Audience Experience!
I recently went to Orlando to see the new Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein with a friend and her boyfriend. From the start of the play, I could see and feel the expectations of the audience members. Everyone in the audience was excited to see what this new musical was all about. Unfortunately, not everyone was on time to the show and some people caused a distraction to not only myself but to the people around me coming in late. The audience conventions were to stay quiet until the end of the play, which I'm definitely fine with because I find in comedy plays I'm distracted by that one person that will not stop laughing at something and you end up missing something important. Anyways, my audience experience was pretty interesting from the start to finish. I had a seat on the side of the stage and had a different view point from everyone else, had a person answer his phone in the middle of the play, and my friends boyfriend fell asleep on her shoulder and starting snoring. These experiences did not let me enjoy the show how it was intended on being shown. The actors in Young Frankenstein were awesome and didn't let any distraction from the audience distraction their focus. I ended up understanding almost everything in the play and really enjoyed the whole experience, all though at some points I caught myself people watching instead of watching the play.
Monday, December 13, 2010
My Production of Ruined
In the play Ruined, I felt like the major conflict was between Mama Nadi and Sophie. I felt like the war and violence towards women was very powerful in Ruined and captured an essence in the book. Ruined to me was also about a lot of tragedy and sorrow for all of the main characters. For my production of Ruined, I'm going to change some things like the setting and time frame, but keep all the tragedies and sorrow for each character. I will follow my script analysis of Ruined and change the feel of the play through color, lighting, and sound design.
My director's unified artistic vision creates a world where war is going on between the American Soldiers and Iraq Soldiers after the event on September 11th, 2001. In this production the American Soldiers are the Government soldiers in Ruined and the Rebel soldiers are the Iraq soldiers. This change in setting and time frame puts a modern feel to it for my generation. I will use the colors red, white, and blue in the background for intensity. The idea of this production is that American soldiers are trying to take over and the Iraq soldiers like the way it use before the war, all the characters are in this production and the same conflicts and actions occur. This change in setting also shows a difference in culture and tradition. The sounds in the production are mainly screams from distant people (mainly women getting captured) and gunshots. The sound design creates a silent sence of fear in all the main women characters. My target audience would have to be women overcoming tradgey in today's world and that there is hope for romance, profit, and a life without fear. The location of my production would have to be like the play Ruined with the bar bring the main place and I would have above the bar be there home.
Scenic design: the bar with a stage for the girls to dance on and a small place for Sophie to sing. Small hotel looking rooms in the back of the bar and a bar area with peanuts out. It looks like an old run down bar with dust everywhere and broken mirrors in the bathroom. (Shows Mama's inside too, she feels lost and alone). The colors red, white, and blue are also in the bar; there are blue seats and the back rooms have red sheets.
Costume design: The American soldiers have red, white, and blue uniforms on. The Iraq soldiers have brown, dirty uniforms on. Sophie and Salima wear long skirts and showed nothing but their eyes when they showed up at mama's house (because the religion is muslim), but after working in the bar they wore sexy dresses and showed a lot of skin to bring in the men. Mama Nadi wears a all white dress and symbolizes the want and need to feel pure and empowered from the inside as well.
Lighting Design: The lighting design is a dim lighten bar with faint lights of gunfire through the doors of the bar. Everytime there is a conflict or problem the lights turn red to intensify the mood.
Sound Design: There are screams of women in the background and gunshots. Along with the red lighting when there is a conflict, the sound of raining also took place.
I'm going to give some examples of how my lighting, sound, and color will affect my production.
The first example was my turning point for Mama Nadi and Sophie (when Sophie stole money from mama). The lighting and sound design would benefit greatly to show the mood of the characters. The lights turned dark red to show Mama's angry within and the sound displayed the seriousness of the point. A huge rainstorm would start at the beginning of their conversation about the money as well. There are also faint screams of women and Sophie is reminded of what kind of violence is out side of the bar.
