Final+Exam-CB


 * __Final Exam__**-Christian Baumgarth

We spent considerable time in class seeing a DVD about the development, rehearsal, and presentation of 4 Broadway musicals. Discuss some of the major topics that were introduced on the DVD. Next discuss what you learned from the DVD about the making and development of these commercial ventures. How did they differ one from the other? What were some of the unique features of each? What were some similarities that they all seemed to share?
 * Question #2:**

The DVD we watched in class focused on four distinct musicals as they prepared for the 2004 Broadway season. Each of these shows went through the phases of production differently and had different obstacles to overcome. The four musicals that were highlighted were __Wicked__, __Taboo__, __Caroline, or Change__, and __Avenue Q__. We followed each of these musicals from their conception all the way through the rehearsal process to their opening nights. This DVD definitely brought the complexity of Broadway to my attention. I knew the process Broadway shows went through was complicated, but I was able to see first-hand all the details that help make these productions possible.
 * Response: **

Three key things that the DVD highlighted were the people involved with a production, just how large scale these productions are, and the involvement of critics. A large group of people all with the same vision is essential to a production. Every single Broadway musical begins with an idea from a writer or group. They then need to surround themselves with a good production team and a producer in order to be successful. Another thing the DVD focused on is how involved these productions are. Actors rehearse for months and millions of dollars can be spent on a production. Designers dream up elaborate effects and costumes to make productions more extravagant. Directors will spend countless hours making sure they are interpreting the script as best as they can. These shows spare no expense on the time, effort, materials, money, and passion that all come together to make the show the best it can be. The importance of critics was also a topic that was discussed. Most Broadway musicals are dependent on good reviews from critics and production teams will mold their shows to appeal to them. Odds are, if the critics don’t like it, then people won’t come see it. Critic reviews are also important once it becomes time for Tony nominations. Reviews can make the difference between a big payday and a bankrupt production.

This DVD brought many of the behind-the-scenes aspects of Broadway into view. I learned that everyone involved in a Broadway musical is taking a risk. If the musical is a big hit, then they could walk away from the show with fame and fortune. However, if the musical is a dud, then the production may not even break even. The director and producer of a show have to consider so much before making big decisions that could ultimately determine the play’s fate. These two also need to ensure that everyone involved with the production is putting in 100% of their efforts. I also learned that being an actor on Broadway is tough. There are very few people who ever “make it big” and they have to put in a lot of work to get there. The productions require months of rehearsal and long hours on most days. However, for those that stick with it and keep up their craft, their reward can be great. One last thing that I learned is that intense detail is given to even the smallest things leading up to a production. Directors will re-block scenes until they are just right, designers will spend hours on small little details for costumes, and lighting designers will reposition the lights until they are perfectly aligned. If the people involved in this show are going to put this much effort into it, you bet they will be sure they are making it the best it can be.

One of the more interesting things the DVD brought to my attention were the similarities and differences between the productions of the four musicals. All four of the musicals started out in a similar way. A writer, or group of writers, had an idea that they thought would be able to make it on Broadway. __Avenue Q__ began with two friends who wanted to make a musical based on Sesame Street but with more adult themes. __Taboo__ came from the mind of Boy George who wanted to tell his life story through a musical. __Wicked__ was written to provide a backstory for the two witches from the Land of Oz. Finally, __Caroline, or Change__ tells the story of a woman working as a servant during the civil rights movement. Another characteristic of the musicals that was the same was that all of them went through a similar rehearsal process and had preview shows before their premieres. Other than these few things, the four musicals were quite different.

The difference between each musical was that each one focused on different aspects during the rehearsal process. __Wicked__ decided to employ an all-star cast featuring Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth to attract people to the production. The main focus for the production team was rehearsing the choreography and placing a lot of emphasis on the costuming. __Caroline, or Change__ was a play that focused mostly on the portrayal of emotions by the actors. The director spent a lot of time working with the actors, especially the children, on their stage presence and emotional responses. __Avenue Q__ was unique in that the musical was done with puppets. The duo who created this played hired a director to work with the cast on how to operate the puppets and perform at the same time. __Taboo__ was the musical that was the most unique. Boy George used elaborate sets and costumes to tell his story. He also employed Rosie O’Donnell as his producer which proved to be the downfall of the musical once her legal trouble became intertwined with the production. Most productions begin the same way and follow a similar rehearsal process, but each has its own unique structure. This DVD opened my eyes to the world of Broadway, and I learned to appreciate the work that goes into these productions and how each one is different.

