Is it a musical? A play? It’s more like a Circus!
On March 1, 2001, I had the great opportunity to see a very unique Off-Broadway variety show named De La Guarda, written, directed, and designed by Pichon Baldinu and Diqui James. The theatre presenting this show is the Daryl Roth Theatre, which is located at 20 Union Square East, just a few blocks from Baruch College. There were many interesting moments in the show that one would be definitely surprised if he had no prior knowledge about the show. What makes this show the most interesting is that it is not traditional theatre whatsoever. Everything is changed, including the area where it is performed. There is no real plot, but there are many artistic scenes throughout the show. Although there is no real plot, the performers present a wide range of emotions from one part of the show to the next that makes the audience members crave for the next emotion. It is a definite attention getter and everything including in the show, such as props and the performers themselves, makes the audience a part of the show.
From the moment an audience member enters the theatre, he is welcomed with refreshments and waits in the basement until an usher calls the audience to come upstairs to the main performance area. Since the tickets purchased for the show say “General Admission,” there are no assigned seats and the audience is left standing in a large dark square room, with four black walls and a white ceiling. The once empty room becomes filled with people waiting for the show to begin. Ushers remain in the room to guide the audience to move from one area to the next because the performers may need room to perform later in the show.
At 8pm, the show begins from the ceiling. Shadows of flying people grace the stage above. The directors’ attempt to make the mood as serene as possible is established through the music and the props. There is a dreamlike music playing that puts the audience in a peaceful mood. Raindrops slowly hit the white paper ceiling and little balls, that seem to be magnetic, are placed by the floating people above. The little balls move all in different directions and finally stop forming a big mass of balls. Little props, such as little horses and dinosaurs, are placed on the white paper and the performers play with them to make the audience amused.
Cullen, Frank, Florence Hackman, and Donald McNeilly. Vaudeville, Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print.
Doroteo Aranga learned to hate aristocratic Dons, who worked he and many other Mexicans like slaves, Doroteo Aranga also known as Pancho villa hated aristocratic because he made them work like animals all day long with little to eat. Even more so, he hated ignorance within the Mexican people that allowed such injustices. At the young age of fifteen, Aranga came home to find his mother trying to prevent the rape of his sister. Aranga shot the man and fled to the Sierra Madre for the next fifteen years, marking him as a fugitive for the first time. It was then that he changed his name from Doroteo Aranga to Francisco "Pancho" Villa, a man he greatly admired.
The audience is an important factor to determine the success of a spectacle. It is known that there is no spectacle without audience. The musical theater presentations are known for their number of people, which according to the Broadway League (n.d.), the 2013 season reached attendance of 11.57 million. However, the number of spectators has been decreased in comparison with the peak of popularity for musicals in the last century. The first reason for that is that the spectators of musical theater presentations were a more specific group such as wealthy and intellectual people that used to go to this type of presentation, and this pattern has been consistent until now, as it can be seen in the price of a Broadway spectacle that is very expensive. Second, the spectators have to go where the spectacles are set up, which makes the live presenta...
The music starts. The curtain opens up. Actors walk out onto the stage facing the audience. The lights shine down on them. They have the audience's undivided attention. There I stand, in the wings. Watching.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, there was a time in history, when a brand new style of entertainment swept the nation. It changed the very way that Americans would perform in theaters, while illustrating the creativity of people with an eagerness to entertain.
As the curtain came down, the audience roared. The same little girl is now twenty years old. She gets out her cell phone and quickly sneaks a picture of the beautiful golden curtain. Captioning the photo as “the best spectacular on earth”, she posts it to Instagram and hits over one hundred “likes” within minutes. She walks outside and looks up at the marquee. With a smile on her face, she walks to the subway dreaming of the day she will be on that stage. This celebrated theatre has found a place in her heart, creating an eternal love for New York and an eternal love for the beautiful landmark that is Radio City Music Hall.