The climax of Mama and Sophie to me was when Mama Nadi gave the rare diamond to Mr. Harari to give Sophie a better life with an operation. The sound design is a major part in this scene, because the soldiers were coming and as soon as Sophie said Mr. Harari was gone the soldiers stormed in. The rainstorm began again and the gunfire was right on top of the bar. The lights turned dark red again as well. The screams of women were Sophie, Josephine, and Mama Nadi now.
The final actions of the play Ruined was with Christian and Mama dancing. In this scene there was no rainstorm or dark red lighting. There were no faint screams of women either, showing that the war was over for that area. It was a beautiful sunlight through the doors of the bar and a wonderful mood to the music (a smooth jazz maybe). Christian in my production also helps mama fix the broken mirrors in the bathroom and fixs her place of business and slowly starts fixing how mama feels about men.
this is a picture of how Sophie and Salima looked before Mama's place of business. 
this is a picture of how sophie and salima had to dress for Mama's place of business.
This is a picture of how the old run down bar looked with iraq soldiers groofying off.
This is how Mama's place looked after christian and her cleaned it up and the war was over.
tthis is a picture of how the dark red lighting looked during conflicts.
My director's unified artistic vision creates a world where war is going on between the American Soldiers and Iraq Soldiers after the event on September 11th, 2001. In this production the American Soldiers are the Government soldiers in Ruined and the Rebel soldiers are the Iraq soldiers. This change in setting and time frame puts a modern feel to it for my generation. I will use the colors red, white, and blue in the background for intensity. The idea of this production is that American soldiers are trying to take over and the Iraq soldiers like the way it use before the war, all the characters are in this production and the same conflicts and actions occur. This change in setting also shows a difference in culture and tradition. The sounds in the production are mainly screams from distant people (mainly women getting captured) and gunshots. The sound design creates a silent sence of fear in all the main women characters. My target audience would have to be women overcoming tradgey in today's world and that there is hope for romance, profit, and a life without fear. The location of my production would have to be like the play Ruined with the bar bring the main place and I would have above the bar be there home.
Scenic design: the bar with a stage for the girls to dance on and a small place for Sophie to sing. Small hotel looking rooms in the back of the bar and a bar area with peanuts out. It looks like an old run down bar with dust everywhere and broken mirrors in the bathroom. (Shows Mama's inside too, she feels lost and alone). The colors red, white, and blue are also in the bar; there are blue seats and the back rooms have red sheets.
Costume design: The American soldiers have red, white, and blue uniforms on. The Iraq soldiers have brown, dirty uniforms on. Sophie and Salima wear long skirts and showed nothing but their eyes when they showed up at mama's house (because the religion is muslim), but after working in the bar they wore sexy dresses and showed a lot of skin to bring in the men. Mama Nadi wears a all white dress and symbolizes the want and need to feel pure and empowered from the inside as well.
Lighting Design: The lighting design is a dim lighten bar with faint lights of gunfire through the doors of the bar. Everytime there is a conflict or problem the lights turn red to intensify the mood.
Sound Design: There are screams of women in the background and gunshots. Along with the red lighting when there is a conflict, the sound of raining also took place.
I'm going to give some examples of how my lighting, sound, and color will affect my production.
The first example was my turning point for Mama Nadi and Sophie (when Sophie stole money from mama). The lighting and sound design would benefit greatly to show the mood of the characters. The lights turned dark red to show Mama's angry within and the sound displayed the seriousness of the point. A huge rainstorm would start at the beginning of their conversation about the money as well. There are also faint screams of women and Sophie is reminded of what kind of violence is out side of the bar.
The climax of Mama and Sophie to me was when Mama Nadi gave the rare diamond to Mr. Harari to give Sophie a better life with an operation. The sound design is a major part in this scene, because the soldiers were coming and as soon as Sophie said Mr. Harari was gone the soldiers stormed in. The rainstorm began again and the gunfire was right on top of the bar. The lights turned dark red again as well. The screams of women were Sophie, Josephine, and Mama Nadi now.
