Comedy of Errors

1.    Describe the Theater, sets, and costumes

Comedy of Errors was put on in Drayton Hall.  This is a small theatre and did not have too big of a stage.  I believe they only opened two curtains throughout the play and only a hand full of stage lights.  But, it is nice being in a small theater sometimes and being able to see everything so clearly.  The scenery was well organized though.  The stage had the same backdrop throughout the play.  The backdrop was just scenery of outside.  They had some table and chairs on the side where the characters would sit down and eat and drink.  They also had a part of the stage where one individual could walk up stairs and be at what was meant to be a balcony.  A dog was also up on his own balcony on the left side of the stage type writing the entire play.  He would randomly bark, which brought humor to the play.  The costumes were my favorite part of this play.  All of the characters had bright colored clothes on and they had wigs to match.  This made them look rather funny!  My favorite costumes were the twins and the genie girls.  They all had on really bright colors with fun wigs.  The costumes were what allowed me from the first scene of the play to know that this play was going to be very humorous. 

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

The play takes place in the Greek Period.  The Comedy of Errors was written by William Shakespeare.  William Shakespeare lived during the Renaissance period.

3. Discuss the plot

The Comedy of Errors is a humorous play about two sets of identical twins that get separated at birth.  The play then fast forwards to the twins grown up.  The sets of twins have no idea that they have other siblings, so when the confusion starts is when they are both in the same town at the same time.  All kind of confusions happens during the play.  The one twin is waiting for money to be returned to him and it is given to the wrong twin.  So, throughout the whole play the twin is angry and thinks people are lying to him.  One twin is cheating on his, wife and the other twin is the one who is accused.  The twins are not the only ones confused, but all the people who are around them.  The play is guided by song and dancing.  It was very entertaining to watch, because of all that was going on.  Every scene had another twin in it and people were always confused.  The confusion is what makes this a comedy play! 

This was the cover to the program of the play!  It pretty much describes the entire play and how everything was confusing anf truned upside down!  When I first looked at it i didn't get the hint about the twins.  But, I knew after the first scene that their was going to be twins and that most likely means confusion!

Phantom of The Opera

Describe- The movie Phantom of The Opera is originally based off of a novel that is now known as a well-known theatre play.  The movie is about a man named Phantom that haunts a French opera house.  The performers and those who run the theater do not know who this man is and cannot see his face because he hides half of it with a mask.  During the movie the lead girl of the performance becomes Phantoms obsession.  His dreams are soon crushed when he realizes the girl is in love with another man.  So, Phantom becomes determined to get the girl.  He creates all these obstacles for the performers so that he can capture the girl.  When he indeed captures the girl he takes her down to his own dungeon underneath the theatre and they hide out there.  Finally after everyone is looking for her, her lover comes and finds her.  The Phantom threatens the man by saying either you die or she does.  They are both terrified, but the Phantom has a change of heart and lets the girls go back to her love.  The Phantom then disappears.
Analyze- In the beginning of the movie there was a scene with a young boy getting beaten and made fun of.  This scene was made to be a reminder throughout the play of who this young boy could be.  Later finding out it was the Phantom, but things into perspective.  A person’s first impression of the Phantom is a mean and scary man who wants to ruin things for the theatre and its’ performers.  Throughout the movie you knew that there was more behind the way Phantom acted and why he would not show his identity.  This movie is all about identity and a person’s past. 
Interpret- The reason that the Phantom was so bitter was because he was treated so badly as a child.  He was beaten up and treated with no respect.  Because the Phantom was so mean people were so terrified of him and never actually thought about why he acts the way he does.  The one person that finally realized that there must be a reason behind his actions was the girl of his dreams.  She wanted to know why he wore that mask and why he wouldn’t show his true face to her.  But, when he did take off his mask she realized what he was hiding and felt sorry for him.  The lesson people can take from this movie is not to judge people before knowing what is truly going on in their life.    
Evaluate- I had never seen the Phantom before this class.  Many of my friends have seen it several times and were shocked that I had never seen it once.  I’m glad that we watched this movie as a class.  I enjoyed all the music and the scenery!  I have always been into theatre and the Phantom is on my list of plays that I want to attend.  It is a very intriguing story.  I took a lesson away from watching this movie and that is to not judge people so quickly before I know their real story.  I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Phantom at the end.  I don’t blame him for not wanting to show his face to others.  There is a reason the Phantom of the Opera is such a popular play and that is because it is a great story! 

I enjoyed all of the music in Phantom of The Opera but Angel of Music really stuck out to me.  The girls voices are just beautiful.  Christine is singing to her father and she has faith that their is angel guiding over her.  Even though her friend does not believe her, so still knows that her angle of music is there.  She belives that it is the Phantom and he does appear to her at the end of this song.  This is where you can see how truely talented Christine is. 

