LIFE+IS+A+DREAM

Erin Miller 10/17/11 //Life Is a Dream // Critique Theatre Appreciation Don’t Wake Me Up  Confusion. What’s going on? Why are they dancing? Did they really just break out in song? Am I in the right play? To say that //Life Is a Dream//, the play being performed in the Cellar Theatre at UGA, started out a little cloudy would be a huge understatement. For the first 20 minutes I was submerged in a deep, gray fog. I was not prepared for this play; I thought someone had told me it was about slavery...? How did I misinterpret that one? In the beginning, I couldn’t even understand the dialogue, let alone the plot. I could hear people around me laughing, but somehow I had missed the joke. I’m sad to admit my favorite part in the beginning was when the actors were all looking towards the theatre door, at the imaginary scene that was supposed to be unfolding before their eyes, and two unsuspecting people walked into the play late. Everyone looked at them, expecting them to be part of the play, only to realize that they were just trying to look for open seats. I thought to myself, “If this unforeseen blooper is the best thing that happens all play, I’m in for a long two hours,” I spent the rest of the next hour, trying to piece together the things that were happening on the stage with the things that were happening in this imagery land. After the play ended, I wasn’t really sure what I was going to write a critique about. I mean, how can I write a play critique if I can’t even keep up with what’s going on? I went back to my dorm, watched a movie, and went to sleep. Woke up on Friday, went to class, ate breakfast and then realized that I had been thinking about //Life Is a Dream// on and off since I had seen it. What about it haunted me so much? I mean it was good acting and all, but I did not even really understand it. I began to recognize that the message was much deeper than I had originally grasped. I really began to be impacted by the theme of living your life as though it is a dream and at any moment you might wake up.  This idea of living every moment as though it is your last, is nothing new, yet it really affected me. I truly believe that because I had convinced myself that I was going to see a play about something entirely I was able to see the larger message. I must have read something about another play and got it confused with this one, but whatever it was, it turned out to be the missing piece in the puzzle for me. I went into this play with no expectations and was deeply confused for much of the performance. I mean I realized the acting was impressive, and the idea was interesting, but I never really got involved in the story line. I just was playing catch up through most of the play, trying to figure out what had just happened, and not really taking in what was going on the in present moment. This made me feel confused, rushed and annoyed. Why couldn’t they explain things better? I did not understand why the actors were talking so fast and why the set director chose to use such sparse stage decoration. The confusion engulfed me, and then I suddenly reached clarity. This play was less about the individual dialogue and more about the overall idea. The way I was watching this play could be compared to the way many people live their lives. Living in the past, instead of appreciating the moment you are in. This enlightening experience may have been unique to me because of my own confusion but I believe the overall message was universal. Life can easily change, so be grateful for what you have now, because you will never know how long it will last.  This play was abstract, relying mainly on audience imagination for the setting. The costumes were mostly monochromatic, consisting of blues, blacks, greys and whites. Simple vests and skirts were used to differentiate between male and female characters. The gender lines were blurred during the play, many times characters were acting as though they were the opposite gender. Segismundo was played by a female but portrayed as a male. The actress, Jennifer Elmore, created a complex character where the audience was able to forget that she was playing the opposite sex and focus on the performance. Throughout most of the play, Segismundo wears a fur vest; this slight costume difference symbolizes the way that everyone looks at Segismundo in the beginning. Segismundo is not seen as a person but as an animal, a savage. At the end of the play, Segismundo is wearing a normal vest, representing the shift from brute to civilian. The simple costume design works as a symbol and helps to teach the underlying message. All of the actors were shoeless, this aspect of each costume made the story line seem more barbaric. I liked that the costumes seemed understated, rather than gaudy. The barren stage and costumes allowed the actors to be versatile. Only chairs and a single trunk occupied the stage. The small use of props encouraged the actors to use the full stage and create a world that was richer, with use of the imagination, than would be possible otherwise. This plan could have easily backfired, it almost did for me. The reliance of audience imagination places much control in the audiences’ hands, because the setting is not provided for them they have some responsibility in the creation of the play.  At the start of the play, the lack of props took me by surprise and I could barely focus on anything else. I was always trying to constantly figure out what they were looking out, or what they were talking about, but as the play went on, those small details began to fade away. They did not matter; the fact that the band on stage played silent music was not something I needed to concentrate on, the director placed emphasis elsewhere. The actors’ ability to make you forget that there were no props is part of the reason that this play was on my mind for the next few days. Jennifer Elmore, who embodied Segismundo, was one of the most memorable performances for me. She really captivated the audience and I truly believed she felt caged like a wild animal when she was in the cave and power hungry as she threw her servant out the window. I could feel her emotions; they were radiating from her deep, hearty voice. Her voice consumed the audience, when she talked she commanded attention. She played the part perfectly, with the seamless balance of masculinity in her speech and femininity in her dance. She was magnetic, although I was confused by the play in some parts; I was never confused by her performance. All of the actors were very passionate and this is what helped to make the show so memorable. The play would have been flat without the raw emotions that each character displayed. Libby Ricardo, who played Rosaura, was able to convince the audience of her sorrows, and like Jennifer, she drew the audience into the play’s action without the presence of an elaborate backdrop or a long list of props.  The actors’ talents were what allowed the play to succeed but more than that, the play’s focus on living life to the fullest was what I connected to. The multiple endings of the play helped to show the fact that life can easily change and it is never too late to do what makes you happy. The moments of informality took me by surprise because of the overall ceremonial nature of the performance. The play during some parts, such as the dancing and singing aspects, were ritualistic and sometimes cultish. And although sometimes a little unnerving, they were contrasted with moments of humor and relaxed interjections. In the beginning of the play, Dane Alejandro, who portrays King Basilio, addresses the audience and tells them that in fact he cannot see what everyone else claims to be experiencing. Also, as Jennifer Elmore is brought on stage from the audience she acknowledges that she is only there to “watch a play”. The humor in the play lightened the mood of the play and contrasted the intense range of emotions that each character depicted. These interruptions remind the audience that the play is meant to teach them something but not meant to be as serious and unsettling, as it may seem at first.  As I think back on the play, I have more trouble recalling small details such as the color of the back drop or the actor’s faces than I normally do after plays. I find myself remembering the bloodcurdling scream that Segismundo let out as he realized that he was back in chains after his original brush with freedom. I can easily evoke the words that he spoke as he referenced being a savage; the statement, “I am a man, I am a beast,” really made me think. Life is supposed to be lived in freedom, not in chains. //Life Is a Dream// was a haunting play that made me think about life’s fragility. Although I felt confused in the beginning, it all became minor details, the big picture taking a step into the foreground. Life is short and can easily change, so appreciate what you have now and never take anything for granted because you never want to find yourself waking up from this dream.