From simple stage platforms, through to the creative, and often elaborate stage alterations transferred later onto the screen using extravagant and excessive sceneries, these adaptations attract viewers and critics from around the world. Looking through the lens of studies of such scholars as Carson, Tiramani, and many more, this essay will analyse what theatres looked like and how they functioned during the Elizabethan era. This analysis will help to understand the form of early varieties of A Midsummer Night’s Dream adaptations, which because of its time period lacks detail. Furthermore, with such adaptations as Hall’s ‘hippie’ film, as well as Brook’s ‘fresh’ production, staged in a blank, white box, this paper will look closely into the reasons (whether political, cultural or literary), that influenced and fuelled the desire to change and adapt Shakespeare’s text. This essay will subsequently examine the majority of A Midsummer Night’s Dream adaptations from the Elizabethan time period, ranging from Pepys eyewitness mementos, to the 1970 Peter Brooks’ circus production, which epitomises modern day inventions and creativity, which will be further summarised by David Selbourne’s…
As one analyzes both How to Read Literature Like a Professor and the character speech from Shakespeare’s Henry VIII, a connection can be distinguished between Professor Foster’s guide in chapter 20 about seasons and the speech’s course. Throughout the speech, the seasons seem to guide our anonymous narrator -who seems to stand for Henry VIII - through a passage of time that leads him to a fall that he cannot return from- the death of his pride and reign. Throughout the speech, the seasons are able to characterize the atmosphere and tone of the time, making the speech seem more dramatic and impactful to Henry VIII’s lasting legacy. Towards the beginning of the character speech, the language Shakespeare uses guides the audience’s attention towards…
In the stage directions he writes, “We see the four people, seated as an audience, facing the real audience, applauding. Recorded applause plays. One or two people hold programs for a play… The lighting onstage gives the impression of house lights” (60). The actors facing the audience makes it seem as though the players are watching the spectators like they are the ones performing.…
“Naked Lunch” written by Michael Hollinger and “Mistaken Identity” written by Sharon E. Cooper are both very dramatic and suspenseful playwrights that result in wild and twisted endings. Naked Lunch takes place in a small dining room area where a man, named Vernon and woman by the name of Lucy are trying to rekindle their relationship over a nice dinner. Things go from static to dynamic when Vernon finds out about a change that was made in Lucy's life after the two had broken up. Mistaken Identity is set in Leicester, England at a pub called The Castle. Kali's brother, Rashid, sets her up on a blind date with a guy (named Steve) from his school.…
CRR #7 Observations: In the reading Our Town by Thornton Wilder I felt the feeling of being included in the audience because he gives us the layout at the beginning. Another detail that contributes to this feeling of being included is by having the stage manager speak directly to us. When he starts describing the town and how small it is it reminds me of Porterville and how nothing really happens there or here. I find it sad when the stage manager tells us about all the things Joe is going to accomplish but ends up dying in the war.…
I did not have much knowledge about theatre or drama except that I was aware that Western understanding of theatre originated from the Greeks and they had a tradition of wearing masks to identify with the characters, they are also assumed to be the inventors of tragedies and comedies. I was aware of the Greek tragedy Agamemnon because I read an excerpt of a play named ‘The Browning Version’ in which one of the characters, who is a student, remarks the play as ‘muck’. I read Macbeth by William Shakespeare in 9th grade and I also read a famous play in 10th grade titled ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller, it is known to be one of the most prominent plays in American literature and culture. Although, I have not seen many plays as much as I have read them. The recent play I watched was my high school production of Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ which although was a small production, was still…
Thursday, October, 8, 2015, I was privileged with the opportunity to see the production, Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder, and directed by Rose Riordan. Our Town takes place in a small town called Grover’s Corner in the early 1900’s. Our Town is presented in a much different manor than most plays today. Instead of changing sets and meticulously hand painted backdrops, the actors use nothing but some chairs and a pair of ladders. The storyline of the play is intriguing, but not so much as the elaborate use of chairs and ladders as the only props.…
The play “Rumors”, by Neil Simon, is an interesting tale of lies, confusion, and, most importantly, rumors. The Wrangler Theater production of this play really brought out its best, and blew me away. Firstly, the main theme for this play would best be summarized by the Mark Twain quote, “If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.” The entire play is basically about miscommunication and lying in an effort to avoid scandal.…
With the stage being only 7x7m[], the closeness and claustrophobia of the performances allowed the audience to fully immerse themselves in the onstage action, this “dynamic of the theatre served to problematise the audience’s relationship with the comforts of bourgeois morality” [], allowing them to step out of the real world and into the Theatre du Grand-Guignol. In Au Telephone we are presented with a character that is given the ultimate opportunity: commit a heinous crime with no probable repercussions; the Tramp sees that the Wife, child, and housekeeper are unprotected and vulnerable, he then takes away what little power they might have against him by taking the gun from the open drawer[], his anonymity, as is reflected by his generic name, provides him the perfect escape from culpability. De Lorde set the stage for something horrific to occur, with the audience so physically close and so intimately involved he gives them a “glimpse in the eyes…
A common misconception is the belief that African American history begins in America. Dating back to West African tribal civilizations, hair was seen as an extension of a person. By looking at a person’s hair, one could discern multiple aspects of their identity. According to Seiber and Herreman (2000), hairstyles reflected social “status, gender, ethnic origin, leadership role, personal taste, or place in the cycle of life” (pg. 56).…
Over the centuries, theatre conventions evolved from the highly presentational performances of the Greeks to the extravagance of Elizabethan productions and eventually conglomerated to produce contemporary theatre. The University Playhouse’s performance of Acting: The First Six Lessons expressed this conglomeration of Greek and Elizabethan conventions through elements of presentational theatre, a non-localized set, and a supporting cast that functioned similar to a chorus or ensemble. This performance also altered conventions through the addition of female actors, use of representational aspects, adaption of the functions of the chorus or ensemble, and lack of a raised stage. In the following sections, I will discuss the adoption and adaptation…
To examine the evolution of stage management, we must first examine how the term came about, and other terms for the stage managers predecessors. Then we can begin to look into how the role has evolved over time into the present craft students are being taught on technical production courses in theatre in different locations around the world. To begin, we must investigate the term of ‘stage management’. As we look back into history, we can see that people who were what we know today as stage managers, did not have that title, however they performed a similar function in the theatre.…
Throughout Thornton Wilder's play “Our Town” he showcases different aspect he adds to his plays and the various theme's he incorporates into them as well. Such of these aspects is how Wilder created this play by simply using the Stage Manager to not only narrate the play, but also a way to make much like an ordinary citizen of Grover’s Corner. Finally Wilder created different themes throughout his play each theme was to match it’s own act such as life, love and ending with death as the final act. This essay will focus on the way Widler created the Stage Manager to not only narrate and communicate with the audience, but also become a part of the play itself. As well as the way Wilder implemented him almost as a God like being, and how the…
During the early 1800s, Norway was dominated by aristocracy. However, a new class was emerging as affluent. They were the middle class. Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House is a didactic play that critiques ideologies prominent in the middle class.…
In Hamlet , Shakespeare utilizes the characterization of the ghost of King Hamlet to convey significant and climatic messages to the protagonist who , based on the information that is provided , carries out major plot - shifting developments . This leads the reader to make the connection to all that the protagonist does within the text and the initial meeting between the younger and elder Hamlet . It could be fairly speculated that the actions that are taken by the ghost of King Hamlet's character bring about the death of five separate people , all of whom died with different relations to King Hamlet . The ghost's appearance sets the revenge plot into motion , but it also delays the play ' s action . Shakespeare uses this method of solemnity…