Concluding Statement
09 December 2008 21:39:57
This class has been such a great experience for me and if I had to I would take it again without any arguments. For me this class has shown me a whole new definition of theater, that is a part of every one in the world's every day lives whether they like it or not. Every little thing that we do in our everyday lives is theater, becuase it is an action that others can see. Also, becuase many things that we do in our lives cause drama, whether it be good or bad, which turns around to be theater. Think about it, whether you play a sport, get into a fight, or even just walk down the street, you are performing. Also, I loved how we compared theater to politics because it made me see politics in a whole new light. They lie and give people false hope to get what they want which is all acting. Also, when they put their fellow candidates down constantly they are creating drama which entertains the general public of the world which makes the public teh audience and the candidates the actors. I really saw a lot of drama going on in the presidential election of 2008 between McCain and Obama because they ripped on each other more and created more drama than any other set of candidates that I have seen so far in my lifetime. Now back to the class, I loved the fact that it was half in class and half online. By only attending in a classroom one day out of the week and doing most of the work online, it left me a lot of free time and because of my busy schedule it gave me the flexibility that I needed. Also, I feel that they way the work load was set up was great because not many professors will take the time to work out a suggested time schedule for our assignments like Jason has done. This makes my life a whole lot easier because it keeps me organized and on track with no rela reaon to fell behind in my work. This class covered a lot of material which helped me to better understand what happens behind the scenes of a theatrical performance and how much hard work and money really go into making the production a huge success.
Respond to Design Elements in Babes in Toyland
09 December 2008 21:28:11
When I went to see Babes in Toyland I was expecting nice, flashy costumes that stood out and props that helped to make it seem as much like the movie as possible. after watching the performance, I feel that the costumes were beyond what I expected, they were way better. The costumes not only matched the movie well but also matched the characters personality and indeed transformed the actors into their characters which is what they are supposed to do. I could tell by the way they acted that there was something else helping them to feel their parts which would be the costumes that they wore. The props however, I thought could have been a little better. In my mind props are supposed to be accented almost just as much as the characters parts because they help us to see what is going on and the props in this play just didn't help me see that. I don't mean to be so negative, but I am just being honest in how I feel, beacuse I grew up watching Babes in Toyland the movie and feel that props are key to a good play version of this story.
Describe Experience of Seeing Babes in Toyland
09 December 2008 21:19:32
I feel that seeing the play Babes in Toyland made me realize that not all plays or other performances are what you may expect them to be. The actors did a great job in showing emotion and dedication towards the performance, but I feel that the story behind the performance wasn't portrayed enough.Maybe it was because the writer did not really study the story behind it enough to realize what it really should have been like. I feel that it could have been researched a lot more than what it was. The directing seemed pretty good because the play did have a lot of unity to it and the show moved along pretty well in the terms of pace and rhythm. I really don't feel that the design elements contributed a whole lot to that unityof the play because I feel they could have been a lot more detailed and eye catching like in the movie Babes in Toyland. I think that the costumes were very nice and represented the characters well but the props were the weak point in the design area. Overall the piece taught me not to go in with really high expectations because you could be highly disappointed. I mean I understood completely that I was goign to watcha college-level performance and so I knew that it would not be perfect, but I expected it to be a lot better than what it really was.
Theme of my Blog
31 October 2008 17:50:58
I honestly do not think that there is a single theme to my blog. My beginning statement though states that I want to learn a lot more about theater even though I really don't need it for the career that I am going into. This is because I find theater very interesting. I guess that could kind of be my theme, learning more on theater. This could be a theme for my blog because as I complete the blogging tasks assigned to me, I am learning more and mroe about theater, like my original intent. Also, the regular posts made on the discussion board help me to better understand theater and also back up this theme.
"Babes in Toyland"
31 October 2008 17:43:51
The play that I went to see due to time and money issues was "Babes in Toyland" on main campus. I feel that the play was connected to the "notion that performers and directors create a world of illusion" in a few different ways. It used the same principles as the examples in the book and on the powerpoints to create differetn illusions to make a more dramatic and believe effect. The effect that illusion had on me while I was watching this play was that I really felt like I could somewhat imagine the many scenes of the play. The play was based on the movie "Babes in Toyland" that I watched many times when I was little and some of the scenes had such great illusion behind them that I could really picture the scenes from the movie. Granted some of the scenes could have been put together a little more and had a little more detail to make them look more realistic.
