War Horse - Live Performance Review - Beau
The set was a relatively simple proscenium stage. It protruded into the audience slightly in a semi-circle. This made the viewer feel more involved with the performance and closer to the characters. This connection with the characters meant every decision and every scene made the audience feel something, as if it had happened in their own life. This effect could have been put in place to reprosent that many people were affected by the world wars and wars in general.
A scene that particularly stood out to me was when the general who was riding Joey into machine gun fire and was killed. He was left on stage for the next one or two scenes, dead, he was at eye level with people sitting in the stools.
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One scene where the lighting really stood out to me was when there was an explosion on the battlefield, the lights were strobing and moving sporadically all over the audience. The lights that were coming at you were very painful to look at and really shocked me. I think this pain inflicted on the corneas of the audience was meant to show them a tiny fraction of the soldier shock when a grenade or a mine went off. Not only this but the light was spread over all the audience, from the stools to the boxes, this could be symbolic of how war can affect everyone no matter what the views are or the position in the social …show more content…
This culminates in the clash between the tank and the horse which made for a “very frightening”, contrasting the power and aggression of the tank with the living entity of the horse and the tranquillity of the early scenes of Joey. The sound of the tank tracks comes from specially constructed speakers which the puppeteers wear on their bodies at the front and back of the tank itself. This gives maximum effect when close to the audience, this made the experience all that more real for audience meambers.
Maybe one of the most interesting scenes of the performance was Topthorns death. Throughout the story he had been seen as an extremely dominant figure, he was bigger than Joey, always took the lead and was a black stallion, then to see him become so weakened and made to pull heavy artillery was shocking to the audience. Him being made this week by man is symbolic of the morbidity and inhumanity of the war going on.
After Topthorn had finish sputtering and dying the three operators stepped out of the shell and seemed to show respect and look down on the puppet. This could be showing the soul leaving the horse or showing that the war had lost
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
The horse is a spirit animal that can be used to describe many characteristics in the book Bless Me Ultima. The horse symbolizes many things, some being personal drive, passion, and an appetite for freedom. An appetite for freedom is the symbol that sticks out the most from the many. In the novel Bless Me Ultima many of the males spoke of freedom. Antonio’s brothers all wanted freedom. As soon as they arrived home from the war their parents were telling them what they would do from then on. Their father hassled them with plans of moving. His dream was for him and his boys to move to California. It’s all he’s dreamed about ever since they went to war. This is where his driving force comes from. As soon as they arrived he pulled out a bottle
Throughout the play, there is a level of intensity that can be seen. Sound effects, lightning and props help make the story seem intensely realistic. It helped engage the audience's attention and emotions throughout the entire play. It is as though we are living vicariously through these characters. With these characters, there is a life lesson to be learned. We create education in favor of ourselves from which we learn and journey to travel through time and time again. The playwright leaves an impression on our lives, which is to say that as society moves on, so should our paths that lead to greater understanding. A project such as moving on as a society and gaining better understanding of people and their lifestyles are elements the entire cast and the playwright has presented, a project that is appropriately entitled -- The Laramie Project.
The novel “Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese demonstrates the many conflicts that indigenous people encounter on a daily basis. This includes things such as, the dangers they face and how they feel the need to flee to nature, where they feel the most safe. Another major issue they face is being stripped of their culture, and forcibly made to believe their culture is wrong and they are less of a human for being brought up that way, it makes them feel unworthy. Finally, when one is being criticised for a hobby they enjoy due to their indigenous upbringing, they make himself lose interest and stop the hobby as it makes them different and provokes torment. People who are trying
My favorite scene was the Urinetown scene with Officer Lockstock and Company. The reason this was my favorite scene was because this scene introduced the audience to the major characters in the play like Hope, Bobby Strong, Officer Lockstock, Little Sally, Penelope Pennywise, and the people of Urinetown. Also this was the only time the actors used the entire theatre during the performance and the only scene where the actors interacted with the audience. This was a creative idea by getting the audience involved in the musical and to introduce the musical to the audience. Additionally this scene told the audience about Urinetown, introduced the main characters and told the audience the reason why the people had to pay to use the bathrooms in Urinetown. This was an interesting and entertaining scene to watch and the audience knew what scene was going to come next and why it was important for the
The lighting for the show added yet another layer to this show and its production. The lighting was used in many different ways from the stardust to the lighting of a lantern. Not only did the lighting bring color to the stage but it brought color to the audience as well. A part in the play that I remember well is when the trunk is brought out and it is carrying the stardust, and when the stardust is activated and the lights are blinking within the trunk. This moment in the play captured my attention because the subtle use of the lights was just enough to grab the attention of the audience. The use of the lights in this moment brought the audience members to become engaged with the story on an even deeper level. Peter and the Starcatcher was able to use lighting in a subtle way to bring out the nuances of the characters and scenery of the play. Now, the lighting did bring out many colors within the backdrop. This backdrop, which I helped to paint, brought another color to the stage. Upon working with the backdrop I had a hard time thinking of how it would look to the audience. Although I had my doubts about the effectiveness of the netted backdrop they were washed away as the play opened and they blended in perfectly. The dark green paint covered just enough of the netting to give it a seaweed feel for the audience to
The props did establish the mood for the play and add development of the characters, plot, and settings, however they were not very convincing or well-made. For example, instead of a sofa, they used a bookshelf and some boxes with some pillows on top. Without some legitimate props, it’s makes it a little hard to take the play seriously. The live band music along with the quirky sound effects contributed to the show’s mood because it conveyed the perfomers’ feelings. The design elements are a key part of a play and could really impact how the rest of it could go.
