Wednesday, January 25, 2012

TPP2300 Video Link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sl4jnLMAGb0

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Clybourne Park: My Unifying Vision

Location: Caldwell Theatre Company

The perfect location for my production of Clybourne Park is the Caldwell Theatre Company located in Boca Raton, Florida. Its location is directly in between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. As South Florida is a large retirement area, as well as a “pricey” place to be, it not only hits my target audience of an older class of people but as well promises to bring in return profit from presenting the show in this area. I am aiming toward an older audience with this production because of the era in which Clybourne Park opens with. The older audience will have a unique aesthetic view with this play compared to any other audience, by way in which this target group has lived in the past time that Act 1 takes place in, and as well this target audience has moved along to the more present time as in Act 2. This is what gives this audience such a unique approach to the performance. Not only will they relate to the racial discrepancies within the show, but they have also lived first hand through the war of which the character Russ’ so, Kenneth, had come back from. These particular feelings that the characters Russ and Kenneth demonstrate should have a much more connected effect on the emotions of this audience.

Covering some of the ideas to the stage design, let me start with saying that I intend to be as tangible and life like as possible. There are no needs for abstracts within this production. The furniture for Act 1 must reflect that of a house within the northern states in the 50’s and 60’s. I focus on the fact that it needs to be a northern house not only because of the state in which this play takes place but because there are subtle differences to the mind and eyes when someone sees a house in the say, Florida, compared to a house in Michigan. Some houses in Florida back in the 50’s had hurricane shutters, which also, Florida does not typically have many fireplaces, cellars and/or basements. While in Michigan, the inside design of a house could feature a large fireplace, an open basement door, and so on. Aside from just the structure base of a set design, the furnishings should also reflect not only time period, but subtle moods. Color affects mood on a subconscious level. To convince the audience that the furniture in the house is of the 1950’s, we need to adjust the colors and tones found in the rooms. Textures as well can provide a sense of where and when the scenes take place. So to wrap up and simply state what is needed for all of my designs:

Costumes:

The costumes are relatively simple. There should not be any elaborate detail to any of them in particular. Realism over extravagance. I expect the actors and the dialogue to pull the audience in more so than anything else. Simply, with Act 1, clothes typical to 1959. And that is not to mean they have to be noticeably in 1959. What I mean by this is, Russ for example should just be in a white T-shirt and a simple pair of relaxed jeans. He doesn't need to be in a whole 1959 get up that shouts the year he is portraying. As for Act 2, the same applies here. The actors should simply be non-elaborate with their clothing and dress as we casual do in this day in age.

Lighting:

The lighting will be the main factor of dividing the two Acts from one another. With Act 1 there needs to be a subtle tone of sepia being used in the lighting quality. This gives me the feeling of a film grain, or a past time of sense. For Act 2 I would like to use a very small tint of blue. No yellow light at all, but a hint blue within a bright white. This blue and brightness reminds me of newness and crispness. Which this would be perfect to represent 2009.

ACT 1 - This is an image of the inside of a house using a sepia filter.

ACT 2 - This is an image of the inside of a house using blue cooling filter.

Sound:

I don’t want music to be in this production. The only time there will be music is when Russ has the radio. Other than that, I want to focus on natural sounds, like passing cars, voices in the neighborhood, wind chimes, dogs barking, and possibly birds and other wildlife.

(This is what will be on the radio as the play comes to a start)

Friday, November 18, 2011

Reasons To Be Pretty

The Audience Experience

This is the third play I have been to. Before I even start with my audience interpretations, let me say I LOVED IT! I made the decision to go on the opening night. I thought it would be unique to choose that performance in relation to the other nights of its presentation, for two reasons. The first reason, which I could be wrong, but I thought about it, would be that this is their first night performing this particular play in front of the real deal; the audience. I figured watching the first performance would be different than say, watching the last performance, because of things that they might realize, like an outfit didn’t work out as well as they had thought it would, or a prop, maybe the setup of the seats was a foot too close to the stage, things of that nature. Learning from the trail of the first performance what can be worked on for the following ones. The second reason I chose opening night to see this play, was because of the audience size. As Professor Kershner had stated earlier this week, it may be harder to get a ticket toward the end of the weekend. I assumed from that, a smaller crowd would be attending on opening night. It might just be me, but when I choose to “people watch,” it’s easier for me to analyze individuals when the herd is thinned out.

