Aunt March Critique

On Friday, November 18th, I attended the play Alicia in Wonder Tierra which took place at California State University of San Bernardino. The play was put together and made possible by many students, professors and many others who dedicated their time and donations. I was fortunate enough to have been able to work with Sara on the props and the paint portion of the stage and set up. It was a great experience working on the props and seeing it all come together and being able to see it all finally being used to create the vision of a producer and director.

The performers played well together as an ensemble. Each actor was worth noting, but standout would have to go to Nicholas Vitela. To see him switch voices so quickly and move that puppet so quickly was so amazing. The costumes are unique to each character and everything complemented each other.  It was easy to see and hear what is going on, the lighting enhanced the show in its own way. Spotlights played their own distinct parts in the show. The colors on the stage were luminous and pleasant they really helped set the scene and added to the atmosphere. The entrances and exits were smooth along with the scene changes, they changed out scenes quietly and swiftly. There were many stage props that were very effective. Props and how the characters used space made it easy to recognize the character's emotions and see which character had what status.

The scenes and props complimented the attire of the performers, blending together create a magnificent display. The scenery was realistic enough to afford the viewer an escape into depths of the show. The setting was beautiful and the structures almost lifelike, excepting the absence of a front screen door. It seems that almost all plays and television shows I have viewed neglect this detail. The stage lighting played a key role in the show by setting the mood of the performance during soulful, pensive songs. In contrast, the lighting proved to be a detriment by overbearing the performance of the artists, in that one’s attention was drawn to the glare of extreme quantities of makeup rather than the actions of the characters. This was most notable during the final portions of the production.

And the picture of you that was out front with all the casting actors, wow you looked gorgeous! Once again I was extremely impressed by the stage design. The back Catholic Church wall was such an amazing structure. The paint and texture that was used to build the wall, gave off the appearance of a real stone wall. The wall design was flawless, and the size and scale it in which it was done in is astounding! Ms. Livingstone office was also well placed; it kept a focus point to the center of the room. The decision to go with a see through glass desk and small offices chairs allow the stage space to seem larger and didn’t block or hide when the actors sat down or walked around the desk. The area with the steps that lead to Mother Ruth desk was also well crafted, but I felt it was not utilized enough. It was barley used and wasn’t sure if it was Mother Ruth office or apart of the church altar. The church pew was a nice addition as well. I was also really impressed with the lighting effects, especially from the church windows. I first thought the stained glassed windows were fixed lights that couldn’t be changed, but once Livingstone took center stage and began to speak the colors changed to a red color (I think). When that happened it felt like the world froze in place while she spoke, and resuming when the light turned back to a bright morning light. I also liked how the lights would change throughout the play to set a different mood. For example, when Ms. Livingstone was hypnotizing Agnes, she told Agnes to imagine herself being in water all of the sudden the room color was

My favorite aspect of musical would be the lively characters, and their whimsical personalities that effectively engage the audience. Princess Winnifred’s character was especially interesting, and her personality contradicted what one would usually associate with a princess. Rather than elegant and poised, her flawed and childish personality made her seem more 3-dimensional and ultimately, brought the

Each element gave the stage a different feel that matched every scene , complementing each brilliantly. The only element that lacked for me was lights, although very bright ; in my opinion the reoccurring blue wasn't the best option. I feel if the lighting designer would have had more warmer colored lights against the already vibrant set pieces, it would have made the stage pop more. But one thing i did particularly fancy, were the costumes the characters wore and how they fit each character. Each character's’ costume showed the dichotomy between the personalities and tastes of each individual. For example Ilona played by Jane Krakowski was dressed in a scarlet / pinkish dress with a high slit up the left side; showing her seductive character type. Meaning when i saw Ilona on stage, I immediately knew who i was looking at . Lastly the sound effects included , like the door jingle sound or The bike bell , added to the whole idea of being inside and outside of a retail building. These effects gave the stage an outdoorsy feel , drawing you in , giving the audience illusions of really being in 1930’s

The most successful aspect of the performance for me were the scene changes. I found that the rotation of the blackboard, center stage, where the actors were able to stoop beneath it in order to enter and exit the stage, was an effective touch to this

Book by James Lapine was a great story overall. I truly enjoyed watching the show especially when the Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim played perfectly during the show. Director Eve Himmelheber was able to put out a such an amazing show. I really enjoyed watching Into The Woods because it was colorful, every character was really great with their role, and so much more. I could not be more amazed of how beautiful the production came out. Musical Director Mitchell Hanlon was really great with every musical that played throughout the show. He was always in time of making the sound when a character would kick the floor or any action that was necessary during the play. Scenic Designer Mauri Anne Smith and Ashley Strain created such an amazing setting for the production. The scene looked very realistic, which is really great because it gave me a different feel of the show. Costume Designer Michelle Kincaid created such beautiful costumes for every single character. Whether the costumes were bought, hand made, or both it still came out pretty good. The costume definitely matched the theme of having several characters from different show. Lighting Designer Ben Hawkins made the interior and

“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience,” (Lee 120). This quote from To Kill a Mockingbird is a good representation of the book. The book is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, narrates the story of herself and her family facing the racial prejudices of the time. When her father Atticus, defends an innocent black man in a rape trial, Maycomb turns on Scout's family. Atticus, Scout, and her brother Jem stand up for what they believe in even if their neighbors disagree. By analyzing Harper Lee’s use of symbolism and tone, the reader can learn that courage isn’t physical strength, you gain morals as you grow, and prejudice kills innocence.

“The power-hungry individual follows a path to his own destruction”- Adler. Macbeth a play written by Shakespeare shows how individuals make decisions based on their hunger for power. Individuals go from being the loyal and devoted person; to the traitor and the killer of the king tend to lose their sense of what's right and wrong, and also lose stability in the mind and mental health. Macbeth was one of those persons who changed drastically for the worse because he was power hungry after he killed many people, and he got to deep into a hole where he couldn't get out of so he lost is sense of sanity. Throughout the play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses internal conflict to show how people gain power and collapse due to their lose of some individuals mental health and sense of wrong from right.

Although there were just the slightest things that could be changed and that is that when Molly's part to sing came her voice was barely heard from the middle seats and also the half time food could have been better but aside from that it was great, amazing, astonishing, expectations met! For the first show attending this year it was great that is why I definitely recommend people should go and have an amazing time like I

The play was so well done, and the opening section was somewhat grand considering the fact that actors and actresses played their part and portrayed the characters in a way I could really relate to. I have always like live performances, and one thing the producer of Les Miserables introduced was the orchestra switch their voices between prerecorded and live scenes, this gave the play a sense of immediacy and power.

Geraldine Brooks provides a well-written novel. She achieves her goal to deliver an entertaining and informative story by incorporating accurate historical events and personal experiences with the fictional character March. This helps drives the story to create a convincing novel. The element regarding Grace and March enhances the story by creating an ulterior relationship that the reader may create strong feelings towards. Brooks also enhanced the book by including the character Marmee. She represents the women of the period, but unlike most women, Marmee is outspoken and strongly opinionated about the subject of slavery. Overall, the novel is historically based but

I loved that when there was an explosion everything looked so realistic and broke in pieces. Then when they were singing everything came back together like magic. It was a cute and interesting setting. Also, the fact that the main setting was the downstairs of the house, but then when the construction was highered, the downstairs and the bedrooms upstairs were part of the stage.

When I saw Hairspray the Musical there were three things that I noticed that were important in making the theatrical performance. Those three things were the acting, production, and how the actors made us, the audience, feel. Each of these things contribute greatly to any performance. I feel that this production of Hairspray hit each of these notes very well.