for the most part maintain it consitently. Referring to our class notes, the male actor had an outside-in approach where he created a character through transforming his outside appearance. He was character acting. His hair was obviously dyed brown and it was also apparant that he had a fake beard as well. As I was watching the play, I began to notice how many more lines he had than the other actress. I also thought that it must have been rather difficult to go for 97 minutes straight without any stage break of any kind. Since the actress didn't have as many lines, she had to construct non verbal ways of communicating/acting to express how her character was reacting to whatever the other actor was talking about. The play was giving Sally alot to do by giving her not alot to say. I also noticed there was an abundance of props on the stage. It was littered with random stuff to make it seem like an old boathouse that was maybe even being used as storage. I felt myself sometimes examening all the items and straying from what was being said. The music, that was suppost to be coming from across the river, was distracting at times because it would randomly come on in strange points during the play. I felt like they were trying very hard to get the effect of it being just background music from the other side of the river and thus made it distracting at times.
Overall, the play was pretty enjoyable and the attempt at the Lithuanian accent added to the humor of the O.K. jokes.
This play was by Lanford Wilson.

Joe Turner's Come and Gone

In the article "Yoruba Gods on the American Stage", Richards says in the opening sentence that there are two central elements to Joe Turner's Come and Gone, memory and desire. She says that the characters shared memories with each other while in the boarding house in Pittsburgh. One of the memories was a story about the shiny man which tells travelers to find their "song".
When I first read Joe Turner's Come and Gone, what I really enjoyed was the language of the play. I could actually visualize the characters talking because the slang they used seemed so realistic. But language aside, it was hard for me to recognize anything that was going on below the surface of the script itself. Having no background in African culture, I had never heard of the Yoruba gods. Wilson implanted a deep meaning while writing this play, and it seems the targeted audience, those of African cultural background, are the ones who will take the most from this play. Articles such as this one by Richards, are helpful to those of us, such as myself, who do not fully understand and need assistance in finding the real, deep meaning.

Important things to remember from the text:
The end of the play- he slashes himself, not stab (Loomis)
-"Blood make you clean? you clean with blood?"-loomis
-"I'm standing!"-loomis after he slashes himself across the chest- cuts himself to remind himself that he is alive
-"Alright, let's Juba down!" -Bynum when they start their call and response dance

Vagina Monologues

I had heard of the Vagina Monologues before I walked into Ida Green Thursday night. I had no idea exactly what it was about or how it would be played out. What I did know is that women loved it and I expected that the reason for this was because they could relate to, what I thought this play would be, a comedic view of life as a woman from a woman’s view. In class we discussed the importance of having an expectation before going into the play in order to avoid feeling like you wasted your time. But honestly, I really had no idea what to expect. I had seen a Family Guy skit making fun of the play where it was a pair of legs and the vagina was a mouth. They portrayed it as if it was a stand-up comedy routine. Therefore, with that in mind, I was somewhat surprised to walk in and see two rows of chairs with about twenty women seated in them. Throughout the play, each woman would walk up and read a monologue about an experience or a thought. Some were funny and others serious. There was one monologue where everyone started yelling cunt over and over. Another monologue that stuck out was an angry telling of gynecologist visits. Most of these monologues probably had a different meaning for the audience depending on whether you were male or female. There were some subjects that just don’t mean the same if you don’t know what it is like to be a woman; and I’m not just talking about physically. Men and women emotionally behave differently and it would be hard for me to fully wrap my mind around some of the topics discussed because I honestly have no idea, and I don’t mean to sound weird, what it is like to live in this world as a woman. But overall, I got an interesting and most of the time comical look at women and their view of being a woman in this world.

What do you expect to get from the theatre?

The reason people go to the theatre or what they expect to get out of a theatrical performance differs from individual to individual. Factors such as geography, culture, religion, and philosophy have an effect on what it is an individual is looking for. In The Shawl, Miss A went to John looking for something specific. Not everyone who goes to a person in the same line of work as John is in do so for the same reason as Miss A did. The same can be said for an audience of theatre. Not everyone in the audience is present for the same reason. Some use theatre as an escape from reality or their everyday life. Others might use it to relax or even to learn something new; about a certain culture or a certain period in time.
In answering the questions what is theatre for and what can it provide, I believe it is important to realize the potential power that theatre has. Theatre as a whole can be a conservative force and “can reinforce the status quo”. It can also release social tensions or even lead to social upheaval. Theatre is a place for the free exchange of ideas. Communist governments have even realized the power of the theatre and in the past have gone to extreme measures in its attempts to censor or filter.
So what does one expect to gain from the theatre? The reasons differ from person to person and culture to culture. The Greeks initially used theatre as a way to worship the god Dionysus.

definition of theater

It is difficult to develop a universal definition of theater since not everyone realizes that it is more than just a location for viewing plays. The encyclopedia defines theater as a building, room, or outdoor structure for the presentation of plays, films, or other dramatic performances. It is also defined as a room with rows of seats for lectures or demonstrations as in some operating rooms in hospitals. Theaters date back to the ancient Greeks who often built a theater into the side of a hill with a circular “stage” where the attention of the audience was focused. Theater as we know it today is a place with a stage and seats for an audience to view portrayals of certain fundamentals of life. Thus, theater is not limited merely to a stage or an enclosed space, it is in everyday life. The idea of an audience focusing its attention to a central area or even person is present in many different fields of work including business and politics.
A good way to explain what theatre is is through what is know as the theatre equation. The equation is as follows: A (actor) pretends to be X (character) while S (spectator) looks on.