Character: Role:
1.) Amanda Wingfield The Mother
2.) Laura Wingfield Her Daughter
3.) Tom Wingfield Her Son
4.) Jim O'Connor The Gentleman Caller
Monday, November 27, 2017
Friday, November 17, 2017
Romeo and Juliet Adaptation Reflection
Joey Wright
I believe that we have had a successful experience in creating out Adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. It was a lot of fun and our group worked really well together. I felt that I did really well personally. I was a big part in adding ideas to our adaptation. There were a lot of scenes that we perform that I had a big impact on. I felt like I was the main leader in the group. I was contributing so many ideas and helping everyone in the group to master their part in the adaptation as well as mine. Another thing that I did well with was I was able to critique everyone that was acting. After I would finish my acting, I would stand right behind the people who were acting so that I could make sure that everyone was hitting their lines, being loud enough and showing emotion when they are acting. I struggled with choosing a role in the adaptation at first because I didn't know what characters I wanted to be. I also struggled with the script for a while. We basically made up our script as we went along throughout the week. We had absolutely no script at the beggining of the week. However, because we had no script it allowed for more creativity to happen. I really tried to help everyone create and memorize their lines. We had to cut the scene and start over numerous times because somebody messed up. It was hard work but we were successful. I worked well in my group. We had a lot of fun together and we all got along well. Some of the successes were that we created our script fairly quickly and I believe that we were also able to appropriately mix comedy with tragedy in our adaptation. Some of the struggles were focus. Throughout the process, when somebody messed up, almost everyone lost focus on the task and started historically laughing. It was funny but also fustrating at the same time because we had a time schedule. We definately wasted time throughout this process because of laughing every time somebody messed up. I believe that this adaptation is what I visioned it to be. We tried to make it funny but also tragic at the same time so that we could connect with the audience on different levels and emotions. This was very important because the actual play of Romeo and Juliet is hard to understand sometimes. So we tried to make it funny and tragic in a modern day situation.i think that our adaptation is very good. It really helps me to understand Romeo and Juliet better because it helps me to understand the play in a modern way as well as the original play.
I believe that we have had a successful experience in creating out Adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. It was a lot of fun and our group worked really well together. I felt that I did really well personally. I was a big part in adding ideas to our adaptation. There were a lot of scenes that we perform that I had a big impact on. I felt like I was the main leader in the group. I was contributing so many ideas and helping everyone in the group to master their part in the adaptation as well as mine. Another thing that I did well with was I was able to critique everyone that was acting. After I would finish my acting, I would stand right behind the people who were acting so that I could make sure that everyone was hitting their lines, being loud enough and showing emotion when they are acting. I struggled with choosing a role in the adaptation at first because I didn't know what characters I wanted to be. I also struggled with the script for a while. We basically made up our script as we went along throughout the week. We had absolutely no script at the beggining of the week. However, because we had no script it allowed for more creativity to happen. I really tried to help everyone create and memorize their lines. We had to cut the scene and start over numerous times because somebody messed up. It was hard work but we were successful. I worked well in my group. We had a lot of fun together and we all got along well. Some of the successes were that we created our script fairly quickly and I believe that we were also able to appropriately mix comedy with tragedy in our adaptation. Some of the struggles were focus. Throughout the process, when somebody messed up, almost everyone lost focus on the task and started historically laughing. It was funny but also fustrating at the same time because we had a time schedule. We definately wasted time throughout this process because of laughing every time somebody messed up. I believe that this adaptation is what I visioned it to be. We tried to make it funny but also tragic at the same time so that we could connect with the audience on different levels and emotions. This was very important because the actual play of Romeo and Juliet is hard to understand sometimes. So we tried to make it funny and tragic in a modern day situation.i think that our adaptation is very good. It really helps me to understand Romeo and Juliet better because it helps me to understand the play in a modern way as well as the original play.
Sunday, November 12, 2017
School Play Review
In preparing to see the Fall play this weekend, here are a few things to think about and look for while you are watching. The playwright Bertolt Brecht did NOT believe that theater should always be realistic or that the audience should be able to relate or feel satisfied by the performance. So this performance will be very different from what you are used to. Read the director's note in the program for more specifics. Also, Brecht is very interested in politics, in examining who has power and status and how people use/abuse power and status. Pay attention to who is a "good person" and who is corrupt or selfish or cruel. What is Brecht saying about about society? Is the ending fair? Is Grusha the real mother and why? Before the show, if you want to read a synopsis on Wikipedia to understand the basic story line and characters, you can do that. Remember to have fun, and be a good audience!
