Chapman University unique “reimagining” of the Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui was an interesting spectacle as an audience member. Although the play could be seen enjoyable in the sense of entertainment, the exaggerated theatricality, misguided direction, and lack of overall structure made the play difficult to watch. In the eyes of Brecht, the audience should not feel emotionally connected to the characters, but instead elicit some sort of self-reflection. While this form of epic theatre can be appreciated for its form, the exaggeration left the play with little to no “taking the first thing”. The dialogue and interactions felt so calculated and directed that the work did not flow through kinesthetic responses and natural viewpoints in the moment. …show more content…
For example, Sarah White’s portrayal of the actor was grounded and connected through a clear beat structure and super objective during the few scenes she was in. Unlike most of the other actors, White used Meisner’s “taking the first thing”. During her interactions with other characters, White would use moments of evaluation and endowment to bring the character to life and create an openness and rawness about the “actor” which immediately captivated the audience. In most other cases, several characters did not convey evidence of lemonizing the other relationships in the scene. The production seemed poorly directed to a level where organic relationships and actions did not appear. Consequently, several actors’ endowment did not show. In some cases the actors would move through the work with fluidity and a sense of lemonizing relationships—as seen by Tyler Wincott’s Dogsborough and Natalie Teichman’s grieving wife. These actors were much more compelling because they “took the first thing” and endowed relationships. Therefore, their characters felt much more natural and organic to the situation they were