I Watched A Play About A Puerto Rican Woman

Like many Puerto Ricans before me, I have questioned my cultural identity. We claim to be a commonwealth, a free associated state, but we are neither free nor a state. This is where our dilemma lies. What are we if not a state? What are we if not free? We are stuck in the middle, we have become a paradox, a contradiction. Now the question here lies: what- or better yet- who are we?

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.

When I saw in the program that there would be an Angel in the play I assumed it would be the typical angel a mystic creature dressed in all white with a halo, gentle touch and a soft voice. This Angel was the total Opposite. The angel was strong, outspoken and wore an all-black leather jacket, later in the play she wore Army fatigue as she entered the revolutionary war against God. The Angels objective was to

The autobiography When I was Puerto Rican, written by Esmeralda Santiago, tells a story of a poor girl trying to succeed. The settings in this novel have an important influence on Esmeralda. They influence her behavior and change her ideals as an adult. Negi goes through many changes based on the challenges she faces by moving to new locations where society is different. All of these changes allow her to become a stronger person. When she lives in El Mangle, Negi has to face extreme prejudice against her upbringing as a jibara. When she leaves Puerto Rico to move to Brooklyn, she is forced to face an entirely different society. All of these events that took place in Esmeralda’s childhood had a significant impact in shaping her into an adult.

We were led into a fair sized, colorfully lit room and everyone was told to take a seat anywhere they would like. I sat three rows back and five seats in on stage right. No one sat in front of me and no one sat beside me. I was alone in the isle all to myself. The only word I would utter in this room would be “present” after they called for attendance. After a brief disclaimer from the Director of how this was only a rehearsal, we were warned that the play may be vulgar, dealing with unsavory subjects including, but not limited to: homophobia, bullying, drugs, eating disorders, swearing, and suicide. I was more than slightly astonished at how we freshman had been on campus for no more than four hours and were already being exposed to a production such as this.

Hartford is the home to the highest percentage (27%) of Puerto Ricans in the country (Cruz, 5). Nonetheless, Puerto Ricans still face myriad challenges with respect to the integration and acceptance of their culture in Hartford. Although the PR community is only two generations old, Puerto Ricans have managed to both organize and mobilize in this relatively short time (Cruz, 2). Puerto Ricans have focused closely on their ethnic identity because they viewed their incorporation into the political sphere occurring only by means of asserting their difference (Cruz, 10). They have made their mark on politics in Hartford through demographic growth, development of leadership in the community, and their

The performance hall was designed in a thrust manner, which from a frontal view of the stage, I sat on the left hand side. This designed allowed for an unorthodox relationship between the actor and the audience. The actors would commonly come off the stage and run around the hall, lacing the rows. While running around, they would sometimes sing to one individual or extend their hand for

“You are what?!” Most of the time wherever I go, the same tone follows me; a cross between shock and disgust.

Broward College, Central Campus Theater in building 6, on Sunday, the 1st of November. The play was performed by Broward College students. The type of stage was Proscenium stage with extended apron. I thought it was a little bit small, but it did not show as a problem. The pre-show was dark and a feel of suspense. I felt excited to see how everything would play out. The play takes place down south of Chicago in the 1950’s.

To begin with, the scenery of the play wasn’t traditional by any means. Rather than this being a common stage with a large crowd, this was a black box theatre play. Basically, the stage was in the middle of the room and the audience surrounded the performers. The room was about the size of an average high school classroom, which made the play more personal. In fact, the actors would interact with the crowd at times throughout the play. Next, when I first entered the room, I sensed a smooth vibe from the way the room looked. It was very dim and the director played songs by black artist from our generation to serenade the audience with black culture. At this moment, I began to feel very

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.

Puerto Rican is the populations and residents of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a multi-ethnic state where home is different ethnic to people and nationwide backgrounds, but the result of some Puerto Ricans does not luxury their population as an ethnicity, but as a nationality with numerous civilizations and nationwide backgrounds including the Puerto Rican people. Puerto Rican is and notwithstanding its multi-ethnic structure of the culture apprehended in a joined by the greatest Puerto Ricans was signified to as conventional Puerto Rican culture. A Western culture is the large consequential from the civilizations of Western European immigrants from the beginning of the early Spanish immigrants as along with other Europeans received afterward such as the Corsicans Irish, Germans and French, lengthways with a heavy-duty West African culture which has been powerful. According to a (Rivera, M (n.d.). People. Retrieved September 27, 2015) “Puerto Ricans are known for their warm hospitality, often considered very friendly and expressive to strangers. Greetings are often cordial and genuine. When people are first introduced, a handshake is usual, however, close friends and family members always greet you hello or goodbye with a kiss on the cheek or a combination hug and kiss. This happens between female friends and between men and women, but not between male friends. Puerto Ricans are best known by

In the essay, A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood, Judy Ortiz Cofer uses spatial order, an organizational writing technique, several times. The use of this technique makes it easier for readers to get a clear picture in their mind of the setting and what she saw as she recalls a particular day in her memory. In the beginning, she uses this writing technique to move readers from outside of Mama’s house in the living room, where the memory takes place. Cofer does this by the use of signal phrases, such as "…through and around…" (109), "…facing away from…" (109), and "…side of the house…" (109). Once, inside the living room, she uses spatial order to describe where her mother was in relation to her. Cofe shows this when she writes

In the opening scene, Gabriel is introduced as a Woman who has been raised and educated as a boy by his teacher, Father Chaivari played by Amy Thompson. In the seventeenth-century Italy. At the opening play, Gabriel played by Christine Pavao has a dream in which she sees an archangel Gabriel loses his wings and become a woman. The way George Sand develop and use Androgyny to introduce the audience to Gabriel gender presents a series of questions that make the play meta-reflection by her work at large.

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.