Mullen,+Kelly

Kelly Mullen

THEA 2100H

Richmond

April 23, 2012

//Chicago// Critique

The musical is considered an American invention which has become very popular throughout the world. America has produced many outstanding musicals and //Chicago// is known to be one of the best. Many people are familiar with the score of the musical even without having to see it because of its commercial success. The entertaining dancing and provocative characters bring a lot of intrigue and life to the show. The UGA production of Chicago, although rather well done, was still somewhat lacking in my opinion. Most of the elements of the performance were not bad, but they also were not fantastic. The singing was good, Velma Kelly especially, but ordinary. None of the singers seemed to really have a power voice. The songs did not give me goosebumps to put it a different way. The scene where Roxy was a puppet on Billy Flynn’s knee was one of my favorite scenes of the night. She did a splendid job portraying a puppet, which was excessively entertaining. The dancing produced a similar effect. The choreography was good and the dancing was not bad, but it also was not outstanding. The dancers did not appear to be professional and well put together, and they were sometimes out of synch with each other. Moreover, I expected more because the director won the Tony for Best Choreography, but maybe he had to work his choreography around the dancers’ abilities. He was also not very present in order to work with them exclusively, which showed in the performance. The choreography did stay true to the correct era while introducing creative, non traditional moves as well. The acting was technically effective, but yet again, I was not wowed. The actors interacted together in a natural way, but I was not overly sold on their relationships or particularly in love with one of the characters. Therefore, I cannot say that the acting was the best. Overall, I would say the performance was good not great. The production had interesting ideas in terms of staging and special effects. However, some of these ideas did not necessarily transfer over to the audience. For example, the fog was supposed to give the stage a smoky, sexy jazz club feel, but I found it to be merely distracting. The fog bothered my contacts and made we want to get up and leave. The tables in front of the stage were meant to make the musical look like a stage within a stage and bring the audience closer to the action on stage. The tables, however, seemed to get in the way and were not generally effective. The swinging stage was an interesting idea which gave the set some versatility. It also made the set a little bland, because that part of the stage was furnished lightly and it all looked the same. The spark that came out of the big gun on stage was a theatrical shock and a cool effect to end the show with. The other lighting, however, was not as effective and lighted the whole stage when it should not have been. The chandelier that could be lowered was a neat effect, although it reminded me of a jellyfish. Having the band on stage with the actors instead of in the pit was a good idea. It made the setting of a jazz club more believable, and it allowed the band to interact with the characters on stage, which enhanced the overall performance. They use props very well in the musical. For example, the moveable “jails” which the girls could dance behind and also move through, were an interesting idea that were used in an effective manner. In the same way, the use of fans for the song “Razzle Dazzle” produced an interesting effect in my eyes. The props for the court room scene were also used in an innovative way that I found pleasing. Other elements such as costume and sound produced a strengthening effect to the musical. The costumes reflected what I expected them to be. Short, silky, sexy nightgown flapper-type dresses with fishnet stockings are the type of costumes the actresses wore, which I thought fit the period as well as the set. Billy Flynn’s suit was more extravagant, which made sense because he was a more flamboyant figure. Amos’ clothes were bland and ordinary, which fits his transparent, forgettable character. I feel as though more attention was paid to the women’s clothes than the men’s, but this is justifiable because the women are the star of this musical. They hold the power and their costumes reflected it. The quality of music was excellent. The live band was easy to hear without being too loud. Also, although theatre is supposed to be performed without microphones, I am glad for their use of microphones in this production. Without it, I do not feel as though I would be able to hear the lyrics or the lines of the musical very well. In the end, I enjoyed the musical. I did not, however, feel blown away by it. //Chicago// in itself is a great musical, but there was something lacking in the performance for me. The music, acting, dancing, set design, costumes, and effects were good, but I still did not feel that this production was spectacular. I am sad to say that I was a little disappointed, but not overly discontent with the performance as a whole.

