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Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal is an expressionist play written in 1928, based on the real life trial and execution of Ruth Snyder.* Machinal tells the story of how the youthful spirit of a young woman can be suffocated to the breaking point amidst the harsh industrial 1920’s. If done in the style of the Epic Theatre, Machinal can take on a totally different meaning, especially when being staged for the audience of today. When staged in the Epic Theatre Machinal now reflects the complacent, non-beings of people living in modern day America. Modifying the text, staging in the style of Epic Theatre, and assuming the directorial practices of Bertolt Brecht support the new problem Machinal proposes to its audience. In this day and age, where American’s have incredible social pressure and freedom do we take advantage of the latter, or do we crumble under the former? Modifications to the text allow for re-working of the plot and help to concentrate the audience’s focus on the faults of the Young Woman. Major changes include the addition of a monologue at the top of the play, made up of lines from the text. The Young Woman delivers this monologue to give the audience an idea of what is about to come. Adam Moore, creator of techit.co.uk, writes “the audience must be made aware that events are not present events (happening now), but past events being represented as narrative, with commentary provided to encourage our own reflection.” * Although Machinal is already written episodically, I found it necessary to switch the original order. The Young Woman’s monologue, predicting the events of the play and the new amorphous plot allow for the play to appear to have happened in the past. My goal with this is to create the idea that this is all in... ... middle of paper ... ... is walking off stage, and then always return. Helen never exits, and so in fact she is trapped in the world of the play, her inability to leave and take responsibility for herself is the most important because this fact is what should estrange the audience from Helen’s character. Works Cited "Bertolt Brecht." NMSU: College of Business. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. . "Brecht." Teachit.co.uk - English Teaching Resources. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. . "Brechtian Techniques." Usq.edu.au. University of Southern Queensland. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. . "The Influence of Brecht." Www-dev.cs.brandeis.edu. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. .
It is imperative to understand the significance of the profound effects these elements have on the audience’s response to the play. Without effective and accurate embodiments of the central themes, seeing a play becomes an aimless experience and the meaning of the message is lost. Forgiveness and redemption stand as the central themes of the message in The Spitfire Grill. Actors communicate character development through both nonverbal and verbal cues; their costumes serve as a visual representation of this development by reflecting the personal transformation of each character. In the case of The Spitfire Grill, set design is cut back to allow for the audience’s primary focus to be on the actors and their story. Different from set design, the use of sound and lights in The Spitfire Grill, establishes the mood for the play. In other words, every theatrical element in a play has a purpose; when befittingly manipulated, these elements become the director’s strongest means of expressing central themes, and therefore a means of achieving set objectives. Here again, The Spitfire Grill is no exception. With the support of these theatrical elements, the play’s themes of forgiveness and redemption shine as bright as the moon on
Eight Men Speak by Oscar Ryan et al presents a variety of epic devices employed throughout its composition. We see “the essential truth in every word of these six acts”(Foreword 5) come to life in this thought provoking presentation of didactic literature. Through the use of Epic Drama we see the effects of our corrupt government as it is brought into perspective using the epic devices of using the audience as active participants, using narration rather than action , and political engagement. These epic devices play a key role in portraying the didactic message of the play. The play causes the reader not only to be a present member of the audience, but to have presence of mind as well; to not only hear what the characters are saying, but to take initiative if they wish to see change.
In Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal, Helen she starts having frantic monologues every time she must make a decision for herself. In the play, it seems like all she wants in to be free and independent, but every time she is given the chance, she starts to have frantic monologues and can’t handle the pressure. Although some people think Helen is insane, I feel the play portrays Helen as someone can’t handle pressure and having to make her own decisions.
Vogel’s writing exudes symbolism from the first word of the script to the last – from the rise of the curtain to its close. The glimpses into Li’l Bit’s past are sometimes explicitly and literally described, but Vogel also often uses extended metaphors to act as a detailed commentary on the action. Why, however, did the playwright choose symbolism to convey the effects of sexual abuse – as heavy as its subject matter may be – during the late twentieth century when seemingly nothing is censored in America? In order to answer this and better understand the way in which Vogel uses symbolism –in the smaller elements of the play and extended metaphors – the terms must first be defined.
In Dialogue: Theatre of America, Harold Clurman said, “we make theatre out of life” (27), and it was precisely this view that motivated him to help create a uniquely American theatre. Clurman, considered one of the most influential directors of the modern American theatre, had a unique vision of what the American theatre could become. One of the founders of the quintessentially American troupe, the Group Theatre, Clurman was a contemporary of Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg, and even married to Stella Adler for twenty years. At a ceremony honoring Clurman, Elia Kazan stated that Clurman’s “greatest achievement [was] himself” (Harold Clurman: A Life of Theatre). An important figure in our theatrical past, Clurman’s theories on theatre and directing require close attention. In this paper, I will first provide a brief biography of Clurman, second, examine his theories of theatre and directing, and lastly, I will explore his criticisms of the then-contemporary theatre, and draw conclusions to the current state of the Broadway theatre.
