Nilaja Sun’s, No Child was performed at the Macalester black box theatre, on October 13-14, 2017. Niara Williams performed this one-woman show and developed many characters throughout her performance. No Child tells the story of Malcom X High School students and the challenges that they face while in school. A teaching artist, Ms. Sun, comes to school to offer the students a healthy expression of creativity. She directs the students in a play that shows the direct correlation between the characters in the play and the student’s own lives. No Child shows that no child should ever feel undervalued or alone. To portray this meaningful message, No Child was performed without the clutter of multiple actors, props, or set pieces. This clutter-free
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Being the only actor on stage, Niara had to create distinctive physicality’s so the audience could differentiate between each character. Niara did a phenomenal job of creating clear physicality’s that were thought-out and innovative. Niara used large facial expression changes, vocal changes, and physical changes for each character. A great example of Niara’s character distinctions and development was in her portrayal of the janitor. Her facial expressions would change, and her lips would change into a pout shape whenever she was the janitor. Just by looking at Niara’s face, audience members knew that they were looking at a completely different character. Audience members were then allowed to envision the janitor however their mind wanted to. Niara also completely hunched over when playing the janitor role. Niara created a walk for the janitor so whenever the janitor would move across the stage audience members could recognize the elderly man’s walk. Audience members could use their imagination to see an elderly janitor on stage. Niara created a distinct voice that she used when playing the janitor role. Niara studied many accents and voices to create each individual character’s voice for No Child. Niara’s facial expressions, physical changes, and vocal changes, in the janitor, and all the characters, in No Child allowed for clear and imaginative viewing
Being the only actor on stage, Niara had to create distinctive physicality’s so the audience could differentiate between each character. Niara did a phenomenal job of creating clear physicality’s that were thought-out and innovative. Niara used large facial expression changes, vocal changes, and physical changes for each character. A great example of Niara’s character distinctions and development was in her portrayal of the janitor. Her facial expressions would change, and her lips would change into a pout shape whenever she was the janitor. Just by looking at Niara’s face, audience members knew that they were looking at a completely different character. Audience members were then allowed to envision the janitor however their mind wanted to. Niara also completely hunched over when playing the janitor role. Niara created a walk for the janitor so whenever the janitor would move across the stage audience members could recognize the elderly man’s walk. Audience members could use their imagination to see an elderly janitor on stage. Niara created a distinct voice that she used when playing the janitor role. Niara studied many accents and voices to create each individual character’s voice for No Child. Niara’s facial expressions, physical changes, and vocal changes, in the janitor, and all the characters, in No Child allowed for clear and imaginative viewing