Kelly Mullen

THEA 2100H

Richmond

April 2, 2012

//Dark Ride// Critique

The movement of the Theatre of the Absurd stands as a direct contrast to traditional realism. The production of //Dark Ride// demonstrates some characteristics of this genre of theatre, including an inconclusive and meaningless plot and cyclical, irrational language. This made the play interesting and entertaining, but simultaneously confusing and indecipherable. I feel as though I cannot write much about it because most of the elements were so bare. The costumes were minimal, the set was minimal, the relationships between the characters were minimal, and the plot was minimal. Let’s first discuss the scene design for this play. It was very different from the other plays we have seen this semester. First of all, it used televisions to portray scenery and mood for the play. For example, one TV was used as a grill which Ed could stand behind in some scenes. This makes them a very versatile prop, because the TVs can change into different images depending on the type of scene. At one point, the screens even turned into an aquarium. These TVs made it possible for the director to play with the use of color in a way unimaginable with a traditional set. The whole stage could be filled with the color blue, green, or red, and could change quickly to develop a sense of mood and imagery. The actors could use them in various ways, and utilized them as entry points and objects to hide behind. Also, sometimes the actors would appear on the screens via Skype or some technology of that sort to give a type of monologue. I was not really sure of the meaning of those because they did not seem to help progress the action of the play. The TVs were great tools, but there are also some drawbacks. With technology, there always is the obstacle of complications. Between the first and second part, the drama team appeared to be having some technical difficulties when trying to get the TVs back online. The delay was not terribly long, however, so it did not take that much away from the performance. There was not much to the physical construction of the set for this production. Along with the TVs, the set included a raised platform that dominated the main area of the stage, a little table off to stage right and a podium on stage left. Most of the dramatic action occurred on or around the platform, since it was the central object in the production. The physical set did not offer many clues to the backdrop of the scene, so the TVs and the acting were the sole methods of interrupting the scene. This also made the play hard to follow because it left much up to the audience’s imagination, but did not give us enough information in order to create a clear picture of what was happening. The costume choices were equally ambiguous. Most of the clothes were nondescript and provided little hints to the personality or role of the character. Other than the general who wore military-like clothes and the translator who wore glasses when reading, the characters’ costumes did not distinguish them one way or the other. Some aspects of their costumes went unexplained such as Edna. She appeared to wear a knee brace and limp slightly, but this did not seem to influence her a character to add to her identity. It was never mentioned and therefore, felt trivial and useless to even include it. The costumes also made the play confusing because they did not give the characters a strong identity. The characters seemed random and unimportant, which helps develop the feeling of absurdity in //Dark Ride//. What also went unexplained was the relationships between the characters in the play. They all interacted with each other, but were disconnected at the same time. They randomly conversed and related to each other, and there was no real understanding about their background or the reason for their interaction. For instance, the character, Mrs. Lammle, who rambled on about coincidences did not appear to have a relationship with any other character. However, she showed up in Mexico talking to the Translator, but the play did not give a concrete reason for that exchange. Meeting such as these occurred throughout the production, which provided little substance to the overall meaning and purpose of the play. The plot was also lacking in substance. The action was loosely tied to the object of the Hope Diamond. However, the reason why the diamond mattered or how the characters were attached to it was lost. This made their quest seem arbitrary and meaningless, which adds to the absurd quality of the play. The plot centers around the possession of the Hope Diamond that appears to the audience as an useless adventure because what is the use of obtaining it? Its purpose as an object of desire is lost without a rational understanding of its importance. Also, at the end of the play, I was hoping that the Hope Diamond would clear up the confusion regarding the characters’ relationships and earlier exchanges, but the play did not deliver. Instead, it ended with the characters dancing with each other and one by one repeating the line “I don’t care about philosophy! Just tell me how it ends!” This did not conclude the play in a neat, tidy fashion as the traditional plays usually do. Those lines just made me think, please, tell me how this play is supposed to end because I’m lost! The acting, however, was of rather high quality yet again. The words were spoken really quickly and I was hanging on every one in case an essential key in the play was mentioned that would alleviate my compounding confusion. Alas! That did not happen, but nevertheless, the actors presented their lines very well. They also stayed in character throughout the production, although I did not always understand their role as a character. This is no fault of their performance, however, so I was very impressed with their acting. On a whole, I did not dislike the play. It was just hard to follow and rather strange. Also, knowing I had to write a paper on it dampened my enthusiasm because I was not sure I could write much about it. The style of //Dark Ride// was met to be “out there” and non-traditional, so I do not feel as cheated as an audience member after seeing the play as I did after //Hidden Man//. I did find the play entertaining and funny at times which was enjoyable. Also, the fact that it was shorter than the other plays we have seen this semester is a bonus, so I cannot completely write this play off as failure. If someone asked me what //Dark Ride// was about it, my response is usually “I don’t know, but I think I liked it.”

