Comedy of Errors

1. Describe the Theater, set, and costumes.

      The Theater is on the smaller scale while still having many seats for the audience.  The stage is the proscenium type, where the stage is raised slightly above the auidence, and has seats close to the stage.  The set seemed like it was hand made by students at USC.  Some of the staging were pushed on and off of the stage by stage hands.  There were different buildings as part of the set on the stage.  Some of them was the jail and a house.  There was also a small cafe to the left side of the stage that had small table and chairs outside of the building.  The costumes for this play were very colorful and varied throughout the characters.  The two sets of twins wore either an orange suit or purple costume.  The belly dancers wore outfits that could show off all of their dance moves.  The rest of the cast wore colorful outfits. 

2. In what period does this play take place? Who is the author? What period did the play write live?

       This play takes place during the Ancient Greek period and was written between 1589 and 1595. The author of this play is William Shakespeare.  Robert Richmond brought this play to the University of South Carolina. 

3. Discuss the plot.


       A mother and father had twins and suddenly were given another set of twins.  One set of twins were both named Antipholus and the other set of twins were both named Dromio.  The mother and father seperated and each took one of each set of twins, so the twins were seperated at a young age and never knew about the other siblings.  The play jumps to when they are older. One of each of the twins is paired up together and have no idea about the other one.  The whole town, including them, is very confused since no one knows the other is a twin.  Antipholus of Ephesus is married but the wife, Adriana, confuses them and thinks that her husband is having an affair.  He is messing around with one of the dancers in town.  Luciana and Dromio of Ephesus suddenly fall for each other.  They think they are doing wrong since they believe that Dromio is her husband. The confusion increases when a gold chain ordered by the Ephesian Antipholus is given to Antipholus of Syracuse. Antipholus of Ephesus refuses to pay for the chain, since he never received it, and is arrested for debt. Adriana now begs the Duke to intervene and remove her "husband" from the abbey into her custody. Her real husband, meanwhile, has broken loose and now comes to the Duke and levels charges against his wifeAt the end of the play, they discover each other and everything is made good again.  

                                                              

Phantom of the Opera Assignment

Describe

     Phantom of the Opera was made in 2004 and is based off the musical that was written in 1984. The movie was directed by Joel Schumacher, and is staring Gerald Butler, as the Phantom, and Emmy Rossum, as Christine.  This story is set in the 1870s. There is a love triangle which contains Christine, Raoul, and The Phantom.  In the story, the cast is preparing for the opera, Hannibal.  The main lead in the opera is very upset at her salary and causes a lot of fuss about it. Suddenly, the backdrop falls onto the back of her head and you see that it is done by the Phantom.  She is very angry and storms out.  Christine now takes over and is the lead singer for the opera.  Once the show is over, the Phantom lures her into a hidden dungeon.  The Phantom sings for her and she suddenly faints. Then Christine removes the Phantom's mask and he becomes very angry and storms back upstairs to the opera house. He threatens the owners each week to leave pay for him and a certain box empty.  Drama keeps escalating when Christine starts falling in love with Raoul, all while The Phantom's love is increasing for Christine.

Interpret

     It was very interesting to watcht the way the love triangle was playing out.  Christine was not in love with the Phantom but also did not hate him even though he was obsessive and full of rage.  She was the only person who ever had interaction with him and did not think that he was full of evil.  After a while, she realizes that they could never work out and sees that he is turning jealous and murderous.  Raoul realizes this and starts to fight for her.  The Phantom takes her back to the dungeon but Raoul saves her again.  They go to the cemetery where her father is buried where the Phantom tries to seduce her again.  A sword fight starts between Raoul and the Phantom but Christine begs the both of the to allow each other to keep their life.

Analyze

     The love triangle symbolizes  a girl who must chose between a man who is great for her, and one that is mysterious and pulls her in.  Raoul is the handsome one who is kind and romantic to Christine.  The Phantom loves her just the same but is scarred by a childhood of abuse.  I really enjoyed the movie and watching Christine struggle to figure out who she really loved.  It does make you wonder though what would have happened if she would have choosen the Phantom.  I wonder if he wold have turned into a good person.  If I had been in the same situation, I would have made the same decision because who would want to be with a murderer.

