Essay Wilders´ Our Town and Fugard¨s Master Harold and the Boys

The movie Our Town was a 1938 American three-act play directed by Thornton Wilder. The movie tells the story about a fictional American town known as Grover’s Corners between 1901 and 1913. Throughout the mover, the director uses meta-theatrical tools to set the play in the theatres where such play was being conducted. The main character in this film is the stage manager who addresses the audience directly. The stage manager also brings in guest lecturers into the play by fielding questions from the viewers as well as filling some of the roles (TheConnection np). The major differences between this play and others are that the actors perform without a proper set and the acting is done without props.

The technical aspects of the production such as scenery, properties and costumes also played a keynote in the productions success. The scenery was fabulous it truly made the play. It was very realistic and extremely vibrant. Almost the entire play was performed in one setting, except for the railcar and dance scenes. The house, the main setting, was magnificent with painstakingly placed detail in every corner. All elements in the house matched wonderfully, for example the furniture, the photos on the wall, the telephone and even the trash can. Little bits of detail were everywhere adding to the beautification of the set, for example the lace decorations on the chairs, the etched glass above the front door and even the Christmas tree.

This is a very minimalist play in general, so similar to the low amount of furniture, there are also few given props. Of course, some are added in order to imply atmosphere.

In Our Town, there are many themes that are present in the play. There are many instances where the reader or audience can say that while writing the play that Thornton Wilder had in mind that the play was going to support the feminist movement, or the how the play can be used to show how ridiculous the marxist theory is, or it can also say that Wilder intended Our Town to be used to support the mythological theory, both the archetypal characters, in the town drunk, Simon Stimson, and George and Emily, and archetypal images, such as his references Mrs. Webb’s and Mrs. Gibbs’ gardens, and how he continued to reference how the moon looks and its position throughout the play. Thornton Wilder can be said to support the feminist movement because

Have you ever thought that even the littlest things in life can make the biggest difference? One of the themes of Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town is people never fully appreciate the wonders of daily life. People take everything for granted and don’t really realize how the little things in life actually make a huge impact on your life. Wilder shows examples of the little things in life many times in each of the acts throughout the play. Our Town is about a young couple who falls in love and ends up spending their life together. The young couple overlooks the small but important things in life. Throughout Our Town, Wilder informs us about how all people don’t appreciate the little things in life that actually make a huge difference.

Our Town is different from most plays. It starts with barely any scenery, forcing the viewer to use their imagination. In the beginning the set manager comes on stage and describes the scene while also making sure that everything is under control; he plays an oversoul or God-like figure. Act I describes birth. The play commences before dawn and the first call Dr. Gibbs receives that morning is for the

The set and props where very compact and were built and moved on and off by the cast because they are designed to be transferred by one person. The props where all cleverly done, for instance they made a bridge out of three ladders, a train out of four boxes and a house from just one door. The door I thought was one of the best props used because the cast managed to make a fairly small stage appear huge just by moving the door and pretending each time that it was a new room every time they passed through it. At one point in the play Richard and Pamela ask the scottish landlords for a sandwich and they come back with a loaf of bread cut in two with one slice of lettuce in the middle, this was such a simple idea but made a big deal and a laugh out of it

Our Town is play written a while ago, but it relates to any time. Showing that routine is a part of everybody’s life. No matter what day and age you live in your going to have a routine. This play shows an example of two families and their daily routines. The whole play relates to routine even the different acts.

Our Town is a story on how humans does not fully appreciate life until they die and realize what they did and want to go back and change it. Thornton Wilder’s play Our Town is about a town life in three acts. The three acts are as followed. Daily Life, Companionship, and Death.It shows how people live and die and how they regret things they did on earth and come to see the big picture of life. Wilder argues, because life is short we must appreciate the joys of living until we die.

“Master Harold”…and the Boys, by Athol Fugard takes place in the apartheid regime of South Africa. The main theme in the play is racism, and the characters Hally, Sam and Willy confront its realities in various ways throughout the play. Fugard uses symbolism as a way to explore racial tensions. He uses four key symbols to establish the themes of racism and division as well as hope, freedom and harmony. These include the meaning of the segregated bench, the flying kite, the ballroom dancing and the crippled father.

“Master Harold”... and the boys, is a powerful play written by Athol Fugard that allows us to analyze the complex relationship between a black man and a young white boy within the context of racism in South Africa in the 1950’s. This play is characterized by metaphors used by the author to illustrate the struggle of people dealing with racism. One of the most important themes of this play is racism, focusing on the injustice in South Africa when the apartheid system was in place. Racial segregation and separation in this time in history demonstrates to us how this system allowed unequal rights for whites and blacks. There is evidence that the relationship between Hally,

Our Town is a play that takes place near the turn of the century in the small rural town of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. The playwright, Thornton Wilder is trying to convey the importance of the little, often unnoticed things in life. Throughout the first two acts he builds a scenario, which allows the third act to show that we as humans often run through life oblivious to what is actually happening. Wilder attempts to show life as something that we take for granted. We do not realize the true value of living until we are dead and gone. The through-line of the action seems to be attention to the details of life. Wilder builds up a plot that pays attention to great details of living.

In Athol Fugard’s play “Master Harold”… and the Boys dance becomes a metaphor for how society can work harmoniously together, yet there are conflicts that prevent it from happening. Specifically, ballroom dance becomes a metaphor to show the conflict between a cooperative society and the disappointment associated with life and our inability to force change. This is expressed by Sam teaching Willie the mastery of dance and also educating Hally on the significance of the championships, and ultimately through the final dance performance.

Wilder created the Stage Manager for various of reasons. The stage Manager is unique in that his presence fills every scene, whether he is the one speaking to the audience or playing a character in the play. The Stage Manager provides background information and familiarizes the audience with Grover’s Corners and the characters. The Stage Manager is aware that the audience are present and breaks down the “fourth wall” to speak to the audience directly, ignoring the confines of the stage. “The Stage Manager wants the audience to really be there with the characters and wants us to listen and look at him” (Millman).

Our Town is a play written by Thornton Wilder in 1937. Our Town is a play about the daily life in Act One, love and marriage in Act Two and death and dying in Act Three. The play is about two main characters, Emily Webb and George Gibbs. The play in Act One just goes through the daily life of the characters. Act Two it shows the love and marriage between these two characters and last Act Three shows life after death of the characters. The play has a man called the Stage Manager that is mainly a narrator throughout the play but also takes on the role of people in the town. The Stage Manager knows many thing about the people in the play Our Town.  The Stage Manager steps in, describes scenes, and seems to start and stop the action of the play whenever he wants. The Stage Manager has many similarities to God. The Stage Manager doesn't only know everything about everyone, he can also see into the future. The Stage Manager is also present in every scene watching it all play out. The Stage Manager and God are different because the Stage Manager unlike God makes