kmrealism

Kelly Mullen

THEA 2100H

Richmond

March 5, 2012

//Hidden Man// Critique

Realism is a contemporary drama style that strives to depict real life through language, set design, costume design, acting etc. from a certain period in time. The play, //Hidden Man//, is set in the 1980s in northwestern Georgia and based on real events from the lives of Robert Sherer and Reverend Howard Finster. Despite the play’s realist characteristics, the play is also highly theatrical. In my opinion, the mixture of the two styles in this production was intensely confusing, making the play hard to follow and ultimately unenjoyable. The characters of Robert Sherer and Charlie Jackson are art college students based in Atlanta, GA during the punk era of the 1980s. The costume design for them accurately portrayed the fashion of that period of time. They wore converses, combat boots, a Ramones t-shirt, leather jackets and chains, etc., which conveys the sense of realism. Howard Finster and the Woman likewise wore realistic costumes. Finster wore khaki pants with a white button down with spenders, and she wore an olive green, conservative dress, which represents what conservative Christians in northwestern Georgia would wear. Both Robert Sherer and Howard Finster had paint on their pants, which suggests the fact that they are artists. The Stranger’s costume was much more theatrical and abstract. His character was meant to be magical and transcendent, so his costume reflected that other-worldliness. However, the costume was not explicit enough for me to be able to ascertain the Stranger’s role or accurate meaning in the play. His appearance did not give me any consolation as to whether he was supposed to be a friend of Reverend Finster and the Woman, a vision, or an alien. I did not know what to make of him and his costume only added to this confusion. Therefore, I could not fully enjoy the character because I was not sure what he was supposed to represent. The mixture of the realist and theatrical costumes threw me off slightly, lessening the impact of the play. The set design for //Hidden Man// depicts a realistic setting of Finster’s Paradise Gardens and the room of Robert Sherer. Sherer’s room consists of a bed and real musical instruments that were used on stage. Paradise Gardens had a wooden, rural look which is typical for a northwestern Georgian residence. Most of the props were real, including food, gatorade, and water. However, the Coca-Cola was probably fake because the actors had to chug it in a scene which would make performing very difficult. The set becomes theatrical through the actors‘ actions on stage. The actors continuously changed and added to the set as the play progressed. For example, when Sherer spit the red gatorade everywhere or when the Stranger outlined Sherer’s body in chalk, these actions added to the set because they stayed present even after the scene ended. The acting and scenes were also a mixture of realist and theatrical conventions. The character of Reverend Howard Finster most of the time acted in a realistic fashion. Sometimes, however, he would step into a spotlight where he would be preaching a sermon to an imaginary congregation. This switch from realism to theatricalism renders the audience baffled regarding whether the events are meant to be real or theatrical. Scenes surrounding the character of Robert Sherer also switched from realism to theatricalism multiple times during the play. For example, the scene where Sherer is lying on the ground and the Stranger comes and draws an outline of his body. Sherer believes the Stranger is that boy who committed suicide by jumping out of the window of a fourteen story building. Throughout that scene, however, I was not sure whether Sherer was hallucinating or if this was happening as a real event. Similarly, there was a scene where Sherer was tied to the bed and the Woman began to put leeches on him. It took me some time to figure out that Sherer was representing the little girl that the Stranger mentioned. I did not understand the point of that scene and how it contributed to the overall meaning of the play as a whole. I felt as though I missed the message that the playwright and director intended to show through the production of this play. I found the level of acting, in general, mixed. George Contini who played Reverend Howard Finster did rather well. His performance was compelling and effective, and he delivered humor when appropriate. The role of Robert Sherer played by Malcolm Campbell-Taylor was believable although his voice sounded like Kermit the Frog which irritated me to a degree. I assume this was a decision of the director based on the real voice of Robert Sherer. He played the angsty youth well however, effectively showing the nervous ticks of a drug addict such as the fidgeting fingers and slapping of the injection site in his arm. Jordan Harris who played Charlie Jackson is a good actor but I thought his performance in the beginning of the play was weak. The humor was not there for me, and I did not buy into his role as a punk art student. The delivery of his lines were soft spoken and he sometimes sounded as if he did not remember what he was supposed to say next. Also, the other actors, mainly Campbell-Taylor seemed to speak over him, which lessened the impact of his character. The program states that Robert Sherer and Reverend Howard Finster develop a mentor-mentee relationship throughout the years. By watching this play, however, I am not sure I would have come to that conclusion. Maybe I missed the point or the message but I did not feel a strong connection between the two of them. Moreover, the play did not answer the question of how they became interested in Finster to begin with. When Sherer was at Paradise Gardens towards the end of the play, the Woman seemed to be ducking his head under the water and punishing him. This does not compute with my definition of a mutual relationship. Their bond did not seem strong to me although that apparently was the playwright’s intention. Also, their bonding over tragic stories of death was meant to be morbidly humorous, but I did not see the comedy and so that was lost on me. The ending with the “telephone shoe” bit, however, was redeemable, although it was too late in the production by that time to make a difference. The play, //Hidden Man//, for me as an audience member was a failure. I feel as though the essential meaning was either out of my grasp or nonexistent. The conflicting styles did not complement one another and instead made me feel confused and uninterested. The play was also extremely long, and I wish I could have walked out, although I paid to watch it. I would not recommend seeing this play to theatre majors, friends and family, or anyone for that matter.