Evalutate

     I was very excited to see this movie because I had always heard great things about both the movie and opera.  I had seen pieces of the movie but was curious to see the whole story line.  Gerald Butler is one of my favorite actors and it was great to see him in this role.  I had never seen him do a role that was this different but he did a great job.  Overall, I really enjoyed this movie and thought it was produced in high quality. 



Opera Assignment #8

1. Describe the difference between opera, light opera, and musical theater

     Opera is an elevated style of musical theatre that is defined by the age of Mozart from around 1775-1910.  Light opera is a less demanding form of opera.  It may incorporate spoken words and usually appeals to a broader audience.  However, it still requires operatic voices and a live orchestra.  Musical theater is something such as a broadway thearter where music is interspersed with dialogue.  It can be less demanding vocally and can be performed by singing actors.  

2. How long does it take for someone to have a fully trained operatic voice?
A person is not to their peak performance until the reach the age of 30. Their control of breath is imperative. Opera stars are notoriously demanding.

3. Choose an Opera by Puccini? Describe and interpret.

     While listening to Tosca by Puccini, I am able to hear many stron and powerfull notes being sung by a male.  After looking more closely at the opera, I was able to see that the singer had great control of their voice in order to complete this song in such a great and powerfull way.



Theater Assignment #7

1. Describe the difference between a thrust stage and proscenium stage.
   




     A thrust stage is a stage that goes out into the auidence.  Many times the auidence will surround the stage.  A proscenium stage is a theatre whose primary feature is a large frame or arch. In a proscenium theatre, the auidence faces the stage directly.  Also, the stage is usually raised so it can be difficult for the auidence in the front rows to see. An example of this type of stage can be found in Drayton Hall.



2. What is the fly gallery?
    The fly gallery is the area where the stage crew can quickly and quietly move curtains, lights, etc. without being seen.  Sometimes they may have metal walkways above the stage to help with these tasks.

3. How does a scrim work?

    Scrims are backdrops that are used in plays to quickly change the scene or setting of the play.  The stage crew pulls one up and lets the other one down in the fly gallery when changing scenery.  They can also be used for special effects.



Big Apple- Art Event

1. Even though the shag is danced to music that is 4/4 time, how does the dancer count when they are dancing the shag?

The count when shagging is 1 and 2, 3 and 4, 5, 6.

2. Discuss the Big Apple building. Discuss its features architechtural feature of Columbia, and a brief history. What was the first name of the building?

The building was first the House of Peace Synagogue and later was turned into a black juke joint called "Big Apple Night Club". The Big Apple building has a large open floor in the main level which gives room for anyone to dance. In the top of the building, they have a balcony where others can watch. The architectural style of this build is greek revival with doric columns built into the archway.

3. Discuss the Shag. What is the history of the shag and what is its relevance to South Carolina

The Shag is a dance that is done with an unfamiliar eight count that brings that couple close together and then pulls them apart. It originated with the African Americans when they would come and dance in juke joints like Big Apple. It was uncommon for whites to come into the building but the white USC students would pay 25 cents to watch them dance in the balcony. They then would take it back and teach it to their friends. It is done a lot along the coast of South Carolina.

Assignment Six

1. Describe the baroque period of dance. 
        The baroque period was between 1600-1750. It was derived from the Portuguese word barroco, which means misshapen pearl. Art, Music, Dance, and Architecture flourished during this time period. It is characterized by dynamic movement, overt motion, and self-confident rhetoric. This period also has a tendency to blur distinctions between the various arts. 


2. Discuss why people dance?  
        People dance as a way to express themselves and their feelings. One of the biggest things in dance is the music. Music in dance shows the mood and type of dance that will be performed during the performance. Dance is not fun but enjoyable for others to watch. It can be very impressive to watch a set of dancers perform together. Dance is also a main part of many social events such as birthdays and weddings. It is a way that friends and family can have fun together. It has been very interesting to see the changes that dancing has taken throughout the years.

