Reflection On The Performance Ensemble

In the Performance Ensemble’s production of The Fiery and the Snuffy; or, As If Through Separation, the students had a opportunity to develop and workshop their own characters. Once each student created their own unique characters they brought them all together to create a single work. Overall, I found the performance interesting to watch; however, I found that at times the multiple storylines were complicated and hard to follow. There were moments that completely captivated my attention as an audience member. The strength of actors, the motif of water, and the overall design concept created a successful performance. While at time the intertwining storylines made the performance complex and hard to follow; however the strength of the individual …show more content…
In the Performance Ensemble’s show water was present a some point in each characters story. Some examples include the water in the bath tub, the water in the tap dance scene, and the water in the bucket of water where the one character almost drown. Along with each of these instances of water a death or near death experience followed. In the bath tub, the one character attempted suicide to escape the voices in her head. The one was blatantly almost drowned to death in the one scene. In the dance off scene, the tap dance in the water was followed by a shoot off resulting in the death of both character. In addition to these instances, the performance ended with it raining. The rain most likely symbolized the girls who died on there bus ride and the final character heading west to her death. The choice to use water to represent death in the show is interesting because water typically symbolizes purity and cleansing. Even in the cover of the program, all the characters are submerged in a pool of water. The motif of water helped to pull the show together and make a more cohesive …show more content…
The space that the show was performed in is not what most people think of when going to the theater. The director created a black box style theater by moving the audience in two different configurations throughout the performance. The director also use all the doors in the room as entrances and exits, as opposed to only using the wings. Since the space was so large and open, the director made a smart decision to have actors and stage crew move slowly in and out of the stage to make the scene changes less distracting and seamless. In addition to the scene changes, the director used light to the performances advantage. By placing the light behind actors for certain scenes the director was able to mask other character while creating a dramatic and beautiful effect, this in particular during the bath tub scene. In a space that is so different from typical theaters the director was able to present a complex storyline in a seamless