All The Great Books Play Analysis

On the night of September 18th, I attended the play All the Great Books. The weather was nothing but perfect, as the temperature allowed me to sit outside on the ground comfortably. Being one of the only performances I have ever attended, I was quite surprised to sit on the ground in an open field, with only a stage in front of me. Having such open audience seating made the actor/audience relationship more personal and enjoyable. To say the least, the production was not equivalent to pulling teeth, as some of my fellow classmates said. Immediately after beginning the play, the role of the audience became apparent. Being apart of the audience meant I was actually apart of the play, and had to follow the class rules just like every other student. Personally, I thought this aspect of the play was interesting and I have never been exposed to a performance like that before. I was surprised to see elements of the audience being incorporated directly into the play, such as how during intermission the audience gave their answer to their favorite …show more content…
Shonk was able to make an ordinary open stage into a classroom where I truly felt like I was a student in a remedial english class. Shonk was able to manipulate an empty stage use only the background of one wall of a classroom to allow the audience to feel for where they were. Also, his choice of adding a desk and bookshelf made the story flow even more steadily. Using the bookshelf to hold some of the “great books” that were covered during the play, and using the desk to stand on and use as a limitless prop. Not only was Shonk successfully able to make me feel like a student at this school, but he made me believe the doors they were constantly entering and exiting were real. Without the set, the story would have never been possible and the actors wouldn’t be able to use the audience’s interactions as much as they