As I had with Locomotion, I brought my younger brother with me so I could see how he felt about the show in comparison with the God awful Locomotion. Walking into the performance area I realized it had an arena stage setup with a bedroom like setting. I just stood there for a moment looking at the four seating sectionals. Deciding not only on which side of the bed I wanted to sit on to view the show, but also the elevation of the seating I felt comfortable with. I decided to go for a view with a lateral profile. My brother and I took a seat on the side of the bedroom that had women’s clothing on the floor. I sat ground level to be, in a sense, part of the actors world. The closer I am to the performance, the more I enjoy it. It’s a bit of a rush to have a flesh and blood story within arm’s reach. The audience was a lot larger than it was for Locomotion, my brother pointed out. I also had my first theatrical encounter with other audience members. An elderly couple sat down to my left and cracked some jokes with me as we waited for the show to start. They asked me if I was affiliated with the production of the play and I told them I was just a student that was present for homework purposes. I asked them if they were attending the play because they knew someone that was part of it. They informed me that they did not know anyone in Daytona State College, let alone anyone in the performance. They had seen an advertisement in a paper and have always enjoyed live theatre. They weren’t even from Florida; they were just here visiting family for the holidays. I guess I had a presumption that all these old people show up for plays at the News-Journal Center because they had grandchildren and whatnot in the play or behind the scenes. Now I realize, or at least I give thought to, the fact of older folks coming to these shows perhaps reflects a generation and geography in a sense. These older individuals, with us being in the retiree state, not only grew up with live performance as a more dominating form of entertainment, in comparison to what our kids entertain themselves with nowadays, but they also may have come from the states up north. Broadway in New York is 200 miles from Boston, MA and only 100 miles away from Philadelphia!

So to wrap up the audience experience, I found the play to be great. It hit me on a personal level, not only with the panic attack (no joke) I had at the beginning when two of the characters decided to rip one another apart with a barrage of harsh language, but also with the behavior of the characters in retrospect to my own life and experiences with people that behave such as they had in the play. The old people next to me left the play, never to return and very upset, during intermission. They didn’t know such “special” words were going to be thrown into their ears on that night. That made me like the play even more, I’m a bit dark, and so I find it amusing when people can’t handle particular adult situations and language. On a final note, I noticed that the character named Carly had a flashlight on her costume. It accidentally detached several times throughout the show and it was cool to watch how the actor reacted to it. She calmly incorporated these unscripted moments into her routine. After the show my brother told me he wanted to attend every show that DSC puts together during his whole time in college. I agree with him. Good or bad, I very much enjoy the act of analyzing these live performances. They are each unique and bring with them a new world, a 3D fairytale, into my life.

The Differences - Live Play versus Film

Some Things Similar

Living theatre is different than a film. But they also have many similarities. The keyword is “live.” As I had said in the aforementioned article, “It’s a bit of a rush to have a flesh and blood story within arm’s reach.” When going to see a play or a film, we can expect a lot of the same things to take place within the audience. First off, they both have a living audience. Let’s at least hope that the audience is living…. Next, for both live theatre and a film, we are expected to turn off our cell phones and behave accordingly. We know by the plays ad and the films rating, if we are bringing our children or if we are bringing a box of Kleenex. When watching a live performance, the laughter of the audience influences the smile I already have into a laugh as well. The same can be said of a comedy at the movie theater. Some plays have the audience in a sense, participate or be active in some way. Maybe the show asks everyone to dress in a specific outfit. Films have the same thing happen at times. New Star Wars movies bring a whole legion of storm troopers and Jedi to the ticket lines; the Rocky Horror Picture Show brings….some pretty interesting characters as well…

Some Things Are Different

Now comparing Reasons to Be Pretty with a film that is out at the movie theater shows a great deal of contrast. For one, the arena seating in Reasons to Be Pretty is very dissimilar to the proscenium style that movie theaters have. I can choose to sit within a 360 degree range of Reasons to Be Pretty, while a film is a flat surface that requires you to focus your attention in one specific direction. Film has been shot, edited, edited again, and so on until it has become a thing of permanence. You can turn a film on anywhere, at any time, in any decade, and it will be the exact same performance as it was at any other time or place. A live performance is never the same. Actors can be changed as well as, colors, costumes, lights, sounds, eras, and places. A play can be the same story and name but put together and performed in another country, with a different language and a different approach to fit the community that is viewing it.

Lastly, on a personal note, I realized a live performance makes it much more awkward to get up and go to the bathroom, or in my case, calm down a racing heart and panic attack. The arena seating for Reasons to Be Pretty kept me trapped in a full circle view, within inches of the action. To stand up and walk out with so much focus from all angles just shouts “LOOK AT THAT GUY!” So I just did breathing exercises as inconspicuously as possible. And I thought about trying to sneak to the exit when the lights went down between scenes, but that was just asking for more trouble. I didn’t want to chance bumping into one of the actors or crew members, possibly trip over there props. It’s much easier to escape a movie theater than a live performance.