The final actions of the play Ruined was with Christian and Mama dancing. In this scene there was no rainstorm or dark red lighting. There were no faint screams of women either, showing that the war was over for that area. It was a beautiful sunlight through the doors of the bar and a wonderful mood to the music (a smooth jazz maybe). Christian in my production also helps mama fix the broken mirrors in the bathroom and fixs her place of business and slowly starts fixing how mama feels about men.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
dearly departed
PLAY VERSE FILM Watching a play or film is a very unique experience for each individual. Personally watching dearly departed for me was bitter sweet. I think everyone can relate to having certain family members act the way the cast members acted in the play. For example; Delightful not really having a care in the world except for eating and having the ability to letting things go and just saying what she has to say, like her BYE..at the funeral to her father. Some major differences that I experienced watching this play instead of it as a movie were: *Focus point -in the play, I had the opportunity to look anywhere I wanted and to which ever character I personally wanted to watch at the time. -in a film, the focus point is chosen for you and you do not have that choose. *Distractions -in the play, I had so many distractions from what was really going on and it made me miss some of the important factors in the end. I had a cell phone go off, people coming in late, and a really smelly person seating by me in the play of Dearly Departed. -in a film, there are no distractions and if there happen to be one..you can always rewind the film or pause it. *Realism -in a play, if an actor misses a line he or she has to improvise and go with it. -in a film, the actors get many chances to make a line up and get the shot the right way or I should say the way the director wants to have the film be portrayed. *Scene Changes -in a play, you can see the scene change in front of you and use more of your imagination to picture what is going on. For example; in Dearly Departed we never saw Susan and Jr's children, the car/radio, or Bud in the funeral home. -in a film, you don't need much of an imagination because everything is in the scene and the scene changes happen without you even realizing it. *Range in Voices -in the play, some actors had a soft voice to them and if you were not really listening to them you could miss what they said. On the other side of the range in voices was Susan in Dearly Departed, she was yelling and was very loud the whole play and in a way overrode the soft voice characters. -in a film, everyone is heard at the same level and you could always increase or decrease the volume. Some ironic points in Dearly Departed were the KFC box and the Grape drink. The KFC box represented Lucila having a miscarriage. The grape drink represented Susan and Jr's relationship and how they ended up together again at the end of the play. Another issue I want to bring up is when you personally know someone acting in the play. It gives the play a more meaningful feeling when you see someone act another way. In a film, usually you never personally know someone acting and you would never know if in real life they act differently. In Dearly Departed, I felt like everyone except Delightful was going through some type of struggle. -Susan and Jr.-were broke and Jr got caught cheating on Susan. -Lucila and Ray-were trying to have a baby, Lucila had 8 miscarriages before. Ray was also struggling with paying for everything with the funeral. -Momma Ray-was struggling with her husband being dead and her wanting to have mean words on his grave stone. -Aunt Margie and Royce- had their own personal struggle with good thoughts verse bad "Satan" thoughts. | draft |
Friday, October 22, 2010
Script Analysis Assignment: Anna In the Topics
Danielle Perrotta
Script Analysis Assignment: Anna In the Topics1. Identify the MAJOR CONFLICT of the play. This is between two characters or a character and a group of characters or force.
In Anna in the topics, there are a couple conflicts for example: Violence verse reason, tradition verse modern, and love verse misery. I think the major conflict is violence verse reason in this play.
2. Identify what these characters REPRESENT.
Cheche represents violence, modern thinking, and misery in the conflicts. The memory of his wife that left him for the old lector fuels his misery and results in violence in his actions. Cheche wants to replace the lector with the machine to make cigars is a modern way of looking at the company.
Santiago represents reason, tradition, and love in the conflicts. Santiago makes a new cigar with a new label and incorporates his love for his family and makes Marela the girl in the label. He also likes the lector and chooses to keep him instead of getting the cigar maker, which shows his traditional way of thinking.
