titus+1

Titus Critique

 When I arrived at the fine arts buildings, I had no idea what to expect when I entered the main theater. Every show I had seen up to that point had either been off campus or in the cellar. As I entered through the tunnel I could tell that the air was filled smoke and it made me quite curios as to what was going to happen. The scene that I was greeted with was that of what I envision a typical proscenium theater to be. The main seating area was large and the archway outlined the acting area the way it was supposed to. The only other time when I was in a theater like that was when I went to see Beauty and the Beast at the Fox theater in Atlanta. It would not be fair to judge the quality of the fine arts theater to the Fox because of the money that is given to and brought into by the Fox.

 The set was rather peculiar to me at first. I would say this set falls in between the sets of Machanal  and Vanya as far complexity and detail. The set itself was very large and included large pieces in it. There was a large tower which to me was quite impressive and a curving step platform that led up to the base of the it. In the center there was a large circular platform that the players stood upon during the play. The only thing that was odd to me about it was that it was angled downward. I thought that that could be slightly hazardous if one on the performers were to lose balance and fall. Just in front of the circle was a pit where many important parts of the play took place. What I found most impressive about the pit was that it was able to be connected to the rest of the set in such a way that players could exit or enter the performing area through there. All of the set reminded meof Machanal  in the sense that even though it was grand in nature, It was very bare because it was all unpainted wood. In a way though I think that that was good because when plays like this were done in the Globe theater they did not have elaborate sets and the performers had to use the words of Shakespeare to help the viewer paint an picture in theirminds of what the world they were watching looked like. For example, in the first act of Titus there was a scene where there was supposed to be money by a tree. On the stage there was no physical representation of a tree but the players were able to make you think there was one by the way they moved and spoke.

 In total this is third Shakespeare play that I have seen. Unlike the other two, this was the firstthat was performed in traditional Shakepearian  tongue. In truth that made it a little difficult for me to keep up with what was happening at certain parts of the play. When the dialogue was quick, I felt lost. I do not say this as a strife against the performers or the overall production, just as a point that it very important to have a slight understanding of the tongue that is being spoken in these plays. If I had been more familiar, then I might have caught the jokes that were said as soon as they were spoken instead of wondering why audience members were laughing after a line was finished. That being said though, I did come away from the performance knowing the base of what the play was about, but my understanding did not go into much more depth past that. Again this is not on the director or the performers because from what I understand, most people who go out to see Shakespeare already have experience seeing it.

 One of the elements of the show that I very much liked was the sound and audio that was implemented. At the beginning of the play I could hear in the distance the beating of drums. At first I thought that they were a recording that the volume was being gradually raised on. I was proven wrong when the theater was brought to life when the four drummers entered through the rear of the theater leading a march of the cast of the play. I thoroughly enjoyed this happening. It was not expected at all. It reminded me of when I graduated from basic training and we marched down the aisles of the auditorium in triumphant glory. This is exactly what was being displayed in the play because in this strong opening scene, it is Titus who is returning from victorious battle. From there on, the only times I can recall the use of audio tracks would be when the emperor would be about to enter the stage and trumpets and horns could be heard playing through the sound system. One thing that I did find odd was when the performers would be staged on the highest and furthest point back on the stage, what I would guess wasa shotgun microphone would be turned on and the voice of the speaker would be projected through the house via speaker like the horns and trumpet recordings. To me as actors and actresses they should be able to project their voices to the audience no matter where they might be on stage but I do not hold that against them because they are up there and I am not.

 Going into this play, like every other one I have seen this semester, I had no knowledge of the story or what might happen in the play I am seeing. In hindsight, this strategy might have worked against me due in part to the language barrier as stated earlier. I do believe though that I was able to understand the main plot of the story, but I am still not clear on the finer details of it. That being said though, I would say that I did enjoy it and the performers did an excellent job. It is hard for me to critique actors and actresses being that I have not performed in a play (other than my fourth grade play). This play did live up to the hype that I heard in class that it would be very gory. I did appreciate the use of real fake blood during the play. It gave it an extra level of authenticity in my opinion. Also the players used fake props such as bloodied heads and hands to given an even more real and physical feel to the gruesomeness and brutality that this play calls for.  One of the moments that I do not think I was ready for was at the end of the play when Titus murders his own daughter. Titus is on the verge of exacting revenge upon his enemies for raping and disfiguring his daughter and also for the framing of his two sons for the murder of his daughters love interest. It shocked me because I was willing to assume that he would have accomplished all that he wanted to do with needing to kill his own daughter. In turn by doing this he ends up being killed himself after dispatching the Queen of the Goths and the emperor. This almost made me feel like that the whole story was for not, but then I remembered that it was a tragedy and that this type of ending is not uncommon.

 All of this being said, I do believe that I would recommend to friends and family that they should check this play out if they were given the opportunity. I would also recommend to them that they get some general background knowledge of the play by reading a synopsis before seeing it however. I think the most frustrating thing to me was the language barrier by far.