...When I was told that I would be seeing a theater production originally written as a radio play, that contained more questions than answers, I didn't think that would include a man in a tight spandex and black lipstick. But I guess that only adds to the fact of "more questions than answers". The UW La Crosse production of The Arsonists, written by Max Frisch and adapted by Alistair Beaton is one of the more strange plays that I've seen, but no less interesting. There was a lot of hard work and time put into this play and it showed. Personally, the people I think had the greatest impact on this show were the scenic designer, the actors, and the costume designer. In this essay I will explore what these roles did to help push the play forward, but also what mistakes I think they made....
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...I quickly made my way through the darkened streets, though the final act shouldn't start for another 40 minutes, it would be best not to dawdle. Especially considering what I have in my bag. Poisons, daggers, wooden stakes, chloroform. I never know what I might need, so I always come prepared. It's a difficult life I live. Having to sit through tedious plays every other night. Occasionally I'll get lucky and find one with a death scene, but mostly it's all comedies and happy endings. Everyone is so desperate for a happy ending. But my job as a reviewer for the PAPER makes things easier. And it's even fun reviewing my own work. Tonight's play is going to be a good one; TITLE. It's not just a death scene, but a murder. Oh I love it when I get...
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...On November 4th, 2015 I attended the Wildflowering of Chastity play at 7:30. The play was hosted in the Danny & Willa Ellis Fine Arts Building. The author of the play is Dutton Foster. The conflict of the play is formed around super villian Desmond Darkacre and protagonist Chasity Wildflower. The tone of this play was clearly melodrama, it featured different elements of intense moments while at the same time balancing comedy. For the most part it worked fairly well throughout the play. At some times the play reached heavily for comedy for the majority of the play it worked, but at some times it missed… badly. The production throughout the play was simple and worked well for the most part through the duration of the play. The main method of spicing up and...
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...Through play children engage and interact with the world around them, which helps allow the children to create and explore a world in their own eyes. As well as physical development, play also has a really positive impact upon a child's social and emotional development, for play can strengthen the bond between a parent and their child, because through play children are able to express their views, experiences and feelings, this particularly can be seen though role play, creative play, language play and exploratory play. Within play, parents are given who have the opportunity to observe or join in with child-driven play are given the unique chance to see the world from their child's point and they learn to communicate more effectively with their...
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...In Spill, Kristina Johnson plays several characters, of which I am focusing on the performance of Lillian Miller and Reporter 1. My reasoning for this choice was due to Johnson immediately grabbing my attention as she was interviewed by Hope Gold, who was playing the Questioner. Johnson’s confident and somewhat unruly attitude defied some of my assumptions of the play based on the performances up to that point. Johnson’s distinct choices in tone and physical expressions made her character in the first act to be enjoyable and compelling, but her similar performance for other characters in the second act lead to less success. Kristina Johnson’s performance brought charming wit and sarcasm that gave the play variety and an added depth that I appreciated. In the first act when Johnson’s character, Lillian Miller was introduced, Johnson used dramatic facial expressions and a tone that brought forward a...
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...Harvey premiered on Broadway on November 1, 1944, at the 48th Street Theatre, and after one thousand seven hundred seventy-five performances, closed on January 15, 1949. The original production was directed by Antoinette Perry and produced by Brock Pemberton, starring Frank Fay as Elwood P. Dowd and Josephine Hull as Elwood's sister Veta. Elwood was subsequently played during this run by Joe E. Brown, Jack Buchanan, and most famously- James Stewart. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1945. It was originally a play, but has been adapted many times – the most famous being James Stewart’s rendition in all three adaptations of Broadway, Movie, and TV show. The film version did well at the box office, but not quite well enough to recoup its...
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...acclaimed works of Jeffrey Hatcher, was performed at Hallberg Theatre, an arena theatre situated in California State University Fullerton. Dr. Joseph Arnold directed the play. Kenney Selvery, Heidi Palomino, Wyn Moreno, Chayan Tavakoly, Emily James, Victoria Sasso, Shawnia Keith, Tyler Cass, Jake Larosa, and Jackie Summers starred. The cast, director, and designers brought back to life the adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s An Unsocialist Socialist. The play “SMASH” shows the endeavors of a millionaire named Sidney Trefusis played by Bachelor of Fine Arts acting major Kenney Selvey. Trefusis’ ideals were torn between his capitalist practices and socialist beliefs. This uncertainty...
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...On the evening of Friday May 20th I went to see the Spamalot production being put on by the EOU theatre department. From the moment I walked into the theatre I was blown away by the detail of the drop that was blocking the stage from view. I was also quite pleased with the orchestra and the announcement recording at the beginning of the show. I was thoroughly enjoying myself throughout the entire production and I was laughing for almost the entire show. While watching the productions there were some actors I thought did quite well in their roles. I believe the young gentleman who played King Arthur did really good in his role. He acted well and his singing voice was very clear and understandable throughout the entire show. Another actor I thought did exceptionally well was the young lady who played The Lady of the Lake/Guinevere. She not only fit the role as an attractive woman, she also excelled in her singing. The notes she was able to hit and the deration she was able to hold her notes truly amazed me. Another actor that I thought did well was the young man playing Patsy. I think he portrayed the role very well and was able to make the entire crowd laugh. He was also very entertaining to watch during the “horse riding” scenes. An actor I thought also did very well was the actor who played Lancelot. In my opinion he did exceptionally well in his role throughout the entire show. I especially enjoyed the facial expressions he made during different parts. His acting...