LOCOMOTION

On Wednesday night I decided to attend the play Locomotion. Having seen Almost, Maine recently, I was eager and excited to see this next performance. Was it going to be the same atmosphere as last time? Will the audience be generally the same group? I changed clothes to be a little more suited for the News-Journal Center. I learned my lesson last time when I was apparently one of the few ragged out individuals while everyone else was in formal wear. Having heard all about Almost, Maine my younger brother asked if he could come see Locomotion. He had never been to a play before, so I thought it would be even more interesting to be able to examine him as part of the audience.

We arrived twenty minutes early, giving us time to finish our coffees. As we took a seat on the concrete slab out front of the main entrance, I looked around expecting to see swarms of older men and women heading toward the doors. But in fact, it was absolutely quiet. There was nobody heading into the building at all. My instructor was right; apparently word did not successfully get out concerning the performance.

We made our way indoors, passing a female usher on our way to the escalator. My brother nudged me and whispered, “Cy, did you see her name? Her name’s Usher.” I laughed about how naïve my brother can be as he is only one month away from his eighteenth birthday. I told him that she is an usher and that it’s not her name. On the second floor I stopped my brother before heading into the theater. I had to show him the awesome bathroom that had impressed me the last time I had been there. Walking into the restroom he was just as impressed and happy with it as I had been when I first saw it. Yes, we are a strange pair.

We sat front and center to the stage. Aside from the two of us, there was one family and a lone man in the audience. The music that was playing was much different than the music that had been playing while I had waited for Almost, Maine to start. This music was 80’s Hip Hop. I couldn’t help but smile, the atmosphere was so different than it had been last time.

The show began and that is when my day ended. I’m sorry to be such a critic, but the whole experience was not worth my time. I was very lost at the start of the performance. The actors playing multiple characters made it even harder to try and make sense of what I was seeing. A man around my age was attempting to portray a young boy, varying around the ages of 9-13. I hope I never have to see or hear someone speak like that again. I give credit to the Latino actor though. He did a fantastic job with the different characters he could quickly turn into. Another thing I realized about the performance that made me not as pleased as I was with the last one, was the fact that sitting front and center is not comfortable to me. I realized I very much enjoy sitting on the side of the stage. I’m unsure as to the exact way to explain why that is, but it’s just something about feeling a little more behind the scenes, and the ability to study the actors on the sideline as they perform to those that are straight ahead of them.

As we left, my brother said he didn’t like it for the same reasons, but he was very happy about the experience itself. When I got home I thought that maybe I should sleep on it before writing this blog post. Maybe I would reflect a little differently after it had been in my head for a day. When I woke up the next day I was surprised! I did feel differently about Locomotion! I had gone from not liking it, to really, REALLY not liking it. I have decided that there will be no train under our Christmas tree this year as to not be, in any way, reminded of Locomotion.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Almost, Maine

On Sunday I went to the News-Journal Center at Daytona State College to see Almost, Maine. It was my first time viewing a live performance. As I was part of the audience, I’d like to share my experience as well as my thoughts on the other members of the audience.

Parking at the News-Journal Center I was unsure as to if I was at the right place. I guess I had been putting it in my head that I would see a bunch of peers around my age and possibly other Daytona State students. But I found myself walking toward the front entrance in a large, and I mean surprisingly large, group of elderly folk. As I entered the building I felt a bit underdressed and out of place. An older gentleman in a suit greeted me and set me in the right direction to get my ticket for the play. I asked myself while waiting in line, “should I be wearing this t-shirt and jeans?” I heard a loud burst of laughter. I looked over to what was a concession setup to see a group of teenagers. They were wearing the same kind of clothes as me. I was relieved.

After presenting my college ID, I followed the herd to an escalator. Where I was then yelled at. Apparently I was supposed to hand my ticket to the two women at the bottom. It was a bit of a Seinfield moment. I was handed a ticket, to walk 12 feet at most, just to hand them the ticket I was just given. I thought I would at least have to get up the stairs first and there would be someone with a little box to put ticket stubs in, like at a movie. Anyway, after they took my ticket, and I said my apologies, I continued toward the unfamiliar goal. I need to share this, even though it’s not all that necessary, it was strangely one of my favorite parts. I made a pit stop at the restroom before going into the actual theater. The bathroom was looking SHARP! I was very impressed, and it made me feel further underdressed for the occasion. Yes, I do sound crazy, but the bathroom was like a James Bond restroom.

