Presentation by a Student From Bangladesh

On November 13, 2012 we had an exchange student from Bangladesh come into our theatre class to talk give a presentation about his native country. This was especially interesting because our class is INTERNATIONAL Baccalaureate, so it is important to be exposed to other cultures. His presentation was fascinating and informative. He told us about the famous authors in Bangladesh. Rabindranah Tagore is their equivalent of William Shakespeare and students there study him a lot. Nazrul Islam wrote about political independence. Humayan Ahmed is similar to Tim O'Brien in that he does simple writing. Finally, Michael Dutta was a famous 1800s writer. All of these authors have written plays. In Bangladesh, the plays are usually very long. I found ti especially interesting that the student told us that students in Bangladesh also study Shakespeare in school. Also, we learned that all of the movies are musicals, similar to Bollywood movies in India. Lastly, we asked the student why he came to America, and he said he wanted to learn more about the world. I found this extremely interesting because that is the whole philosophy surrounding IB, and our theatre class aims to learn about theatre with global ramifications.

Universal Themes

Last night, I was watching The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, one of my favorite movies of all time! In the movie, Gandalf and Merry go to Minas Tirith. During their time there, they interact with Lord Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. He is extremely depressed because his favorite son Boromir has died, while Feramir is still alive. He admits to wishing that the his sons' places were switched, so that Boromir were still alive, while Feramir would be dead. This sad situation reminded me of the relationship of the mother with the bridegroom in "Blood Wedding" by Federico Garcia Lorca. The mother obsessively laments the deaths of her husband and son, so that it almost seems as if she would rather the bridegroom be dead, as opposed to her other son. Her preference is not as blatant as Lord Denethor's, but it certainly expounds upon the idea of universal themes, and shows how theatre is no exception.
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/boromir

Epiphanies in the Shower!

I have found that showers are the best places for epiphanies!! I've been working out some ideas for writing my play, and the other night in the shower, I came up with an idea for the premise of my play! It will be about a girl of about 16, named Elizabeth, who lives in a city with her mother during WWII (or some war). Her father is off at the war. Her mother is a skilled nurse, so sick people often come to their house. One night a man comes to their place with a mysterious illness. Several days later, the Elizabeth's mother falls ill as well. Lissie tries to nurse her mother to the best of her ability, but unfortunately, she fails. She tries to send word to her father at the front, but soon receives the news that her father is missing in action. She is sent off to an orphanage, where various trials and tribulations ensue. She must work in a way she never has before, and it is very difficult for her to adjust to her new life. However, she is persevering, and she is able to escape the orphanage and become a governess, for she always loved school and teaching. She stays with a family that lives in a large estate in the countryside, and the family soon begins to take in wounded soldiers. After Elizabeth has been with the family for several months, a man arrives from the front who was wounded and consequently had amnesia. However, he is beginning to regain it upon his arrival at the convalescent home. Can you guess who it is? You got it! It's Elizabeth's father who had gone missing!! Cue a joyous family reunion! :) Now comes the hard part...actually writing the script!

Writing a Play

Mrs. Burke recently told us to start thinking about our TPPP and IPPs, and it made think of how I would really love for our class to perform a play together. I am going to try to write one myself, although I am finding it difficult right now to think of what it should be about. Stupid writer's block. However, I think I want to name the play "Messages Through the Moon" and make it something about two people are separated, so they must rely on sending each other messages through the moon so that they don't feel all alone. My goal is to finish the play by the end of Christmas break. All right ideas, start coming to me!!!!

Henry V Monologue

On November 15, 2012 I performed the chorus monologue from Act IV of Henry V by William Shakespeare. It was a great experience for showing me the reality of live theatre.

I chose to stage this prologue in the Performing Arts Center, an example of a proscenium theatre, because the chorus tries to convey to the audience that they must use their imaginations to see the scene. Therefore, while they may be watching this play in a nice, luxurious theatre, they need to transport themselves to the dismal setting of the war. This also gives more responsibility to the chorus, for they must be convincing in their portrayal of the scene if they want the audience to understand. Also, I imagine the chorus as serving to simply "set the stage" for the scene. Therefore, they would stand at the front of the stage, with a spotlight on them. They would act within the prologue using gestures and movement, but they would stay mostly stationary in the center of the front of the stage. A proscenium means in front of the scenery, hence the PAC would be fitting because standing on the front of the stage, the chorus could convey that idea of being a separate story-teller, with the action occurring behind them, among the scenery. Meanwhile, the setting would be set up behind them, so that they could gesture to the events taking place behind them.

            I also think it is important to note my costume choice, for that also pertains to my choice for setting. I chose to be a woman from Shakespeare's time period because the play mostly centers around men, so I feel as if the audience would need a reprieve in the form of a woman at least a little in the play. I chose her to wear this traditional Shakespearean-era dress because it shows her high class, and I feel as if the chorus woman would be chiding the men for their war-like ways. She could also be more dramatic about the peril of the situation. It also emphasizes the fact that she is a detached observer from the events of the play, hence her position at the front of the stage in a proscenium theatre.

As for the actual recitation of the chorus, I had practiced it so many times by myself that I thought I had the memorization down with no problem. However, when I got onstage, it seemed as if all of the words flew out of my mind. I had to take three extremely long pauses where I tried to remember the next lines and then look down at my paper for help. I had never felt so disappointed about a theatrical performance. Usually, I don't have problems with memorization, so this was incredibly frustrating. I know that this happens sometimes in live theatre, but I couldn't help getting mad at myself about it. Despite my problems with forgetting lines, I thought my acting was actually pretty good. I tried to be very theatrical, as well as project my voice well. Also, I knew there was extra pressure because I went first, so I tried not to let it get to me too much. After my performance, we went to see Frida in the Arts Courtyard. She recited the Act III prologue, and stood above us to portray the idea that she was standing on a ship. She looked almost like a masthead. Also, Frida wore a really cool mask, and I thought it was really effective in disguising her identity, so she could reuse that character later in the play. Frida also struggled with the memorization of her script, and I felt really bad because now I knew how difficult it was. However, I really admired her because her native language is Swedish, yet she was trying to memorize something in English. It actually related to another part of Henry V because I imagine it would be difficult for the actors of the French to memorize lines in French if it wasn't their native language. The last person to do their monologue that day was Katherine. She did the prologue before Act I on the windowsill by the stairs. She did an exceptional job with her memorization because she didn't forget a single line. She was very theatrical as well, and she took the chorus member to be a drinker and a smoker. It was amusing, but going in that direction an actor would need to be aware of the fact that it could offend people. Personally, my grandfather died because of his alcoholism, so I don't find it something to be taken lightly. Therefore, I found the performance to be somewhat off-putting, and I imagine it would taint my view of the play as a whole. However, Frida pointed out that in Europe, drinking isn't a big deal, so audiences there might not be as offended. Overall, I thought everyone did an exceptional job with their monologues, and I wish I had been there to see Aishwarya, Gwen, and Sam perform. I think presenting the monologues was a good lesson in learning what it is like to experience live theatre, as well as the joys and disappointments that accompany it.