It was dark and silent, suddenly a light came on and childhood memories of sitting in front of the tv and smelling homemade food cooking rushed back as soon as the new teacher in School House Rock was seen pacing on stage. At the Curtis High School Theater, "School House Rock Live" was performed on November 18th from 7:00-8:30 PM. The play was a rendition of "School House Rock", a series of short videos with cartoon characters that sing and act the songs out. This play is composed of a few of the most popular songs in the films and starts off with a frustrated teacher that is nervous for his first day of teaching. He soon sees many children around him (his imagination) after running around like a headless chicken with worry. They eventually …show more content…
Some performers I wish to give an extra comment on are Faith Vanchu and Gabe Cornett. Miss Vanchu was absolutely marvelous in her expressions and actions. She made the audience experience what her character felt, whether it was nervousness on yalking to the neighbor who she felt an attraction to or excitementon her proposal being accepted. This was because she did not hesitate to express feelings or clearly depict what her character was doing. Mr. Cornett did not disappoint me either. He was so in character that even when a prop (a paper airplane) flew in the audience he stayed in character and calmly and politely jumps down and retrieves it like nothing had happened. Being in character is one thing but his expressions and actions (like his expression and him practically slapping himself as he berated himself for running away from his crush), like Faith Vanchu, reached out to all the audience members. As for the entire cast, the performers all have their own unique voices, but they seemed to effortlessly adapt to the song as it changed from sad to rock 'n roll and many other combinations. The performers never ceded to amaze the audience with their natural responses to each other. This was quite obvious when let their emotions free yet remained in perfect synchronized dance moves. The actors and their acting choices affected the appreciation of the play by clearly …show more content…
It was very simple with only one elevated stage in the center background for the orchestra, two arches on either side of the stage with christmas lights threaded through it, and colorful wooden blocks in the background. The props were not at all overbearing nor did they affected the play negatively. It instead futher enhanced the learning environment of the play. The wooden blocks were great reminders of alphabet blocks. It took many audience members back to when they were toddlers playing around with them or learning the alphabet from them. The stage lights also helped set the theme of the play by casting pictures or designs on the background of the stage (like a picture of the american flag when the performers sang the "Great American Melting Pot"). This greatly improved my appreciation of the play because even with great performers, people are naturally draw to slight changes and it keeps them interested. As a whole on a scale from 4 as the best to 0 as the worst, I would rate this play as a...4! This play expounds on the fact that human nature causes humans to grow relationships. It shows how relationships can be teamwork showing how humans grow better as a whole through teamwork. I learned that theater is not all about the main characters but also the underrated musicians and chorus. With out these, the main characters will have no one to support them. The play was overall very entertaining because you can see
This major production for Venice Theater was a success in my opinion. It was well worth doing; as I cant remember a moment that was not full of laughter from the audience, as this play kept everyone on the edge of their seats. They did a fantastic job finding actors and actresses who did outstanding with their rolls. Any escapist would thoroughly enjoy this production.
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...
The set of the play was built decent and looked the same. The only thing I didn't like was some of color of the stones that were painted on the walls. But, that’s just my opinion. However, I did have fun splatter painting those walls and the stairs during class. I liked how there was platforms and different ground levels, that made it more interesting. Rather than just having the stage ground there were stairs you could go up or down which set it apart. Overall, I liked the set and I thought it was built well and sturdy.
The plot of the play was very well performed in the way that they got the point across quite well. There was only one factor that disturbed me about the plot of the play witch was that some issues were extended and made the play longer. This story was seen in my eyes as a story about a Brooklyn girl that grew up her entire life using defense mechanisms such as alcohol and sex to compensate for her bad childhood and for her unsuccessful employment life.
In conclusion, the acting in the production was very good. I was held captivated by the accents and shocked by the language and dialect because I knew that this really happens and has happened. I felt like I could actually change what was happening on stage. For Instance, when the rumble is happening and Bernardo and Riff bring out the switchblades, I gasped. Silently to myself, I said "DON'T DO THIS. THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A CLEAN FAIR FIGHT. YOU GUYS ARE MORE SIMILAR THAN YOU ARE DIFFERENT, JUST BEING FRIENDS." The same occurrence happened when Anita is assaulted by the Jets when attempting to find Tony to save him. I understood her feelings and wanted the Jets to get in trouble for their actions. I became invested in what happened to the
My least favorite aspect of this play was the ending. The ending confused me and was anticlimactic. It was not funny and not entertaining at all.
In conclusion, the overall experience of the play was great. The actor’s did a really good job at delivering their lines, and blended in well with their characters. The lighting and the music were used well, and helped transitioned into new scenes. The director and producers of the play made the characters relatable and realistic, Caldwell did a good job at portraying her image of how the play should go and it was effective. Leveling up is a great play that all generations could love.
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.
the play was good. The first act was a little slow and tedious but the
The character in the musical were excellent. Their performances were outstanding. The set itself was amazing and the set changed with every different scene. The costumes for each character was bright and colorful , and each character costume was very detailed. The songs that they sing in the musical are very meaningful to each different type of character.
By the way, he acts the audiences could tell his intentions, his qualities, and his who he is. However, it seems like his performance decrease as the play when on, he is not as convincing as before. The quality of his voice starts weakening and his performance did the same. Another actor, Teyo Jacobson, did outstanding and his the way he performs carries the play, but only for so long. Jacobson did receive an injury from the night before and that incapacitates his acting skills.
The most successful aspect of the performance for me were the scene changes. I found that the rotation of the blackboard, center stage, where the actors were able to stoop beneath it in order to enter and exit the stage, was an effective touch to this non naturalistic performance. When this was first used, at the end of the first scene, when the characters Ruth and Al left the stage, I thought it didn't quite fit as at the beginning the style was leaning towards realism. But as the play progressed and the acting style became more and more non naturalistic, and this rotation of the black board technique was used more frequently it fitted in really well and became really effective.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this play, and my reaction was enhanced by the dramatic tension Miller creates in so many ways. The unexpected twists and use of dramatic irony help to keep the audience?s attention, while the sub-plot of rivalry adds interest and also reflects the main plot. The abrupt ending of act one, reflects the abrupt ending of the play as a whole, leaving the remainder to the imagination. Ending like these force viewers to envision what would follow, and, once again this all adds to the dramatic tension.
There wasn’t any particular scene on stage that made me doubt the integrative work of the director since all the staging work such as lighting, design, costumes and performance were well coordinated and blended for a very good production. The lights were well positioned with well fitted costumes and a very ideal scene to match. There wasn’t much change of scenes in the play except for some movement of tables and chairs. There was an entrance and exit for the performers which made their movements uninterrupted. There was a loud sound of a bell when school was over while the lights were dimmed whenever there was a change of scene. The pace of the production was very smooth since one scene followed the other without delay and most likely because most of the performers wore the same costume; especially all eight students wore the same costume for the entire