Butler, Judith. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal 40.4 (1988): 519-31. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 11 May 2011.
Dozier, Richard. "Adultry and Disappointment in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?" Modern Drama Vol11. No 4, (Feb 1969): 432-436.
A general air of superficiality invades the production. Why? Unless done with reality, the play loses its “tam” (Yiddish for taste), fringes on mockery of the way of life being depicted, and weakens the accomplishment of the author’s purpose.
Every time the family comes to a confrontation someone retreats to the past and reflects on life as it was back then, not dealing with life as it is for them today. Tom, assuming the macho role of the man of the house, babies and shelters Laura from the outside world. His mother reminds him that he is to feel a responsibility for his sister. He carries this burden throughout the play. His mother knows if it were not for his sisters needs he would have been long gone. Laura must pickup on some of this, she is so sensitive she must sense Toms feeling of being trapped. Tom dreams of going away to learn of the world, Laura is aware of this and she is frightened of what may become of them if he were to leave.
"The Crucible" is considered by many Miller’s masterpiece, it both displays his dramatic and theatrical qualities in such a way as to make it disturbing and socially relevant. In it one can find his views on society as a whole and on current events such as Mccarthyism which similarily to the medieval Church and justice system searched for individuals who by their ideals and ideas they felt threatened the supremacy of their system. Miller made "The Crucible" the starting point for the audience to reflect on their own society and culture. But at the same time Miller polished his deep philosophical work with superb stage directions, likeable characters and nerve-racking suspense.
To conclude, the author portrays Blanche’s deteriorating mental state throughout the play and by the end it has disappeared, she is in such a mental state that doctors take her away. Even at this stage she is still completely un-aware of her surroundings and the state she is in herself.
For the purposes of this thesis, two prominent works created during the Weimar Republic will be analyzed, Bertolt Brecht’s and Kurt Weill’s political-satirical operas, The Threepenny Opera (1928) and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny (1930). The Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny both offer a socialist critique of capitalism as well as portraying characters that embody memory and traumas of the time. For example, the lead male in The Threepenny Opera, Mack the Knife, elicits the horror and charm of the period through his grotesque nature and, therefore, may be analyzed as a site of memory. In The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny, Brecht’s Verfremdungseffekt is on prominent display as America is viewed as a strange land emphasizing the violence and greed of the social classes. Thus, both The Threepenny Opera and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahoganny maintain theatrical, social, and historical implications that may aid in the understanding or presentation of cultural memory and trauma within collective
...ro level forum. She revealed the layers in the plot that tend to get overlooked when viewing a Hollywood musical. Also, her Freudian insight of Linda Low’s character, in which she explains the ego formation and narcissism, mirrors Marchetti’s view of the white knight. Hollywood narrations have notoriously reflected the white male, who I perceive as a representation of American national identity, as a highly narcissistic character. He is portrayed as the hero with patriarchal discourse and male privilege. Overall, both essays dive into the role these films took in constructing a national identity under the veil of a romantic narrative. Both speak to a political subplot on an unconscious, rather than diegetic level. In providing such an in depth analysis, they uncloak the racial and national assimilation that these films depict in relation to the East and West.
Finally, throughout the play, gender inequality and the battle of sexes are explored to the degree that these were the responsible factors for Miss Julie’s naturalistic fate, even though the battle of classes is a recurring theme throughout the play. Leading up to Miss Julie’s downfall, Strindberg successfully manages to avoid the topic of suicide ‘it’s terrible, but there’s no other way. Go’ but instead subtly suggests it through Jeans subliminal messages. Miss Julie was first entitled ‘The First Naturalistic Tragedy’ providing evidence that Miss Julie’s fate was a direct result of the environment around her: a typical anti-feminist zone full of gender inequality. Miss Julie goes well beyond the naturalistic struggle between the sexes that Strindberg wanted to portray.
Bertolt Brecht’s play The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a social and political commentary, focusing on justice and motherhood. Using revolutionary theatrical techniques and devices to reinforce his theme, Brecht attempts to free his audience from the constraints of traditional theatre, enabling them to make impartial judgments of their own. Despite combining these radical ideas about theatre with the theme of motherhood, Brecht does not wholly succeed in alienating the audience, as it is impossible for them to totally distance themselves from such an emotive subject as motherhood.