Drama Appreciation Final

Clybourne Park

Production and designed by EnasOudat

Gillespy Theater in the building of News Journal would be a great location for this play. Gillespy theatre is located at 221 N Beach St Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3301. I chose this theatre because the seating arrangement style and design literally places the stage amidst the theater’s seating, allowing the audience to surround it and therefore, the audiences are able to see each other and their responses. Another reason would be because its location in Daytona Beach and that leads me to my target audience. There are so many retired people live in Daytona who came from up north in addition to so many different races living in the city. Therefore, my target audience would be elderly people so they can retrieve their memories of the race issues that they lived in, and also, the young people so they can learn lessons from this play about the past and the present of the relationship between different races and community belongings. Since the subject of the play deals with class, race, and gentrification, I believe the city of Daytona would be the right city for this play.

The house would be a two story house and to resemble the late fifties houses in America. The paint would be brown to show some of the family sadness, Bev and Russ, for their loss of their son Kenneth.

For the first Act, I would want the living room, where the play takes place, to look with only just the couches and few items and everything else seems packed with boxes which are placed in the middle. I also would want the trunk that contains Kenneth’s belongings to appear in both acts to be black in its color and seems very heavy. Black color of the trunk would give the audience a sense of creepy and mysterious.



My ideas of costumes, Russ and Karl would wear some clothes of what white men used to wear in the 50s which is may a jeans and a t-shirt, nothing fancy. Bev and Betsy would also wear as the normal white women wore in the 50s which is long skirts sandals.
 Kenneth picture would be in a frame with his military uniform. Francine and Albert would wear very simple, but clean clothing to show that they are poor while Francine wears an apron over her skirt.

 In Act two, I would have all performers wear modern clothes, but not classy, and where the audience do not notice any difference in clothing according to race. Tom and Kathy are to be dressed as professionals because they are lawyers. Also, I would put Betsy to play in Act 2 as Kathy but to look younger. In Act 2, I would use the same house with different paint such as green because it was occupied by a black family before and we know that most blacks like to paint their homes with green or blue. The house must show some cracks to show that it is old.

For lighting, I would use dim light in both Act 1 and 2. In Act 1 Bev and Russ were trying to move out and because of sadness of their son Kenneth, for committing suicide on the upper floor of their home after he returned home from the Korean war. I Act 2, the house is very old and the new buyers are trying to demolish it and build a new one.

For the music, I would use sad music in Act 1 for the part when Russ is talking about his son’s suicide to Karl and Jim. I also use creepy music in Act 2 when Lena is talking to Lindsey and Steve about the incident and suicidal death that occurred in the house. Another part I use music is at the end of Act 1 and the end of Act 2 when the radio was on and Kenneth was writing his letter.

The background sound would be simple to get the audience attention of what kind of environment this house is in. In Act 1, I would use sounds such as birds’ sounds in the backyard to show the urban life while in Act 2, I would use some kind of heavier music in the backgrounds such as boom box, which is normal now in any black neighborhood, to show the audience that Clybourne Park is all black neighborhood now. Furthermore, at the end of Act 1, I would use a wind sound to show and demonstrate that there will be some change coming in the following act. This was true because in Act 2, all community now is blacks; blacks are now different and have more rights such as organizations and community housing regulations, in addition to the fact that they are not victims of racial issues as they used to be for many generations.



Audience Experience

As I decided to attend the Daytona State College theatre to watch Reasons to Be Pretty, I chose to go on Friday because the show starts in the evening. This would give me a great idea about the audience in the evening compared with the audience during the day with a show, Almost Maine, I have seen last month. I came to the show more than 30 minutes early to reserve a seat because the theatre was small- as I was told by my instructor. I entered the theater and sat in the back, but because the theatre was very small, I felt that I was very close to the performers. The stage was very well set for the first scene with bedroom set, some clothing, and nice calm lighting which make you feel as a part of it. I was surprised to see that about half of the seats were filled, and the audiences were mixed of elderly people and young ones, and some of them were dressed really well while others were not.

The light went off and the show started with a loud scream by one of the actors that shocked some of the audience sitting next to me. As the show started, the performers started using bad and foul language all through their acting. This was shocking experience for some of the audience next to me. They decided to leave the show and never came back. By the middle of the show, most of the audiences were gone because they did not expect to hear so much fool language. I noticed a group of the audience was laughing too much on every action in the play, but I found out that they were friend with the performers, and it seemed to me that they laughed so loud to encourage other audience to laugh.

