Arcadia is a play that Izzy and I felt very attached to so when the moment came to choose a scene, we instantly knew which play we wanted to perform. Some plays are better understood when they are read, but Arcadia is on the other end of that spectrum. Arcadia was the perfect play for us perform because we had enough actors (three of us) and Arcadia’s Act II, Scene 2 felt perfect for this final.
Izzy, Cole, and I have a funny dynamic as a group of friends so that translated perfectly into our scene because the lens with which we interpreted the scene was comedic--something we thought Stoppard intended. Cole will play Jellaby, the sarcastic butler who is simply just trying to get through his day, and he is perfect for the role. Izzy will play Lady Croom, the head of the house who always seems to be courted by men at her house, and Izzy brings the perfect aggressiveness to convey overt power. I will play Septimus, the
…show more content…
Our staging is not too complex besides two pivotal points. The first big staging moment is when Septimus and Lady Croom are sitting down when Jellaby brings in her infusion. I must pour tea for her and hand it to her while we continue a serious conversation and then immediately rip up the letter from Lord Byron. The next pivotal moment is the most important in the whole scene. Septimus justifies his ‘meeting’ with Mrs. Chater by telling Lady Croom that it was only because, “in his madness,” he believed “the Chater with her skirts over her head would give [him] the momentary illusion of the happiness to which [he] dared not put a face” (61). During this interaction, I jump up and corner Izzy on one side of the stage whilst in my passionate speech and then when I am finished I retreat into myself. Izzy then executes Lady Croom’s art of seduction by dragging her finger along my shoulder while she passes me to the door. This staging is somewhat complicated but it contributes greatly to the greatness of our
Upon watching the play Outside Mullinger, I began to understand the notion of creating the world of the play. The set design, lighting, actors, and costumes all came together to move beyond the script and create an intimate, and approachable world that the audience could feel apart of. From reading the script, to then seeing it in production I developed a better sense of the plays message.
This film will provide you with an enhanced understanding of the play. Although, it is misleading at times, this version of the play will keep you fully entertained for the full 111 minutes and provide you with extra knowledge of the play. Casting The majority of the cast was well selected,
On more than one occasion, the play previews the dreams and hopes of the characters and how life sent one of its adversaries to snatch it. Beginning with Troy and his dream of becoming a baseball player which was the play’s symbol for
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, by Ray Lawler was a ‘bottling’ performance. A highly effective use of lighting, set design, props and additional sensory stimulus; were powerful tools in creating a realistic production. The skilful use of the elements of drama; human context; language, movement, mood and dramatic tension, enabled the audience to relate to the characters and plot. The development of sub-plots also added to the creation of a realistic performance, by mirroring the human condition. Through the effective use of these dramatic techniques; Neil Armfield was successful in creating a realistic portrayal of Ray Lawler’s Summer of the Seventeenth Doll.
Arcadia was performed April 13-17 and 21-24, 2016 at Furman University’s Playhouse Theatre. Although it is described as a “romantic comedy with jokes,” I found it was much more about thinking versus feeling, intellect versus emotion. Along the way, many of the characters move from one to the other quite gracefully, especially beautiful through the parallel past and present. One character who seems to toil with peoples’ journeys in the present-day of Arcadia is Bernard Nightingale. Bernard—played by junior Sam Nelson—is a professor from Sussex that is self-assured and seeks to prove a fact just because he feels inferior people should it is obviously true. Ultimately Bernard failed to reach his goal of finding the correct person, timeline, and relationships that occurred in Sidley Park around 1809, but he had no learning curve. He continued to search for power over others, even if he could not get it through wealth and fame from honorable historical recognition.
Paper 3 A main theme apparent in the play Arcadia is the concept of increasing entropy, the theory that objects will only decline from structure to chaos. Manifesting this theme through both the motif of human desire and the devolution of the structure of the play from order to disorder, Tom Stoppard suggests that the increase of entropy is apparent in microcosms as well as macrocosms. Stoppard uses human desire to create several relationships that decay over the course of the play as a metaphor for increasing entropy in the microcosm of Sidley Park.
Arcadia is almost impossible to describe, or even generalize. The way it’s written is so intricate and precise- I felt like almost transcends the stage itself. That’s why it’s one of my favorite plays. Tom Stoppard always volunteers an odd style of writing, but I found myself enjoying Arcadia more than some of his other work. The format has it so the visible action of the play takes place in the same room in an English country house, a couple of centuries apart. By keeping all of the action in the same place, Stoppard (and the audience) is able to underscore the similarities between the two plots, and the two eras in which they take place. While in the present day, Valentine waxes rhapsodic about what the information revolution has done
Out of all the characters in the play Thomasina is perhaps the most beautiful. She is innocent, driven by academic zeal, and a genius of epic proportions. What is truly the most beautiful trait about her is that unlike Mrs. Chater and Lady Croom, it is “an insult in a gazebo,” (6) that she desires but true love. The final waltz that Septimus and Thomasina share could not be any more romantic as “Septimus holding Thomasina, kisses her on the mouth. The waltz lesson pauses. She looks at him. He kisses her again, in earnest. She puts her arms around him.” (95) The affection the two feel for each other is a huge part of any person’s definition of paradise: two people truly in love with each other uncorrupted by the society around them. Yet even in this seemingly paradisiacal situation, Thomasina still tragically dies.
The most memorable character and one who has a tremendous impact on the audience is Lady Augusta Bracknell. Wilde’s audience would have identified most with her titled position and bearing. Wilde humorously makes her the tool of the conflict, and much of the satire. She serves well the plot and the theme of the play. She is the strong hand who forces the whole play to move forward with a happy ending.
I have never been involved with the production of any kind of play, so my partner and I decided that we would watch multiple versions of this play. There was Kenneth Branagh’s version which was sort of lack characteristic that we thought would be suiting for our “soap opera” themed performance.
There are three main themes depicted in the Arcadia play, among them; Emotion versus Intellect. Arcadia outlines two sorts of knowledge, the academic knowledge and the sex-based knowledge, which have been displayed as in constant conflict in the entire text. The intellectual sex justification and marriage proposition have been termed as the main factors that create resolution between the existing forces. The initial pages of the play put focus on the theme of love verses intellect. Thomasina’s lesson with
The center I chose to observe was the dramatic play center which is a kitchen. I chose this center because because it's a great way to observe children. The purpose of the dramatic play center is to help develop social, emotional and oral language skills. It gives children a chance to assign roles, self regulate when having to take turns and during all of this children are developing language skills.
A comparison of Brian Friel’s Philadelphia, Here I Come & Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge
Rituals and theater, which are both cultural performances, have similarities such as serving the purpose of entertaining teaching the audience, belief from audiencce, use of props, use of space, and repesentaion. Since during this time period many commoners did not know how to read, the church had to present these rituals in order to teach them about events in the bible like the Crucification of Jesus Christ. Similaritly, a play will serve the purpose to teach the audience a certain idea that the playwright believes is necessary for the audience members, the audience vary depending on the time this play was written, to learn or understand. Unlike a play, which has no certain time frame to be perform, a ritual is perform during certain time of the liturgical year; for example, the passion of the cross
There have been many dramatic plays over the centuries. Many of these plays have died in their time, while others have lived on. What makes these plays endure time and continue to be influential over time? Perhaps it is the storyline or the interesting nature of the play is what makes these dramas last. I think that it is the focus on human nature and its essential truths that keep these plays alive. Most of the plays, still enacted in theaters today, deal with social issues that people can learn from and relate to.