Watch the following recording of a live performance by a group of well-known NY actors, then identify and discuss the genre of the work citing specific moments when the genre is revealed through dialogue, story, and performance techniques and staging. [|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AVifTdjtvE#t=38]
 * Question #3: **

The video that was given to us was of Bill Irwin’s __The Regard of Flight__ f rom The American Place Theater in 1983. In this play, Irwin and his assistant try to convince a critic that their form of “new theater” could compete with productions that use all the traditional frills and “devices” as they were called. So in short, this was a play about a play. Within the first few seconds of the performance, it was clear to see that this play was going to be very comedic. Later on, the audience became aware that this production was being used as a form of satirical comedy and could possibly be described as a farce. Irwin and the cast make fun of many traditional aspects of theater as they present their new ideas to the audience and the critic. Everything from the slapstick music and absurd situations to the fast paced scenes and comedic costumes could be used to help determine the genre of this play.
 * Response:**

Any comedic play can be identified with a series of common themes. For one, the show most likely features comedic elements in some form. This could come from comical situations, funny characters, simple one-liners, or any combination of the three. Comedy can be built into the script by the playwright or a serious play can be performed in a comedic way. Actors can also use certain techniques to come off comedic. They will often use a unique-sounding or quirky voice or use various comedic gestures and facial expressions. Also, a director can stage the events in a play in a certain way in order to add comedic moments to the story. This play in particular could also be categorized as a farce. This type of comedy is different because the storyline itself doesn’t necessarily have to be funny for the play to come off that way. Farces usually involve crazy events or sheer buffoonery and rely on these events and the brilliance of the actors to provide the comedic elements of the play. These elements of comedy can be seen in many aspects of this production.

The main comedic elements of this play can be found in the plotline and the acting techniques that are used. The plot elements of this play embrace that of a farce. The play jumps back and forth between seemingly disconnected scenes as the actor playing the stage director instructs Irwin on what to do next. These disconnected scenes occur because the play is supposed to function as satire of all the elements of traditional theater. The many scenes in this play include everything from random dance numbers, fights inside of travel crates, spontaneous singing, and chase scenes between Irwin and the critic. The audience gets an initial laugh at the random transitions between scenes and the randomness of these scenes renders them incapable of predicting what will happen next. Each of the three actors in this play also have to embrace comedic acting techniques. One technique that is used between Irwin and the critic is fast dialogue. The speed of their conversations adds to the comedic value of the events taking place. Another technique that is used is pantomiming. This technique can be seen during the fake staircase scene in the crate, the hat tricks, and the ever dangerous stage left proscenium. One final technique used by all the actors is quirky body movements. When all of the characters move around on stage, they do so in a way that makes them look abnormal. This is especially true when we see Irwin by himself on stage or when he attempts to shrink his body.

Other comedic aspects of this play come from elements within this production. There are hints of comedy in the costumes, the music, and the staging of the play. The costumes used in this play add to its comedic value. Throughout the play, Irwin undergoes many costume changes, often times in view of the audience. The costumes consist of everything from orange pajamas to a very loose-fitting suit and tie with a top hat and cane. The way that the costumes seem out of place or awkward makes them effective. The music that is used in this play also aids the genre. Most of the time that Irwin is performing, the stage manager is playing happy, upbeat, slapstick music on the piano. This music is typically associated with clowns, mimes, or old funny cartoons. Thus, the audience will associate this music with comedy. The staging of the plan was done by the director in such a way that it added to the play’s comedic value. The director has the three actors using virtually all of the performance space and more in this play. The actors go everywhere from backstage to the aisles to in between seats and even up in the second floor of the theater. All of the techniques, especially getting the audience involved, were good decisions by the director to make the play more engaging. This play does an excellent job of bringing comedy into a production that would virtually make no sense without it. It was not that difficult to determine the theme of this play from the many comedic theatrical elements that both the actors and director have employed.

