Ithaca (WENY): The Civic Ensemble In Ithaca

In 1994, Frank Darabont’s film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ received a poor reception when released; it only made a $0.3m profit. More recently the film has become known as one of the greatest movies of all time, it has inspired hope in many people, helping them to lose weight, leave abusive marriages and such like. The film is based mainly upon two convicts, and the idea of hope. Andy Dufresne is a ‘Hot Shot Banker’ imprisoned with two life sentences, for the suspected murder of his wife and her lover and ‘Red’ (Morgan Freeman) whom Andy redeems hope in, along with the other convicts, saving them from institutionalisation.

The movie the Shawshank Redemption, based on the book by Steven King, I believe is one of the best movies ever made. The portrayal of prison life in the movie is the best I have seen and a star-studded cast including Morgan Freeman supports the characters and brings to life the everyday struggles of life behind bars. In this paper I will relate topics from class to the movie and discuss information we have learned through out the semester.

You have a chance for a wonderful theater experience. This I know because Curtain Call is now the second playhouse to recognize the talent of this local playwright and the brilliance of bringing this true story to a modern day audience.

“Freedom Writers” is a powerful film that is based on a true story about a teacher named Erin Gruwell, who struggles to connect with her students to make them believe that they can succeed in life, and to show them that their lives, experiences, and knowledge is valuable, all while attempting to unify them and to overcome racial segregation and gang violence that is part of their daily lives. Gruwell focuses on introducing the concepts of discipline and obedience in her classroom. She gradually begins to earn their trust and buys them composition books to record their diaries, in which they talk about their experiences of being abused, seeing their friends die, and being evicted; Gruwell refers to the composition books as “The Freedom Writers Diary.”

In the 1920s, when movies were a brand new concept, people went to see the pictures in order to escape from their lives. In these movies, everything worked out in the end and they depicted happy, perfect lives. As the Depression raged on, movies were a distraction from the wear and tear of normal life. With the movie Freedom Writers, however, that is not the case. Freedom Writers tells the impossibly true story of a first-year teacher, Erin Gruwell, and the difficulties she faced in her classroom of supposed hopeless cases. In Long Beach, California, her students dealt with gang violence, drugs, and racism in their everyday lives. They lived in constant fear. The movie emphasizes how Gruwell wrestles with the public school system, motivates her students to learn, and changes their lives in the process. Directed by Richard LaGravenese, it came out in 2007 with stars such as Hilary Swank, Patrick Dempsey, and April Hernandez gracing the screen (IMDb). In contrast to the early movies, Freedom Writers deals with issues that are still a problem today, such as a focus on the majority instead of helping students who need extra assistance or encouragement.

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.

The film “Freedom Writers” by Richard LaGravenese has been successful in terms of expressing the emotions of students through their diaries but also engaging the audience emotions through the characters’ gang experiences. The character of Mrs Gruwell(Mrs G) is a teacher of low performing students trying to achieve their goals against all odds. Techniques the director used to show this include flashbacks, non-diegetic sound, spot light and pan shots which are all important in sending the message to the audience that family problems and violence have a big impact on the students lives.

One of the main magic’s of the theatre is for the audience to go into it unaware of what they will see, and exit with a whole new view in mind. This is still possible in jukebox musicals even if the audience member is familiar with some of the songs. Songs, text, and all literature can be interpreted in different ways based on the individual. Theatre is meant for all different people to enjoy. Some may like going to a show featuring songs that their favorite artists wrote or that speak to a memorable time of their life. It becomes a discussion about how the audience can relate to the characters.

There is no theatre without an audience. The audience is as much a part of the playmaking experience as the artists—so how do we incorporate them more actively into what we do? We must work with them – and I’ve learned, in so doing,

During my time spent at Circleville as a mentor, I began to search for other opportunities relating to incarceration and the arts. I soon began volunteering at an adult facility, Marion Correctional Institute, where I continued my involvement with music, poetry, and writing, but also ventured into a topic that I had no prior experience with –theater and filmmaking. I had experience with storytelling, as I led a group on my college campus that encouraged individuals to share stories that contributed to their unique identities, but theater and filmmaking was

Survival is the key struggle in The Shawshank Redemption. This film takes place in the corrupt Shawshank State Penitentiary where mental and physical abuses inflicted upon prisoners are the hard realities of the system. For the prisoners of Shawshank, life is often bleak and violent. However, the will to survive is what keeps the characters motivated to retain their humanity and challenge the institutionalization of Shawshank. In particular, the film’s main protagonists, Andy Dufresne and Ellis “Red” Redding, exemplify the struggle for survival in the face of a corrupt, frightening, and oppressive prison system. In order to survive the harsh realities of the world, people adapt with personal traits like courage and resourcefulness in addition to forming community with other people.

My design problem for this script was that I wanted to adapt a short story that I had written into a film format. Another aspect of my design problem is taking such an impactful event that occurred over the span of many years and compacting the story properly. I previously wrote a short story about the brutal rape and murder of my cousin, Quenette Shehane. Although it is a terrible event, a lot of good came out of it through my great-aunt, Miriam Shehane, advocating for victims rights with her organization, Victims Against Crime and Leniency (V.O.C.A.L.). I am very passionate about this story, as it has changed my life even though I never had the chance to meet Quenette since she died in 1976. Thus, I wanted to challenge myself and put

In fact, this play is autobiographical story of Nilaja Sun and her attempt to gather a class group of unruly high school teenagers in order to produce a play in a mere six weeks. Because of the impactful experience Sun had while teaching these young students in a vandalized inner city of New York, her play is based on real life experiences and people she met along her journey. However, it is not the fact that she teaches that makes her a hero, but rather the she does things for the better good of the community. In actuality, many teachers are scared and afraid of students from these parts of town, let alone be strong enough to teach a class. This can be seen when Ms. Tam exclaims, “the rest of them will ask what's going on an what am I gonna say to each late student? (Scared out of her wits.) OK. Then, we’ll start class” (Sun 1912). It can be deciphered through the author’s additional commentary that teachers are unwilling to teach these classes because they are terrified of what their students are capable of. However, Ms. Sun’s loving and determined character sees these children in a different light, and is willing to work with them in order to create something larger than themselves. In this case, the play the students will perform a play that revolves around the life of convicts. While practicing their lines, Ms. Sun begins to understand how and why the students

This production ticks every box; from staging to acting, the play is refined down to absolute fluidity. Immersing themselves in the roles completely, the actors in the Old Vic production embody Miller’s characters in ways unparalleled by other performances. Seeing the actors wholly capture the raw emotions of their complex characters brings the play to life, and with their efforts, the audience feels so deeply along with them.

Smith tells the story that the the people of Los Angeles couldn’t in 1992 during the riots as they dealt with oppression and fear and eventually moved the world with their stories. Through her play, Smith gives examples of how her writing describes the many forms of change writing as explained by Mary Pipher. Through Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Smith sends a message to readers as she plays multiple roles of different citizens of Los Angeles and shares their personal characters, uses imagery as a form of language by relaying the words as drawings in our head, fights for the justice of citizens that faced brutality, and explains to us how she reiterates the personal stories each character, a citizen of Los Angeles has, uses vivid language to share the message with readers by drawing it in their heads, proves that those who were affected deserved justice amongst oppression, and shows that people write as a form of thought, talking, and taking action to change the world. The scriptwriter of Twilight: Los Angeles 1992 fights to share what people suffered by giving the world an insight of the reality we live