jgUnderConstruction

Analysis of the performance of //Under Construction//

The performance of //Under Construction// was directed in order to consider the American experience. The performance consisted of many short stories of different peoples’ experiences. //Under Construction// acted as a meditation on the human experience and what makes America great.

I found the script of //Under Construction// very interesting. It could be argued that the script itself was slightly vulgar. I noticed that some of the older generation looked slightly uncomfortable. I cannot argue that the vulgarity “made” the script however, I do think that the script would have seemed to have a certain void had the script not utilized the specific language. I think that specifically in the song where the female voices surrounded the audience and sang “you’re so fucking special” that the use of the vulgarity added a certain edge and eeriness to the song. I believe it added to the message that so many people believe that they are special and yet somehow there is a sense of sarcasm in their voices.

I thought the theme of //Under Construction// was interesting. I have been part of different discussions in which people have debated what the American dream is. I thought it was an interesting way to start the dialogue about the age old question. Some of the situations made me very uncomfortable emotionally, such as the swinging light where the girl was describing what I assume was her story of being raped. However, I thought it was very noble to tell the stories that people are uncomfortable with and afraid of. I also thought that having the photograph presentation of different American headlines reinforced that the play was addressing human experience in America and a good reminder of the purpose so that while the audience could become involved emotionally with the characters but not lose sight of the purpose.

There were a wide array of moods that were expressed in //Under Construction//. I felt that many of the situations were considerably sad such as when the solider died, the scene of the boy and girl where the boy declared his love for the girl, and the rape story. However, I felt that some of the other stories, such as the transgender prostitute and erotic novel scenes, were meant as a sort of comic relief. Overall, I think that the mood of //Under Construction// would be that of a serious overtone. Despite the subjective scenes aforementioned, I believe that the real take away from the mood is that there are real people who actually live in these types of situations and that whether someone pities them, is enraged by them, or what have you, at the end of the day- these people live and breathe and these are their realities.

I noticed that the girl who did the dance during the scene of the boy and girl by the fence seemed to do many of the dance sequences. I found that this took away from all of the individual characters that she played. I think that by having her dance in most of her roles that it kept linking each of her characters together when it is likely that they were not related. I would have liked to have seen other characters dance as well then in separate sequences so that the girl would not have stood out as being an anomaly of sorts.

Though I cannot refer to actors by their names, I particularly enjoyed the girl that played the girl who received the letter that her solider had been killed. I thought she was very easily understood. I liked her voice and she had good inflections to denote humor and sarcasm. I admired the girl at the end who pushed around the soil. Personally, I think that something like that is so out of the ordinary that it must have really taken a lot of confidence in order to adequately perform that particular scene. Additionally, I thought that the gentleman who played the transgender prostitute did a phenomenal job getting into the character. I would have liked to see him play a stark opposite character. If he had been portrayed in a more “manly” role then I think it could have acted as a good testament to his acting ability and not the idea of typecasting.

I enjoyed that //Under Construction// was not littered with a lot of detailed props. I also thought that it was really interesting how the performance utilized the cardboard cut outs of the food and certain costume pieces. I thought that was interesting and that it also commented on the ridiculousness of the things that people spend so much time worrying about (presentation of clothing and food). I liked that the black boxes were used. I particularly enjoy pantomime and have a lot of respect for performances that are effective without a lot of props. I found some of the scene changes to be slightly distracting and that they acted as a good way to “clean the palate” before moving to the next scene.

I think that the lights were phenomenal in the production of //Under Construction//. In every scene I felt like the lighting was a solidifying factor. I really liked the lighting used in the scene where the girl seemed to be describing her being raped. I thought the swinging light added a certain rhythm which lead to an anticipant feeling in my opinion. Also, I liked that the lights over the audience stayed off for the most part. In the instances where the lights over the audiences came on, I thought the use was appropriate and continued adding to the overall performance.

From my own theatre days, I really liked that the costumes were so basic particularly in the beginning. I think that the actors wearing all black forces the acting itself to be the focus of the performance. In some cases the actors come out in specific costumes. I think this added an element of contrast to the performance. However, because the performance dealt with some controversial topics, I think that it was a bit much to go all out for some of them, such as the prostitute, though this may have been intentional in order to pull the audience’s attention to these particular social issues. I liked that there was no to very minimal makeup worn by the actors. I felt that this added to the idea of raw human experience.

I liked that the actors played most of the music used. I also thought that the rolling speaker and microphone were slightly comical. However, I thought that even though they were going for loud, garage band type of music with the drum and guitar set that it could have been toned down just a little bit. I have been in the center of the redcoat marching band and am use to loud music, but I didn’t feel like it really added enough to the performance in order to justify using such loud equipment. Overall though I think the actors playing quite a variety of instruments overshadowed my dislike of the excessive drum and guitar sets.

//Under Construction// made me uncomfortable, but I appreciate how the performance encouraged me to consider my own existence and what it would be like if I took my story and put it on stage. I think that the audience members were supposed to consider themselves, the people that they pass every day, and the rest of the world’s population in general. I don’t think that I would have chosen to see an experimental theatre performance on my own accord; however I think that by considering some of their techniques having seen the performance has encouraged me to consider new techniques for my own performances.