A Noise Within By Luigi Pirandello

In ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ a non-naturalistic performance style is used to allow the audience to make sense and develop their understanding of the present characteristics of the characters. Flashbacks of the main character are portrayed in non-naturalistic form as we see Anna’s friend Catherine playing out the role of ‘young Ana’. This is evident in Act 1 Scene 10 and Act 1 Scene 16. All three scenes require the Catherine to transform into a new character called ‘Young Ana’ as we flashback into the past scenes of Ana’s imagination; this is evident in the texts stage directions ‘ARTUR speaks to CATHERINE now, as though she is the young ANA. The real ANA steps slightly away’ to show the transformation of ANA into CATHERINE. However the scenes are set within the setting of the present time, for instance, the text stating ‘Ana’s home transforms into Hungary’ shows the non-naturalistic setting of the scenes. Both performance techniques are elements of the Non-naturalistic performance style and highly reflect the non-naturalistic nature of the performance.

This very much represents the physical crossing from the ‘normal’ world into a world which is not seen from the outside, and pushed to the edge of society, and further resembles a glimpse of hope for the patients’ recovery. In the later scenes of the play, during the performance of Mozart’s opera, the entire theatre has been transformed into something completely different, with its white walls, the bright, colourful costumes, and Mozart’s “music of the spheres” echoing within the once dark and dismal place. The new theatre in all its splendour metaphorically resembles the transformations of the characters themselves, and from this, the audience is encouraged to realise the significance and therapeutic nature of art, in this case theatre and music: “the music of this opera will keep the world in harmony”, especially in contrast to hopeless treatments such as shock therapy. Through his play, Nowra also encourages the audience to agree with his personal view that war is unnecessary, and in a way is a kind of madness itself, due to its chaotic and uncontrollable nature.

A short play is usually filled with a theatrical energy of diverse anthologies. The time allotted may be only ten or fifteen minutes, so it must be able to capture and engage the audience with some dramatic tension, exciting action, or witty humor. Just as in a short story, a great deal of the explanation and background is left for the reader or viewer to discover on their own. Because all the details are not explicitly stated, each viewer interprets the action in their own way and each experience is unique from someone else viewing the same play. Conflict is the main aspect that drives any work of literature, and plays usually consist of some form of conflict. In “Playwriting 101:

Theatre is a complex art that attempts to weave stories of varying degrees of intricacies with the hope that feelings will be elicited from the audience. Samuel Beckett’s most famous work in the theatre world, however, is Waiting for Godot, the play in which, according to well-known Irish critic Vivian Mercier, “nothing happens, twice.” Beckett pioneered many different levels of groundbreaking and avant-garde theatre and had a large influence on the section of the modern idea of presentational theatre as opposed to the representational. His career seemingly marks the end of modernism in theatre and the creation of what is known as the “Theatre of the Absurd.”

Leigh’s statement that ‘The edge of the stage is not an invisible boundary over which the actor must never step but a garden wall across which the actor gossips and flirts with the public as if they were neighbours’ seems to have captured the very essence of audience acknowledgement that is so present in the play Pseudolus. Neither cast nor script of this comedy by Plautus seems particularly bothered by any notion of the fourth wall, and the play is rife with both blatant and subtle character acknowledgement of the audience. Indeed the notion that the fourth wall is some sort of impenetrable barrier between performer and audience seems absurd when one examines the aims of theatre and performance as a whole, and Pseudolus circumvents and breaches this supposed barrier with a variety of means

My viewing of the One Man, Two Guvnors production in 2013, and the feelings of chaos, shock, anarchic laughter and anticipation sparked my interest of exploring this play, and why its lazzi and improvisation added to the heightened experience I had, whist viewing this performance. I became interested in how much the One Man, Two Guvnors play written by Richard Bean, was based of the traditional Commedia dell’Arte play The Servant of Two Masters written by Carlo Goldoni. I planned to explore the extent of how much the play was improvised and the extent of how much it was scripted and planned. I looked at why Commedia dell’Arte used improvisation and the approach of incorporating improvisation and lazzi into a performance. I went about doing so by comparing the characters and the scripts of Bean’s One Man, Two Guvnors to Goldoni’s The Servant of Two Masters. I researched the role of Improvisation and Lazzi in traditional commedia dell’Arte and compared it to its role in One Man, Two Guvnors. I decided to carry out my research by surveying audience members who had viewed the production of One Man, Two Guvnors , and finding out how the incorporation of improvisation and lazzi heightened the experience for the audience and impacted them.

The movie did not veer away from the text that was in the play. The director made it in such a way it followed almost word by word and scene by scene as it was presented originally by the writer. However, there are minor omissions that have been made that however are not very significant in the play or the movie and thus there was no loss of meaning.

