"Ruined"

The main idea that I found in the play, Ruined, was the struggle that women like Mama Nadi had to deal with during the war in the Congo.  The inner struggle of being an independent woman in a world ruled by men versus succumbing to the expectations that those men have for a woman to bow down to him and do as he says.  Despite being 'ruined' Mama and the other girls try to be strong and put on a happy face, even though on the inside they are resentful towards the men who have abused them.  Through design this idea will be displayed through the combination of things that represent strength and happiness, such as bright and colorful clothing, along with others that represent pain and loneliness, like a dark atmosphere and chaotic noise.

I would choose to put the performance on at the Virginia Samford Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama.  The reason for this is because Birmingham has the 3rd highest percentage of African American inhabitants and was very involved in the Civil Rights movement.  I think that an audience consisting mainly of African Americans would appreciate the African culture presented in Ruined more than any other audience would. The theatre has a total of only 323 seats, which I think is perfect for the performance.  A smaller audience provides a much more intimate experience, something that is only appropriate for the material being dealt with in the play.

Seating chart for the Virginia Samford Theatre

The bar in my production of Ruined would not be very elaborate or detailed, but more of an empty space with the exception of the actual bar, a few tables and chairs, an old pool table, a small stage, and of course the birdcage in the corner.  A few old pictures hang on the walls and the furniture is old and worn-out.  The set would depict a place that Mama had tried to make cheerful and inviting, but still looks run-down.  Just like Mama, it is a worn-out space, disguised as something more pleasant.  There is not much color inside the bar; white walls, faded pictures, wooden tables, etc.  Overall the space feels lonely and empty; it represents the way that Mama really feels on the inside.

The women; Mama, Sophie, Salime, and Josephine on the other hand portray a different picture than the bar itself does.  Their clothing consists of bright, colorful, African print dresses.  Their dresses provide a facade for them.  On the outside they appear happy and cheerful, but on the inside, just like the bar, they are ruined.  Obviously, Christian would be wearing an old, worn-out suit in the beginning of the play and a new, one-size too big for him suit at the end of the play.  Most of the other male characters in the play would be dressed in soldier attire, with not much of a difference between the uniforms worn by the government soldiers and those worn by the rebels; maybe a different color hat being the only difference.  These uniforms would be dark with no character, almost cold looking; just like the men who are wearing them.

Example of the colors/patterns of the women's dresses

Lighting is relatively important in the production of Ruined.  For the most part the lighting would stay the same, just a dim white light over the entire stage.  But during the painful parts of the play, like when the women are being sexually abused against their will, the lighting would turn to a dull blue, somber color.  During explosions and gunfire, bright lights would flash; only faintly throughout most of the play, then more distinct and chaotic towards the end when the fighting gets closer to the bar.

The sound design will definitely help set the location and events of the play.  Rain and storm sounds would play in the background frequently because of the Congo setting.  And of course the sound of gunfire from time to time will set the production in the middle of a war.  The sound of Sophie singing in the background and of the music that plays frequently over the course of the play would be background noise to the main conversations occurring.  Music in the background would be sad when the lights are the dull blue color and more vibrant and upbeat when the lights are the normal white color.

 

Overall, the production of Ruined is a mixture of bright colors and darkness.  On the outside, everything looks bright and cheery, but on the inside it is anything but.  The bar itself represents the women and the clothes they wear are just an attempt to cover up the way that they truly feel: ruined!

References

http://www.virginiasamfordtheatre.org/index.php

Dearly Departed

After seeing the play "Dearly Departed", I realized that seeing a live theatrical performance is very different from seeing a film, but there are also some similarities between the two.

Films and live plays have a few of the same requirements and traits.  Both require a designated time and place for them to take place and both need a live audience as well.  A common convention that is present in both film and in theater is the lights dimming when the show is about to start.  I noticed after attending "Dearly Departed" and having been to the movies several times, it is a given that in both situations the audience always gets quiet, settles down, and focuses all of their attention to either the stage or the movie screen as soon as the lights are dimmed.