3. Describe one non western dance art form.
        Butoh is a type of dance that is done by the Japanese from 1959. It is a very different type of dance that we are not use to seeing in America. It is characterized by emotional intensity. While watching the video, I was very shocked by the dancing. The dancer seems to be angry while dancing. The makeup that they wear is very eye catching as they paint their faces with white paint.

Film Art Event

I saw Maid in Dagenham which is based in the 60s on equal pay for  both women and men.

1. Describe and interpret the Establishing Shot of the film you viewed at the Nickelodeon. How did this set the stage for your experience with the film?

At the beginning of the movie, it showed the factory and the hard work that the women were having to do each day. I feel like they were wanting us to get a real view of the environment that they worked in.  This establishing shot really set the stage for the film because I was knew that it was going to be a very heartfelt and intense film.  I was able to see the hard work that they were having to do without any appreciation. 

2. Describe any interesting camera angles that were seen in the film.
There were several interesting camera angles that were seen throughout the film.  When the women were on stirke during the rain, the camera angles were great because you were able to see the emotion in their face. It was also great to see the different angles in the scene when the men were in the conference and the women from the Ford plant come in to tell them their stance on equal pay regardless of gender.  Through the different angles, you were able to see both the women and men's expression and their feeling on the topic. 

3.Describe and interpret the story line of the film. What scenes moved you, drew you in, made you feel uncomfortable, etc? Did you view any Mise-en-Scene or staging in the film?
The story started off showing the women and the hard work that they had to do daily without any appreciation.  One of the men who was their manager tried to act like he cared and was working hard to get them equal pay but when two ladies went into a meeting with the Ford board they realized that he was lying and did not see it as important as the women did.  When they came back to the factory, they decided that the best thing to do was to go on strike for a full day to show them that they were serious about what they wanted.  The women returned to work the next day but saw that there was going to be no changes so they decided to go on a strike until they were able to get equal pay regardless of gender.  They were on strike for a long time and two of the women went around and talked to different people to let their voice be heard.  After much hard work, they were able to meet with the Secretary of State in England who was also a woman.  She was able to change the laws and got the women a 92% pay increase and later made it a law to have equal pay for everyone regardless of gender.  The scences where the women were meeting with different memebers of Ford really moved me because I was able to see how heartfelt they were and the struggles that they were having to go through.  It was interesting to see how it also affected their families during the strike.  One husband hung himself and another marriage was falling apart.  These scenes really drew me in and had me wanting everything to end and be right again.

4.Analyze the roles of the actors. Were they convincing in their depiction of the character they played? Why or why not?

The actors were all great and really were able to show emotion throughout the whole film.  The women actors showed us the pain and hard work that they had to go through in order to get equal pay.  It was great to see the roles of the men in this movie.  Many of them had trouble understanding why the women were working so hard for the pay raise or did not appreciate the hard work that they were having to do day in and day out. They were all very convincing in their depiction of the characters they played because you could see that really cared about the struggles that the women were going through.  Since they are also women, they were able to relate on that level and connect emotionally.

5.How did the music or soundtrack of the film influence your interpretation and experience of the film?

The music in the movie really did not affect my experience of the film.  It was a great addition to the movie though and changed to fit the different scences and setting.  The music gave us a preview of how the next scene would be whether the music was upbeat and cheerful or dreary and sad.

6.Describe the genre of the film. (Refer to Chapter 10.)

I feel like this movie is a mixture between history and drama. I feel that it is history because it is based on true facts from the 1960s, when women at the Ford plant in England were trying to get equal pay regardless of gender. I think it is drama because their are conflicts between the women, men that work for the Ford plant, and the husbands.

 7.Describe, analyze and interpret the context of the film. What message or meaning did you derive from the film?

This movie is about women fighting for what they believe in. Its shows the audience that if they feel like something is important enough to fight for, then they should go for it. Women should be treated the same as men in their community. They fought for what they wanted and acheived the outcome that they worked so hard towards.