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Have you ever wondered where the origins of theatre began? It is a well-known fact that the earliest forms of drama were developed in Ancient Greek by philosophers interested in using entertainment for social and philosophical commentary. It is essential that young people are exposed to the earliest form of scripted drama as it provides a foundation for understanding dramatic styles and conventions which are the basis for all the theatre which followed.…
When I was younger I loved dolls; I loved playing pretend with them, dressing them up, and pretending that they were real. For my younger self to hear of a doll that not only could talk but could move her eyes on mouth on her own was mind blowing. I saw a lot of cheery commercials on television for a doll called Amazing Amanda. It was so cool; the doll even had the same name as me! When I ripped through the colorful Barbie wrapping paper Christmas day and saw that it was the Amazing Amanda doll I jumped around like a grasshopper and raced to go find batteries. I played with that doll everyday, singing songs with her loudly which probably sounded more like off-key screeching. It was incredible to me to watch her glassy, blue eyes blink and…
As I walk in through the swinging glass door of my grandparents house, the instant smell of fresh white baked bread hits me. The sweet dough crisped to golden-brown is now in sight. I see it sitting there, on the smooth kitchen table to the left of where I just entered. I know that as soon as I say hello a piece of it will be offered to me. As I continue straight into the open living room I notice my gray-haired grandpa sitting comfortably in his cushioned lazy boy rocker. With every slow rock he makes there is a slight creak that overpowers the sound of the Twins game on their T.V. On the crest of the same rocker lies his favorite dog, Lucy. Her white and black, furry belly expands and compresses at the same rate of the slow rock. My grandma,…
With Amber in dance, Emmett and I decided to enroll Marci Jeane into something different. We gave her a bunch of options from gymnastics to football. We were glad that Marci chose gymnastics over football, considering she was more into football than anything else. With Marci in gymnastics and Amber in dance, Emmett made sure that Ivan was enrolled in athletics as well. We signed Ivan up for T-ball and PeeWee Football. It was time for him to make his mark.…
On November 20th I went to the Black Box theatre to see the play Seminar. It was a small production, and there were only five actors. Going into the play, I had no idea what to expect. I had heard the play was a bit raunchy, with explicit dialogue and provocative scenes. The play started out with four actors portraying college graduate writers. I loved how realistic the setting was; it really looked like somebody’s real apartment. The actors did very well portraying emotion, and every thing they did and said I could relate to. At one point, a girl was eating real ice cream and complaining on the couch to her friend. I thought it was funny how every girl could relate to that scene. I also liked that the actor had no problem devouring ice cream on top of memorizing her lines and acting at the same time. I would find it hard not to focus on anything other than the delicious taste of the ice cream.…
It was a casual August afternoon in Minneapolis, people walking the down the sidewalk, strangers passing by. We were visiting my old hometown. I was walking with Beth, and we were messing around. I used to have an inside joke with one of my friends from fifth grade, “Girl you need to chill.” It stuck once I moved. Anyway, Beth had just told me to chill, so, I walked into the nearest cold building. Which of course, ended up being a meat locker… 15 minutes later I was coming out and saw an all too familiar pair of square glasses. Before I could see her face, she turned away. Her bleached tip hair swung across her shoulders. The dark skin, the hair and glasses, it had to be Miracle Brown. This is the girl who was one of my best friends in sixth grade. She started heading down the street, so I told Beth to meet me back at our hotel.…
"We admire people to the extent that we cannot explain what they do, and the word admire then means marvel at." This quote by B. F. Skinner shows exactly how I idolize certain people. I admire those who can make me realize who I am, who understand where I stand on and who is not afraid to say what is on their minds. One incredible individual, who I have met recently, changed the way I looked at the world. Ms. Lena Parks has a different air around her that I do not find most in others. I applaud her for the discipline she imposed on herself to reach her goal, for her sense of humor, and for her individuality.…
"Before death I hope to obtain life." This quote reminds me of my Michigan Hero Danielle Nash. Danielle was my cousin who was diagnosed with stage four Melanoma and Brain Cancer at age 26. Before cancer, she opened her own Day Care/ Preschool in Whitehall called Bright Futures, she was only 21. She also started the first Middle School Competitive Cheerleading Team in Reeths Puffer and was also the head coach of the Varsity Reeths Puffer Competitive Cheerleading team. She lived in the Whitehall area her whole life, and had a husband named Jake and two kids, Brady who is now four and Addisyn who is two. Danielle did so much for her community, and impacted my life and so many others, and even though she isn't with us anymore she is still my Michigan…