Assignment 8

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

Opera is an elevated style of musical theatre as defined by the age of Mozart from about 1775-1910.  The performers are accompanied by an orchestra or a musical ensemble.  Light opera is less demanding form of operatic theatre.  It incorporates spoken words and appeals to broader audiences.  But, it still requires operatic voices and live orchestra.  Musical theatre is a type of theatre that songs, dance, and spoken dialogue.  Musical theatre is performed all around the world.  Many of these shows are performed on Broadway in New York City and London.  While musical theatre can be very similar to opera, it differs because it can have spoken dialogue.  Operas are all music and that is the way the story is told.  Personally i prefer musical theatre, because I like listening to both music and spoken dialogue.  One of my favorite Broadways that I saw in New York was the Lion King!  I saw this show when I was only six years old, but I still remembering almost the entire show.  I loved hearing the characters sing!  The scenery was also amazing in the show and the way they portrayed the animals!  It was a great experience and I have seen several Broadway shows since!

No one is naturally born with an operatic voice.  An individual’s peak performance voice is not until after 30.  Opera singers are known for being notoriously demanding.  Opera singers are classified by the type of voice they have.  The soprano is the highest voice which is followed by mezzo soprano, contralto, tenor, baritone, and then bass.  Some famous singers are Senesino and Farinelli.  So, even if an opera singer has been singing almost their whole life, their voice will not fully be trained and formed correctly until after they are 30 years of age.

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

Puccini wrote the opera Madama Butterfly.  He based this opera on part of the short story Madama Butterfly by John Luther Long.  The opera premiered on February 17, 1904 in Milan.  It had noble singers such as, Rosina Storicho and Giovanni Zentatello.  Act one of the opera starts off with a US navy lieutenant wanting to marry a fifteen year old Japanese girl.  The young girl is madly in love with husband to be!  So, the lieutenant is warned not to take this marriage lightly.  The bride to be is known as Madama Butterfly and the lieutenant claims he is just as in love with Butterfly.  Madama Butterfly’s family refused her from marrying this man, but the lieutenant ordered then to leave and the two said their vows.  The two have a house in Japan and the lieutenant was gone for three years and had another wife in the US, but Madama had confidence that he would return.  Madama tells the lieutenant that they have a son and he wants to take him to the US with his and his new wife.  After all this drama Madama commits suicide and the lieutenant is the one who finds her dead.  This opera is a drama and yes it was written a long time ago, but it tells a story of how things were at the time.  Throughout the opera you could foreshadow that Madama was going to be betrayed and the lieutenant was up to no good.    

This video is a scence from the opera whre the lieutenant and madama are singing a love duet to eachother.  You can see on madama face and her emotion that she is truely in love with this man and deep down he doesn't have the same feelings for her!  It is a very emotional song and the two are expressing their love for each other through song.  This shows how powerful opera's can be and how engaging they can be to their audience!

assignment 7

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

A thrust stage is more of a modern stage.   It is also known as a platform or open stage.  The stage extends out to the audience on three sides, so that the audience may view the stage from at least three sides.  The proscenium stage is more of an old fashion stage.  Its main feature it the big arch that is located near the front of the stage.  This arch is known as the proscenium arch and proscenium is a Latin word meaning in front of the scenery.  Rather than the audience being able to view the stage from three sides, the audience is directly facing the stage.  The space in proscenium theatre that holds the audience is called the house.  This type of stage and theatre is decorated much more elaborately than a thrust style.  I have seen shows on both types of stages and it is a totally different type of experience.  At the thrust stage a saw a country concert.  I actually had my seats on one of the sides and the country singer Keith Urban made sure that he walked on all runways of the stage so all of his audience could see him!  I saw the musical The Sound of Musical on a thrust stage.  I got all dressed up to go the theatre.  The play was very elegant and was definitely fit for this performance.  I liked being able to see all of the play head on, so that I did not miss anything that was going on.  I enjoyed seeing both different types of stages!     

Thrust Stage

proscenium stage

2. What is the fly gallery?

A fly gallery is an area directly above the stage, equipped with machinery that lowers or raises scenery onto the stage (scenery is flown in and out).  Fly galleries can be on both right and left sides of the stage or can just be on one.  If they are on both sides of the stage they may be connected by a catwalk at the upstage.  I have never been in plays, but I use to be a dancer and I remember people working on the side of the stage raising the ropes to open the curtains of the stage.  I never knew that it was called a fly gallery though!     