Leaving the restroom of my dreams, I made my way into the seating area. A woman told me to pick any seat, that they were open seats. I was about to find myself a dark little corner at the top. But I saw a seat so close to the stage, it intrigued me, as I wondered how it would feel watching people act in almost reaching distance from me. While waiting for the show to start, I noted all sorts of things about my surroundings. First it was the music and the lights. I was asking myself if the music would be of relation to the mood of the play, or is this like the music at the movie theater where the screen asks you a pop quiz about the names of the band members and their star signs in a quiz, and it has nothing to do with the X-Men movie that is about to come on. The lights I couldn’t figure out at first. I had no idea what the play was about. And I see a little bench with what looks like concrete which had been poured and dried out, under bluish-purple lights. So I look in my hand, and I have a pamphlet. Maybe this has some answers to what will be happening today. I open it up and read the names of the characters. It didn’t help. I still had no clue what could possibly happen to the bench and the purple lights when the show starts. Maybe the scenes can help explain it to me? Another negative. The only thing the pamphlet did point out that I could make some sense of was that my Dramatic Appreciation teacher is the Director. I had a flashback of our lecture in class when Mr. Kershner had said something along the line of Directors not being at their plays, but if they are, you probably won’t see them. So that gave me a creepy vibe. Was my teacher hidden among the faces in this dark room? I looked around and sure enough, he was behind a glass window above the audience.

The lights dim and it begins. I find out that the concrete was actually snow. I felt a little stupid, but who’s to say the show couldn’t have started with 2 construction workers on a bench in Maine? I had a really good time. I was very studious of the people around me, and especially curious about the performers and how they were doing such a good job at not making eye contact with me, as if nobody else was there. It was fascinating, so many things about it. Knowing I was with an audience that was a majority of older men and women, I was shocked and caught off guard by how uncontrolled their laughter could be. One older man laughed so hard I didn’t think he would recover his composure!

On a final topic, I chose to sit on the side. I knew I would be viewing it differently than someone sitting in a spot directly facing the stage, and that’s why I chose the side. Sitting from the seat I chose let me observe the audience and the performers in a unique way. Sitting on the side I could see all the other members of the audience directly across from me. I could study their faces and see them laugh. If I had sat facing the stage, it wouldn’t have been the same to see the audience. Also, I had a side profile on most of the performance. For example when East would speak with the broken heart girl, I was looking in the same direction he was. I saw the back of his head, but at the same time, I could see the other actor facing in my direction to give an answer or response. It was a totally different viewpoint than if I had sat anywhere else.

After leaving, I went to Flagler Beach to have dinner with my family. I was telling them all the scenes I liked and how funny it was. I even told them about the old ladies that yelled at me and how pimp the bathrooms are. I had a great experience and I look forward to seeing many more performances in the future!

Monday, October 3, 2011

Mime and the Commedia dell 'Arte Tradition

Mime was a Greco-Roman drama art, in which scenes from daily life were portrayed in an elaborate and over the top manner with coarse dialogue and ludicrous actions. Often Mime was more focused on the characters being portrayed rather than the actual plot of the story being told.

In modern times, Mime and pantomime are understood to mean the art of portraying a character or acting out a story non verbally, using body movements, facial expressions, and symbolic gesture.

(Marcel Marceau. Here you can see the emphasis of facial expression and his hands)

Interpretive dance performance using modern mime.

In the Sixteenth Century, Commedia dell'Arte had formed. It resembled ancient Mime with it's use of masks and it's ad libitum form. Commedia dell'Arte is a form of comedy that makes use of stock characters with stereotyped plots.

Some of the characters:

ARLECCHINO

(Harlequin, Arlechino, Arlequin)

Arlecchino is a clown. Generally acrobatic and mischievous, he is one of the zanni. He is a servant, and is recognizable by the colorful diamond shaped patches that traditionally were part of his costume.

Il CAPITANO (The Captain)

Il Capitano is a young man, swash-buckling and bold. Il Capitano generally wears the military dress of the period he is acting.

PULCINELLA (Polichinelle)

Pulcinella is portrayed as pitiable, helpless, and often physically disfigured. He usually has a hump, or distinct limp. In some portrayals he cannot speak, and expresses himself in squeaks or other strange sounds. His personality can be foolish or sly and shrewd.

PANTALONE (Pantaloon)

Usually wealthy and very greedy. He cares about nothing so much as money, and will do anything in order to get it.

IL DOTTORE (The Doctor)

DOTTOR BALANZONE (Dottor Baloardo)

The doctor is one of the vecchi (old men). He is seen as a learned man but generally that impression is false. He is often played as pedantic, miserly, and hopelessly unsuccessful with women. He usually talks constantly about a topic in an attempt to impress anyone who is around.

References and Works Cited

http://www.answers.com/topic/commedia-dell-arte

http://members.tripod.com/~kiko_mime/history.html

Google Images

Felner, Mira. Orenstein, Claudia. The World of Theatre.

Hunter College of The City of New York, 2006. Print.