Middletown, an ordinary enough sounding name for a town yet it coincides with a not so ordinary play. Right away the play starts off with a public speaker trying to include everyone she could ever think of into her welcoming remarks, which doesn’t seem to be all that strange but when it’s coupled with slightly ridiculous body movements, such as rolling on the floor, it does indeed make for a strange sight. After that, the play continues with a slightly off kilter type of humour where seemingly ordinary citizens say or do rather unusual. Despite the array of unusual things that happen throughout the production there is quite a bit of depth to this script and I think that both the director and the actors handled this balance of humor and depth …show more content…
One actor that I thought was particularly strong was Thomas Toles who played John Dodge. Toles was able to convey great emotion in many different scenes that fit with his character and the way that Dodge was depressed but also still trying to find some kind of meaning in the various tasks that he picked up. Another aspect of Toles’ performance that I really enjoyed was his subtlety. He was able to convey different emotions without making them stand out right at first. For instance, near the beginning of the play when Dodge and Swanson are first getting to know each other, Toles adds in this element to his acting that makes you wonder if he’s interested in her romantically. At first I almost missed the romantic and flirty feelings that were going on between Dodge and Swanson. It wasn’t until they became more obvious, such as the scene at the sink where Swanson has her hand on Dodge’s, that I realized when I looked back I could see that Toles had been showing slight hints that he was indeed interested in her all throughout their scenes …show more content…
She played quite a few different characters including the Public Speaker and the Female Tourist. MacDonell had the difficult task of starting the show with the monologue from the Public Speaker and I thought that she did a great job in giving the correct feeling of the play to the audience and letting us know what exactly we were getting into. She had wonderful physical actions and gestures, such as when she was first walking on stage in a very slow and dramatic walk with music playing in the background and then had perfect timing for giving the signal to cut the music off. MacDonell was constantly moving around the stage during that monologue but it wasn’t distracting at all, in fact I think it added quite a bit to the monologue. For example when she was rolling around on the floor or when she jumped up onto the bench, it added an aspect of physical comedy to the already ridiculous monologue that seems to just go on, and on with no end in sight. Also at the end when she abruptly stands up straight after being bent over the podium and then proceeds to quickly say the last line and make her way off stage swiftly was in complete contradiction with how the rest of the monologue went and in turn added a whole new element to it that was hilarious and
Being a student of method acting, James Dean was able to personify a genuinely pessimistic and troubled Jim Stark with passionate outbursts and the natural mumbling and brooding of a distressed teenage boy. Jim, Judy, and Plato, played by movie stars of the 50s, were dynamic characters forever changed by the events of the story. Character actors played the static characters of the film, such as Plato’s caretaker.
Yesterday night I reviewed the play “The Miss Firecracker Contest” In Wilmington, North Carolina at Big Dawg Productions. The play started out as Carnell Scott, 24-year-old orphaned southern girl who lives in Brookhaven, Mississippi. She is tap dancing in her room with a purple leotard and some kitchen utensils used as creative batons practicing her routine for The Miss Firecracker Contest.
Not knowing what this play was about, I went to go see it Wednesday after noon at Holyoke Community College in the Leslie Phillips Theater. I had many mixed emotions about this play. I thought some parts were very funny, but others were a little uncomfortable because of some racia...
In this case the participants were not quite as seasoned as those mentioned above. The play itself was quite clever and entertaining. Varying degrees of acting and vocal ability made for a very diverse cast. Meshing an 1879 play with Millennium type humor is no small feat. The scenes were concise; costumes were extrem...
The performance ‘Chasing the Lollyman’ by Debase productions succeeded in using the Dramatic Languages to create a Dramatic Meaning that comments on a social and political issue. This, along with the effective manipulation of the dramatic conventions, has allowed Debase to successfully recognised the Epic Theatre style. Chasing the Lollyman is one man show starring one of Queensland's most dynamic and funny Indigenous performers, Mark Sheppard. He shares many stories, a celebration of urban Indigenous identity and takes a satirical look at the media and popular culture. Playing a variety of characters, Mark pokes fun at everything from Neighbours (what would it be like if a Murri family moved into Ramsey street) to polities. The dramatic meaning of the performance is if Australia wants to become one, we need to learn to accept each other for their differences.
I thought this play was very tacky in a sense. There were only three actors in the play. Seth Reichgott one the actors played 13 different characters. James Goode plated up to 16 different characters.
Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play was a very interesting and excited play to see. Watching the play I really had to think because of the twists that came with the play. The author of this play was Anne Washburn, Michael Friedman scored it, and the lyrics were also from Anne Washburn. Casey Sams directed the play and Terry Silver-Alford was the musical director. I viewed this play at the Lab Theatre on Thursday, November 12, 2015 at 7:30 in the evening. The Clarence Brown Theatre and Lab Theatre located on the University of Tennessee main campus produced this production. Melissa David recognized, as Colleen/Bart is a San Francisco native that has been working as a MFA acting candidate for the past three years. Robert Parking Jenkins,
She used humor occasionally but it wasn't usually relevant to the actual speech. There was no use of visual aids which was fine because it did not really require any. Moving on, she discussed the things that have worked for her like making schedules and being persistent. In doing so, she related it back on how one could use her examples in order to become more efficient. She used many hand gestures which helped us concentrate on her message more effectively.
This play appeals more to a sophisticated and mature audience because of the clever use of language and brilliant conversation. There was a lot of slang and colloquialism used. Usage of swears was interesting; it is a normal assumption to make that middle class families are not so crass. This was effective because it provided more realism by showing how people would talk in these serious and yet humorous situations.
As far as acting, the performers were able to convey the feelings they needed to. However, some characters such as Ol' Cap'n played by Dick Lambert and Luttibelle played by April Curry, seemed more committed and engaging in their roles than others. A crucial factor in April Curry portraying her role so well was her vocal talent far exceeded that of any of the other major performers. She had an amazing voice that I was dazzled by from curtain up to down and left me craving for more. This almost compensated for my disappointment when it came to the ensemble singing to the soundtrack. Many performers were dependent on the cd and were not confident as to when to begin or stop singing, which dampered many moments of the performers. Another element of acting that I enjoyed was the exaggerated use of cooning throughout the duration of the performance that brought characters to life, and enabled certain moments to seem real.
At the beginning of the development in drama and theatre in the Elizabethan era the first temporary stages were set at the end of the inn-yards. Those inn-yard theatres evolved into first outdoor theatres and what both of these have in common is that the plays performed on stages attracted many people from all social classes. Shakespeare as a playwright uses many different types of humor in his comedies in order to amuse all of the audience. Many examples of humouristic situations can be seen in ‘’A Midsummer Night’s Dream’’.
On October 3, 2016, I watched The Woodsman in class at Brigham Young University. James Ortiz directed the play, along with the production team Claire Karpen (Director), Molly Seidel (Costume Design), Catherine Clark and Jamie Roderick (Lighting Design) and Becca Key (Production Manager). A Broadway Production, The Woodsman epitomized the strength of technical design while allowing the audience to fall in love with the characters.
Gathering myself with all my work, and all the grammatical errors that cross through each page; I realized that those were simple mistakes that everyone creates. Surely I am a victim to myself; I leave most of my work unreformed in its pitiful expression, and not willing to change it. Each essay typed out, and sent was an extension of me; When the essays were handed back I did not welcome them with open eyes. My report “Samhain Celtic Festival,” is misinformed about what I know about it, and what information I took to explain it. My summary for “Just One More Game…” is misinterpreted, and lacks true focus on what actually needs to be summarized. I value my education, but what I did not include was how I was going to keep it all together.
At the beginning of that scene, Jesus (Cameron Isaac) gave Olive (Destiny Williams) some chocolate and told her that it was “no good” but what he was trying to say was “nougat”. Not only did I laughed during this scene, but while watching this scene, it trigger a memory of me mispronouncing a word and it was very humorous for the people around me as like Jesus. I believe a lot of people can relate to mispronouncing a word that’s why this scene (by the audience reaction) is one the most favorite because it’s so relatable and personal.
In Noh there are many things that are significant, and that have deeper meanings. For instance the simple way that they walk, sing, and move all mean something more. While doing the presentations on a Noh play I noticed something beautiful about the play that I had chosen. Spring was mentioned a lot, it had many cameos in the play. In Yuya the entire back story of the play is the discussions of going to see the cherry blossoms. Spring in Japan means a whole lot more than just another season. It means new life, and new beginnings, a way for family to come together and start anew. So while taking this course I really picked up on the seasonal aspect of Noh whether it be spring, autumn, summer, or winter. Each setting gave a new feeling of how people reacted, and it’s true in real life also. So in this essay even though spring will be the main topic I will be discussing all of the seasons and what they mean in Japanese culture, with some symbolic things and Noh examples also.