One man was sitting next to me, asked me if I was the director because he saw me with a pen and a notebook taking notes. I told him that I was a student from this college and I am here for a homework assignment. I asked him if he likes the play, he said he did but it has too much of bad dialogue. At the end of the play the audience praised and applauded the performers for their efforts and for their outstanding work.

I discussed the play with my husband when I got home and how the performers acted and the audiences responded. Being from a different culture, my husband explained to me that this play was really realistic. This play examines the Americas passion and obsession with the external beauty and looks. Not surprisingly discusses deeply the techniques and mechanic of the Americas language and how they speak with each other. Therefore, I believe that this play had so much effect on me because I felt the connection with the performers regardless of bad language used. This play lays a hand on all us as individuals to act maturely and to handle our consequences wisely.

The differences of viewing a live play versus seeing a film

When talking about the differences of viewing a live play versus seeing a film, it is very important to mention that the play is to be preformed out on a stage while the movie or the film is to be done on a screen.

I personally prefer to view a live performance rather than watching a film on a screen because in the play performers sometimes try to add and put in things which are out of the way and not included in their script. These asides usually do not happen in movies. Therefore, it is great to see the entire episode of events live in the front of you on the stage, unlike the movie that can be edited and had different settings.

Furthermore, as an audience of the play, this can play a big role in establishing the relationship between me and the performer. Being in the presence of the performer helps me connect better with the show and gives me the intimacy and the closeness to the play where as the intimacy in the film is gained through the screen. In addition to that, in the play each event is special and different and so the viewer can feel the emotion because the characters are in the front of them on the stage. On the other hand, all performances in the movies are recorded, each event is the same, and no direct connection with the audience.

Another important reason worth mentioning is that, in the live play the performance will build on the audience response and will get stronger. Therefore, if the audiences are responsive, the performers will act in response to the audience's reaction, creating a circular response. In the movie or performance that is watched on television or theatre screen, the performer cannot be able to take action and react to the audience reactions because his/her performance is fixed in that place and cannot be changed. Therefore, if the actor is showing signs of sadness and starts crying while performing a live act on the stage, an audience will feel the actor’s emotions and start sharing the same feeling because the audience reacted in a responsive way to the act. But if the same thing happened in a film on the screen, the audience reaction would not be as emotionally as it is being on the stage.

Finally, I say that the live performance will always be hand down and better than viewing a film on a screen. My most important reasons about watching the movie on a screen are I do not need to get prepared for it and I can see it anytime. Also, wactching  a performance on a screen helps me understand some specific parts of the show that I might not be able to pick it up as fast as possible on the live play.

Almost, Maine

 

Audience Experience

When I attended the ticket window of the theatre, I was not aware of the large number of elderly people who were standing around. I thought that I was coming to see a romantic performance and most the audiences would be young couple holding hands. Therefore, I thought that these elderly people were going to see another show. When we walked into the theater, I was surprised and confused that all the elderly people there were audience of “Almost Main”.  Only few students I have seen there but I believe because they had to be there for an assignment.  After we took our seats and became quiet and attentive listeners to the performance, the show started and all of us as the audience members had our favorite scenes which were measured by our applauding, laughter, and comments all during the show.

Since each scene deals with a different characteristic of love, I found a situation that can relate to my personal life. As audience, we were taken on journey of ups and downs as the performance touches on fear of love, lost chances, in addition to friends understanding their true feelings.  Every situation in the performance reminded me of one I have personally been through or helped a friend deal with.

The performance placed special strategies on us as audience through the adaptation and activation to specific circumstances since its goal is to spur us to the real life. Therefore, my attending to the theater was very rewarding because I had the power to choose my focus and to engage emotionally and intellectually and express my response.  I had the pleasure of being a member of this theater audience because for me it was a big and true challenge to open myself to new theoretical experience and what they proffer.

Whether we talk about the show or not, I believe from a board member noting, that everyone can relate to the performance of the play one way or the other. When I got home, I discussed the show with my husband, he was very supportive and gave a lot of positive feedback and he too felt that he was connected in some way to it. All the performers feel real, regardless of the almost magical part s found during the performance. Thus, for us, the show has been a very great and challenging experience.