The videos that you were assigned to see regarding __Water by the Spoonful__ provide some revealing things about the purpose, development, and presentation of the play on stage. Comment on each of the videos that were assigned to be seen that help shape your opinion about the work. Knowing what you now know about production of a play from the work you’ve done on your final projects, what were some things you wish you could have seen that would have helped you to better understand __Water by the Spoonful__ and the production of it?
 * Question #4: **

The play __Water by the Spoonful__ is very unique in its nature. The play is about an online chat room for recovering drug addicts and the real life situations that occur between the family members of the woman who created the website. This play is focused on the similarities and differences between family relationships and the online relationships of people from around the world. We were given 11 different clips to watch about the play to help us understand it better. The clips ranged from interviews with the playwright and people who worked on the play to clips of actual scenes from various important points during the production. There was even a review from two Broadway critics. Each of these clips gave insight into a different part of the play from rehearsals all the way up to the production.
 * Response: **

The first three videos that we were given were interviews with the playwright: Quiara Alegria Hudes. In the first clip, Hudes reveals that the purpose of this play is to discuss different types of relationships. This play features close relationships between family members, but also those that take place between people in the chat room who have never met. Hudes also explains that the characters in this play are all trying to find out who they are. When directing a play, knowing the relationships between characters is key to the development of blocking scenes and acting out emotion. The second clip surrounds the musical influence of this play. Every play has a certain concept that it follows and Hudes chose the jazz music of John Coltrane for this play. She admired how Coltrane’s music seemed bigger and bolder than most jazz and used that style in her writing. As a director, it is important to note the playwright’s inspirations and to work with them as you discover your own concept for the play. Lastly, the third clip discusses the variety of characters in the play. Hudes reveals that these characters are able to connect in the play despite their vast differences. Hearing how a playwright intended certain parts of a play to be or hearing their inspirations is key for any director putting on their own version.

Clips four, six, and seven were interviews with people who worked on various productions of this play. Clip four features the director of the original version of this play describing the basic plotline. It was nice to be able to compare my take on the play versus how the director described it. In clip six, we hear the dramaturge from one of the play’s productions discuss how she interprets Hudes’ structure of the play. She explains how each of the plays in the trilogy is based on a different style of music and that each tells a similar story in different ways. This was helpful because it can sometimes be helpful as a director to analyze other works by the playwright as well. In the final interview in clip seven, another director discusses how the references to Coltrane’s music in the dialogue of the play are important for directors to note and work with. The references made to Coltrane are used to describe how Hudes used the music to shape the play. Hearing people who have worked with this play discuss what they believe to be important factors allowed me to shape my own opinion about how the play should be presented.

Clips five, eight, nine, and ten were all clips from various important scenes from different productions of the play. Clip five was a trailer for one production. It intrigued me because it showed various scenes from the play without really showing connection to a central plot. I would be compelled to see the play in order to piece everything together, meaning that the trailer did its job. Clip eight showed the scene when Elliot logs into her mother’s account on the website and Orangutan believes it is a hacker. This clip shows the way that the director has the people in the chat room communicate. They speak towards the audience, never make eye contact, and are placed at different levels on the stage. Clip nine shows the scene where Fountainhead and Haikumom meet for the first time. This scene is important to show because it required the actors to be really passionate about what they were saying. Finally, clip ten was another trailer for a production of this play. This one was different from the first in that it gave more insight into the fact that the play dealt with drug addicts. However, it never showed a clip from the other major plotline of the play. Seeing the various clips of this play has helped me understand that different productions can perform the same play in different ways.

The last video that we were given was a review by two critics who saw the play on Broadway. They went into the play with high expectations as it won the Pulitzer Prize for Best Play in 2012. At intermission, they were confused about the play as they felt like there were two different storylines that were not connected. After the show, they both agreed that the storylines eventually came together, but felt overall like the play could have been presented better. I agree with them in that this play is very difficult to pull off. A director would have to establish a clear distinction between the online and real worlds. The set design for this play would also be crucial to the audience’s understanding. This clip taught me that this play is very complex and that the directors who have put this play together have faced many challenges along the way.

After completing our final projects, I have found some similarities between the information that my group found important and what was presented to us in these videos. Our group analyzed our play very carefully and thought long and hard about our concept just like the directors that were interviewed. However, the videos did not include some of the information that my project group used that I believe would have aided my understanding of this play. I would have liked to hear more about the design of the play such as the costumes and set. Both of these aspects are very unique to this play, but were never discussed. One director briefly discussed the cast, but I would have liked to know more about why certain casting decisions were made. Lastly, I would have liked to know the playwright’s target audience in order to better understand who she believed would benefit from seeing this play. Even though these few topics were not discussed in the videos that we were given, the information that was presented in these videos greatly increased my understanding of the play.