“Prior to performance time, there will be a special pre-show in the theater’s lobby where actors and musicians will lead spectators into the theater through an extravagant wedding procession,” says
Throughout the years, America has pursued the performing arts in a large variety of ways. Theatre plays a dramatic and major role in the arts of our society today, and it takes great effort in all aspects. Musical Theatre, specifically, involves a concentration and strength in dance, acting, and singing. This is the base that Musical Theatre is built upon. For my Senior Project, I helped choreograph multiple scenes in a community musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Choreography is a way of expressing oneself, but it has not always been thought of for that purpose. Agnes de Mille’s expressive talent has drastically affected how people see choreography today. Agnes de Mille’s influence in the world of dance has left a lasting impact in the Performing Arts Department, and her revolutionary works are still known today for their wit, lyricism, emotion, and charm.
I attended the Reel abilities film short program on Sunday, October 30, 2016. I took my husband with me to the film. This film was held in Rodef Shalom in Pittsburgh, PA. This was the first time I was inside this building. We arrived at 3:30 and could get a parking space close to the building. The door was locked and had to buzz in and was informed that it wasn’t working for some reason. Once we got up the stairs we was greeted and everyone was so nice. There were a line of people getting tickets, but I could skip the line due to pre-order tickets. Once we got out tickets we went down a hall into a room like a theater and a stage in front. The seats were very uncomfortable. It was a full house this night.
Lights, camera, action! The light switches on, and shines brightly in the center of the stage. Two people walk towards it, these are actors that were told to come out at this exact moment by the director. After days of intense rehearsals. The two young actors burst. “We are tired of working for you” the two participants yell towards the director. The director in a surprising manner walks up to the stage, stares down at the performers and laughs. “You are going nowhere; I have your contract and your pay, now back to your positions!” The performers stand and continue their roles with no opinion in the matter. The camera turns off, the shadows of the actors disappear. The common person stands up and is face to face with the director. The director
Actors were expected to memorize hundreds of lines at a time. While one play could be performing, actors would be practicing lines for their next show. Play writers also began to make roles for the actors in the theatrical pieces. The theaters that actors performed in were roofless so that the sun could be used as lighting. Theatrical shows were held in the afternoon because it provided the best amount of light for the show. When the people gathered into the theater, the different classes of people were separated by where they could afford to sit and watch the show. The lower classmen were situated on the bare earth where it was dirty and smelly because it was never cleaned. The owners’ of the theaters found it less expensive if they did not keep high maintenance of their establishments. Higher classmen sat under a roof and for a penny more, they could buy cushions for their seats.
... a way for audiences and performers to connect on a closer level. They are both experiencing the surreal, disassociating themselves from the performance taking place. They both become more introspective. The performance becomes a vehicle for self-understanding, metacognition.
At the beginning of the show, I was really excited with the archaic decorated stuffs on the stage, such as, closet, candles, and beautiful trunk. These things attracted my attention of watching the show. I don’t denied that the majority of the design elements were recognized one of the great production of theatre. I was surprised with fancy costumes of each actor to identify the class and present the period of classic Italian time. However, the weak point of design elements might reduce audience’s satisfaction of the entire show. Based on the trust theatre, people would sit around three side of the stage. Even though I got seat in front, my seat was at the edge of it. This condition is main factor to block my stage’s view because there are four posts standing four corners of the stage, one is also in front of me. Not every scene I could see what the actors were doing. I sometimes saw people were laughing, but I had no idea why they did. No matter how good the actor performed or how beautiful the scene would be. I had a hard time to watch such the play. In addition, the music for dancing and singing is really melodious. With using the guitar
As you walk into the grand hall that is the main stage of the J. Scheidegger Center of the Arts and take your seat in the red plush seats the mood is set for the master pieces to come. The opening act provided energy that would have to carry you throughout the rest of the night. Overall a majority of the pieces took your breath away and captivated your being. The composure and professionalism of each eight count they graced the stage.
I picture myself center stage in the most enormous and fantastically beautiful theater in the world. Its walls and ceilings are covered in impeccable Victorian paintings of angels in the sky. A single ray of light shines down upon my face, shining through the still, silent darkness, and all attention is on me and me alone. The theater is a packed house; however, my audience is not that of human beings, but rather the angels from the paintings on the walls come alive, sitting intently in the rows of plush seats. Their warmth encompasses my body, and I know at that moment that it is time to begin.