Observation Of Pantasmagoria

The story is performed through dance and musical attributes. A popular form of musical theatre are book musicals. They are musicals where music and choreography create a dramatic story to convey drastic emotions other than humour. It requires the audience to engage in a the plots suspension of disbelief so that the story is credible. (http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Musical_Theater).

Each element gave the stage a different feel that matched every scene , complementing each brilliantly. The only element that lacked for me was lights, although very bright ; in my opinion the reoccurring blue wasn't the best option. I feel if the lighting designer would have had more warmer colored lights against the already vibrant set pieces, it would have made the stage pop more. But one thing i did particularly fancy, were the costumes the characters wore and how they fit each character. Each character's’ costume showed the dichotomy between the personalities and tastes of each individual. For example Ilona played by Jane Krakowski was dressed in a scarlet / pinkish dress with a high slit up the left side; showing her seductive character type. Meaning when i saw Ilona on stage, I immediately knew who i was looking at . Lastly the sound effects included , like the door jingle sound or The bike bell , added to the whole idea of being inside and outside of a retail building. These effects gave the stage an outdoorsy feel , drawing you in , giving the audience illusions of really being in 1930’s

As one would imagine for situations revolving struggle or anger, a series of yellow and red toned colors were used through all acts. There were also lightly hued pink and blue lights used for the sunrise and set, delicately ending the day when ideas or decisions not so delicate arose. There wasn't anything too spectacular like a light show which ultimately made sense, it being a reflection of something normal and therefore reflective of everyday lighting.

Entering from the crowd (from below the stage) would make the entrance a little more creepy because it wouldn’t be expected. Flickering lights and thundering sounds would be in the background and smoke / fog would cover the stage like a carpet. Dark colours would be used, but shadows and silhouettes would be the main focus, to cast an eerie and spooky mood.

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.

This was the first play or theatre performance that I have attended. I was unsure of what to expect, but I heard great things about this play. Furthermore, the first aspect of this production that caught my attention was the design of the set. The design gave the feeling of a run down urban neighborhood by making the outer parts of the stage look like an old brick building. The building looked like one you would find in a low-income area or projects. The scenery of the play set the stage for what type of production this would be. I especially liked the way they carefully chose not to place just any kind of props on the stage. The dusty

The attire of the orchestra was the usual black and white tux for men and the black dressy dresses for the ladies. Being that it was a classical music event, I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary with the outfits and the colors didn’t call my attention in any way either. It was the normal, expected look that you would see for these type of performers to have. I saw a few lace dresses, some had embroidery, and others were just plain black dresses. As for the men they looked like copies of one another. They had the same bow tie, same dress shirt and the same suit

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.

Even though the lack of an elaborate set design focused the audience’s attention solely on the performers, it also detracted from the performance as it created no connection of the audience with the setting or, at least, with the important themes. The set designers could have created some sort of background that resembled the emotions expressed throughout the various individual acts or could have even contributed with better props that enhanced the audience’s connection to the performances. Despite the dynamic colorful projections, there was little relationship between the lighting design with the entire performance. It attempted to evoke complementing emotions to the dancer’s movements and the music by using a variety of colors and shapes and it was also used to mark the beginning and ending of each act. Nonetheless, the message remained very abstract and hard to grasp, which did not help to enhance the vicarious experience. Given that this was more of a dance performance rather than a theatrical one, there was not a lot of room for character transitions on and off the stage, yet the lighting would have contributed effectively to the performance if it had been more integrated with the characters’ movements and not just projected on a screen as a separate act. Finally, the costume design attempted to create the same effect as the lighting and stage design by using colors and patterns that reflected the emotions of the performance on-stage. The costumes of some performances showed more elaboration, such as in the ones in “Belinha,” while others were less sophisticated and around plain clothes. Nonetheless, as was the case in “9:35, 11:10, 12:45, 2:20, 4:10,” using plain clothes did not necessarily detract from the performance as it created a connection with the setting and important

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,

The play was performed on a black box theater, no props and only the sound effects one man can make by himself. I liked how minimal the play was, really just a good storyteller with some lighting effects; no costumes or

The colors used on the stage were different than what I expected. For example, the bright blues used to talk about the sea and the bright oranges and reds used to express the fire. All the different elements that were used throughout the play worked really nicely together because they were somewhat relatable in how they were presented to the audience. The play was a little hard for me to be able to relate to overall. I have been fortunate to have had to go through certain things the character of the people that knew the character in the story have had to

The lighting of any production is the most important part in my thought. the lighting puts you in the mood that you have to be in, in order to fully understand that part of the show and to actually live it like they do. For example, when they were in the park and it was raining, they had their umbrellas, and the background effects of rain made it really seem as if it was raining in the theatre. The lighting was always focused on every part of the stage, especially on those who were the main parts in that scene.

Most of the characters wore business like suits because it was mostly in an office like setting. The rebels wore 80s like punk rock gear. The watchmen wore old time like security uniforms. The special effects for the play was the disco ball scene used with the lighting. The major scene changers were the lights all went out. The machinery used in the play was the elevator opening for the actors to leave the stage. The music Beatrice came walking into during the opening scene was through were her headphones. The audience participation was when the actors left the stage to go down the aisles to dance to exit the play. The crowd was clapping to the beat as the actors exit the