Barber Shop Chronicles, The Treatment, The Comedy About a Bank Robbery, and HIR all have two things in common: the search for the truth and how it changes the perception of the world around the characters. The main conflict in all four of these plays deal with characters discovering a truth that changes their perception. Some for the better like in Barber Shop Chronicles and The Comedy About a Bank Robbery. Others for the worst such as in The Treatment and HIR. In Barber Shop Chronicles, the main character of Samuel discovers that his father is less than perfect. Thus, changing the perception, he had of his father being holier than thou and lessening his seething grudge against his father’s friend Emmanuel, who taken over his barbershop …show more content…
Its where they go to be comfortable to be men and to freely discuss topics in a comfortable environment. As you step in the theatre, you are immersed in the world of the barber shop. The actors interact with the audience. They dance with them, take photos with them, and even give them “haircuts”. The audience seated in the round allowing us to see the characters in a multi-dimensional way. Though I have a seat with a restricted view, I mostly saw everything. With the theatre being in the round, I felt that it added to the multi-dimensional aspect because you get to see the character in many different angles as opposed to a typical proscenium view. During this ensemble piece, where all expect for three of the actors played multiple characters throughout the play, I had a hard time separating the characters and remembering the pervious encounter they had when we are re-introduced to them. It always took me a couple of seconds to figure if this was a new character or an previously introduced character. The costume design did help distinguish each character even when the actor fall short. Because all the action happens on the same day, all the recurring characters wear the same costume throughout the play and each new character was dressed is a new costume as well. For example, when actor Sule Rimi, who played three different character, came on stage as Elnathan he was wearing a mustard leather jacket. Each design department’s choice
The technical aspects of the production such as scenery, properties and costumes also played a keynote in the productions success. The scenery was fabulous it truly made the play. It was very realistic and extremely vibrant. Almost the entire play was performed in one setting, except for the railcar and dance scenes. The house, the main setting, was magnificent with painstakingly placed detail in every corner. All elements in the house matched wonderfully, for example the furniture, the photos on the wall, the telephone and even the trash can. Little bits of detail were everywhere adding to the beautification of the set, for example the lace decorations on the chairs, the etched glass above the front door and even the Christmas tree.
This is a must watch Broadway show that makes your fine, terrible, or even boring day, an absolute blast. The Play That Goes Wrong has finally made its way to America and right at the heart of New York City near Times Square at the Lyceum Theatre. Therefore, the experience is a win-win situation for the audience. The Lyceum Theatre’s architecture is astonishing as it is filled with ornaments, I also realized the letter ‘L’ around the theater, but the most interesting fact is that it is a landmark. It has a proscenium stage while the audience is in the orchestra, balcony, or the mezzanine seats, like where I sat, and there is barely any space if you are a tall person. My seat was near the far end of mezzanine, I couldn’t see a part of the left side of the stage, so I found myself bending sideways to see what was going on, but I saw nothing. I found the side stage lights and a side balcony blocking my view and yet I had a great time.
Creativity of this production is the reason for the success. Their expertise in the field proves that they were qualified for this wonderful production. The theater environment of this play was thrust structure, which allows them to innovation stunning method to display all of scenes.
The scenes and props complimented the attire of the performers, blending together create a magnificent display. The scenery was realistic enough to afford the viewer an escape into depths of the show. The setting was beautiful and the structures almost lifelike, excepting the absence of a front screen door. It seems that almost all plays and television shows I have viewed neglect this detail. The stage lighting played a key role in the show by setting the mood of the performance during soulful, pensive songs. In contrast, the lighting proved to be a detriment by overbearing the performance of the artists, in that one’s attention was drawn to the glare of extreme quantities of makeup rather than the actions of the characters. This was most notable during the final portions of the production.
Using certain shapes of materials and color helped the audience understand the scenery of the play, being able to understand what time period this took place. The lighting through the play was great, being able to clearly see in detail for each scene. For example, when the Stage manager introduces the people in Grover's Corner, is was clear and easy to see what type of life style they live. Grisel Torres did an excellent job with the angles, colors, and shadows throughout the play, really emphasizing the emotion and lighting for each scene. Allison Mortimer, the costume designer, did a good job figuring out what each character should wear and allowing the audience to decide which class each character fits in society. The costumes looked like they were somewhat middle class and even looked vintage at times. I wasn't sure if they were recreated or not. Changing costumes for different scenes made it easier to understand the aspect of the scene and allowing the audience to understand what will happen.
The dramaturge explores the inner and outer world of the play and how the use of Design can be appropriate to the plays context and accurately portray the playwright’s intention while still conforming to the conventions and practices of the period.