 

3. How does a scrim work?

Scrim is a curtain of thinly woven fabric that is opaque when lit from the front and transparent when lit from behind.  This curtain is used so that when light is shined on the curtain you cannot see what is behind the curtain.  In the beginning of the show the curtain is always shut and the lights go out and the first light that is shown is on the closed curtain.  But, the audience cannot see who or what lies behind the curtain!  This does not give away what is coming up for and makes the audience be in suspense until the curtain opens!

 In this video you can see how the light is shinning on the curtain and you could not see the man that was behind the curtain.  This shows how scrim works!

Columbia Art Museum Event

Describe the photograph - how big is it, who owns it, who shot it, who is the photograph of and what year was the photo taken. Is black and white, color or some sort of special photographic process. If you don't know what this process is, look it up and describe it.

The photo that stood out to me the most while going through the Who Shot Rock and Roll exhibit at the Columbia Art Museum was Michael Jackson in New York City.  The photograph was huge.  It was almost extended from floor to ceiling.  The photograph was not just one big picture; it was a series of pictures put together.  Albert Watson was the man who shot the photograph.  He shot the photograph in the year 1999.  It was then printed in the year 2000.  The photograph is owned by a private collection.  Every picture was of the great artist Michael Jackson.  All of the little photos that make up this huge big photograph are all in black and white.  Albert Watson put this photograph together by the process of photomontage.  Photomontage is a collage of photographic images.  He took tons of pictures of Michael Jackson and placed them together to create a bigger image.

Analyze the photograph - What is the photo about, what are/is the people/person doing in the photo, what is the setting, what are clothes like? What does the photograph reveal about the person in the picture?

In this huge photograph Albert Watson is portraying Michael Jackson, one of the best dancers of all time, and his dance moves.  Each series of photos show Michael Jackson doing some type of dance move.  By looking at looking at each series of photos you can truly see how talented Michael Jackson was and what an amazing dancer he was. Rather than seeing just one picture of Michael Jackson dancing, Watson shows his viewers many dance moves of Michael Jackson.  This picture definitely shows Michael Jackson justice and what a talented artist and dancer he was in our society.  The setting of this photograph is most likely just Michael Jackson in a music video or a concert.  The photographs do not show a background and are solely a white background and Michael Jackson is in black.  The clothes that Michael Jackson is wearing in every picture is black leather jacket, black leather pants, and a white under shirt.  This was the typical outfit that Michael Jackson would perform in.  This photograph definitely reveals that Michael Jackson is a very talented dancer and performer.  Seeing his dance moves in a step by step process truly shower how much energy and rhythm he possessed.  Looking at this photograph makes people remember the great memories of Michael Jackson and the mark he made on our society and music.  People fell in love with not only Michael Jackson’s music, but more importantly him as a performer.  He knew how to get a crowd going.  Michael Jackson worked hard to get where he was and truly made a mark on our society.    

This video shows Michael Jackson doing his famous moon walk.  He also is sporting his typical outfit he wear when porforming, just like in the photos in the photograph.  This short video shows how talented Michael Jackson was as a dancer and a porformer!

Relate some of the photographer's or the person in the photographs history.

Going through the exhibit I came across many artists that I knew.  The exhibit did a great job of showing all different kinds of artists and music from all different times in history.  Another one of my favorite photographs to look at was the one of U2.  I have grown up listening to U2 with my older brothers.  I loved how the exhibit also provided a little clip of U2 singing.  Just like Michael Jackson, U2 is known worldwide!  They both have toured the world and made an impact on music today.  While Michael Jackson speaks through his dance moves, Bono speaks though his powerful words.  There were also many photographs of artists who had died.  The ones that I remember seeing were Michael Jackson, Biggie, Elvis, and more.  These photographs are paying  tribute to these great artist and allowing people to remember them and the impact that they had in the music world and our society. 

All of these famous singers have died but will never be forgotten!

Big Apple Art Event

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 shag is a six count partner dance.  There is a lead for the dance and the partner follows in that persons lead.  The lead counts 1 and 2 , 3 and 4, 5 and 6 to get the six count.  The leader is the one who spins their partner and leads them in the direction they are going to take.  In this video you can see how the leader counts out to his partner the 6 count and holds her hand as they both move together.  He is even telling her when to cross her feet and spins her!  They both seem very happy and the leader does a great job of counting and showing the girl the moves of the dance.

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 Big Apple is an old historical building in Columbia, South Carolina.  The building was named the Big Apple because of an old religious dance that was founded by African Americans on plantations in South Carolina and Georgia.  The dance was a group dance, where people would form a huge circle and do arm gestures that resembled the Big Apple.  In the 1930s the African Americans started a Big Apple Night Club in what was formally the House of Peace Synagogue.  The building was located on Park Street in Columbia, South Carolina and is now known as the Big Apple.  After the dance club was opened not only blacks danced there, whites did as well.  The Big Apple attracted many students from the University of South Carolina!  The House of Peace Synagogue started being built in 1907 and was completed in 1909.  The Big Apple was built in the Greek architectural structure just like several other buildings in Columbia.  The building still contains it dome ceiling that it had in the synagogue, just like the dome feature that the state house has in downtown Columbia.  The building contains two doric columns on the entrance of the building, but also there are some inside the building in the dance room.  The Big Apple has very long stained glass windows that are on all sides of the building.  The building has been kept up, but still has it old historic charm.

