Ricky Jay Play Analysis

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The title of the play that was watched was Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants. This play was written and preformed as a one-man play by Ricky Jay. The play was preformed in New York City, New York. The period of this play is in the early 1990s, which would put it in the 20th century period. David Mamet is the director of the one-man show. The genre of this play is very clearly comedy, Ricky Jay does a fantastic job of working in jokes while including the major themes of magic, misdirection and slight of hand. If you are able to take a second to gather yourself as you are wowed, you will notice that the minor theme of this play is a display of skill.
The protagonist of this show is Ricky Jay; this is not hard to miss considering it is a one-man
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By pulling the house lights up, it invites the crowd and continues to keep them feeling engaged. Jay does a fantastic job of using the audience members throughout the show, so again the lighting in this effect is important. The lighting is also bright, again proving that there are no hidden strings or tricks, this keeps the mood happy, as the show is a comedy after all. The costumes of Ricky Jay switch just slightly in color, but the principal is that Ricky Jay is well dressed in a suit coat that has shortened sleeves so there is no way that he can be fooling the audience with extra cards up his sleeve. The choices in custom indicate time and place because that used to be the style in the 90s; having shortened sleeves on the suit coat was in. There was no music in this show, but Jay kept a very solid rhythm to his show, that kept you feeling happy, laughing, but also anxious to see what was next. Jay did use several props in his show, the cards were practical as they were key to all the tricks, however some of the toys were not as practical, but instead were used to add a bit of humor to the show. The set adds to the play, with a large table in the middle the focus is on the cards, but also having an appealing backdrop, gives a familiar feel, like you have been in that room before. I think that the most essential elements on the technical side of things for this show are the lighting and the costume of Jay. These two things prove …show more content…
Jay continues to use the members of the audience and directs himself right to them. I do believe that throughout this show Jay’s acting was very believable. I was consistently amazed at how Ricky Jay was fooling me and making everything look so easy. Again, Jay was able to balance the tricks with a storyline that built up the tricks. By giving some history and some tips to how to do the tricks, it makes it easier for you to believe it is possible. This draws you into the story in a very dynamic way. You did not realize you were so interested in learning about magic, until after Jay is done. Jay’s choice of using a calm tone, while gradually increasing and decreasing his pace, really added to the story. When I think about what really stood out to be about this entire show, I look back to the scene with audience where he asks several members to pick and remember a card. He then goes back through one by one and guesses correctly. I have never seen this trick preformed before and it seemed so effortless. He was able to do it without missing a beat, which is what really drew me in for the final

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