The set design was simple throughout the entire play, yet it delivered a meaningful theme to the performance. Consisting of a raised platform, fabric for acrobatics and the pool, the actors used each element of the set design to enhance the overall experience for the show goers. The best example of the
Two productions that I had enjoyed seeing very much were Lend Me a Tenor and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Both of these productions were great and had very great storyline and I really enjoyed both of these productions. Each production had great actors and each portrayed their character very well, by using many of the aspects of the six elements of theatre that Aristotle used to explain the aesthetics of theatre. Each of these productions had very interesting characters and also had great plots that kept audiences on the edges of their seats. In each of these productions there were also many recurring themes and important messages that were underlying the whole play. The design and furniture of both plays were also very stunning and visually pleasing. In Lend Me a Tenor, there was a set of a house, which was very neat and very pretty. The house was very great and also had other doors to other rooms that were very neatly and visually set up. In the production, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, the design of the set was very horror filled and it was very dark because the setting was inside an asylum. A lot of the plot production and set and use of characters to reveal the theme was prevalent in both of the plays. Both productions had very great and visually pleasing sets, but also had difference in the mood each set gave off.
As regards the delineation of the characters on stage and outside, the spectator is invited to pay attention to what is said and what is left unsaid, to what is revealed consciously or what is betrayed by the delivery of each of them, their gestures whether coordinately or impulsively performed.
Because this is Restorative Comedy, the acting needs to be light-hearted but enjoyable, the actors should embrace the explicit nature of the play and express a comedic comfort on acting on such a subject. The cast not in this scene will sit around the edge of the round of light, creating a smaller stage; they will act as the audience mimicking the reactions and emotions that are expected in order to create a more understanding atmosphere within the audience. The male actors who are playing female roles, only Angelica in this scene, are wearing a garment of female clothing from the props cupboard, a feather boa or a hat or jewellery – lipstick? The female actors playing male roles (Antonio, Page and Pedro) will have their hair tired up in a bun, if possible and wear the beige shirts found in the store cupboard over their black trousers and tops as well as the suit jackets that we will supply. This scene occurs during a Masquerade Ball so each actor should either be wearing or holding a mask. In this scene, the stereotypes of gender are accentuated and emphasized. This will be done through the use of body language, hand gestures and the manipulation of voice. The female actors will stand with their legs apart and the hips thrust slightly forward, when possible they will use large hand gestures when they speak. The voice should be in a lower register to usual, if this is possible, and should be projected so that the audience feels an air of authority. The male actors should try to talk quieter and be less dominant on the stage, they should use simple modest hand gestures and at times, when the play allows, should become
Theatre today as in ancient Greek times is a popular form of entertainment. Today’s theatres share many similarities with the Greek predecessors however they are also very different. There are in fact many differences for example; layout, special effects, seating arrangement, the importance of drama and religion, setting, location and architectural features.
The structure of the plot itself is unusual. There are no props and no backdrop; the Stage Manager is the only thing or person on stage at the beginning of the play. There is also no fourth wall when it comes to the Stage Manager; he speaks directly to the audience as he says,
We began by choosing two main scenes that we would crosscut together to form our piece. The character I played was Danny and I used a variety of techniques to ensure that this was conveyed effectively. One that as a group we focused on was the application of climax and anti-climax. This was done in order to make the audience feel a small amount of shock about what’s going to happen - just like the characters would have. The staging we used also reflected this - we started with in the round, with each scene on either side of the circle, but after trying this we found that it was not having the impact that we were hoping for, so we inverted the round so that the audience was in the centre and performers on the outside. This made a much larger impact since we found that the performers were committing more and appearing to put more effort in. It also helped us to create the atmosphere in the performance that we desired. The staging meant that the audience felt enclosed and almost trapped by the performers - much like how the characters felt about the lies that they’d told about
In a book or play, it is usually very easy to distinguish who the victim is and who the villain is. The villain usually causes all the problems in the story line and the victim is the one who suffers in result of the villain’s actions. In the play The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, we examine the life of Shylock as a victim. It is seen through three main events in the play. Shylock is ridiculed by his community and his family, he is betrayed by his daughter and the community he lives in, and he is forced to lose all his wealth.
In the words of Gay McAuley, “for an activity to be regarded as a performance, it must involve the live presence of the performers and those witnessing it…” (McAuley, 2009, cited in Schechner, 2013, pp.38). This statement recognises the importance of both the actor and the audience for something to truly function as a performance. In addition, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones highlights the significance of the theatrical space and how it can influence an audience stating that “on entering a theatre of any kind, a spectator walks into a specific space, one that is designed to produce a certain reaction or series of responses” (Llewellyn-Jones, 2002, pp.3). The relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space is no less important today than it was at the time of theatre during the Spanish Golden Age and the creation of Commedia dell’arte in Italy. Despite being very close geographically with theatre thriving for both in the same era, sources that explore the social, cultural and historical context of these countries and the theatre styles will bring to light the similarities and differences. This essay will analyse the staging, the behaviour of the audience as well as the challenges the actors faced, and how this directly influenced the relationship between actor, audience and theatrical space.