3. Identify the TURNING POINT of the major conflict. This is the point of no return. At this point in the story the protagonist and the antagonist are destined to reach the climax of the story.
The turning point for reason was when Palomo saw his wife and the lector kiss. He had enough common sense and reason not to do something stupid. The turning point for violence was when Cheche tried to force himself on Marela.
4. Identify the CLIMAX of the major conflict. This is the height of the conflict. There is no where else for it to go and it breaks open, explodes, or dies. Be as specific as possible. Write the scene number and describe the specific moment.
The climax for reason was when Palomo tried talking to his wife about rekindling their romance and started getting more protective. The climax for violence was when Cheche forced himself on Marela and Marela showed up the next day with the same clothes. I think Cheche’s hate for the lector also fueled this act of violence because Marela asked if she could take the lectors book home to read it.
The gun shots at the party for the new cigars foreshadow a violent ending to the play.
5. Identify the RESOLUTION of the conflict. The conflict comes to a conclusion. Be as specific as possible. Write the scene number and describe the specific moment.
The resolution for violence was when Cheche shoot the lector and killed him. The memory of his wife, the factory’s memories, and his lust for a woman’s attention got too much for him to bear and he snapped. The resolution for reason was when Marela, Palomo, and the others choose not to take revenge for the lector’s death.
6. Identify the FINAL ACTIONS of the two figures involved in the major conflict. Then explain its significance.
The final action of violence is that it took the lectors life. The final action for reason was that he lost because Cheche did the most violent thing you can do to someone, which is taking their life.
7. Identify each of the characters' (in the major conflict) over all OBJECTIVES. This is a want that drives them all the way through the play. Keep this active and playable for an actor. Think of action verbs.
Santiage wants to maintain order and peace with the lector and among the workers. He represents the reason side of thinking. Cheche wants to resolve things with his power and force. He represents violence thinking. Cheche memories and hate for the lector drive him to the end of the play when he kills the lector.
8. Identify the SUBJECT of the play. Force yourself to one word.
I think the subject of this play was to show you two different ways you can solve problems, which are in this case violence verse reason.
9. Identify the IDEA of the play.
The idea of the play was to show you two different ways to resolve problems and some of the problems along the way with those choose you made. Everyone and everything has decisions to make everyday no matter how big or small. This play showed me how even the small chooses we make can affect the big decisions we have.
10. Write a short paragraph, 75 to 100 words that describes what the play is ABOUT to you and what it conveys. This is your interpretation of the over all meaning of the play FOR YOU.
Anna in The Topics was a very interesting play to me. I thought the actors in the play acting out the story the lector was reading was genius and I even learned a lesson from this play. The main conflict in the play to me was violence verse reason and the decisions we make everyday can affect our lives in many different ways. In Cheche’s life, his wife’s decisions by leaving him for the lector affected the outcome for the lector that came to the factory. The lesson I learned is that I want to resolve all of my problems, even small ones with reason and not violence. I believe in karma and treating people how you would like to be treated. Cheche and Conchita could have handled their marriage problems differently and could have saved the lectors life.
Monday, October 11, 2010
storytelling
Storytelling has been around for centuries and the oldest surviving tale is the epic, Gilgamesh, which related the deeds of a famous Sumerian king. The earliest known record of storytelling can be found in the Westcar Papyrus of the Egyptians. The sons of Cheops (the pyramid builder) reportedly entertained their father with stories. Stories through history came in all shapes and sizes, myths, legends of all kinds, tall tales, fairy tales, fables, trickster stories, hero stories, ghost tales, teaching stories, oral histories and epic adventures. These stories were told, retold and passed down from father to son, mother to daughter and one generation to another. The stories increasing came to convey the accumulative wisdom and knowledge of early people, often used to explain significant and often confusing events and disasters in nature such as storms, tidal waves, lightening, and fire. Stories of gods and heroes bound groups of people to a common heritage and beliefs. Tales with a moral help develop the laws and customs that help control the destructive impulses in humans and develop civilization and societies we know today. In fact, many historians, anthropologists and psychologists suggest that storytelling is one of the many things that define our humanity. Humans are perhaps the only animals that invent and tell stories.