Module #3 Your text offers suggestion on two basic approaches to acting, ie. the internal and the external. Chose either one and take the scene between Emily and George as your reference point and develop a fragment of "inner monologue" OR tactic concerning interpretation underlying a short section from the scene. I suggest the men choose to deal with George and the women choose to deal with Emily, although if you wish you may choose to develop an "inner monologue" or "external tactic" for either character. You may use up to 500 words for this module, given the complexity of the requirement. Be sure you let me know exactly which section of dialogue you plan to use for developing your answer.

Kelly Mullen THEA 2100H Richmond February 17, 2012

Module #2

For this assignment, I’ll start from Emily’s line “I don’t like the whole change that’s come over you...” on page 51 of //Our Town// and end when the Stage Manager says “Hello George. Hello Emily...” on page 52. I am choosing to develop an external tactic for the part of Emily. As we have mentioned in class, this play takes place in New Hampshire which has a certain geographical dialect (1). The actress playing this part should be aware of this fact and know how to speak in this manner. Also, Emily is a senior in high school in a small town, so the mannerisms should be of a young, small town girl. The language throughout the text is rather simple, and although Emily is very studious, her character should not be elitist. In this scene, Emily is torn by her feelings for George, which the actress should express while acting this scene. For example, when Emily says, “I don’t like the whole change that’s come over you in the last year. I’m sorry if that hurts your feelings; but I’ve just got to--tell the truth and shame the devil,” she is hesitant to bring up this topic and by the end seems to rush through it to get it over with. Her next speech has a reproachful tone, but void of self-righteousness, which the actress should show. The next few lines of Emily’s are spoken in a defiant tone, but also with innocence. Also, when words are italicized in the text, they should be emphasized when spoken, such as the line “Well, my //father// is. And as far as I can see, //your// father is.” Again, Emily says these words strongly, but without malice. Further down the page, Emily begins to show her emotion and how she cares for George. At first she gets a little teary eyed after she says, “Now I’m sorry I said all that about...” but becomes increasingly upset after the next line. According to the text, she is embarrassed and anxious about the things she has said to George, which I suggest the actress playing Emily should express. Through the next few lines, she is trying to control herself and stop crying because her and George are headed towards the public drugstore where there will be people present. My analysis of an external tactic for Emily ends there.