I believe that Brecht was trying to point out the fact that society is very corrupt. In the play, Grusha basically saved the baby from dying because there was violence in the city. She was trying to give the baby to someone but nobody would take the baby so, she decided to raise it herself. She is a "good person" because she was giving up her whole being to raise the child. She was willing to do whatever it took to keep the babay safe, fed and warm. The mother who gave birth is not a good person. She was selfish and was more worried about herself that he was about the baby. In the play, the real mother was trying to pick out what dresses she wanted to keep before she was escaping. Throughout the play, I developed a strong hate for the character because of how selfish she was. Especially in the court trial. I almost thought that the real mother was going to get the baby.
I feel like Brecht was trying to also show how power is so corrupt. Azdak was a random carver in some town. Somehow, he was given the position of the judge for the city. He was power hungry and wanted to make all sorts of money. He was a corrupt judge but somehow he made the right descisions in giving the child to Grusha. Azdak was all about making money. In the trials, he was favoring the side that gave him money. Everyone knew that if they had enough money, that they could get whatever they wanted out of Azdak. Somehow Grusha won the case. I understand why Azdak vanished from the city because a lot of people would be mad at him because of how he conducted himself.
I believe that the ending was fair. However, this ending is not realistic. It was obvious that the child was not Grusha's. In the real world, DNA tests would have been done and the child would have been matched with the mother.
I believe that Brecht was trying to point out the fact that society is very corrupt. In the play, Grusha basically saved the baby from dying because there was violence in the city. She was trying to give the baby to someone but nobody would take the baby so, she decided to raise it herself. She is a "good person" because she was giving up her whole being to raise the child. She was willing to do whatever it took to keep the babay safe, fed and warm. The mother who gave birth is not a good person. She was selfish and was more worried about herself that he was about the baby. In the play, the real mother was trying to pick out what dresses she wanted to keep before she was escaping. Throughout the play, I developed a strong hate for the character because of how selfish she was. Especially in the court trial. I almost thought that the real mother was going to get the baby.
I feel like Brecht was trying to also show how power is so corrupt. Azdak was a random carver in some town. Somehow, he was given the position of the judge for the city. He was power hungry and wanted to make all sorts of money. He was a corrupt judge but somehow he made the right descisions in giving the child to Grusha. Azdak was all about making money. In the trials, he was favoring the side that gave him money. Everyone knew that if they had enough money, that they could get whatever they wanted out of Azdak. Somehow Grusha won the case. I understand why Azdak vanished from the city because a lot of people would be mad at him because of how he conducted himself.
I believe that the ending was fair. However, this ending is not realistic. It was obvious that the child was not Grusha's. In the real world, DNA tests would have been done and the child would have been matched with the mother.
Thursday, November 9, 2017
Group and Character role in Adaptation
I am in a group with David, Nan and Nia. In my groups adaptation, I am Mercutio and Lord Capulet. When I am Mercutio, I am supposed to portray a wild spirit. He is supposed to always be excited and ready to have fun. While reading the book and watching the film, in my mind I have always viewed Mercutio as somebody who is looking for trouble all the time. The scene that I am Mercutio in is when he is going to the party with Romeo and also after the party. In this scene Mercutio is telling Romeo that he will be able to find a new girl at this huge party. This is because Romeo has just broken up with his last girlfriend and is still hung up over her. After the party. Mercutio is very drunk. This is the scene where he dies. Mercutio is not thinking about anything and does not feel anything in this scene because of how drunk he is. This is one of the most important scenes to my character because this is where he dies. In our adaptation, we are trying to show the audience that Romeo and Mercutio have been friends with each other for a very long time in a total of 3-5 minutes.
The other role that I play in our adaptation was Lord Capulet. When I am Lord Capulet, I am supposed to be portrayed as a mean and over protective parent. We have not come up with the exact scenes for Lord Capulet yet, but he is supposed to be partially to blame for the death of Romeo in our adaptation. This is because Romeo is banished because he killed Tibalt. Juliet wants to leave the school so that she can go with Romeo. Lord Capulet will not allow for this so Juliet is going to fire gun shots at nothing in her dorm room to get banished from the school. Romeo will hear this and think that Juliet is dead so he will kill himself. Lord Capulet is supposed to feel angry when Juliet asks him to leave school. This scene is important because it is part of the reason why this tragety happens.
The other role that I play in our adaptation was Lord Capulet. When I am Lord Capulet, I am supposed to be portrayed as a mean and over protective parent. We have not come up with the exact scenes for Lord Capulet yet, but he is supposed to be partially to blame for the death of Romeo in our adaptation. This is because Romeo is banished because he killed Tibalt. Juliet wants to leave the school so that she can go with Romeo. Lord Capulet will not allow for this so Juliet is going to fire gun shots at nothing in her dorm room to get banished from the school. Romeo will hear this and think that Juliet is dead so he will kill himself. Lord Capulet is supposed to feel angry when Juliet asks him to leave school. This scene is important because it is part of the reason why this tragety happens.
Friday, November 3, 2017
Adaptation Proposal
The scenes that I would want to propose is the fight scene between Romeo, Tibalt and Mercutio and the death scene with Romeo and Juliet. The location of the fight scene would be outside on either Slaughter or Savigny field because there should be plenty of space. This is important because the accord would be able to explore the space very well. I would want it to be almost like the scene in the film that we watched because it was out in the open in front of everyone. The props would be swords because I believe that it is harder to have a long fight scene with guns because the actors would have to die quicker. The costumes would be in casual clothes because they are not in a formal place. I would want it to be cloudy outside because it would help to ad to the setting of death. The music would be intense fighting music to add extra meaning to the scene. The actors should all be yelling. Tibalt should be very upset. Mercutio should be taughting and Romeo should be trying to stop the fight. I think that the theme of this scene would be how revenge backfires. This is because Tibalt dies trying to get revenge and also kills Mercutio. I think that it would show audience how bad the tensions are between the two families.
The other scene that I would want to propose is the death scene. This is such an important scene in the story because both of our two main characters die. This scene is supposed to show that they really loyal to each other because they are willing to die for each other. The scene would be in the black box because it needs to be very dark because they are in a semetary. The light should be very dim. The props would be a gun, poison, and something to lie on for Juliet because she is asleep. Romeo should be both calm yet upset. The music should be sad because the characters see only one way to be with each other. Juliet should be in all white and Romeo should be in regular clothes. The them of this would be loyalty because both characters love each other so much that they are willing to die for it literally. The audience would understand this because of the setting as well as the actions. I think that Paris should not be included in this scene because this is supposed to be only about Romeo and Juliet. I would have the language be modernized so that everyone can understand what is being said. I feel like there is a barrier between the story and the audience when the language is in the original form. It is better for everyone to be able to understand the language so that they can connect to the story well. I also feel like Juliet should be crying when she sees that Romeo is dead. This is what I would want to do with this scene.
The other scene that I would want to propose is the death scene. This is such an important scene in the story because both of our two main characters die. This scene is supposed to show that they really loyal to each other because they are willing to die for each other. The scene would be in the black box because it needs to be very dark because they are in a semetary. The light should be very dim. The props would be a gun, poison, and something to lie on for Juliet because she is asleep. Romeo should be both calm yet upset. The music should be sad because the characters see only one way to be with each other. Juliet should be in all white and Romeo should be in regular clothes. The them of this would be loyalty because both characters love each other so much that they are willing to die for it literally. The audience would understand this because of the setting as well as the actions. I think that Paris should not be included in this scene because this is supposed to be only about Romeo and Juliet. I would have the language be modernized so that everyone can understand what is being said. I feel like there is a barrier between the story and the audience when the language is in the original form. It is better for everyone to be able to understand the language so that they can connect to the story well. I also feel like Juliet should be crying when she sees that Romeo is dead. This is what I would want to do with this scene.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
Romeo and Juliet Film Review
Joey Wright
The movie version of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Baz Lurhmann was very interesting. I was very interested in some of the descisions that he made to direct the film. I found it very interesting that he made the play in a modern setting but kept the language all the same. I felt like if the movie is going to be in Shakespearian language, that it should also be in a setting that fits the time period. The weapons were guns instead of swords, and the clothes were very modern. Plus, there were very modern cars and the chorus in the play, was represented by the news station that was reporting the tragedy. Baz Lurhmann really changed the play a lot and tried to mix modern day with old-fashioned day. I felt like it was effective in some areas and ineffective in other areas. For instance, I felt like the fight scenes were helpful to be in a modern setting but I really did not like that the news channel was representing the chorus. Also, I wish that he would have translated the actual Romeo and Juliet script to modern language because it would have been very easy to understand. It seemed that the old-fashioned language was out of place for the setting. Almost everything else was modernized so it didn't really make sense for the actors to speak in an old-fashioned language in a modern setting. I also was confused about Mercutio's character. It seemed like the portrayed Mercutio to be a wild and crazy person whereas in the book, I felt like Mercutio was a little bit more controlled. One example of this is when Mercutio was dressed up as a woman and was acting extremely crazy. I did not understand what Baz Lurhmann was getting at here. I also felt like Benvolio did not have as much of an influence of Romeo in the film as what he has in the play. It seemed like Benvolio was distant to Romeo for most of the movie. In the book Benvolio is always with Romeo and trying to influence him. Another decision that I did not fully agree with is when Romeo and Juliet both died. In the book, it clearly states that Juliet was still asleep when Romeo drank the poison and was already dead. I did not like what Baz Lurhmann did with this part. He showed Juliet waking up even before Romeo drank the poison. But, because Romeo was being too self centered in his feelings, that he did not notice that Juliet was awake. I was very upset about this because they should have made especially in this scene. They were both awake at the same time. I was very upset that this happened. This strayed way far away from the book. When I was watching this scene, I was expecting for the same ending as the book but instead they are shown both awake at the same time. It honestly made me hate Romeo because of how dumb he was. At least in the book, he does not know that Juliet will wake up and that it is evident that she is still asleep. They should have stuck to this ending. I still do not understand why Baz Lurhmann did this. I guess he was trying to make it more dramatic, but it only made Romeo look bad. I really did not like this scene. All in all, the film was okay and it was fairly entertaining for the most part.
The movie version of Romeo and Juliet, directed by Baz Lurhmann was very interesting. I was very interested in some of the descisions that he made to direct the film. I found it very interesting that he made the play in a modern setting but kept the language all the same. I felt like if the movie is going to be in Shakespearian language, that it should also be in a setting that fits the time period. The weapons were guns instead of swords, and the clothes were very modern. Plus, there were very modern cars and the chorus in the play, was represented by the news station that was reporting the tragedy. Baz Lurhmann really changed the play a lot and tried to mix modern day with old-fashioned day. I felt like it was effective in some areas and ineffective in other areas. For instance, I felt like the fight scenes were helpful to be in a modern setting but I really did not like that the news channel was representing the chorus. Also, I wish that he would have translated the actual Romeo and Juliet script to modern language because it would have been very easy to understand. It seemed that the old-fashioned language was out of place for the setting. Almost everything else was modernized so it didn't really make sense for the actors to speak in an old-fashioned language in a modern setting. I also was confused about Mercutio's character. It seemed like the portrayed Mercutio to be a wild and crazy person whereas in the book, I felt like Mercutio was a little bit more controlled. One example of this is when Mercutio was dressed up as a woman and was acting extremely crazy. I did not understand what Baz Lurhmann was getting at here. I also felt like Benvolio did not have as much of an influence of Romeo in the film as what he has in the play. It seemed like Benvolio was distant to Romeo for most of the movie. In the book Benvolio is always with Romeo and trying to influence him. Another decision that I did not fully agree with is when Romeo and Juliet both died. In the book, it clearly states that Juliet was still asleep when Romeo drank the poison and was already dead. I did not like what Baz Lurhmann did with this part. He showed Juliet waking up even before Romeo drank the poison. But, because Romeo was being too self centered in his feelings, that he did not notice that Juliet was awake. I was very upset about this because they should have made especially in this scene. They were both awake at the same time. I was very upset that this happened. This strayed way far away from the book. When I was watching this scene, I was expecting for the same ending as the book but instead they are shown both awake at the same time. It honestly made me hate Romeo because of how dumb he was. At least in the book, he does not know that Juliet will wake up and that it is evident that she is still asleep. They should have stuck to this ending. I still do not understand why Baz Lurhmann did this. I guess he was trying to make it more dramatic, but it only made Romeo look bad. I really did not like this scene. All in all, the film was okay and it was fairly entertaining for the most part.
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