With that in mind, live performances and films are much more different than they are the same.  When a person attends a movie nothing is expected of them.  In other words, whether they enjoy the movie or not, whether they laugh or cry, clap or not, the movie is still going to go on and the performance from the actors on the screen will be the same no matter what, it is impossible of changing.  On the other hand, when it comes to a live play, the audience plays a large role in the performance of the actors on stage.  With "Dearly Departed" being a comedy, it is expected that the audience will laugh at times.  I noticed that when the audience did laugh out loud during the play, it boosted the energy of the actors and it was obvious to see that they fed off of the approval of the audience. There are also some obvious differences between seeing a live performance and seeing a movie.  A few of which include applauding from the audience, intermissions, the performers bowing, etc.; all of which do not occur in films. 

Another major difference between the two is that once all the final cuts are done to a movie and it is complete, it will never change.  The same is not true with live theater; each performance will be different depending on how the audience reacts, how the actors are feeling, etc.  I heard a girl who was one of the actors in "Dearly Departed" talking in class a few days before the opening.  She was saying that there was going to be a matinee show on Sunday and that she did not expect it to go as well because the audience was probably going to be all older people who would not be as involved and probably wouldn't laugh as much as the other audiences would.  After hearing this, I could definitely see where she was coming from and realized that not only does the audience have a huge impact on the play, but because of factors like this each performance is going to vary slightly.  This would obviously never occur with a movie; whether the audience is young or old, happy or sad, small or large, the movie is never going to be different from when it was played the last time.

Overall, although there are some similarities between live performances and films, the differences between them are much greater.

Anna in the Tropics

Being a part of the audience of the performance of Anna in the Tropics was a much more intimate, personal experience than that of other plays I have attended.  With a much smaller audience and being so close to the stage, with some seats being right on the same level as the stage, I felt as if I were more involved with the play as an audience member, as opposed to being in a theater where the stage was elevated above an audience of hundreds.   

As expected, the audience as a whole practiced the typical audience conventions.  I arrived about 15 minutes prior to the start of the play and took my seat.  As I watched and listened to the audience members filing in, I overheard several conversations, with the majority of them pertaining to the play about to take place and about the actors in the play.  At one time, the music on the sound system overhead stopped and everyone got silent, assuming that it meant that the play was about to begin, but about 30 seconds later, the music started again and so did their conversations; the pause in the music acted as a 'false alarm' to the audience.  Later, the music actually did stop and the lights started to dim, at this point, the audience became completely silent, people straightened out in their seats in order to get a good look at the stage, and I heard the sounds of several cell phones being turned off, mine included.  During the play, I noticed the girl in front of me taking several pictures, this wouldn't have been a problem because she was not using the flash, but every time she took a picture, the camera would make a 'beep beep beep' sound, this earned her several dirty looks from other audience members.  This girl was not playing into the audience conventions and people were getting angry at her for it.  I also noticed over the course of the play that there was an infant in the theater who was making several noises; in the beginning I could tell that it was a bit distracting to the actors because some of them glanced up at the baby a few times, but after a while I noticed that they kind of became accustomed to the noises coming from the baby and eventually didn't pay it any attention.

When the play was over, there was unanimous cheering and clapping coming from the audience.  This enthusiasm fed into the excitement of the actors as they took their final bows.  This excitement also spilled out into the hallway as the actors met with the audience outside.  There were "congratulations", "good jobs" and smiles across the board, on the faces of both the actors and the audience members.  I found myself thinking about this excitement and about the play as a whole on my drive home and even when I returned home.  At home, I was describing the play to my boyfriend, but he did not seem as enthusiastic about it as I was; he didn't have too much to say about it at all.  I realized that this wasn't because he simply didn't care, it was because he did not get to take part in the experience of being in the audience and I did.

Improvisation

Improvisational theatre, also know as "Improv" by many, is a comedy art form that is created "in the moment" and on the spot by the performers.  Improv was first introduced to the theatre world through Commedia Dell' Arte, which is the oldest European performance tradition.  Improv really started to develop in the 1920's when a woman named Viola Spolin wanted to get immigrant children in Chicago into theatre.  She had the children play "games" where she gave them a minimal amount of structure/plot and had them act out any ideas they had based on these "plots".  It wasn't until the 1950's that Improv really started to become popular.  Along with Viola's son, Paul Sills, a man named David Shephard formed a group who would get together and play the Improv "games" that Sills' mother had introduced in the twenties.  Eventually, the two men formed the popular group Second City.  From this point on, the popularity of Improv skyrocketed and numerous theatre groups similar to Second City were being formed all over.  Today, we see Improv theatre everywhere.  Any major city you go to will have at least one Improv comedy club in it.  We also see Improv theatre in popular TV shows like "Saturday Night Live", "Who's Line is it Anyway?", MTV's "Wild N' Out", and "Curb Your Enthusiasm".  Audience members attending an Improv show should definitely expect to have a few laughs throughout the course of the show, as a main component of Improv theatre is comedy.  The audience should also expect to be surprised a few times by what the performers say or do because most of what goes on in Improv is thought up in the moment and comedians or actors who perform Improv usually will possess the skills of wit and the ability to deliver a shock to the audience.