Word Count: 406

1. Richmond Lecture.

Kelly Mullen THEA 2100H Richmond February 13, 2012

//Armitage// Critique

//Armitage// is a story of love, lust, murder, and betrayal set in a small town in Ohio during the mid-nineteenth century. Author, Don Nigro, brings to life the Pendragon family headed by the notorious Zachary Pendragon. The characters and their struggles embody the characters of the English Arthurian legend, where Zach is Uther, John is Arthur, Eva is Ygraine, Fay is Morgan etc. (Pate 6). In this drama, the domestic conflicts mirror the current political tensions that characterized mid nineteenth-century American life. Placed in this context, the audience can determine how the performers, designers, director etc, demonstrate this concept and idea on stage. Acting is an essential part to the deliverance of a play, naturally. I am not an actress, but I would say that this play seemed high in difficulty on the actor’s part. Seeing as this is an university production, I do not assume that everyone on stage is experienced, so I give them credit for acting in this demanding play. Obviously, there were some actors that I preferred over others, but I will describe some of the actor’s performances and their weaknesses and strengths. This production demands a high level of acting and skill from the performers. The actor playing the character of Zachary Pendragon, for example, has a difficult task of displaying many ages throughout his character’s lifetime. He also has to switch from one age to the next swiftly, which I think the actor executed rather well. In addition, the actor portraying Zach has to come off both as disdainful and likable simultaneously. The actor had the audience hating him, while still appearing alluring and comical. By the time of the end of the play, we were actually rooting for him as a misunderstood old man. The character of Eva Trelawny, Zach’s wife, had a very comedic as well as dramatic role. The actress was talented in her technical abilities because her lines were not the easiest to communicate quickly and naturally, but her style was very effortless. Also, she knew when to pause for laughter in a way that was subtle and unobtrusive, so that the audience could hear everything that was spoken. Internally, the actress portrayed the inner struggles of her character very well, and when the time came for her to be serious and dramatic, she delivered. Along with many other characters, Eva was extremely sexual, which instead of making the audience feel awkward, she managed to make us laugh. Fay Morgan is a character who is introduced to the audience as a young sixteen year old, but we get to see her mature as time progresses throughout the play. The actress playing this role has the challenge of showing this change and the intense emotion that drives this character. The actress also appears in full nudity in front of her peers, which is a daunting task for any performer, but the nudity seemed contrived and unnecessary which ultimately lessened the intended effect. The actor playing John Pendragon, Zach’s son, has to play a thirty-five year old man who struggles with his contempt for his father and the consequences of his past. For a college student, playing an older man can be difficult, but he did his best. John does dislike his father, but the actor does a good job of showing how he does still care for him. When Zach is outside in the cold, John tries to make him come inside, although he states how much he hates him while doing so. John has a good heart, however, and not prone to outright hate, so the actor captures that conflict of emotions. However, I do not feel as though the actor playing John had the best delivery of the lines as some of the others did, and when I think back over the play I find his performance forgettable. //Armitage// is performed out of chronological order and switches from present time to flashbacks or other moments in time. This was confusing as an audience member because it took some time for me to figure out which point in time the play was taking place and what age the characters were supposed to be. This also made the play more interesting because Margaret and other characters painted this picture of who Zach was and what he did, but then you got to see for yourself the events that led up to those feelings. The audience during Act 2 experiences numerous “Oh! So that’s what happened!” moments, which allows the audience to make their own judgements on Zach and the other characters, revealing the events in a more dramatic fashion. However, the main revelation did not occur until the last part of the long play, so the audience was in the dark for most of the play. //Armitage// has an overall dark and gloomy tone, and the presence of ghostly figures haunting the Pendragon house helps to establish this tone. These figures range from people who are currently dead such as Zach’s parents, people who will be dead such as Elaine and her father, James Cornish, to people who will move away such as Fay and Eva. These ghosts, or one or more of them, are usually on stage at all times. Their existence serves to amplify the dramatic action that is occurring on stage, but they can similarly be distracting which detracts from the performance. The cast was rather large and having most of them on stage at all times was a little overwhelming. Also, they would repeat certain lines pertaining to them specifically such as “Why doesn’t he write to me?”-Fay, “It’s not a sin!”-Elaine, and “It’s dangerous to love a woman.”-James. This provides the audience with a sense of interiority into the characters and their inner thoughts which helps us understand their actions. These outbursts also contribute to the brooding tone that permeates the play. The choice in the sound and lighting also produces this solemn, haunted tone in the play. At the start of //Armitage//, the lighting is very low and dark, which alludes to the scene as being cold and dark. Also, the sound of a clock ticking and the sound of the ghost, Zach’s mother, sharpening her knife provided a very ominous feeling early. Since the play includes many dark and disturbing events, it is logical that the play should begin in such a manner. Moreover, the sound technician did a good job providing sounds for the thunderstorm to create the sensation of rain during the scene where Elaine was dancing in the rain and Margaret sees who she believes to be Zach staring out the window. The costumes are a very important part to a production of a play. The costumes for //Armitage// depicted the style of clothing that people in the mid-nineteenth century America probably would have worn. The interesting fact about the costume choice, however, was that all of the actors were barefoot. Maybe the shoes would have been too noisy on the stage floor or maybe the playwright or director just wanted it that way; I am not sure. The clothes were also all white. The woman’s dresses, the gentleman’s attire, and the ghost’s costumes were all white. This makes the ghosts appear even more ghost-like and sinister, and since almost every character who portrays a live person on stage for a moment also doubles as a ghostly figure in the play, their white clothes help express that ghostly feeling. The color white can also mean purity and innocence. Although numerous scenes involved acts hardly described as innocent, the characters represent how they all begin as innocent and are pure at heart, but circumstances and time can take that away. Production of a play takes a great deal of time and effort for many people. There are so many diverse categories that necessitate proper focus and evaluation such as set design, costumes, and rehearsing, in order for the play to be successful. In my opinion, //Armitage//, overall as a production, was done rather well in regards to their lack of resources and level of professionalism. Some of the weaknesses I think arose out of weaknesses in the play itself such as the late climax and presence of the cast on stage, rather than their own weaknesses as performers. Would I see it a second time? Probably not, but I would not demand for my money back either.