the play was set in a way that the audience would have a good image of
The Music Man made interesting use of the technical aspects of theatre. Sound was used appropriately, as music from the monitors did not overpower the voices of the actors. Lights, however, did not leave any sort of impression on me. Hardly any lights were utilized to enhance the mood were present. This caused for less emphasization on spectacle than what would be expected of such a dramatic play. Although, intricate costumes and set made up for the dull lighting techniques.
The setup of the stage was very simple. It was the living room of a home in the early 1980’s. It looked like a normal household, and it had small things such as crumpled up pieces of paper lying around the wastebasket. It also had a couch, circular class table and a recliner in the living room. The dining room was to the left side of the stage and only had the dining table and surrounding chairs. There was a door in the back of the set where characters entered and exited through. Beside the door was a table and stool where Willum presumably worked on his blueprints for the hotel. The lighting design was great; it put you into the atmosphere of the
The classic movie Casablanca masterfully uses lighting to shape the message of the film. The Nazi controlled city of Casablanca, Monaco is holding international citizens hostage, not allowing anyone to leave. The entire city is full of temperate refugees, mostly consisting of wealthy international travelers. The film’s lighting shows a city overcast with impossibly dark and dynamic shadows. The shadows from window blinds are cast over the main characters faces in several scenes as they talk secretly in a private room. The shadows stretch like prison bars across the actors face, representing how hopelessly trapped they are, hoping for a way to escape. The character Rich was a bright idealist turned into a cynic by the brutality of reality. He chooses to stay
Visually the film captures the bleak tone of the script. The coloring in the scenes are dark and blue with the characters wearing dark clothing. This demonstrates the serious nature of the subject matter, while also setting the tone. The performances in the film helps to create tension.
The lighting in this movie is very effective. It helps to establish the characters very well. The audience is helping in distinguishing the bad and the good characters through the lighting. The movie overall is very stylized. There are some other strange lighting patterns brought out by Hype Williams, but by far the most effective lighting patterns are ones that help to characterize the main players in the film.
Joey meets Topthorn during training with Corporal Perkins. Soon Joey is put on the first line where he loses Captain Nicholls during the first charge. Joey is then a captured by Germans with Topthorn and have to carry injured people. When Joey was off duty, they met Emilie a sick child who cared for Topthorn and Joey. They are soon taken back to duty and meet a person named Fredrich have to take care of them. One day, Topthorn wasn’t feeling good and then fell on his knees and fell over and died, while trying to run away from gunfire Fredrich gets hits. While Joey was grieving over his friends, he sees a tank and runs into No Man's Land and gets hurt on a barbwire fences. He is taken to a vet by the English where he meets Albert. Since the horses are being sold, Joey can't come back home with Albert so he is put in a auction where Emilie's Granddad buys Joey. Emilie's Granddad sells Joey to Albert for one English penny and a promise to take of
Terrence Malick’s 1998 film The Thin Red Line utilizes several stylistic devices. This Sergeant Keck’s death by grenade sequence, starting at 57:32 and ending at 58:32. The highly subjective action in this scene is illustrated through the strategic use of shot scale, sonic point of view, and both diegetic and non-diegetic sound design. By using these stylistic devices in tandem, Malick successfully guides the audience on an emotional journey of soldiers in combat.