Theatre Performance Analysis

During the first half of the play, I did not really notice the lights except during the scene transitions. The main reason I did not notice them is because their job during the early parts of the play were to establish the location. We were in a standard basement that had one window above the stairs, so most of the light in the room had to be coming from an artificial source, most likely a lightbulb.

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.

The performance that I observed, was a theatrical performance group called “Stomp”. This group doesn’t narrate a play, but it does narrate an artistic performance that takes the audience on a journey. This group portrays a great amount of energy throughout their performance while using their body and everyday items to create a special type of rhythms and energizing beats. It’s a mix of dance, music, and theatrical performance combined to create one electrifying beat. I couldn’t find a scene where the performers weren’t enjoying their roles, as much as the audience was enjoying their performance.

Theater and theatrical performances are as old as time and thanks to Shakespeare, there are incredible pieces for performers and audiences alike to enjoy for the next several thousand years. The circular design of the theater created a bond between the actors on the stage and the audience. The Globe brought together people of all castes and unified them through theater. As long as someone had a penny to spare, they could see a show at The Globe, allowing everyone the unique theatrical experience The Globe provided. The Globe still offers performances and camps for youth to learn about theater in the place where Shakespeare entertained. This fact alone is a testament to the importance of The Globe and Shakespeare’s works. With the efforts of Shakespeare, his troupe, and other actors and writers of his time theater has grown into a unifying form of entertainment for all people (possibly even across The Globe). The Globe will forever serve as the home that raised theatrical performances into the extravagant, sometimes life changing, experiences they have become and will always continue to

“Audiences today want a real experience in their live performance, because they can get great script based entertainment at home, through various new media sources. Traditional theatre, which appeals on a mental, and hopefully also emotional level, has not been enough to compete with other media, and audiences have been declining. Physical theatre, by contrast appeals to the audience on a physical and emotional level, providing a much more immediate experience than traditional theatre” ~ (Artmedia Publishing in Zen Zen Zo’s “The Tempest” Teacher’s Notes)

In 1933, the Great Depression was at its peak. As people were struggling to find work and survive in a crumbling economy, President Franklin D. Roosevelt created a program called The New Deal to help alleviate some of the United States’ problems; such as helping the poor and unemployed, repairing the economy, and fixing the country’s financial issues. With it, another project was formed which would radically change the world of theatre. The Federal Theatre Project, sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, funded theatre projects, employed actors, and created meaningful art (Simkin).While The Federal Theatre Project was an important tool to keep theatre alive and people employed during The Great Depression, it also had much greater after-effects; altering the role and effect of theatre in the years to come.

As regards the delineation of the characters on stage and outside, the spectator is invited to pay attention to what is said and what is left unsaid, to what is revealed consciously or what is betrayed by the delivery of each of them, their gestures whether coordinately or impulsively performed.

To illustrate, when the emcee speaks, the light is focused on his face and that light follows him around as he maneuvers about the stage. When the characters were dancing, the lights become brighter and some scenes displayed disco lights. The lighting affected the mood because when a melancholy scene was presented, the lights would be dim. On the contrary, when there was a jubilant moment, there were flashing lights and it created a very joyful environment. Sometimes, only a certain part of the stage was illuminated, so that the focus would be in that area.

Service can take on a variety of definitions. Too often, a societal view of service is somehow linked with laborious work at an inconvenient time of the day or somewhat of a burden; that is the stigma associated with service from my home community at least. Throughout my semester volunteering at the People’s Bank Theatre, I have really come to enjoy the service I have partaken in. With my own personal promotion of culture, especially coming to a region of the country which would not typically be predisposed to the arts at such high caliber performance, I definitely felt a real sort of connection to the theatre which in turn made my volunteering experience meaningful.

The lighting also helped the audience recognize there was a storm occurring-which can also help portray fear. Another scene that had great lighting that impacted the story was the “party scene”. This scene was the scene where people sat around the table, toasting and one man stood up shouting “should we take Spain to war?”. I noticed that the lighting in the beginning of the scene was darker but as soon as the band hit the first few beats, the lighting grew much brighter, showing the mood of this particular scene was upbeat and happy. This scene was also much brighter (and mood) than the opening scene where the lighting and mood were dark.

Unlike the ones that came before and after these are the places that had the entertainment and grew in business very well. People belonging to the working class were the stars of the show they put on entertainment for immigrants and their children, farmers, and laborers. The rise of a pervasive culture of consumerism which dramatically altered the way Americans worked, played, and thought about their relationships to other citizens. During the Great Depression thousands of people were put out of work and had very little money. There was a New Deal program known as the Federal Theatre Project. It’s main focus was to entertain everyone and help their confidence at this time. But, one other focus this project had was that it inspired Americans

Detroit Theatre Collective will mount a production of a classic play that examines corporate oppression, family dysfunction and the fading mirage of the American dream.  We will unearth the timely (and timeless) content of this work, such as economic 'folklore' of the lower classes and the lies that we tell ourselves in order to survive.

The show utilized minimalistic design for all the scenes. For the most part performers wore traditional theater black. Lighting was also kept very minimal however, a few scenes did use spotlights and simple lighting changes. The most impressive thing about the show was that even though it was a stage

However, the main source of light comes from the two classrooms lights, one on both the right and left of the stage. This is interesting because I never saw a production the main light coming from actual lighting that was included in the scenery. To addition, due to the storyline, the only lighting cues were in the beginning and the end. During the scenes where the characters came in and out, there was no fading of light, since there was always an actor on stage. One issue that I would critique is to have added a spotlight or light effects during some of the actor’s emotional monologues to create an emotional effect. A part that should have had a lighting cue, was when the fifteen year old student, Tyler, confessed to Gil that his fiance, Laura had intercourse with Tyler. I believe that there should have been a dramatic lighting cue at this point because when the secret was revealed, everyone gasped. I do however find it interesting how the director did have it because, during the whole show, it was as if I were in the classroom watching the drama unfold.

The plays performed were  a “performance” for the audience, who knew the actors were aware of them. The acting itself was dramatic with grand gestures and personalities that were not considered realistic or natural. This is quite different from the realistic perspective, we expect from performances today to help us relate to the characters in a performance (Elizabethan Theater, 2015). There are many artistic choices that maintain the conventions of acting style in the Elizabethan Theater in the adapted performance of King Lear, directed by Andrew McCullough as well as the textual script written by William Shakespeare. The most important being the heightened speech patterns, dramatic gestures, and speech conventions addressing the