The Broadway play which I went to see was located at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th street. This is considered the heart of the theater district in New York City. The play which I saw was The Little Mermaid presented by Disney. As an 18 year old male, I was not very fond of seeing a Disney play but, my girlfriend wanted to see the show so, I had to come tag along. In the rest of this paper I will give a review of how my day went: Getting to the play, the theater, the play itself, the surroundings, the people, the audience’s response, and other aspects of the show.…
Through December 5th through the 7th, I performed in Thornton Wilder's play of Our Town. The only sets or props that the actors or actresses used where folding chairs for us to sit in, umbrellas to hide Emily (Julie Dumbler), and flats on both sides of the stage to hide the people behind them. The reason for the lack of set is so the audience can use there imagination of what the town of Grover's Corner, New Hampshire looks like. All the rest of the props that the actors had to use were pan mimed and acted out to the fullest to make it look real. The only other experience with no set was with Miss Henery in Neodesha and it was a disaster so I didn't know how well this was going to work out. But with the help of our director Peter Ellenstein and the rest of the cast, the pan miming was very successful. Our performance space was a modified thrust stage. The shape of the stage served us well for this play, but the back stage was horrible. All of the chairs that we had to use were folding chairs that made a lot of noise even if you hardly touched one. One neat thing about the play is that all of the sound affects were made by our backstage manager (Lisa Mitchell) or other members of the cast. In exception for the clock chiming at the end of the play. People who have seen the play tell me that it is a very heart moving play. I did not get that feeling because I was always backstage or onstage. Ether way I didn't get to watch the play so I couldn't see what was so moving about it. The only humor I got was from lines and the funniest person I heard was Professor Willard (Gary Mitchell). The audience is led through the entire play by the Stage Manager (Cory Venable). He literally talks to the audience between every scene explaining what is going on in the story. I thought Mr. Wilder did a good job in having a Stage Manager do this. The Stage Manager tells and shows us a story a young girl growing up and facing death, even after death. He show us how Emily…
Giving people an escape for an hour or two is how I’m trying to positively influence the world now. Sharing the wisdom of a play with an audience creates a very genuine experience that virtually erases the line between performers and observers because both indulge in the moment. Barnard’s Theater program gives me the opportunity to reach out to more people, and learn in one of the most artistic cities in the world. I have a gentle demeanor but my will is strong. Barnard nurtures girls with unstoppable determination, and I believe that I stand in the same category. They produce women who take on the world and change it for the…
Today I am going to introduce one of my good friends Tara Lippert. Tara was born on September 30th, 2000 in Cambridge Ohio. Taras homeschool is Buckeye Trail. She is now in the Wages program here at Mid-East Career and Technology Centers. Tara is hoping to be a laborer on the pipeline in the future.…
In sixth grade theatre became a big part of my life, without my love for reading I don’t think it would have meant so much. I’ll never forget my sixth grade theatre teacher; she opened up so many doors not only with theatre but with reading. She always said “that if you don’t know what you are reading how are you going to make it mean something on stage?” You can take that in various ways, it is what you make it. Theatre isn’t as simple as just reading from a script, most people think that it is. Before we would even start on a play, we would do a read through and would have to know the script like the back of our hand in a sense. From doing research on the author of the play to the smallest things on the list.…
In an interview with David Wolf for Prospect - a British general interest magazine, Mike Bartlett reveals how it wasn’t until he was about 16 that he began to realise that he wanted to pursue theatre as a career. His realisation occurred after seeing Mark Ravenhill’s “Shopping and Fucking” production - a play that deals with sex and violence issues. In the Prospect interview Bartlett reveals, “I remember thinking ‘I don’t understand why all plays aren’t like this. Why are so many plays set in the…
References: Chiert, J. & Hunsberger, B. (2004). All You Need To Teach Drama 10 Plus. Melbourne, Australia: Macmillan Education.…