The Picture (above) shows an improv performance taking place outside, the perfermance clearly shows elements of comedy, with people in the audience laughing at what the performers are doing.

The Image (above) shows members of the the cast of the TV show "Who's Line is is Anyway?" performing a skit on the show.  The Image depicts an element of surprise (two men kissing who normally wouldn't) that Improv has.

The Video above shows a performance by the Improv Group, Second City.  They

ask the audience to throw out some ideas, and the performers create

skits by improvising based on these ideas.

Interesting Facts about Improv

• One form of Improv theatre is called theatresports.  In theatre sports, there are teams of performers who have to act out skits based on audience suggestions.  The audience then rates each of the teams based on their performances and a 'winner' of the skit is chosen.

• A lot of times, Improv exercises are used when an actor is training for a new role or just starting out as an actor.  This form helps them to be more comfortable on the stage and with the other actors.

Sources

http://encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/631.html

http://www.creativity-engineering.com/history.html

Orenstein, Claudia. "Chinese Opera." The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. New York:Pearson Education, 2006. pp.150-152 print.

Chinese Opera

Chinese Opera dates back 200 years.  The art form is very versatile in that it pulls from several different forms, including singing, dialogue, dancing and martial arts.  Although all of these components are important, music is the driving force behind all Chinese Opera.

There are four main components to the Chinese Opera; Dan, Sheng, Jing and Chou.  Dan is the female component of Chinese Opera, Sheng represents the male, Chou is the comedic part of the act, and Jing means the painted face.

The largest type of Chinese Opera is Peking.  Peking uses dance, mime, acrobatics, fighting, dialogue, and singing to tell a story to the audience or to show emotions and characteristics of the actors or performers.  The acts usually tell a story of historical events, great beauties or geniuses, or fairy tales widely known throughout the Chinese culture.

An audience member at a Peking performance would expect to see a stage full of vibrant, hand-crafted costumes and various types of face paintings.  They would experience an act full of fighting acrobatics and music that helps to tell the story.  The music, along with face paint and facial expressions, indicate moods and emotions of the characters on stage. They would also be told a story through mime and some dialogue.

The image (left) shows the various types of masks used in Peking Opera.  The way the masks are painted depict emotion and characterization of the actors who are wearing them.  The mask can make the character either look angry, happy, sad, vicious, excited, etc.

The image (right) shows a seasoned Peking performer with a kindergarten student learning the techniques of Peking.  Training for the art of Peking starts at a very young age.  Children go through vigorous, detailed training for most of their lives in order to earn the privilege of performing on a Peking stage in front of a live audience.

                      The video (above) shows a Peking performance driven by mime, acrobatics

                             and music.  The act is entitled "Fight in the Dark Night".  The performers are

                               shown acting as though they are searching around in the dark for their 

                           opponent and once they find them, engaging in a fight with them.  Although

                           there is no dialogue in the performance, this action is clearly defined by the

                                                                  actions of the performers.

Interesting Facts

Peking Opera is so popular in China that they have declared a month in their calendar to be "Peking Opera Month".

In order to change emotions on stage, actors do something that they call "changing faces".  Changing faces is a practice that takes years to master and only the very skillful can do it successfully.  There are four ways in which a performer can change his face. They can:

• Blow dust that is hidden in the palm of their hands back into their face
• Manipulate the color of their beard
• Pull down a new mask that was hidden on the top of their head
• "Mop out" the grease spots that were on the sideburns or eyebrows, or around their eyes or mouth

All of the above would result in a different appearance of the face paint on a character, thus they would now display a new emotion.

Sources:

http://www.chinapage.com/opera/intro.html

http://www1.chinaculture.org/library/2008-01/24/content_44014_2.htm

Orenstein, Claudia. "Chinese Opera." The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. By Mira Felner. New York: Pearson Education, 2006. 132-35. Print.