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

The shag is the state dance of North and South Carolina.  It is known as the swing dance of the south.  The shag originated in the late 30s in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  The roots of shag dancing began with black music and club dancers in Myrtle Beach.  By the 40s teenagers loved to dance the shag on the beach.  By the 50s the shag had slowed down to a more low beat rhythm.  The shag is a very smooth dance that you can enjoy with your partner.  Some of the famous shag dancers of all time are Billy Jeffers and Maggie Lunn Foss.  The shag is relevant to South Carolina because it was founded in Myrtle Beach and is a southern dance.  Being from the North I had never heard of the shag until I came to the University of South Carolina. The first time I shagged, I absolutely loved it and having someone lead me through the dance.  It is a very classy dance that is a lot of fun to not only dance but watch.  I hope to learn how to do the Carolina shag while i am attending school at USC, so I can show my friends and family up north what a great tradition shagging is to the south!    

Teenagers dancing the shag by the beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina!

assignment 6

1.  The Baroque period of dance lasted from 1600-1750.  Baroque dances are historical dances that are derived from the Portuguese word borroco.  It is a theatrical and social dance of Europeans upper class.  The dance was characterized by dynamic movement, overt emotion, and self-confident rhetoric.  Baroque dancing includes both ballroom dancing and ballet.  This type of dance expressed grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitality, movement, tension, and emotional exuberance.  Even though there are no words in the music that is playing to accompany the dancers, the movement of the dances is what speaks to the audience and expresses all these emotions and feelings.  Baroque dancing has a tendency to blur distinctions between various arts.       

In this segment from the baroque dance of Gavotte and from Atys, you can see two girl dancers dressed in old fashion European dresses dancing to classical music.  They are dancing simultaneously and side by side.  The mode and moves of the dance are very elegant.  They both have smiles on their faces, making this a happy dance.  Even though the music does not have words the moves and facial expressions of the dancers is what carries the mode and tone of the dance.

2.  People dance because it is fun and a way that they can express themselves.  One of the biggest aspect of dance is music.  In several forms of dance dancers are accompanied by music.  People love to listen to music and dance allows people to not only listen to music but watch people move with the music.  The moves that dances do are what allow them to express themselves and tell a story.  Dance is not only fun to do but very entertaining to watch.  Nothing is more impressive than watching a group of dancers engage in the same moves at the same time.  Dance is also a good was to get in shape and workout.  Dance is a big part of social entertainment and usually occurs at events such as weddings.  Dance has become very popular to our culture and is not only performed in shows, but also in movies and on television shows.  Dance has grown and changed so much over time, that it is very fascinating to learn and watch different types of dance.  Finally, dancing makes people happy and can bring joy to people’s lives whether they are involved in it or watching it.

This youtube clip is from the show Dancing With The Stars.  Mario Lopez and his professional dancing partner dance the tango.  In this dance you can see the passion by the looks on their faces and how close they get to each other.  Their moves are very sharp and concise.  This is a very entertaining dance to watch and the moves look very complicated.  But, the show Dancing with the Stars shows how dance is so popular in our society.  This show makes these couples dance all kinds of dances like ballroom, tango, jazz, hip hop, and the quick step.  This allows America to see all different types of dances and how much work dance truly takes.  We do not forget about the dances that have gotten dance where it is today, This show wants to challenge these dances to be diverse dancers.

3. 

Butoh is a type of dance that we as Americans are not use to seeing.  The movements are not smooth and composed.  The Butoh dancers appear to look scary and unnatural.  But, we have to realize that this is a different type of culture and this is how they express their emotions and feelings.  In this youtube video a man is moving his body all throughout the dance and really showing off his strength.  The music that is in the background is rather upbeat and the man is even smiling.  While the man looks unhealthy and scary, this dance is supposed to be parsing.

Non Western dance form are from the continents of Asia, Africa, South America, and countries in the Middle East whereas western dance are from Europe.  Butoh is a “dance of the dark soul” that started in 1959.  It is an experimental Japanese dance characterized by emotional insanity.  The dance can incorporate grotesque images and the setting of the dance can be in absurd environments.  One physical appearance that classifies this dance is the white make up that the dances have to wear.  This dance was created to attribute to the Japanese legends Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno.