Devised Project 2nd Draft Reflection

In preparing for the second draft of our project, we started by going over the script for the first draft to refine the plot. Previously we had only written down the general idea we had behind scene, but in our script analysis, we broke down each scene into the emotional beats & turning points. Though we never wrote down the dialogue line for line, clarifying the beats helped us keep on task when practicing the scenes, though, as the twenty minute draft we filmed today showed, we still have work to do in that apartment. We also need to work on not repeating the same points over and over, instead using each scene to give a slightly different perspective, so that our characters don’t become one note (in particular, I noticed as we were filming that Helen seemed to default to the word “money” when she ran out of points to make); as well as elevating our emotions over the progression of scenes.
Going back to what we have done, another significant improvement we made to this draft was the addition of lighting. I think once we have decided on the definitive starting and ending lines for each scene so that the lighting cues can be more clear, the setup we currently have will be sufficient; they keep the focus on the right sections of the stage, and the red lights that came on as Helen and I were arguing with each other, I felt, heightened the mood. We would like to add some more sound elements for the final draft: specifically, a breaking sound effect for when Helen drops the cup in scene 4 (assuming we keep that scene, which I’ll get back to later), a ringtone for when Helen’s roommate gets called in scene 2, maybe a bell sound like the kind when enetering a small store, and crowd nosies for when Helen is walking around the city in scene 7 (which we could maybe also use in scene 5, when we’re supposed to be in the mall).
Our main concern with our final draft is cutting it down from twenty minutes to 13-15. While, as I already mentioned, tightening up the dialogue should help with that, I could see us cutting a full scene or two altogether to make it short enough. While we initially decided to include the scenes of Helen at her job to display her drive for working, the customer character isn’t as well-woven into the main plot as I’d like to be, and spending the extra time to make that happen would only lengthen the work. So we may end up cutting the shop scenes to keep the focus on Helen and her roommate, though we still need to emphasize how important work is to her.

Devised Project Proposal (with Helen)

Here’s the link to the Google Doc

Reflection on Devising Workshop

I really enjoyed the devising workshop today! The texts we read through were both very interesting but in different ways. My interpretation of the mouse and cat fable unintentionally drew from my memories of playing Javert, which was cool to realize. Like the mouse, Javert is so sure of his worldview that he can’t fathom there being any exceptions to the rule. The cat only tells the mouse there was another way right before eating it. When Jean Valjean gets Javert to question his own morals, he can’t love with the implications, and so ends his own life to escape “the world of Jean Valjean”. This isn’t really related to the workshop, just a fun thing I though of but didn’t want to have to explain if I brought it up in the moment.
 Some of the movement excersizes were familiar to me from last year, but I preferred doing it with a bigger group of people and seeing what everyone else came up with. It trains you to act on your first instinct and then make it work from there, which I imagine will be useful for our devised project.
I think my favorite part of the workshop was coming up with the impossible stage directions. With mine, I wanted to capture what it feels like to not be fully engaged with the world around you, to be stuck in a mindset where everything seems inconsequential and your own being feels empty. The way I wrote it, it ended up almost like a short story or poem, and I really liked it. Going on to stage it, while incorporating other aspects of the workshop, was lots of fun. It was good to work with a slightly larger group than normal, since when we do our project, we’ll have six people throwing around ideas.
Overall, I felt like I got a lot out of this experience. I feel prepared to collaborate with my classmates and turn our ideas into a cohesive piece.

“Thinking Like a Director” Takeaways (p. 69 -94)

• A resonant approach conveys, whether overtly or subtly, why the play is being produced at that time (p. 70); it must take into account the play’s central conflict and have a point of view about its world (p. 72)
• Every production of a play is different because it is directed by a different person (p. 71)
• Production history can often be a guide to those elements of a play that are most malleable... pinpointing them is a way of reminding yourself of where you need to make dynamic choices (p. 74)
• Changing the setting tends to be more difficult in more realistic plays (p. 76)
• Recognizing conventions doesn’t require a director to follow all of them (p. 79)
• No one design can encompass all the ideas and environmental possibilities that a play suggests... overdesigning usually occurs when director and designer don’t trust the play (p. 84)
• Without the juxtaposition of some dissimilar elements, designs can become status and overbearing, confusing the story and encumbering the play with a single time (p. 85)
• Directing is often about sweating the details (p. 88), and the director continues to learn about a play as the production proceeds (p. 90)
• Light creates focus, movement, mood, and variety (p. 93)

Director’s Notebook Draft

Director’s Notebook for “She Kills Monsters” on Google Docs

"Thinking Like A Director" Takeaways (pages 11-66)

Takeaways:

• Theater has no choice but to be contemporary (p. 14)
• The director as artist owes obligation to their aesthetic and to the essence of the play (p. 15)
• Directing requires a reservoir of energy and a sense of urgency and commitment (p. 16)
• Director’s are scavengers (p. 29)
• Begin the interpretive process by breaking the script down into units of action (the characters’ desire and how they physically pursued them) (p. 32)
• A beat marks a change in the actions of all prominent players in the scene (p. 38)
• Articulating actions and obstacles is a matter of both intellect and empathy (p. 43)
• The director should know how a character’s actions add up to create one major desire, the super-objective (p. 46)
• Identify the central conflict before themes, since the latter can be vague and applied to countless plays (p. 47)
• Differentiate between the subject of the play (what it’s about, themtatically) and the central action/event (p. 50)
• Name scenes to better remember what happens in them (p. 55)
• List the play’s potential challenges (p. 64)

Questions:

• Explicit versus subtle (p. 56)

Director’s Notebook: Stage Model

When designing the stage for my production of “She Kills Monsters”, I started by making a list of each scene, noting what props would need to be part of the set and any times where there was a location change without time for a proper scene change. The major examples of the later I found were  scene 15, where things shift between Agnes’ apartment and the D&D world, and the transition between scenes 5 and 6, where Agnes goes from being in Vera’s office to the D&D world in the middle of her sentence. In order to keep these transitions simple, I decided to design the stage to have both the real and fantasy worlds be set up all times. The thing separating them would be two layers of curtains, one a sparkly dark blue, and one orangey-brown in front of it. The brown curtain serves as the backdrop for the scenes in Athens, Ohio; namely Agnes’ apartment, Vera’s office, and a few one-off locations. The blue-black curtain serves as a more mystical-looking divider between the two worlds, and would be the backdrop for two specific scenes that don’t take place fully in either: the intro narration and scene 11.

Before going into more of the stage design, a quick clarification: the kind of stage I’m using for this project is a Processmium stage. In the best case scenario, I would want it to be only about 2 feet off the ground, since I don’t want to distance the audience from the action any more than the fanstasical elements will likely do by default. At the end of the day, I want the audience to get invested in these characters, and see their struggles, even when abstracted in the fantasy realm, as real (or as close to real as theatre can be without going full Brecht).
The back wall of the set is a “painting” of a forest, with the upper center looking like a section of wall from an ancient castle (since that’s where the climax is meant to take place). The window would actually be a hole in the wall, which I imagine would specifically be useful for when Agnes fights the four-headed dragon at the end. The platform just beneath this window would be needed for that, but in general, I wanted to add more levels to the stage, so this platform can be used earlier as well. Actors can get on and off the platform via the ramps on either side.
Beneath the platform, there is a mini curtain showing a small body of water, which, when drawn back, reveals the fiery cave that  serves as the set for scene 4. The scene requires a couch, which I had considered designing to look like it was made from the stone around it, but instead decided to make it a normal red couch (a duller red than the one I used in the model for a real production). I had two reasons for this: first, since this scene takes place early in the show when Agnes hasn’t fully committed to the fantasy, and Orcus, the demon who lives in this cave, is meant to subvert expectations of a seriously threatening villain, having it just be a regular couch fits better; and second, having a regular couch means it could theoretically be used in real world scenes, to give them more than just the table/desk and chairs that are there by default.
Speaking of which, the table/desk and chairs would be on stage right for the scenes in Vera’s office, and on stage left for the scenes in Agnes’ apartment (maybe even with some actual D&D stuff on it to sell that Agnes and Chuck are actually playing the game). The only other major props needed would be a counter for scene 2 in Chuck’s workplace, and some packed boxes for scene 3 in Tilly’s bedroom.

Avant-Garde Theater Theorists (Notes)

1. Peter Brook
1. England, 1925-
2. Worked at Royal Shakespeare company in London 
3. Values simplicity and common sense 
4. Founded International Center of Theater Research in 1974
5. Also a movie director
6. Wrote The Empty Space
7. Four theaters:
1. The Deadly (constructivism)
2. The Holy (Theater of the Absurd)
3. The Rough (Brecht)
4. The Immediate (Clean slate audience reaction)
2. Bertolt Brecht
1. German; Lived through World War II 
2. Wanted to make political theater that made people want to take action in the real world
3. “Alienation effect”: don’t identity/sympathize with the characters (principle inspired by Chinese opera)
3. Theater of the Absurd
1. European existential fiction writers post WWII
2. Find the comedy in tragedy
3. Not much plot; gets you to think
4. Major theorist: Samuel Beckett
1. Irish novelist, playwright, theatre director, poet, and literary translator
2. Spoke French and English
3. Wrote black comedies like “Waiting for Godot” 
4. Jerry Grotowski
1. Born August 1933  died January 1999
2. Polish theater director
3. Went to Stanislavski’s school
4. His permanent company first appeared in Western Europe in 1966
5. Preferred to perform works in regular spaces rather than designated theaters
6. Audience seated around or even in the action
7. Emphasized physical movements, human connections, and vocal training
8. Actors used emotional memory
9. Method: The Poor Theater
1. Small groups of actors, small audience 
2. Simple staging, lighting, costumes, and special affects, putting more weight on the actors’ performances
3. Experiment with physical, spiritual, and ritualistic aspects of theater

Theater Terms and Concepts: A Review

   Doing the silent movies reminded me of the importance of facial expressions, posture, and clear actions when acting, to convey your character, even when you are not the focus of the scene at that moment. Having the videos be set to pre-made music helped teach me the importance of pacing, and gave me ideas about establishing the mood of a scene. There are ways other than music to establish mood on a proper stage, such as lighting, sound effects, and set design, which I will have to keep in mind for the future.
   Doing the tableaus reminded me of being aware of the audience when staging a scene. They don't necessarily have to see every actor at all times, especially if obscuring a character adds to their portrayal as being mysterious and secretive. However, in most cases, you'll want to keep the actors from having their back to the audience, and having the blocking allow as many audience members as possible to see the actor's gestures and expressions. For example, when we did the Sleeping Beauty tableau, the way we staged the first scene had to be tweaked multiple times to make sure that the princess and her parents were not blocked from view by the witch, or that Olivia and I did not have our backs to the audience the whole time.
   When it comes to the more directorial side of things, coming up with plots for the silent movies, and deciding how to stage the tableaus, showed me that simplicity can convey a message to the audience in a way that is not only easier to grasp and follow along with, but in certain instances, more impactful than something with multiple plot turns and complexities. At the same time, I also have to be sure that enough information is conveyed to keep the audience on the same page. This lesson came specifically from the Robin Hood tableau we did, where the transition between scenes two and three threw some people off. In my head, there had been a short confrontation between Robin Hood and the Wolf in between scenes, but all the audience saw was inconsistent staging. Deciding which information to share and which to leave out for the audience to think about for themself is something I am sure will be relevant for the Director's Notebook project. Another aspect which came into play when creating each scene was what genre the scene was going to be, as that affects both how the actors portray their characters, and all of the technical aspects.

Summer Work Assessment (Ideas for “She Kills Monsters” Director’s Notebook)

I chose “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nguyen for the Director’s Notebook and read it over the summer. The play takes place in the mid-1990s in Athens, Ohio and follows the exceptionally average twenty-something year old Agnes Evans. After her parents and teenage sister Tilly die in a car crash, Agnes Evans finds herself drawn into the world of her geeky younger sister’s favorite pastime, Dungeons and Dragons, playing through a campaign Tilly never finished with help from local Dungeon Master Chuck. Along the way Agnes comes to understand her sister more than she ever did in life, and works through some of her own real-life issues, such as her relationship with her boyfriend Miles. Other major characters in the show include Vera, Agnes’ friend and the guidance counselor at Tilly’s high school; Gabbi and Tina, Tilly’s bullies who appear as evil succubi in her fantasy world; and Tilly’s three D&D companions, Lilith (Lilly IRL), Kaliope (Kelly IRL), and Orcus (Ronnie IRL).

About half of the show takes place within Tilly’s D&D campaign, “The Lost Soul of Athens”, and this affects any production of the show in a major way. People who have never heard of D&D have to be able to follow along well enough to appreciate the show’s story and other aspects; however, you also don’t want to give so much exposition that it comes off as dry and boring. There are multiple monsters that Agnes and the team have to face, such as a Bugbear; Farrah, a one-time fairy boss; Tiamat, the four-headed dragon Agnes has to face alone at the end; and characters Tilly based on people she knew, like Vera the Beholder and the shapeshifting gelatinous blob named Miles. The one performance I saw of this show had the monsters portrayed by puppets, and I feel that offers more creative potential than more people in costumes. The one exception I might make would be Farrah since she has dialogue, but you could have them voiced by the puppeteer or even the play’s Narrator - or, since all the characters in the campaign but Agnes are being played by Chuck in the real world, he could do it. I would like to give Chuck more of a presence in the roleplaying sections, at least early on when Agnes isn’t as receptive to the fantasy, because at one point Chuck and Agnes get into an argument because he feels awkward about her venting her problems to him as if she’s talking to the real Tilly. Having this juxtaposition more present in the show before this point would make the moment hit harder.

When it comes to the set and costumes for the D&D portions of the play, I think it would be cool to have them start off pretty simple, almost looking like something Tilly and her friends could have thrown together. Then, as the story progresses and Agnes becomes more invested in the campaign, they can become more complex and fantastical. The idea comes from the costumes the gods in the recent Broadway revival of Once on This Island have, with varying levels of complexity depending on how into the roles the characters are at that point. I’ve seen images online of productions of this play that had costumes on both sides of this spectrum which I could potentially take some small inspiration from. During the scenes that take place in the real world, the characters should probably be dressed more plainly to form a contrast, though it might be cool to have Anges’ outfits go from having muted colors at the start, when she sees herself as painfully normal, to brighter, more varied colors. In addition, since the play’s setting is Ohio in 1995, the set and props can’t include any items from further in the future, and probably shouldn’t include anything that wouldn’t be common in that area.

There are some character aspects I have in mind for this project as well. Agnes and Miles have the most prominent arcs in the show, so the other characters should have strong stage presence and clear surface-level personalities for the audience to understand and remember them. Of course, when there’s a chance to show subtle character, we want to take advantage of that. Speaking of Agnes and Miles, it’s important that the audience is sold on their relationship, despite the difficulties they face, since it’s meant to be part of the happy ending that the two end up getting married and living happily together (according to the ending monologue). I remember initially finding Miles unlikeable when I wanted a performance of the play, and while it’s fine for this to be the audience’s first reaction, going too far in that direction could lead some audience members to root for Agnes splitting up with him, and thus leave them disappointed with the ending.

What is theater?

Theater is a performance, usually put on by a group of people (though there are one-man shows), taking on the roles of characters, for an audience. The actors get to become someone else, even if that person is a ficitonalized version of themself in the case of an autobiographical play. They can express and release heavy emotions through their performance, or just have a fun time getting to do stuff they couldn’t or wouldn’t in real life. There are other ways to participate in a play: helping with the lighting, sound, set, costumes, props, or being a member of the stage crew. No matter the size of your role, it feels satisfying to see everyone’s hard work come together, and those involved come to have a greater appreciation for the value of cooperation. 
The audience gets to experience the story unfolding life in front of them. It feels much more personal than sitting in a big cinema, watching flat characters on a sceen. And where re-watching a movie is largely the same experience, with it being dependent on the viewer to notice stuff they missed the first time, with a play, not only can you have different actors giving their own take on a character, but because it’s live, there might be other subtle changes that add to the freshness of it.
For me personally, I enjoy having an audience and being able to show off sides of me most people are unaware of. I remember multiple faculty coming up to me after we did Les Miserables last year to express how surprised they were by my intimidating performance as Javert. I have a lot of fun putting scenes together with my fellow actors at rehearsal, but I’m still working on letting go of my perfectionist tendencies and cutting others some slack rather than getting so easily frustrated with them. We always manage to pull it all together in the end, and it often comes out even better than the setup I had fixed in my head. I need to have more trust in the rest of the team. The last thing I’d want is to give off the impression that I think I’m better than everyone else.

Welcome Back! (Test Post)

Director’s Notebook Proposal (Year 1 Final Blog)

Next year, I want to use the play “She Kills Monsters” by Qui Nguyen as the basis for my director’s notebook project. I learned about this play from a performance Mr. Marshall’s son Dave participated in at his college this past year, and I found it incredibly funny and creative, and at times surprisingly relatable. The plot follows young adult Agnes Evans as she attempts to cope with the death of her nerdy teenage sister Tilly through experiencing Tilly’s hidden hobby, the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, for the first time. By playing the game with Tilly’s friends, Agnes comes to learn more about them, her sister, and herself, while gaining a new appreciation for the kind of obscure escapist fantasies Tilly found her refuge in. The show covers themes of family, mourning, secrets, understanding and appreciating others, and escape into fantasy. There is also a large focus on homosexuality as part of the plot, as and the topic is treated with due respect the whole way through. 

The fun part of doing a director’s notebook for this play will be imagining all of the scenes that take place within the game world. The stage type will have to allow for multiple scene changes in order to create different fantasy locals, such as an enchanted forest and an ancient castle. The outfits for the characters’ in-game personas could be done in a way similar to how the recent Broadway revival of “Once on this Island” handled the costumes for the gods. In that show, the gods have three “levels” of costume: their regular islander outfits, their full god outfits, and an in-between stage. With “She Kills Monsters”, when Agnes is first trying out Dungeons and Dragons, the costumes her other party members wear could be pretty simple, almost looking as though they’ve been thrown together from whatever was around, while still portraying the general idea of what each character is supposed to be (an elf warrior, a fiery lustful demon, etc.). Then as Agnes develops more investment in the game, the characters’ outfits can become more complex, so that by the end they would end up seeming as though they came straight from a fantasy video game. There are a lot of photographs easily found online of other productions that I could look over for potential inspiration (though of course I would never directly copy any of them).

Of course the player characters are not the only magical beings in the world of Dungeons and Dragons - there are also all of the enemy monsters the team has to face, from common generic creatures like goblins to giant bosses, such as the four-headed dragon known as Tiamat who serves as the final boss of the campaign. The performance I saw of this play brought these beings to life on stage through a combination of extras in consumes and puppetry, which I feel would also be necessary for my version. Even though the monsters are all pre-established Dungeons & Dragons characters, there is always room for slight artistic embellishments. I think that this show will be a ton of fun to do a Director’s Notebook for, as I genuinely enjoyed the show and its characters, and the premise and plot allow for a lot of creativity when it comes to the technical aspects of theater.

Informal Review of “Propless!”

Overall, I enjoyed the improv show on Saturday. The cast of twelve was varied in personality and levels of outgoingness that made them each feel like a valuable member. Unfortunately, the members chosen for each skit did not always balance each other out, and I’m not sure if this was because they were determined randomly or if it was just an error of judgement on the director’s part. During the first round of the “blindfold” activity, Krystal and Olivia were paired together. Neither of them came across as particularly confident, especially compared to other cast members like Jerry and Ray, and because of their lack of initiate, the skit dragged with repetitions and contradictions. However, this is the one example I can remember where the match-up of the actors caused a significant problem.

The skits I found the strongest were The Laughing Circle and the second round of The Dating Game. In the former, it seemed that having time in advance to create a loose character to build on helped the actors to come up with ideas when it came around to them, even if some were one-note. In terms of The Dating Game, Nan and Aaron had great chemistry, giving just the right number of hints to their true identities. On the flip side, the first round of this activity was one of my least favorite parts of the whole show. Julia Shatalov gave a surprisingly good portrayal of Santa, but Helen took a bit to fit into her role, and, most significantly, it felt like Reí didn’t even try, to be blunt. When Sam asked him where he saw himself (as Julia) in five years, the word “Broadway” immediately jumped to my mind, but the prolonged silence of waiting for Rei to give any kind of answer made everything super awkward. Still, even with moments with a distinct lack of laughter, I found a smile on my face for the majority of the show, and considering the limited amount of time these high schoolers had to get used to improv, I felt satisfied with the experience, and at times pleasantly surprised.

Hamlet: My Vision

Imagine that you will direct Hamlet. Explain your vision and how it will be staged. Include specific details about the type of stage, tech elements, and overall concept for the show. 500 words. Due by midnight.

One of the difficulties in performing a work of Shakespeare’s is that, due to its age and language, modern audiences can have difficulty relating to it. With Hamlet in particular the barrier to entry is even higher since most of the plot revolves around the politics of a monarchy with an inactive, moody protagonist. If I were to direct a production of Hamlet, I would want to put a spin on it that eliminated as many of the walls between the source material and the audience as possible. One way I came up with to do that was to reimagine the story as being set in a modern college. Ophelia’s father Polonius would be a professor but all of the other major characters would be students. Claudius and Gertrude would be Hamlet’s close friends instead of elder family members, and instead of Hamlet’s father getting killed by Claudius, it would be Hamlet’s twin brother who committed suicide after being relentlessly bullied by Claudius. Gertrude was dating Hamlet’s twin but after his death started dating Claudius. The relationship between Claudius and Polonius would be that of a student sucking up to their teacher, who thinks the kid can do no wrong. Laertes would still be Ophelia’s brother, she and Hamlet would have had some form of past relationship, and she would still commit suicide during the events of the play. Horatio would still be Hamlet’s close friend and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern would be Hamlet’s former friends who go to a nearby school. 

The kind of stage I would want to have for this is a thrust stage, as it allows the audience to see the action from three out of four sides. It also opens your options for blocking and choreography. Normally you want your actors to be facing the audience as much as possible so that they can read the actors’ faces, but if you have the audience on three sides, then the actors can face those sides without having their backs to everyone. The main locations would be Hamlet’s dorm room, the auditorium where the play is performed, Polonius’ classroom, and the outside campus. Lighting, sound, and effects could work together to create a dreary, rainy atmosphere.

With the technicals, I want to make this story feel real and grounded. If the audience can relate to this version of the play, then perhaps they will get something out of it that they wouldn’t just reading or watching the original. Because of that, the costumes should be accurate to what young adults in modern times (jeans/sweatpants/shorts/skirts, shirts/t-shirts). In particular, Hamlet should be wearing dark, less formal clothes, since in his negative mental state he probably wouldn’t care about keeping up appearances. In contrast, Claudius and Gertrude might dress up more to show off their status. Ophelia should wear floral patterns with a focus on the color blue, since her character is symbolically tied to flowers and water.

Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh & Ethan Hawke): Directors' Visions

Kenneth Branagh version
I think the director’s vision for this version of Hamlet was to recreate the entire story in a style reminiscent of a fairy tale. Some of the aspects that I see as adding to this vision are the generally bright color pallet, particularly inside the castle, the clearly magical nature of the ghost, and the general sense of grandiose. This is particularly noticable in comparison to something like the Mel Brooks version, which is set in medieval times and has an overall dark, despressing tone. In Kenneth Branagh’s version, all of the dark symbolism is centered around the protagonsit, Hamlet, creating a stark construct between him and the many people who, he feels isolated from after this great tragedy he’s undergone.
Almost all of the story in this version is just directly recreating the original play; however, the few changes that were made seem to point towards the idea that this is meant to be a fairy tale. A prime example of this is when Polonius is reading the letter Hamlet wrote to Ophelia and we, the audience, see a brief flashback to Hamlet and Ophelia happily in bed together. This directly implies to the audience that Hamlet and Ophelia did once have a romantic relationship, like something out of a fairy tale. The original play does not have any flashbacks of this manner, and so the previous state of the relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia is left more vague, contributing to the greater complexity of the story as a whole. Of course fairy tales can be complex, and this production is far from simple. However, by deciding to answer one of the questions the source material provides, the Kenneth Branagh version of Hamlet is trying to say something about the nature of their relationship rather than leaving it up to the audience’s interpretation, and fairy tales are known for teaching lessons.


Ethan Hawke version
The Ethan Hawke version of Hamlet from 2000 is a wildly different adaptation that brings the story of Hamlet into what was then modern times. The vision of the director was not just to place this story in what would be a more familiar setting for its audience, but also to use what the modern setting provided him to advance the story. This version makes extensive use of the mediums of photography and film to tell the story in a new way and give the film as a whole a whole unique flavor. Ophelia, for example, is a photographer in this adaptation who takes and gives out pictures of flowers rather than actual flowers. The ghost of Hamlet’s father, though he later shows up as an actual spector, makes his first appearance on a tv. Instead of putting on a play to try and determine whether or not Claudius is guilty of murder, Hamlet instead puts together a short film with the same premise, using clips from old movies.
This last point in particular actually serves as a methaphor for the adaptiation itself as well - it takes the story of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and remixes it, updating and rearranging the story. There are scenes that are cut or moved around, making it not a full adaption like the Kenneth Branagh movie. For example, early in the film we see a looped clip of Hamlet on multiple screens pointing a gun at his head, with the voiceover saying the famous line, “To be or not to be”. However, the full scene this line is from does not occur until later into the film, when Hamlet is in a dvd store. Ophelia’s suicide is also foreshadowed when, during a conversation between Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius at an indoor pool, Ophelia hallucinates throwing herself in.

Tech Theater Review

Technical theater, referred to as “tech theater” for short, encompasses practically every aspect of a play’s production that does not directly involve the actors. This includes things such as set design and props, costumes and makeup, lighting, sound, and stage management. There are two sides to each of these aspects - the theoretical and the practical. The theoretical side deals with how each choice plays into the director’s vision or otherwise adds another symbolic layer to the production. On the other hand, the practical side deals with the physical, real world applications of these aspects.

One of the many roles technical theater contributes to is establishing the setting. The set design provides the audience with a representation of the world the play takes place in, with a varying level of abstraction, while costumes and makeup have to fit both the characters and the time period they live in. Lightning adds variation to the set and plays a large part in establishing the mood of the current scene, as well as which characters and elements are most significant. Sound, like lighting, serves to accent the setting, immersing the audience, and setting an atmosphere. When these aspects all work in harmony, they draw the viewers into the play - or, if the production is in a style more similar to someone like Brecht’s plays, serve to further highlight the falseness of the story. It all depends on what kind of tone you’re going for.

Every production is going to have different limits on it, such as the space, the budget, time, number of people participating, etc. These constraints will play directly into the practicalities of the show’s technical aspects. Obviously you can create a much grander and more detailed set for a play on Broadway than at a public high school (though there are certainly occasions where a more simplistic approach is preferable). Some shows will be able to create custom costumes for every role, tailoring them directly to the director’s vision, while smaller scale productions will have to rent their costumes and/or have the actors bring in whatever of their own possessions might prove useful to them or another character. The types of lights, and the number of each, are partially determined by the budget and the space. For an example, our black box theater does not have moving spotlights, which means that for a scene with a character pacing back and forth on stage, the lights have to be positioned in a specific way and changed at just the right time to keep the actor illuminated for the audience. When it comes to sound, any pre-recorded sound effects that the show requires will need to be found or created, saved, and then played at the right moment, at the right volume. If the sound effect is off time, too quiet to hear, or so loud that it overpowers critical dialogue, the whole scene can be ruined. All the actors’ audio levels have to be balanced, which becomes especially tricking if some of them share microphones and have to switch them out mid-show.

Casting Heathers

If I were to cast Heathers the musical for a production here at Cheshire Academy, I would cast...

• Ray Dong as Jason Dean. He’s one of the stronger males we currently have doing musical theater in my opinion, and compared to the others, I think he’d be best at carrying through a genuine, not too cheesy “bad boy” persona. He’s confident, brash, and passionate when singing, qualities that would heighten J.D.’s conviction to his goals.
• Nan Zhou or Olivia Willaimson as Martha. Martha is sweet, loyal and supportive, but doesn’t have the confidence to stand up for herself. Both of the actresses I picked have strong singing voices - and personalities - but sometimes have to be coaxed to bring them out. Nan and Olivia also fits the body type that Martha calls for (since she gets specifically made fun of for her weight).
• Julia Rafferty as Heather Duke. She has the strong singing voice the role calls for, and a powerful stage presence that can come out more after Heather Chandler dies. This one’s more of a hunch feeling.
• Me or Maggie as Veronica Sawyer. We both can hit high notes and are sort of nerdy. 

Difficulties of Tech Theater

One of the major obstacles I imagine theaters face when it comes to the technicals is the available space and budget. This is obvious when comparing, say, our school's performance of Les Miserables last season, versus when we went to see it at the Bushnell Theater. We didn’t have moving spotlights, a green screen to play special effects of off when Javert jumped off of the bridge, a barricade that could be fully rotated to show off the bodies of the dead students, etc. Because of all this, our adaptation was not able to have quite the epic scale that the Bushnell did, and that’s something that had to be worked around going in.

Another difficulty which can arise from technical theater is trying to consolidate the visions of all of the different people working on the show. The director is ultimately the one with the full vision that the show will embody, but they also have to give the people in charge of the costumes, lights, sound, and set to use their own talents to bring those visions to life. Sometimes the director’s vision is impractical, self-contradictory in places, or doesn’t jive well with the material. If not developed in harmony, you can have aspects that fail to form a cohesive whole - for example, without prior arrangements being made, the color pallets of the lights, set, and costumes might end up clashing. Cooperation and communication is key. 

After doing this unit on technical theater, the aspect of it which I think is the most difficult to nail is set design. You have to physically transform the space into the world of the show, providing enough detail to make it feel immersive but not so much as to get in the way of or overshadow the actors. Building on this, most shows have multiple locations, which means that the set has to be easily changeable so as to waste the audience’s time with scene changes as little as possible. Aspects that can’t be moved on and off stage mid-performance have to be crafted to not seem out of place in any of the scenes. Productions with a lower budget will also have less supplies to use for crafting unique elements and will have to rely on pre-existing materials a lot of the time.

To go back to our past production of Les Miserables as an example, the play required us to have a bridge as a set piece for Javert’s suicide; however, we would not be able to bring it on and off stage, so it had to be against the back wall for the whole show. To make up for this, we had a set of five giant wooden triangular prisms painted with a different background on each side, which could he wheeled on and off stage during scene changes to block the bridge from view and create the illusion of being indoors (or in a garden). The main problem with this approach was that, with both the bridge and triangles on stage at the same time, there was much less space for the actors to work in, so we used the triangles as little as possible, with a painted backdrop of a generic setting-appropriate city at night on the wall behind the bridge fitting the mood and serving the “outdoor” scenes well enough. The river over which the bridge supposedly ran was also included in the backdrop to give the bridge some context and make it fit in the scenes. The other major element of our set was the barricade, crafted from found elements and built on three separate platforms to make it easier to hide backstage during the first act.

Seventeen (Heathers) Project Essay

If I were to be the tech director for a single scene from a play, I would want to do the sing “Seventeen” from the musical “Heathers”. I choose this scene because, despite its simplicity, it can be incredibly moving if done correctly. For context, this song is right after the start of Act Two, after our high school leads, Veronica Sawyer and her boyfriend J.D., have just witnessed the funeral of the two jocks they had killed and staged as a double suicide the night before. Veronica hadn’t realized J.D.’s true intentions at the time, and when he seems willing to kill even more people, her angry outburst prompts the song. In it, she begs him to give up on his twisted vigilantism and at least try to have a normal teenage relationship with her. The song transitions from fed up and fiery, to gentle and down to earth, to soaring and hopeful, to cautious and fragile. Applying the different aspects of tech theater can help to heighten these emotional peaks and make the scene unforgettable.

My vision for this scene is to create a moment that stands out from the rest of the show as being fantastical in nature versus grounded in reality. Part of the tragedy of “Heathers” is how the realistic toxic relationship Veronica and J.D. find themselves in lead to serious, permanent consequences, and that just hoping things will get better isn’t enough; you have to dedicate yourself to improving the situation and avoid falling into old habits, which J.D. unfortunately fails at. This scene represents the height of Veronica’s love-struck fantasies, trying to hold together a relationship that isn’t worth it because of the pure, almost holy potential she envisions for them. If the scene is put together in a way that draws the audience into that fantasy, it will make them empathize with Veronica, and thus make the end of the show much more tragic, while also highlighting the impossibility of the desired happy ending.

In its original off-Broadway run, the set for “Heathers” was very simple and hardly decorated, just two levels with short stairs on either side of the raised stage. While this abstract set works fine for the show, with the time and budget to expand upon it, I think you could use the location to add to the subtext of the scene. Having two levels to the stage creates an opportunity to use it as symbolism for the real world and the evaluated fantasy world. The scene could be choreographed to have Veronica bring J.D. to the higher level as she wins him over with her idea of their idealized romance. 

Since this scene takes place directly after the funeral, you could have some decorations to show that Veronica and J.D. are still in the church for the song, such as candles (probably not actually lit), a cross standing or on a wall, a pulpit. etc. 

With just these few additions keeping the setting in the audiences’ minds as the scene unfolds, it frames the romance as something holy, which tied into one of the show’s musical motifs - “Our love is God”. However, doing this would also make the scene more grounded during the parts where it is meant to transport the audience out of the real world. To remedy this, you could have the more noticeable props somehow be moved off of the stage before the climax of the song so that it doesn’t take away from the fantasy.

The sound and lighting would be the other major factors that would help create the ethereal effect of the scene. The band/orchestra would have to carry those emotions described in the previous paragraph; listening to the soundtrack, you can see they use lots of strings instruments in this song to achieve that effect. The lighting can make us of the prevalent color motifs in the show as well. In practically every version of the Heathers story, Veronica is associated with blue, while J.D. is associated with black. The other color to focus on in this scene would be red, which is commonly associated with both love and violent rage. Going through the scene step by step, Veronica starts the song in a burst of anger, and feels like she and J.D. aren’t on the same page, so the musical jabs should be loud and harsh, and there should be a red spotlight on Veronica. As she calms down and pleads to J.D., the music should get softer, a second spotlight should appear over J.D., and the colors should shift from red to blue, symbolizing Veronica winning him over. When the song hits the second chorus, the two of them should be on the higher level of the stage, and the floodlights should be on, filling the stage with white and gold, colors tied to heaven and purity. The music should be loud and soaring, really using those strings. Then there’s a moment where Veronica and J.D. get caught up in their emotions and kiss, but then awkwardly end it because there’s a sense that they shouldn’t be getting back into that kind of thing yet. Here the floodlights should go off, and the only light should be a single spotlight that covers both Veronica and J.D. as they face each other. The color can be pink, which has the love connotations that red does but not those of anger and violence, and the sound should quiet down.

To close out, I’ll briefly discuss the characters’ costumes and makeup. Since J.D. is resistant to change and doesn’t care about societal norms, he always wears a black coat, with a dark shirt underneath, and black shoes. He probably wouldn’t dress up for the funeral, the most maybe being a tie. On the other hand hand, Veronica, who has more respect for people, would dress up more. She could wear a black coat (fancier than J.D.'s) and then take it off for the song, with her regular blue  outfit underneath to fit with the color symbolism of the lights.

Seventeen Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/14ktJCpsQKx9aONGGLakpjpXWtESDBrsAuRvQ_IJowOQ

Tech Project Proposal

If I were to be the tech director for a single scene from a play, I would want to do the sing “Seventeen” from the musical “Heathers”. I choose this scene because, despite its simplicity, it can be incredibly moving if done correctly. The song transitions from fed up and fiery, to gentle and down to earth, to soaring and hopeful, to cautious and fragile. Applying the different aspects of tech theater can help to heighten these emotional peaks and make the scene unforgettable.

In its original off-Broadway run, the set for “Heathers” was very simple and hardly decorated, just two levels with short stairs on either side of the raised stage. While this abstract set works fine for the show, with the time and budget to expand upon it, I think you could use the location to add to the subtext of the scene. Since this scene takes place directly after the funeral. you could have some decorations to show that Veronica and J.D. are still in the church for the song, such as candles (probably not actually lit), a cross standing or on a wall, a pulpit, etc. With just these few additions keeping the setting in the audiences’ minds as the scene unfolds, it frames the romance as something holy, which tied into one of the show’s musical motifs - “Our love is God”. However, doing this would also make the scene more grounded during the parts where it is meant to transport the audience out of the real world for a moment, to this fantasy real, where the leads’ romance can persist without destroying either of them. 

To keep this effect, I would rely on the sound and lighting. The band/orchestra would have to carry those emotions described in the previous paragraph; listening to the soundtrack, you can see they use lots of strings instruments in this song to achieve that effect. The lighting can make us of the prevalent color motifs in the show as well. Veronica is always associated with blue, while J.D. is associated with black. Another color to use in this scene would be red, which is commonly associated with both love and rage. For the lights in this scene, you could transition from a darker blue/purple to a lighter blue/purple to represent the hope and innocence that the song represents.

Music and Sound Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/13djXO0lbQr4bFsnXaz8snHwzVjRpCN7vFrUvyu2xR_s

Tech Theater Blog #1: Use of Music/Sound in Dear Evan Hansen

When I went to see the musical Dear Evan Hansen in June, there was a song in the program that I hadn’t heard about anywhere else beforehand - a reprise of the Act I finale, “You Will Be Found”, right before the climax of the second act. When the moment came, it proved to be one of the most emotionally effective moments of the whole show, through the contrast between the two versions of the song. In its first appearance, “You Will Be Found” follows the titular protagonist’s sudden rocket to viral fame after his improvised speech at a school assembly about his (fake) friendship with the deceased Connor Murphy. Evan Hansen’s hopeful message reassures both the show’s audience and the many internet commenters we hear sporadically thanking him throughout the song is that, “If you only look around, you will be found. You are not alone.” The pre-recorded commenters all sound genuinely thankful to Evan, and the music has a soaring quality, soft and gentle at times but mainly loud and proud. The use of the chorus, which only appears in one other song in the whole show, makes it feel even more powerful, and all together it creates an image of a joyful community, celebrating their membership in it and inviting the audience to join. However, this positive portrayal of social media as a welcoming, uplifting place was not what the creators of the show were originally going for when they were first shaping “Dear Evan Hansen”. They had planned to take a more satirical approach, showing the evil side of the internet and the destructive power it can rain down on those it decides to target. 

This dark underbelly is put on full display in the “You Will Be Found Reprise”. For context, after Evan realizes how his lies have been ruining the few genuine relationships he has, he’s convinced himself that there’s only one way out of his situation. To prove to his friend Alana that his friendship with Connor was real, he shows her Connor’s suicide note that was addressed to Evan; what he doesn’t tell her is that this is actually a letter he wrote to himself as an assignment from his therapist. Unfortunately, not only does Alana believe Evan, but she almost immediately releases the letter online, despite Evan’s protests, to bring the attention of the public back to Connor. Here the reprise kicks in, but this time instead of creating a feeling of community and acceptance within the audience, it awakens feelings of dread and true fear. It’s hard to recall from memory exactly what the music was like, but I recall it being mostly the same while still somehow sounding harsher, sharper, and more dissonant, as though you’re standing in the middle of a battlefield. The commenters have all turned on the Murphy family after reading the “suicide note”, and call each one of them out for failing to get Connor the help he needs. They use crude and cruel language, holding nothing back - I specifically recall one person calling Connor’s sister Zoe a “bitch”. The lyrics are the same as the ones quoted in the previous paragraph, but with everything else combined, they take on a new meaning: There is nowhere you can hide from the ever-watching eyes of the Internet. There are other factors that play into making this moment so impactful, such as the lighting and graphics, but it’s the use of the music and other sounds that bring this moment to life in a horrifying relatable way.

TiP Chapter 8 Notes (Technical Theater Unit)

• If the play is set in a different culture and/or time period, do research to find references for costumes and set
• You can make a simple model of the set with figurines to represent the cast (held to make it to scale)
• Mark out the “stage floor” in the rehearsal room, as well as where any large furniture will be, with tape
• Have everyone involved come up with an idea for what the essence/message/main theme of the play; can help you figure out color pallets, which moments that tie into that theme should be highlighted with lights or sound, etc.
• Pick out moments where you can afford to get extra creative with staging without distracting from the scene
• If you’re going to have music, make sure it fits the setting and tone of the play; the music you play before the show starts and during intermission should also fit with the play to keep the audience from being pulled out if it
• Set should help express the story; functionality > flashiness
• Consider where you cha use special effects (again, to enhance the story, not distract from it)
• Make sure the light and sound operatives know the power cues before the technical rehearsal
• Have sound effects saved in order, all in one place
• Position lights before actors arrive at rehearsal to save time
• Try running through just the cues so that the light and sound operatives have time to practice and get used to it
• Consider visual and audio motifs that can be used to tie the whole play together

Rakugo Presentation Reflection

Having worked on my World Theater Traditions research project for two or three months at this point, it’s somewhat difficult to step back and look at the full picture. While I am satisfied with my final presentation, there are certainly areas where I could have improved it, had I made better use of my time up until that point. I’ve been fortunate enough to rarely suffer from stage fright in my many years of performing, but I think my nerves did get to me somewhat when recording my final presentation. Part of it was because I hadn’t fully memorized the script, so I ended up skipping over some of the more repetious lines of setup at the start. I also made the notecards late in the process of preparing for the presentation, so I wasn’t as comfortable using them as the could have been. The rest of my nervousness came from knowing that this will make up a significant portion of my IB grade for this class.
While the presentation could have gone a bit better, I am proud of what I accomplished with the project itself. Other than talking about my time physically practicing my convention, which I forgot to mention, I feel that I covered all of the required topics sufficiently, and in good time. If I were to do this project over from the beginning, I’d try to narrow the focus of my research more from the start, and make the notecards alongside the slides, so that I’d have more time to practice presenting and performing.

First Thoughts on Technical Theater

Having now been through four plays here at Cheshire Academy, and having seen eight plays on Broadway, I understand that technical theater includes multiple essential aspects of putting on a professional show. These include set design, props and costumes, lighting, sound, and stage management. The stage crew is there during the show to make sure that everything runs smoothly; props have to be in the right place, costumes have to be where people change in and out of them, and scene changes have to be fast without forgetting or breaking anything. 

All the other aspects of technical theater are mainly there to heighten the setting and atmosphere, immersing the audience as much as possible. If a character is meant to be holding a book, it might pull the audience out of the scene for a moment if the actor doesn’t have a book prop. If the play is meant to take place in a certain location and/or time period, then not having relevant costumes can be distracting as well. While plenty of shows can work with a simple set, having a set that’s beautiful and complex will leave a big impression on the audience. Still, the set should prioritize functionally over pure awe factor. Lights can highlight a specific character or object, or set a mood.

Stars in Their Multitudes: A Review of CA´s Production of “Les Miserables”

Over the past few months, I have had the pleasure of participating in Cheshire Academy’s production of “Les Miserables” (student edition), originally written by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, translated to English by Herbert Kretzmer, and directed by Jennifer Guarino. The show opened on Friday February 23 with an evening performance that day and Saturday, as well as an afternoon showing that Sunday. Adapted from the classic novel by Victor Hugo, “Les Miserables” is a story set in early nineteenth century France that spans two decades, culminating with the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris. There are many characters with their own entangling plot lines, but the focal point is Jean Valjean, an unusually strong man who broke parol after serving nineteen years of jail time. A kind bishop opens his heart to forgiveness, and Valjean spends the rest of the play trying to be an honest and generous man while avoiding the clutches of the very dedicated and deeply religious inspector Javert.

From the corrupted innocent Fantine to her orphaned daughter Cosette to her lover Marius Pontmercy, Valjean’s simple desire to do good changes lives and saves souls. This plays into one of the major themes highlighted by this production of the play: redemption. It is the main idea that puts the protagonist and the antagonist at odds; Valjean believes in redemption and acts to earn it, where Javert does not, and when forced to face it, it overwhelms and disorients him to the point that he kills himself. Yet at the end, when the souls of the dead come onstage to welcome Valjean into heaven, both Javert and the Thénardiers (dastardly thieves/cons who lack empathy and would do anything for money) are standing on the sides of the stage, showing that there is always hope for penance and healing, no matter who you are.

Considering how large of a production Les Miserables is, a skeptic who stepped into our little Black Box theater might start questioning if it would even be possible to pull it off in such a small space. However, considering the limitations, the set ended up drastically exceeding expectations. The painted backdrop of the city at night was beautiful and set the perfect atmosphere. For when another background would be more appropriate, the triangles from last year’s production of “School of Rock” were repainted to have two plain-color sides, one a warm orange and one a cold grey, and one side that, when put together, formed a lovely garden. Then there’s the surprisingly realistic-looking bridge, looming over the action from the back at all times. These few elements, along with some tables, chairs, benches, and various other props. come together to set each scene more than sufficiently. However, the star of the set design is the three-part barricade that gets pulled out in Act II, built out of assorted furniture covered in splatters of painted blood, with multiple levels to make it feel even more real. It awed me the first time I saw it and has continued to do so ever since.

The lighting did well at setting the mood and commanding the audience’s attention, with some of the stand-out moments being the wild splashes of color that swirl around during the end of “Master of the House” and the flashing lights during the gun battles at the barricade. The costumes were equally well done. The poor wore drab colored clothes to play into the misery of their lives, while giving the prostitutes sparkly masquerade masks and colorful feather boas really made them attract the eye. The audio was well balanced, and the gunshots were realistic, though sometimes they seemed to come in either a bit late or too quiet to start.

There were a ton of strong performances in this show, but the ones that stood out the most were Mousier and Madame Thénardier, portrayed by Sam Weed and Gianna respectively. These two characters are the main source of comedy and levity in the show while also being the most truly evil out of the whole cast. These two manage to sell that perfectly. Both are entirely comfortable in their own skin, full of confidence as they move across the stage, always in character. You cringe in fear at the harshness Gianna shows to young Cosette, but then she gets perhaps the biggest laughs of the whole show in her crass solo during “Master of the House”. Sam is lovably sleazy all the way through, stealing every scene she’s in. Not only that, but the two of them have amazing chemistry, best portrayed in their hilarious interactions during “The Bargain” as they haggle for Collette-Cosette-Corvette and “The Wedding”, where they end it by cheerfully exclaiming to the audience “won’t we see you all in hell!” 

What impressed me the most about Cheshire Academy’s production of Les Miserables was the effort that was put into it. The heart of this show shines in the gorgeous visuals, in the booming music, and the breathtaking performances.  Every time I heard one of the actors seemingly on the brink of tears, which was more often than I had initially expected, I felt a pang in my heart and had a proud smile on my face. I knew from the start that this show was going to be special, but the final product still blew me away. This is an experience I will not forget. 

Rakugo Slides (First Draft)

Link

Rakugo Sources

Websites
https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00045

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Rakugo

http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/news/japanese_standup.htm

http://www.english-rakugo.com/english_version/english_what.html

https://kamigatarakugo.wordpress.com/about-kamigata-rakugo-上方落語について/glossary-語彙集/

Videos
https://youtu.be/VuNtJGCzoGI

http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=57&clip_id=4508

https://youtu.be/KDswpTwmZ44

https://youtu.be/ybUa1JoGTUQ

Book
“Rakugo: Performing Comedy and Cultural Heritage in Contemporary Tokeo” by Lorie Brau

World Theater Tradition: Sample Presentations

After watching multiple student presentations for the IB world theater traditions project, I feel like I have a good grasp on what the IB is looking for in terms of a high-quality presentation.  In the first section, you have to explain what your chosen tradition is and give general information about it using a variety of sources. However, it’s important not to spend too long on general facts about the tradition; just say as much as is necessary and then hone in on the specific convention of that tradition you will be showing off. It’s also important to explain the context of the tradition in history and the cultural significance to show that the tradition you chose is worth learning about. 

In the second section, you have to explain the work you have done in preparing to preforming your tradition and convention for the class, and how you applied it to create a single moment of theater. This ties directly into section three, which is preforming the convention while explaining the nuances to the audience. As before, specifics are key here. When doing the performance, I think it would be helpful to take a cue from the girl who did her project on Talchum dance, who explained her moment of theater step by step before putting it all together. This way, the viewers can fully understand and appreciate the full performance, rather than having it explained to them after the fact.

The last section is the one where people seem to lose points the most often. In this section, you have to explain how researching and preparing for this presentation has made you a better performer. Where most people lose points here is not drawing connections to any particular theater experience they have had or are currently working on, so I will have to remember not to make that mistake. You also have briefly to compare the convention to another theater tradition in this section, so as I do my research, I will take note of what aspects of Rakugo remind me of other theater traditions I have looked into.

My Choice of World Theater Tradition

After doing further research, I have decided that the world theater tradition I want to study for my IB Task 3 Project is Rakugo. I want to study this Japanese form of theater because it is very different from the theater I am used to performing. Playing multiple characters on my own and making them clearly distinct from each other, using just my voice, expressions, and mannerisms, sounds like a trying but exciting challenge that would push my acting range. I am generally a pretty expressive person when it comes to my body language, so I hopefully will be able to work around the limit of having to remain seated for the whole performance without much difficulty. The minimalist nature of Rakugo performances also means that I would not have to worry too much about preparing stuff for my performance; only two props are allowed, and you can’t change costume mid-show.

There is also an unexpected appeal to be found in just how long Rakugo has lasted. It has been around since Japan’s Edo period that started in 1603 and is still somewhat popular there to this day. The core tradition having changed very little in the centuries it’s been around, serving as further proof of its value to both Japanese culture and the world of theater. In addition, unlike some of the other world theater traditions we could choose from, Rakugo plays aren’t all from just one genre. While Rakugo performances tend to be on the more lighthearted side, they can be comedies or family dramas. There are also different variations of Rakugo, such as ongyokubanashi (musicals), kaidanbanashi (stories with ghosts), and ninjōbanashi (more sentimental stories), though these usually lack the punchline (ochi) that serves as the climax of traditional Rakugo plays. This will give me slightly more leeway when it comes to putting on an example performance myself for this project. With all of this in mind, I am very excited to begin my world theatre traditions project and look more into Rakugo theater.

Here are two sources I found about Rakugo:

First website

Second website

Sample IB Task 3 Rakugo Presentation (the grade the student received, as well as some of the teacher’s comments, can be found in the comments section)

World Theater Traditions: Early Reflection

I have really enjoyed getting the chance to examine all of these different forms of theatre so far. I had heard of Rokugo in particular before after watching a video on YouTube about a current anime based around the art form, and from what little I could glean in that video, I was intrigued. Having to act out multiple characters using just your voice and limited body movements seems like it would be a really fun challenge to take on. Right now, it’s at the top of my list of world teacher traditions that I would like to study for this project. However, after our previous unit on Julie Taymor, I have also gained a greater appreciation for theater involving puppetry. 

It’s interesting to see how varied these theater traditions are, while still sharing some similarities. For example, I thought it was cool that multiple cultures have their own popular form of shadow puppet theater. Another thing I did not exactly expect going in was how each tradition seemed to be tied to a specific kind of show (comedy, tragedy, etc.). Going in, I had thought of these traditions as just forms, without considering how themes and tone tend to arise from the form the story is being told in. 

When comparing these traditions to the kinds of shows I have watched and performed in over the years, there are certainly some that feel more familiar than others. Traditions like Kyogen are not too much more extreme than the kind of comedy-focused plays that I have seen. On the other hand, I found the Kathakali performance I watched on YouTube to be pretty out there, having the singers tell the story from off stage while the dancers perform in colorful, flamboyant costumes and heavy face makeup on the stage. I feel that Rakugo is also pretty unusual; one-person shows are not a totally new concept to me, but having to do it all while remaining seated center stage only makes it that much more impressive. In forms like these, there is a lot more of an emphasis on the subtle movements the actors can pull off, things that are much more difficult to appreciate in, say, your standard Broadway show. 

There are also traditions that toe the life between dance performances and theater, such as the Korean mask dances. The thing that makes this theater, and the underlying connection between all these traditions, is that there is some kind of story that the performers are trying to tell, whether it be comedic or dramatic, more abstract or more direct. The cool thing about examining these theater traditions from all over the world is that it shows how different cultures share their stories, and what kind of stories they feel are worth telling. 

World Theater Traditions - Example Presentations

Rakugo
Noh theater
Kabuki

World Theater Traditions - Starting Reserach

From Monday
1. Rakugo “sit down” theatre (Japan)
A. Source: https://www.nippon.com/en/features/jg00045/
B. One actor in a kimono sitting in the middle of the stage with limited props; does all characters
C. Practiced since the Edo period (1603–1868) and is still popular today (there’s even an anime about it)
D. Usually comedic or lighthearted family drama
E. Vocabulary terms
a. rakugoka = the performer (professional)
b. ochi/raku = the punchline of the performance
c. neta = material (script)
F. Video: https://youtu.be/ybUa1JoGTUQ
2. Medieval mystery plays (England, France, Germany)
A. Source: https://www.britannica.com/art/mystery-play
B. Bible stories
C. Started out as performances on church grounds by churchmen in Latin
D. Guilds started popping up in the 13th century that brought them to the general public
E. Performed on pageant wagons in England (with dressing room)
F. Proper stages in France and Italy with hell on one side, heaven in the other, and earth in between
G. Stories changed after multiple retellings and satire was added in
H. Faded out at the end of the 16th century
a. Church no longer supported them because they weren’t accurate
b. People were more interested in plays by traveling companies from Italy
c. Renaissance scholars thought they were trash
I. Video: https://youtu.be/fMAFgSnDlRY
3. Khayal al-zill shadow puppets (Egypt)
A. Source: http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/199902/shadows.of.fancy.htm
B. Khayal al-zill means “"shadows of the imagination" or "shadows of fancy”
C. Started as early as the founding of Cairo in the 10th century
D. Popularity peaked in the 13th and 14th centuries; performed throughout the Nile Delta
E. Big part of the holy month of Ramadan
F. More allegorical stories with Islamic roots
G. Told in parts over multiple nights to keep people coming back
H. Portable stages made from wood and canvas
I. Foot-tall shadow figures made from stiff, thin-stretched translucent camel-hide
J. Mounted on wooden rods that let you manipulate the limbs
K. Video: https://youtu.be/7EfGjd5iC-A

For homework:
1. Kyogen video (https://youtu.be/oKfriCzdjSg)
A. Clear, exaggerated movements
B. Loud voices, use of verbal sound effects
C. Physical/visual comedy
D. Limited set and props
2. Talchum dance (https://youtu.be/5cgO53tMBmI)
A. Large ensemble wearing bright red masks
B. Loud music; percussion particularly stands out (to help dancers keep the rhythm)
C. Colorful outfits with super long sleeves (like holding a ribbon)
D. Shout-singing
3. Kathakali (https://youtu.be/E1c37mFAKG0)
A. Separate singer and actor (like Julie Taymor’s Oedipus Rex...)
B. Dancer is super dressed up with heavy facial makeup while the singer is basically the opposite
C. Low droning singing
D. Intense facial expressions have to tell most of the story on the actor’s part
E. Arm and hand movements are exaggerated but calculated
F. Mostly stays in the center of the stage