4) How did the work of established and recognised theatre practitioners, and/or the work of live theatre, influence the way in which your devised response developed?
The most prominent influence on our production were Frantic Assembly, whose 2015 play The Things I Know To Be True provided a groundwork for our production. The play handles serious issues in a realistic but also very gentle way; showing shades of light in a dark world. It also uses movement as an extension of acting, an idea we drew upon several times.
The first element of this production which influenced our piece was in terms of structure. Within both our play and Frantic’s a phone call is used as the opening scene. A character hears upsetting news but the audience do not; they only see the character reacting. Later on, the phone call happens again and the information is revealed. Rearranging scenes in this way (so a dramatic scene precedes the setting of the story) created a hook for the audience. This intensified the second phone call, as the audience knew what Sierra’s mum was about to find out. It made the
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In this piece Berkoff decided to use frames as the sole piece of set; one for each member of the ensemble. We also used frames, again one for each member of the ensemble, alongside other pieces of set. These came into their own in the second half of the play. For example, in the final scene we created a courtroom using just frames, and built this on stage during Sierra’s speech. We felt that this was a compelling use of set, as Sierra’s moment of calm thoughtfulness is cut short by her rapist building a witness box around her. The crudeness of this image is an homage to the heightened politicised tableaux of Brecht; it is an example of gestus, and how the simple moving of a frame represents victims who are never able to escape the influence of their
The overall dramatic meaning of this play has been successfully shown by the elements of drama. The
This message is the base lining and building blocks of this novel turned stage production performance, The Untouchable Juli. This theme is explored throughout the entire of the play through multiple dramatic techniques, both physical and verbal such as, mime, balletic movement; dance and music to tell the tale in brief vignettes that give the work a surreal and touching
This past week, I had the opportunity to experience a magnificent play called Born Yesterday by Garson Kanin. This performance was the third of three plays I saw at the Arizona Repertory Theatre. The other two plays were Epic Proportions by Larry Coen and David Crane and Hands on a Hardbody by Doug Wright. These were the first plays I have been to, not only while attending the University of Arizona, but in my generation as a teenager. All together, these performances were amazing and have brought a newly improved insight to my perception of theatre. The hard work and dedication by the actors, directors, producers, cast members, and sound developers were absolutely incredible and I have tremendous respect for their efforts during the overall sequence of producing the plays. The most recent performance I saw, Born Yesterday, can be described and reflected on through various topics such as lighting, sound, directing and producing.
Errol Morris, author of “There Is Such a Thing as Truth”, believes in truth. When he was ten years old, Morris challenged an older neighborhood kid a question about which city was further west, Reno or Los Angeles. Even though Morris knew that the answer was Reno, the older kid refused to admit the truth. Furthermore, in a similar scenario when Morris was an adult, an innocent man was sentenced to die by electric chair. Wanting to tell the truth, Morris filmed a documentary to release the guiltless man from prison.
As regards the delineation of the characters on stage and outside, the spectator is invited to pay attention to what is said and what is left unsaid, to what is revealed consciously or what is betrayed by the delivery of each of them, their gestures whether coordinately or impulsively performed.
11. Point out some moments in the play when the playwright conveys much to the audience without dialogue
Truth is what people believe and it is not absolute, or constant between people. Everyone has their own sense of Truth but most get it from their family and their own observations on the world. McCandless's sense of Truth is rather common. He just simply despises the idea of power over another. This is evident as he walks into the wild wanting to become its equal by surviving off it, and in his spite towards the government. McCandless's "Truth" is what makes him so familiar and
The above example illustrates not only how the theatrical performance affects the audience, but also how the audience influences its dynamics, development and the characters within it. The actors feel a certain level of acceptance from the viewer, who demands a certain way of depicting the character. Theatre is not just entertainment, itís something much more than that ñ itís education. Theatre should always represent things, rather than
This weekend I decided to go to a play that I have hear people talking about as I walked the streets. Many people were discussing the drama that goes behind this play and as much as I wanted to join the conversation, I had to find out for myself since no one will talk to me. I have much to say about this play so let’s get started shall we.
Discuss the issues raised and reasoning behind decisions made when attempting to contemporize your own version of Sarah Kane’s play Cleansed for stage. Comment on the professional production and how and why your work may have differed from, or mirrored, Katie Mitchell’s production and any considerations/adjustments you may have made to your performance after viewing
The past four years, I have breathed, slept, eaten, thought and immersed myself in all thing pertaining to theatre. This is where I discovered to truly work in a team, where I could be without fear of being something I am not, and where I have found peace in the maddening swirl of day to day life, ironic in the fact that theatre is a hectic world. This world is where I have made my best friends and found people I know I can count on and that I insist can depend on me. If I have learned one thing from my experiences in theatre, it is to strive and achieve
Question Three. The way a play is staged can have a significant effect on the meanings made by the audience. To what extent have choices n the staging of No Sugar contributed to the meanings you have made concerning ethnicity and identity.
During the 19th century, theater adopted a realistic viewpoint by romanticism but also a rise in modern nationalism to give people a sense of belonging in a community or culture (Carlson 2014: 21). In the 20th century, realism in theater was challenged and plays were now easier to attend due to the improvements of communication and the ability to reach other areas of the world by travel (Carlson 2014: 23-24). Theater is another addition to the world of art that is continuously evolving and adapting to the world and cultures influencing its
Our choice to tell stories should exist in the same moment that we identify an audience who needs to hear that story – now, in this context, in this time, and in this medium. The best relationship with an audience begins dramaturgically, at the beginning of a rehearsal process. We must ask: How can we keep our minds open to the audience we have and also to the audience we want and the audience with whom we hope to collaborate? How do we enter a community and work with new people, learn from them and hope they learn from us? Partner with our similar goals and share resources. Work with them and never for them. Theatre isn’t a service—it’s a
In the words of Gay McAuley, “for an activity to be regarded as a performance, it must involve the live presence of the performers and those witnessing it…” (McAuley, 2009, cited in Schechner, 2013, pp.38). This statement recognises the importance of both the actor and the audience for something to truly function as a performance. In addition, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones highlights the significance of the theatrical space and how it can influence an audience stating that “on entering a theatre of any kind, a spectator walks into a specific space, one that is designed to produce a certain reaction or series of responses” (Llewellyn-Jones, 2002, pp.3). The relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space is no less important today than it was at the time of theatre during the Spanish Golden Age and the creation of Commedia dell’arte in Italy. Despite being very close geographically with theatre thriving for both in the same era, sources that explore the social, cultural and historical context of these countries and the theatre styles will bring to light the similarities and differences. This essay will analyse the staging, the behaviour of the audience as well as the challenges the actors faced, and how this directly influenced the relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space.