A modern day example of storytelling is the SASS (Sunday Adult Storytelling Series).
This video is a modern but funny way to look at storytelling and its involvement in video games.
Storytelling can be told to children in modern day classrooms.
Cites:
A modern day example of storytelling is the SASS (Sunday Adult Storytelling Series).
The SASS is a critically acclaimed series, featuring the country’s best storytellers and produced by Found Theatre company member Laura Bosworth. Bosworth who was honored in November 2009 by the Los Angeles Storytelling Festival with the prestigious Spirit of Storytelling Award.
Fun Facts:
- Storytelling is the ancient art of conveying events in words, images, and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment.
- A storyteller does not memorize a set text, but learns a series of script-like incidents with a distinct beginning, middle and end.
- A storyteller visualizes characters and settings, and then improvises the actual wording. For this reason, no two tellings of an oral story are exactly alike.
- Elements of the storytelling art form include visualization (the seeing of images in the mind's eye), and vocal and bodily gestures.
- Folklorists sometimes divide oral tales into two main groups: "Märchen" and "Sagen". These are German terms for which there are no exact English equivalents; the first one is both singular and plural.
This video is a modern but funny way to look at storytelling and its involvement in video games.
Storytelling can be told to children in modern day classrooms.
Storytelling is deeper and has much more meaning than the underlying story itself.
Storytelling has also made its way into advertisments.
Cites:
http://finearts.southmountaincc.edu/Programs/Storytelling/
Monday, September 27, 2010
Commedia dell' arte
Commedia dell’ arte is known as “Italian Comedy” and “Comedy of Art.” This form of theatre originated in the 16th century with Greek and Roman influences. Actors use an outlined storyline, but mainly are viewed and seen more for the actors improvisation and tricks. The show will usually have eight stock characters and performancers like acrobatics, mimes, and clowns. The actors wore specialty designed masks to hide their feel emotion and to portray the same emotion on the mask the whole show. The actors would also use their body language to show emotion. "Music, dance, witty dialogue, and all kinds of chicanery contributed to the comic effects. Subsequently the art form spread throughout Europe, with many of its elements persisting into present-day theater. The actors made use of the lazzi (special rehearsed routines that could be inserted into the plays at convenient points to heighten the comedy), musical numbers, and impromptu dialogue to vary the happenings on stage." (enotes) All of the actors were bilingual, because the commedia dell’ arte became a world tour. We still see commedia dell’ arte in todays theater and television shows.
Facts: Winifred Smith was one of the first scholars to point out that the origins of the commedia dell'arte might best be sought in the Renaissance-era commedia erudite—which translates as “learned comedy”—and in the street performances of clowns, jesters, jugglers, mimes, and others who entertained crowds during Carnival, a traditional period of celebration that precedes the austerities of Lent much in the manner of Mardi Gras in the United States.
Many actors made their own leather masks for the shows.
Futurama would be a wonderful example of commedia dell’ arte in western animation today. The stock characters would be:
Arlecchino: Fry
Colombina: Leela
Brighella: Bender
Il Dottore: Professor Farnsworth
Pierrot: Dr. Zoidberg
Il Capitano: Zap Branigan
Innamorati: Amy and Kif
This picture is at the end of a commedia dell' arte performance.
This picture is some of the masks that the performancers wear.
"Commedia dell'Arte - Copyright Page." Literary Criticism (1400-1800). Ed. Michael L. LaBlanc. Vol. 83. Gale Cengage, 2003. eNotes.com. 2006. 27 Sep, 2010 <http://www.enotes.com/literary-criticism/commedia-dell-arte/copyright-page>
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