Works Cited Pate, George. “Production Notes.” Performance UGA. February 2012. Vol. 2 Number 5: 6. Print.

Contrast and compare the role and purpose of secular drama and theatre as an expression of the communities from which it arose and for which it has served with that of religious and ritual drama and theatre.

(ON THE WHOLE YOU HAVE DONE WELL, WITH A FEW MINOR PROBLEMS) Throughout history, many styles (I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD REFER TO WHAT YOU DISCUSS AS STYLE. STYLE HAS A VERY SPECIFIC MEANING IN THEATRE. NATURALISM, REALISM, EXPRESSIONISM ARE ALL STYLES. RELIGIOUS AND RITUAL DRAMA ARE NOT STYLES) of drama have developed. For example, religious theatre and secular theatre are both forms of drama, but they differ in many ways.

Religious drama is an earlier form of theatre(, compared to secular theatre,I WOULD CUT THIS CLAUSE IT'S AWKWARD) that dominated Greek and medieval times. These dramas were largely community-based productions, where the whole community would shut down in order to prepare and perform their plays (KACHINA DANCES ARE NOT PLAYS). These festivals also occurred only during certain times of the year to mark religious holidays and to reaffirm religious beliefs (1). Education rather than entertainment was the main goal of religious theatre. Educating the community of religious values and rituals was dominate over entertainment.

Secular theatre developed from religious theatre but the two have many differences. Secular theatre was produced by professional actors and playwrights who supported themselves through theatre. As a result, performances were available year-round instead of at specific times during the year. As the production drew away from complete community involvement, the content of the plays also changed from a focus on community values and community placement in the universe to the more intimate internal turmoil of individuals. In secular theatre, the “human action was played out against a background of religious and political concerns, but it was the internal struggles of the characters that became the major subject of the drama,” (2). Therefore, entertainment became the more dominate feature of theatre compared to religious theatre.

Both of these types of theatre have similarities, such as group involvement, educational and entertainment purposes, and stylized performances. However, the extent to which they focus on these elements produces the differences between them.

Word Count: 270

References:

1. Arnold. //Creative Spirit//. 12

2. Arnold. //Creative Spirit//. 27.