My Perspective On Theatre

The set used for Vernon God Little was highly symbolic and simplistic; when we walked into the theatre we could visually see that there were flowers, cards and memorable items attached on the audiences seats above our heads, which already created a sombre atmosphere around the theatre.

I am a frequent movie theatre goer. I love the comfy seats, big screen, and euphoric aroma of movie theatre popcorn. An escapist technique, the movie transport viewers to another world. Using the psychological study provided in the article, if we do not remember the things we take photos of, is photography an escapist technique. We are creating a memory of something, without really remembering it. If we are never fully present to experience the vast beauty of the landmark we are photographing, are we escaping actually feeling something. Often times we hear that places like the Grand Canyon cause people to see “how small they really are.”

Theatre and Musical Theatre has been a form of entertainment since before North America was “discovered”. Broadway shows have been dated back to the early 1920’s and 1930’s. By 2016, over 25,000 tickets are sold to Broadway shows in a week. Thousands of people enjoy the shows that are featured on Broadway but have no idea the work and process that brought it to life. The process of getting a show on to Broadway can be broken down into three phases: pre-production, staging, and performance/promotion.

From the dawn of man, stories have been able to captivate us. Storytelling is one of the only constants throughout our society. Therefore, no matter how many aspects of our world change, we know stories will be something our ears crave to hear time and time again. Because theatre is an artform told through storytelling, theatre has and will always go along with our wants. Through our wants and society change, theatre has to keep moving forward with the times. Though theatre can have troubles with moving forward, this is shown by how often theatre tickets are very expensive, so normally only older adults fill the seats and often the ideas on stage are ones that have already been done. Though younger people love theatre, they find themselves

According to Boal if you desire your play to be great, then theater should be about becoming. If on the other hand, your wish is to be a terrible play writer, then yes you should make theater about being. When the flaw or error of the character is presented right from the beginning, the audience does not feel much of an effect. There is virtually no conflict and no story. When a play portrays the current state of a person all throughout, the audience is being told what to do, similarly to being instructed directly, and as a result, the spectator disregards the information after the show is over. However, when theater is about becoming, they audience member is figuratively taken through a ride. As the character changes from a state of happiness

I am an ideal candidate to study theatre because of my passion for it. This passion drives me to volunteer as much time as possible to the arts ensuring I can learn as much as possible. I love the impact a piece of theatre has on the audience and when working in theatre you have the opportunity to experience first-hand the emotion you evoke in people. I want the opportunity to create something real in people, whether it is through character or a piece I have created myself. Although I have a particular interest in acting and directing, I also want to learn everything I possibly can about all aspects of the theatre.

The destruction of props continues to serve as a comedic device in this image. As the conversation gets more heated, so does the amount of prop destruction. The intensity and insanity of the moment coupled with the knowledge that the reason she’s destroying the set is because of the goat

“Aren’t you a little old for that?” “Isn’t that for little kids?” “You need to grow up.” There comes a time where everyone hears those words. It normally happens when you get into high school. Teenagers try to ditch their childish image just as Miley Cyrus tried to ditch her Hannah Montana image. Those young adults are trying to remove the “young” part and prove they are just adults. I never personally went through that phase myself. Of course, I matured and acted like a professional when I was expected too. However, I never stopped loving the things that might be considered weird for a high school student to do in his free time. I still watched cartoons and played with bubbles and drew on the sidewalk with chalk. I didn’t see anything wrong with these enjoyable hobbies even though it made people look at me strange or tease me in the halls. I never really got over the enjoyment of acting immature in a mature way. However, I felt like I was out of place at times. It wasn’t until my the end of my junior year that I decided to say “screw it” and break the status quo of feeling ashamed of enjoying the happiness of life. I had been involved in the theatre program for almost two years. The state theatre competition was coming up and my theatre troupe decided to do a modern telling of Peter Pan as our one act play.

“Theatre is a physical and visual medium, but the play’s not always the thing. There is a strand of theatre – the physical and the visual – that speaks a completely different language from the traditional well-made play and spans theatre, puppetry, dance and visual arts. This work uses the language of gesture, an area of theatre that in the past was dubbed mime and thought of as entirely silent. Nowadays such pieces frequently include spoken text, but the body speaks as eloquently as the voice, and one of the great strengths of this form is that it can often mine the emotions that fall in the silences between words.” (Gardner, 2014)

The learning experience that is theatre can be very similar to a rolling snowball. Each and every show gives me something new that I keep with me on the rest of my journey. Whether it be the mastering of a double pirouette or the acquiring of a new accent, I can remember shows based upon what I collected. This year is not an exception, but it is certainly a special case. Being a senior has been a rocky road, but in turbulence I have found wisdom. After playing Bert most recently in Mary Poppins, I did more than just refine my tap dancing. I got to experience firsthand the miraculous power of theatre.

Ever since the world was created, humans have tried to express themselves trough art. Painting, sculpting, music, and, above everything, theatre. Even before they could speak properly , primitives use dance and small rituals as a way of enterteinment. However, now, in the higly technology developed world we live, every day there are more various and modern options to do in our free time but, at the same time all changes and becomes dull too fast.This puts theatre in a really fragile position and makes us wonder if it will become out-of-style or if, on the contrary, as this essay will proof, it will still be relevant and up to date for the next generations.

“The theatre is the only institution in the world which has been dying for four thousand years and never succumbed. It requires tough and devoted people to keep it alive” – John Steinbeck. Devotion is a key part of being a performer; being devoted to your performances - and to yourself; your ability; your development; your belief in yourself. I understand this can be tough, but the experiences of theatre are so precious and valuable and they genuinely excite me - therefore I make this application using my head and my heart. What I do is a lifestyle; and it’s a choice I make, whole-heartedly, because I have a thirst for learning, a hunger to better myself; as a person and as a performer and I want to be surrounded by people who share my passion

Comment One: The talk on page 7 regarding a general disdain by Artaud about psychological theater was a bit interesting. Instead of just a psychological effect, Artaud was constantly against the generally accepted forms of theater and instead wanted a wide-ranging and all-encompassing approach within the theater process. Artaud is noted to have been influenced in large part by Freud's Interpretation of Dreams, and this is quite obvious in readin the summary of "The Theater and its Double".

Children’s theatre is an activity I have positive, first-hand experience in. I have participated in shows and productions in my community and school for as long as I can remember, and I loved every second of it. Since I have a history with the topic, I believed it would be a smart idea to volunteer my time with some sort of children’s theatre organization. I have always known how beneficial children’s theatre has been to me in my own life, however, I will show how everyone’s involvement in community children’s theatre bears a multitude of positive effects.

The history of theatre in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries is one of the increasing commercialization of the art, accompanied by technological innovations, the introduction of serious critical review, expansion of the subject matters portrayed to include ordinary people, and an emphasis on more natural forms of acting. Theatre, which had been dominated by the church for centuries, and then by the tastes of monarchs for more than 200 years, became accessible to merchants, industrialists, and the less privileged and then the masses.