Staged in different time periods, in different cultures, with modified roles, and in any other creative way, Shakespeare’s plays have been interpreted in many diverse ways. Everyone knows the interpretation of The Taming of the Shrew as teen movie 10 Things I Hate About You and the more famous West Side Story, which parallels Romeo and Juliet. Although most of these modern movies have a purpose to entertain, each adaptation adds a new, unique layer to the overall meaning of Shakespeare’s play. Moreover, a person can not grasp the full meaning of the play without the assistance of a full production.

The recurring themes in Shakespeare’s comedies are gender identity, social order, politics, and transformation. The characters in his comedies range from the very basic, such as Katherine and Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew, to more complex characters, like Feste in Twelfth Night. The three films, Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night are very diverse in the handling of these themes and the characters of the plays. This diversity of theme and characters is owed to the films’ directors, Franco Zeffirelli, Kenneth Branagh, Joss Whedon and Trevor Nunn. The directors give a different perspective to Shakespeare’s actual text and we, as the audience, see Shakespeare’s characters differently because of the film medium and theses directors’ vision.

TOPIC: THE PLAY “Our Town” DEPARTS FROM THEATER TRADITION BY BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL CONSTANTLY

As many would say, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In life, sometimes people are going to have different opinions and ways of looking at the world. They have their own notions of what speaks to them, what they admire or believe is magnificent, especially in the work of arts. Enrolled in Introduction to Theatre Arts, I was given the opportunity to attend many New York’s finest plays. In addition to getting artistic exposure, I am encouraged to give my own thoughts and criticisms of the performances in order to become into a more informed and analytical audience member. Out of all the wonderful productions I had a pleasure of attending these last few months, “The Castle” and “Sweat” were both the most impactful performances as many, including myself, were touched by each of the play’s message.

When entering the theatre, viewers feel excitement and anticipation as they are quickly immersed in the world of the play by Adam Lindbergs’ deceivingly simple, yet creative set. Across the back of the stage is a jumble of white panels that overlap each other. Throughout the performance, lighting and images are projected onto the panels, illuminating the scene behind the actors. However, this impressive set design was undermined by a worryingly unstable set of stairs that was loud when moved and blocked side viewer’s sights. This inability to see left the audience at times confused and jealous when other audience members laughed, leaving the realization that they missed out on something special. The lighting of the set was generally good, however, drew attention away from the performance in crucial scenes. A more subtle approach was necessary to aid the actors and the performance. This was highlighted in the film noir – esc scene, where Mr. Snow lurked in the sewers. As he took each step, the path in front of him was spotlighted. While dramatically effective, the lighting took focus away from Mr. Snow and his creepy demeanor. Although, the German expressionist atmosphere of the scene has ties to the context of the story and should have been more incorporated into the story. A highlight of the production was the perfectly balanced music and movement that each simultaneously informed and

Anton Checkov’s The Proposal, is a perfect example of the use of literary devices in an effort to create dramatic conflict. The well-meaning characters create massive tension with one another over a simple and avoidable misunderstanding. Checkov’s plot and dialogue turn what should have been a joyous occasion into a full-fledged argument about the land rights of two neighboring families. Additionally, Checkov uses stage direction to bring out the anger and frustration of the three characters. Checkov’s one-act play exemplifies the interaction of different literary devices when creating dramatic tension in a play.

How miserable would life be if one were forced into your marriage after many family devastations? Luigi Pirandello could answer that question. Pirandello was an Italian dramatist, novelist, poet and short story writer. Pirandello had a strong drive to become a writer after his father pushed him to go to a technology school. After years of different schooling and jobs, he knew he wanted to pursue in a writing career. Pirandello went through many obstacles in his life before continuing on with his dream. Some of these obstacles were the destruction of his family’s sulfur mine, being forced into marriage, and the stress caused by his family. Luigi Pirandello’s wife, Antonietta Portulano, the art of theatre, and the conflict between reality and illusion all affected

The body in performance is an important tool. In many naturalistic plays, dialogue is just as important as the actions and body language which go along with it. In non-naturalistic plays, the emphasis on the body can be heightened through the abstraction of the piece. More focus can be placed on the body and its action by separating it from dialogue, or by removing dialogue altogether. In Samuel Beckett’s ‘Not I’, dialogue and action are separated, and given to two different characters. The Auditor in this play is a character with no dialogue in the play. Its only form of communication is a movement of “helpless compassion” which it repeats. Mouth, however, is a character whose body has been completely removed from the stage. In Pina Bausch’s ‘Café Muller’, the dialogue is removed completely, leaving the performers with only their bodies to convey emotions, stories, and meanings. In this essay, I will consider how the bodies (or lack thereof) function as a sign for Mouth and the Auditor in ‘Not I’, and for the performers in ‘Café Muller’