Finally, by the end of the show and as I was leaving the theater felt a connection with each character of the performance and I was left with a true feeling of positive attitude, pleasure, and happiness. Therefore I always reminded myself when leaving that door to be happy and leave with a smile on my face and a sense that happiness and love are all around us especially when there are sometimes in our lives when we fall in or out of love. When it is difficult at some moments, it is always bright on the other side. I truly say that this show was educational and uplifting and, as simply said as the show is itself, well done.

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a type of variety entertainment started in United States near the beginning of 1880s and lasted until the early 1930s. Created by Tony Pastor, a circus ringmaster, Vaudeville was just variety shows and acts that would run and flow along the transition right into the next show and act, or sometimes, the actor from the preceding act will introduce the next act before the previous act finishes. Therefore, the actor may have a whole variety of different acts in addition to the strippers. Sometimes though, the first act might end up without introduction and the next act will start soon after.

Vaudeville was the best entertainment around the beginning of the 20th century in the United States because televisions were not there yet. By the mid a 1950’S, TVs came along and when they came, a lot of the early actors and entertainers on TV came from Vaudeville while some others went to musical theatre.

Vaudeville evolved from many sources, including minstrel shows, circuses, medicine shows, and burlesque theater shows, which had bawdier humor and usually included striptease. Vaudeville was started by wealthy and big business people to attract wide range of audience for profit. The vaudeville entertainers were usually a traveling company, hired by these wealthy business owners all across the US to perform at theaters. In addition, each theater possessed its own house group or band, but the actors carried their own scenery, makeup, and costumes wherever they went.

According to The World of Theatre by Mira Filner, Vaudeville used to keep their audiences in the theatre by offering them something for everyone such as musical numbers, acrobatic bits, comedy duos, and animal tricks. These clowns, acrobats, and jugglers are differentiated from their precursors who played for pure entertainment value because their physical humor and movement are part of a dramatic text with other massages and goals.

By the 1930’S Vaudeville started to decline due to the introduction of the radio and talking pictures in cinema presentation which let small time theaters offer big time performers on screen for lower price than doing it in person.

Work Cited

Filner, Mira and Claudia Orenstein. “The World of Theatre”: Tradition and innovation.

Boston: Pearson, 2006.

"Vaudeville and Broadway | Make 'Em Laugh | PBS." Retrieved on 11 Oct, 2011.

<http://www.pbs.org/wnet/makeemlaugh/episodes/history/vaudeville-and-broadway/31/>.

"Vaudeville." Musicals101.com. retrieved on 11 Oct, 2011.

<http://www.musicals101.com/vaude1.htm>.

Commedia Dell'Arte

Commedia dell’arte is an Italian comedy which started during the sixteenth century. This kind of comedy depends on its performance on wearing the mask and the physical movements of the stock characters. According to Mira Filner in her book, the world of theatre, commedia dell’arte was “first called commedia all’ improvise or improvised drama. It came to be called commedia dell’arte out of respect for the great “arte” or skill for improvisation shown by the professional actors of this tradition”

Because of its great influence on the written forms of drama, commedia dell’arte was able to servive during the beginning of the eighteenth century. In the performance of commedia dell’arte dance and music are essential in this type of act. This kind of art did not require a stage; it can be preformed and done on the street and on the markets. The actors perform a great work doing their job because the deal with social issues even though they speak Italian where many people do not understand them and therefore, language was not an issue.

Some of the characters of commedia dell’arte are: Pantelone, was the merchant, rich, retired and mean; Dottore, was the medical doctor and the fraudulent; Polcinella, was the bachelor who ran after beautiful girls; Arlechino, was the most famous of all, like a child and amorous; Breghela, was roguish and would do anything for money; and finally, Il Capitano, was the captain and the professional soldier. The mask that Capitano wore contains very ling nose and very large eyes so it can widen the fear. His huge military boots used to cover half of his legs. He wore a military jacket and wore a sword on his belt. To make himself look so important and powerful, his movement was always so heroic and brave. The fact though is Capitano is always scared and terrified: he scares of any loud noise and might run a way.

Commedia has a great influence everywhere from the written drama to plots, and to the televised sitcom. That is why many actors have worked hard to revitalize this form of art.

Work Cited

 “Commedia Dell'Arte - Italian Comedy - Stock Characters.” 30 Sept. 2011.

<http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa110800b.htm>.

"Commedia Dell'arte.". 30 Sept. 2011.< http://math.bu.edu/people/jeffs/commedia.html>.

Filner, Mira and Claudia Orenstein.“The World of Theatre”: Tradition and innovation.

Boston: Pearson, 2006.