The Tempest - William Shakespeare
31 October 2008 17:37:06
Tempest is as much a clash between savagery and civilization, with Prospero caught between the angelic Ariel and the brutal Caliban, as it is a comedy or romance. ("Yet with my nobler reason 'gainst my fury do I take part," says Prospero at the end.)This is a play that veers between lyricism and violence; Kulick's workmanlike production fails to connect the halves.I picked out two ideas from the reading on The Tempest by William Shakespeare that I fond very interesting. The first line, the one on top, is interesting to me because it describes the play as a clash between two different types of people. Now I finally somewhat got the idea of The Tempest and what it's about and this sentence describes it pretty well. I find it a little weird though that they call it comedy or romance beacuse I didn't get much comedy out of it but I guess some people view it differently. The second line up above is interesting to me beacuse it states that the play goes back and forth between people getting along and people fighting. This is also a true statement, I believe at least.
Julie Taymor
31 October 2008 11:18:49
I feel that Taymor had a huge impact on the world of theater. She has many innovative use of masks, puppetry, imaginative scenic design, and live actors in theater that draws on literature and folklore from around the world and it inspires many playwrights, actors, and directors. The way that she has been involved in theater since she was really young is truly amazing. Also, I am touched by the way she deticated her time and money to travel the world to study theater in its many different forms and cultures. There are a few connections between what she has done and what we have learned but not really a lot of major ones that I could find at least. I think that the way she uses costumes, puppets, and scene design relates to the section in the book that focuses on these items and describes their uses to be the way that she uses them in many of her productions. Also, we learned about the actors drawing on folklore and litereature like she has used innovatively in many plays, musical, etc. She, like many other actors that we have read about in the mayn chapters so far, have dedicated so much of her time and money to theater and really has changed the world of theater tremendously.
Site on the Public Theatre in NYC
29 August 2008 20:26:48
http://www.publictheater.org/content/view/22/98/I chose to look up information on the Public Theatre in New York City because I just recently visited New York and I took a tour of the city and passed the Theatre and the tour guide gave us a little information on it but not alot. This assignment made me think more about the theatre and inspired me to gain more knowledge on the theatre than what I already knew. I enjoyed reading the history of the Public theatre in this article because it was very informative and really goes into great detail on how the theatre was formed and what currently goes on there. The Public Theatre was founded by Joseph Papp as the Shakespeare Workshop (which i found the most interesting.) Also, it is currently one of the United States' distinguished cultural institutions. After reading all this information on the Public Theatre it makes me feel very priveleged to have traveled to New York and had the chance to see this fine theatre in person.
Site on Martin McDonagh
29 August 2008 20:17:42
http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5811I found this site to be very informative on Martin McDonagh. It starts out going into detail of when and where McDonagh was born and raised. It then gets in to his whole life story and how he became a successful playwright. I like the fact that it tells us more about the playwright and theat it goes into full detail about his first play "The Beauty Queen of Leenane." The site also tells us that the play got him six nominations for the Tony Award and that out of those six he actually won four. Later the play won three writing awards which for him was a big accomplishment. I find this article very interesting and very informing of Martin McDonagh. I have not yet gotten to the lesson where we read this play but this article makes me very excited to do so.
What I expect out of the Theatrical Performance
27 August 2008 21:33:37
I expect to learn a lot from the theatrical performance that I choose to see this semester. Some of the things that I want to see are; confidence from the actors on stage and appreciation from the audience watching the performance. Also, a nice flow to the performance showing a better understanding of the story they are trying to portray would be wonderful, that way I don’t get lost in the middle somewhere. What I mean by this is that they have a continuous story and that they don’t jump back and forth because if they do it could cause some major confusion (at least for me). Now back to the confidence and appreciation, what do I mean by these? Well for a play, musical, or ballet to work out the way the director wants it to I feel that the actors or performers must have great confidence in what they are doing and not be nervous or have doubts because if they do it could end badly. Also, for a performance to workout the live audience should be very respectful and appreciate what they are watching whether they like it or not because if they don’t it could throw the performers off and the whole performance can be ruined.
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