Playing The Assassin: Play Analysis

The subject of the book “The Midnight Assassin” by Skip Hollandsworth is focused on uncovering the truth behind who is truly at fault for the murders of Mollie Smith and, several other victims. The murders occurred in Austin, Texas during the 19th century. Based on the first three chapters, three prominent characters have been introduced. All three characters are currently prime suspects. At the time, Austin was a prestigious town, equipped with the finest law enforcement made first hand by god himself, the Texas Rangers. When the young yellow skinned slave Mollie Smith was murdered, terror truly struck Austin. News reporters from all over Texas came to cover the story, thus creating conspiracies about each suspect. Evaluation of each suspect and their motives to perpetrate such a gruesome murder-Walter Spencer, a hardworking slave, who had never done any harm; Tom Chalmers, the brother of the land owner where the murder took place; Lastly, Dr. Ralph Steiner, the esteemed doctor.

The United Kingdom born writer Kristy Mckay was inspired by many things to write “The Assassin Game”. Kristy Mckay was inspired by others writing involving a same situation in their novel, but she just wasn't receiving the excitement and suspense in their writing. Mckay proceeded to then write her own novel that she knew she would be able to incorporate her own twist and style. Mckay knew of others books alike to the boarding school scenario but, choose the proceed with her idea in hopes of creating a better sequence of events during the book.

The volume was good. All of the characters did speak correctly for the setting of the play. I think this because when I was watching it I was not trying to be able to hear everything because I could already hear everything. When I was watching the play I did not really realize any sound effects, but they did have a few songs. The opening song set the mood for the entire play which was a really good thing because it got the audience into the show. I could also clearly hear the performers and the pianist. The mood of the play was established in the very beginning and the

As well as lighting, sound was used very effectively to stage the story. For example “echoes” were created in the alleyways, to make us think that Eddie’s house was a long way away. These echoes were also used to symbolise Eddie’s loneliness. This could show that there is emptiness in Eddie’s heart that can only be filled by a close friend or a brother. There was a bold use of sound especially in scary, dramatic or important scenes. This added to the drama of the overall performance, it made the audience feel a variety of emotions. In the scene when Mrs. Lyons tries to murder Mrs. Johnston, the sound affects really emphasised how Mrs. Lyons was feeling and her sheer madness. The use of surround sound made me feel like I was in the scene and it made the whole performance much more realistic.

The entertainers gave their characters genuine life through their gestures, attitude and charm. Even the way the voices led one to believe that the characters were actually presenting their own thoughts and ideas, not those of fictional characters. During the play, the voices of the performers were quite audible, excepting certain musical presentations when the lyrics of the songs were at points nearly indiscernible. Even with consideration given to this technical glitch, the sound quality was quite agreeable and the songs enjoyable. The voices of the performers were strong

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It made the actors voice unrecognisable, he mumbled and couldn’t pronounce words properly – giving the impression that the actor was nervous. His body language and use of large gestures and a wide stance suggested however that this was not the case. The amplification of the Narrator wasn’t the best quality as the sound projected into the audience was accompanied by a slight crackle. The poor sound quality was also evident during the songs, not only of the

The actors and directors had the same purpose for the production, which was to show the importance of timing. Every time the bell rang it represented a different way the conversation between the man and woman could go, eventually ending with the perfect scenario. The bell going off represents time passing by, the sound symbolizes the different answers that the characters say to each another. In order to capture the timing properly it requires precise directing. The way the director chose to do this in the film was different than the way the director of the play did. The filmed version was more of a separate feel, until the end when they finally came together. In the play the whole thing felt connected, the actors were more interactive. I prefer

It all begins with the playwright when it comes to theatre as they are the artist who develop the characters, dialogue, theme, and the story of a play. However, playwriting is restricted to dialogue and stage directions so it is up to the director to have the artistic vision to transform the play script into a production. In this paper, I will point out how Valerie Curtis-Newton directed Sons, a play written by Oni Faida Lampley, with regards to the theatre size, actors, and different production aspects. Sons revolves around an African-American family living in the troubled neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York, and it is about 17 year old Artest as he strives to find his place in a society that provides limited opportunities for young black men. This paper will examine the acting, lighting, and costume design used by Valerie Curtis-Newton and analyze how effective these mediums were at bringing Oni Faida Lampley’s script to life.

Obviously the most important use of sound was the scream of the woman in black, at the moments of highest tension in the play the bloodcurdling cry shattered the atmosphere a. The real thing that made these screams so perfect were the pauses of absolute silence before and after in which one could have cut the atmosphere with a knife and the audience was so drawn into the play it was so quite you that you would of heard a pin drop.

The scenery was a facade of a house which was a marble white color. In front of the house there was a fountain that seemed very realistic. The costumes where defiantly appropriate for the time period and seemed very authentic. The lighting in the production was executed very well. The lighting in the play was most notably used to signify day and night. During the day time the lights had blue and orange gels with some lights with no gels. This created a very realistic daytime lighting in combination with a very brightly lit scrim with the color blue to represent the sky. During the night the lighting turned very dim utilizing only white light as to represent the moon. The scrim at this time had a star effect that I have never seen before. As for the sound, at times one could hear the interference from the microphones and this was not a pleasant sound to hear. Overall I was very impressed with the technical aspect, although the stage lighting was too bright in contrast with the pitch black surroundings.

The bi-racial rap group Assassin can relate specifically to traditional American Rap fans in France as their sound is very similar due to the beats that they use for their songs. Similar in sounds to rappers alike the Notorious B.I.G, N.W.A (N*gga’s With Attitude), Dr Dre, Tupac Shakir and the ladder of 90’s American rap legends, Assassin use backing tracks that are very repetitive in order to create a sustained beat allowing listeners to focus on their lyrics whether they were part of a political statement or spoke about minorities or violence. This was through the technique of scratching vinyls, creating a repetitive beat, firstly experimented by Grandwizard Theodore (Snapper, 2004). In “Esclave de votre société” (1991), the group refers to their ethnic identity and socio-cultural group, referring to them as a counter-culture to the “norm” of the time as the first lyrics say “Je ne veux pas faire de politique, ma mission est artistique” (“I do not want to do politics, my mission is artistic”)… “Arrêtez de me mentir, nous en sommes esclaves/ Esclaves de leurs décisions, esclaves de leurs passions /Ils jouent un jeu,

One of the features that made the play exciting was the sound effect. Throughout the play, there were many sound effects of gunshots, the ocean, and storms. These sounds captured my attention and made me feel as if I was involved in the show. Typically, I am a person who gets uninterested easily at things I do not enjoy.

Throughout the play, I enjoyed the role of music used to set a comic atmosphere and replace the dialogs during comic scenes (e.g. when they chase each other around). I also thought that they made a good use of light to indicate the moment of the day the scene was happening or to set the atmosphere of the scene (e.g. pink colour during the romantic moments). Lastly, I liked the way the play ended. Even though it was a little messy with everyone running after each other off and on stage, and this policeman coming out of nowhere, which really surprised me; I couldn’t think of a better way to end the play.

The average theater goer might consider only the actors, the director, and the script as he or she attempts to critique a play. However, much more occurs behind the scenes than meets the eye. What the average theater attendee may overlook are the design elements that enhance a production: set design, costume, lights, and sound. These combined elements work together to support the work of the actors by creating an atmosphere that aids the audience in connecting with a production. In the play Trojan Barbie, these design elements are connected by a common theme of war.