Musical theatre

This Just in! Breaking the Fourth Wall Have you ever watched a television show and had the character look at you and say something directly to you? Or read a book and had the narrator say something directed at you? Well that my friend is breaking the fourth wall. The fourth wall is the wall that separates us the audience from the story happening in the book, movie, television show and on stage production. Some popular productions that break the fourth wall are Doctor Who, Saturday Night Live,…

“Demolition”, a stilted comedy drama written by Bryan Sipe, was conceived by an extraordinary director and showcased a no less extraordinary cast that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, and Chris Cooper. Despite these observations, it’s not an extraordinary movie, showing several problems that turn it into an unfortunate stumble in the filmography of the Quebecois Jean-Marc Valleé. The latter, who deserves all my respect for accomplished works such as “C.R.A.Z.Y”, “Café de Fleur”, “Dallas…

The central subject of The Piano Lesson by August Wilson is the conflict between Bernice and Boy Willie over the family piano. There are three major parts to the play that enhance the importance of the central subject. The first major part that the stage-play creates is Sutter’s ghost, which is present throughout the play. The second major part that the stage-play creates is the focus on the flashback of their African American History. The third major part is how Sutter’s ghost prevents Boy…

Theater Final Reflection While I was in eighth grade and picking classes for my freshman year, I decided to take theater 1 since I had performed in almost every play, musical, and public speaking event offered at the middle school. I had enjoyed these activities, but I understood that due to my dance schedule and homework load with AP and honors classes, I would not have time to continue these performances with the school. Since I had enjoyed participating in these performances, I still wanted…

book written by Bram Stoker in 1897, and later, in 1997, Steven Dietz wrote it as a play. It has never actually run on Broadway, but is still very successful, and Dietz most well-known play. I saw Dracula on October, 1, 2015 at the Randall L. Jones Theatre in Southern Utah University in Cedar City, and was directed by Jesse Berger. I had never seen any kind of Dracula film or play before, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I was very impressed, and I loved it. I think the main theme of…

Guys and Dolls is a musical play set in the 1950s of New York City. The actors and actresses were not only portraying the characters but also singing and dancing throughout the play without forgetting a line or dance move. The actors and actresses were changing their body language by changing their arm movements or walking away from the scene. For example, in the Havana scene, the ensemble was pantomiming a fight scene and pretending to be drunk. The craps game inside the sewer used pantomiming…

Whether it is a dark drama or a happy musical, the goal of the lighting designer should be to make the audience feel like they are actually in the production. “The stage lighting shapes our understanding of the performance”(Moran, 17). “For theater productions, the changes in lighting should…

Shakespeare explores the key idea of deception in the play including both the dramatic impact and comic relief it provides. Shakespeare creates many comical situations which are caused merely by Maria's deception of Malvolio, Malvolio’s self-deception and Orsino’s exaggeration of feelings to express love. Many of the comical situations that occur throughout the play provide the comedy of dramatic irony to further entertain the audience. Shakespeare’s representation of Malvolio is negative in the…

In today's society, students would rather watch a movie than read a play during class. As a teacher, one must decide which to present in class, the play, the movie or both. Although students prefer watching a movie, it is important that one understands the meaning behind it. Reading a play out loud helps students better understand the meaning behind certain symbols or characters. The play A Raisin in the Sun was read aloud in class, then followed by students watching the movie. The play A Raisin…

cult. Billed as “an unreliable version of a true story filtered through a hazy memory and vivid imagination”, it runs out of steam towards the end but is sustained by its mix of wit and anger. The audience sit on beanbags or wooden chairs in the Theatre Upstairs to listen to a character called Girl tell her story – and what an extraordinary one it is. She is brought up by a lovingly attentive mum and is part of a complex extended family. Her happiness is shattered when she acquires a detested…