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...The piece I chose to critic for my analysis was a review article from the Globe and Mail titled “Grim and Fischer: Having a ball with masks”. The article critics the play in Vancouver, Grim and Fischer, developed by Kate Braidwood and Andrew Phoenix. This review has a specific audience, as not everyone would be interested in seeing this intense play, those who are interested would hopefully find this review to be helpful or this could apply to people who have already seen the play who would be interested in reading a review to further develop insight on the play. The article is written by Marsha Lederman, who is a western arts correspondent, covering areas of film and television, visual arts, literature, music, theater, dance and other related...
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...I saw The Wiz at Bartlett Academy. My class finished the play on September fifth. This play is about a girl named Dorothy went to a place called Oz by a storm and went on this adventure with a Scarecrow, Tin-Man, and Lion. They wanted to go see the Wiz of Emerald City. All of them wanted something from the Wiz in order to do that they have to do something for the Wiz. My overall opinion this play is that it was pretty solid play because it was rehearsed enough to be good. Also, I felt like it had a had a lot of mobility. My favorite actor in this play would be Tin-Man. Tin-Man was the most realistic as in you was really meant to play the part because he moved like he was made of tin and his singing and dancing was amazing. My least favorite would be Lion. Lion didn't have a huge part to the play he really would not have done any difference if he wasn't there. I wish he did have a bigger role, but he didn't. Everyone in this play was active and ready to go. No one was slacking or being lazy. The energy made me have energy because the play was so loud. When...
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...I have always revered plays as literature to read like a short story or a novel. My enjoyment of plays has usually been in this capacity. Seeing a play on stage, as I'm sure the author intended it to be experienced, has never been a priority for me. The two experiences I've had with stage plays occurred through work obligations and were not activities I looked forward to. The biggest assumption I held was that, unlike other forms of entertainment, stage plays could not be captivating. It was difficult for me to accept that anything could achieve a believable and entertaining flow of action without editing techniques, like camera zooms and proofreading. I also did not believe that a stage Actor could pull off a role in a way that I could relate...
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...audience. Being able to put on a production is something that requires many different elements. The Welland Canal Play utilizes many different elements that are incorporated in the show. A significant portion of the play includes semiotics attributes, which is the study of symbols and signs and how the audience interprets them. (Taucar, Jacqueline “theatre as a sign system.”) Semiotics components are featured in The Welland Canal Play; specifically, with Patrick and Seymour characters whom Landon Doak and Nicole Joy-Fraser play. The actors of Patrick and Seymour characters demonstrate a connection of friendship, family and being coworkers....
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...Recently, I had the pleasure of seeing one of Texas Southern University’s theatre department productions; For Colored Girls, Who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf. Written by Ntozake Shange and directed by Erika R. Walton, the play was performed marvelously at Ollington Smith Playhouse located in the heart of the historic black college. At first glance, the performance space looked more like an auditions holding place than somewhere to hold a production, but all in all it was an unforgettable experience. One feature of the play that really amazed me was that each actor was worth noting. The actors really made me believe they were the characters they were portraying. I was more specifically impressed on how the actors emotionally...
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...Play is an important part of a developmentally appropriate curriculum. Play has a positive affect on children and allows children to be attentive. Learning skills such as building block towers, drawing circles, and using safety scissors play apart of physical development. (Aiger, 2015). Sorting objects and material by color, shape, and size helps the age range I chose for cognitive development . Piaget’s Preoperational Stage categorizes the age group that I choose. Children learn to engage in representational play and manipulate symbols during this phase (Cherry, 2016). By increasing the play and pretend area during the preoperational stage children become increasingly adept at using symbols (Cherry, 2016). Self-esteem and self-confidence helps...
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...It was someday in the middle of october i saw a very interesting play at Whitworth theatre the production was the music man. Directed by Diana Trotter. The music director and conductor was Scott Miller. The assistant music director was Mary J. Trotter, and the choreographer was Jeannie Huskisson. In this play it was very interesting and they did very well on their acting, some actors stood out to me because they did an amazing job. Weston Whitener played harold hill, harold is one of the main characters in the play. Harold is a con man who convinces the townspeople they need a boys’ band to stay out of trouble. Weston Whitener did an amazing job on making me believed the words he said it almost was like watching something happen in real life but not. Emily Derby played Marian Paroo, Marian Paroo is a librarian and is a piano teacher she is the daughter of Mrs.Paroo, Emily Derby (Marian Paroo) did a phenomenal job on her dancing, singing and staying in character. The way she transitioned into singing and speaking was artfully blended....
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