The Adding Machine

Prompt: Identify three techniques or strategies of expressionist theater in The Adding Machine and supplemented by images of expressionist theater.

   Many of the new techniques that came about in theater in the 20th century were implemented by Elmer Rice in The Adding Machine. Rice created distorted images and scenes throughout his piece to convey his story of Zero's life. Additionally, station-to-station storytelling was used, along with other abstract expressionist techniques.

Expressionist art...a classic example by Edvard Munch (1893) The Scream

    By illustrating several abstract and subject states throughout Zero's journey, Rice was able to present his character in an emotional and open-to-interpretation method. For example, Rice would use station to station storytelling by talking about Zero's life at home, work, prison, the trial and even after his death. Abstract and subjective scenes were incorporated in the scene at work; additionally, he creates dreamlike scenes in prison, the graveyard and in heaven. By illustrating so many unrealistic scenes, Rice forces the reader to interpret Zero's story and struggle from a different perspective which focuses on emotion. 

I thought the real life performances of this play were slightly creepy...

    Other techniques used by Rice in The Adding Machine  were split monologues in which a character would go on for lengthy conversations with themselves in the presence of another character. An example for this type of dialogue was in the work scene and an example of a lengthy internal conversation was at the dinner and trial scene. Rice's distorted and radical storytelling is a reflection on Zero's life: the man killed his boss out of rage because he was being replaced by an 'adding machine'. This machine, which would now calculate numbers instead of the accountant, also sort of represents the distorted and unrealistic way in which this story was told. 

A representation of Zero in a play...the abstract background gives off a dreamlike (more like a nightmare) image

    The ending to The Adding Machine portrays humans in a negative light; society is portrayed as being corrupted by machines and technology while humans are slowly losing their grip on morality. The play/plot leaves the audience/reader hanging with a sick feeling in their stomach which forces them to question some of the things they do in their own lives, a sort of catharsis. I enjoyed this story because it was dark and a psychological thriller in which Elmer Rice used a wide variety of unorthodox techniques to convey a deep and real message. 

http://seattlest.com/2008/12/04/get_out_the_adding_machine_act_thea.php

2nd Creative Group Project- Ballet

Prompt: Explain your contribution to the second creative group project. What role or roles did you play in the project? What did you learn from the project? How did you learn from others in the project?

    I would like to start this blog by saying that I am glad we chose Ballet as our creative topic. I would never have thought that I would have found this topic interesting, mainly because of the social barriers that a feminine dance such as ballet presents.
    My role to this group project was to teach the class about ballet choreography and organization. Choreography is a pretty broad term because it encompasses the acts of teaching dance, designing dance and practicing dance. The subject of organization ties into the subject of choreography because of how a ballet company is organized in a specific way to distribute the tasks of teaching ballet.

Members of a ballet company including men and women

    I learned quite a bit from this project. I reaffirmed by belief that art is very flexible in its definition and can be pretty much anything that is appealing to the senses of sight or hearing. After discovering that Disney productions such as Cinderella were originally ballet performances, I began to appreciate different forms of theater even more. As I may have mentioned in an earlier blog, I was not extremely interested in theater when I first signed up for this class. Watching plays such as Loose Knit and researching facts about ballet has opened my eyes to things that I was previously oblivious to. 

A ballet performance of Cinderella in Pennsylvania

    My group members also had a good contribution to this project. Not much could have happened if it wasn't for their work. As you already may know, meeting up to complete group projects in college is difficult because of the task of finding the same holes in people's schedules. Finding mutual time was difficult but we all did our best to make sure the class got an idea of what ballet is all about. Ballet might be one of those topics which comes off as something it is not. I had a preconceived notion of ballet as a super feministic form of dance....but I soon found out I was wrong once I realized that it requires a tremendous amount of physical balance, discipline and strength.

A male ballet dance, also known as a ballerino

    Overall, I enjoyed this creative group project. I learned a lot more than just choreography of ballet or organization of ballet. 

http://streettalkin.com/cinderella-pennsylvania-ballet/

Wild Duck

1) Choose a character from The Wild Duck. Assume you are performing this character in a production of the play. Apply Stanislavsky's theory of acting to your performance of the role. Identify a quality or experience unique to the character. How do you represent that quality, that feature of the character that motivates the character's actions or way of responding to his or her situation? You apply "emotional memory." You identify in yourself some experience in your life that resembles that of the character and you build the character's emotional life around your ability to recall your own similar emotional experience. You expand your capacity to empathize with the character you are playing. So: identify a character, identify a scene or moment in the play that reveals a quality peculiar to the character, and then identify a experience in your own life that clarifies for you how to play the role.

     Gregers Werle is arguably one of the most important characters in Wild Duck. One of the qualities that he possesses, is his idealistic morals and ways of interacting with other characters in the story. Being an idealistic person carries the connotation of being kind, just, and a seeker of the truth. Having to act as this character in a play would require a calm and composed personality along with characteristics of kindness and enthusiasm.

Gregers in a scene from a movie enactment of Wild Duck

    I can say from personal experience, that my family is extremely important to me. For a good majority of my life, I have lived solely with my mother, father and my only brother. Although my brother has had rifts with my parents and tried to leave home, I have never come to that point of wanting to not live with my family. Therefore, if I were to put myself in Gregers' position, I would perform with emotions of humility upon my return to my father's home. The fact that it was a self-imposed exile, as opposed to his family banishing him, forces Gregers to swallow his pride.
   
    As mentioned in the previous paragraph, I have never had to return to my family after leaving home, but I have had to deal with compromises with my parents. I have also had to deal with conflicts and differences that we had in order to make sure we could move forward on good terms. Usually, when I am in this sort of position, I am for the most part obedient. Authority figures do not intimidate me, but I definitely respect their approach and understand the way in which I am allowed to treat them. This is the reason that I would have to play Gregers' role, with an element of humility and respectfulness.

Gregers appears as a person who attracts the respect and acceptance of low class people. His character as an idealistic person appeals to my persona

    
   Stanislavsky's theory of acting is an encouragement to use your personal experiences in the way you portray a character. For example, someone who plays as Jack in Titanic, would have to carry himself the same way he did when he was in love with a woman from his own life. Using this approach, I would play as Gregers by remembering all the times I had to make up to an upset girlfriend, or appease a disappointed mother, or make amends with an angry best friend.

   I have been involved in spoken word poems. I have also done comedy stand ups. However, I have never taken, or even considered, the opportunity to embody myself into a fictional character and play as their role. This is something that sounds interesting to me, and because of my involvement in TA-10, I may take on the theatrical  role as kind and good hearted man.


http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=114743

Loose Knit

Prompt: How did you respond to Theresa Rebeck's play Loose Knit? What moment in the play did you like the best and why? How would you describe your attitude or feeling toward Rebeck's representation or sexual relation and marriage? What scene or moment in the play was least satisfying or troublesome for you and why? You should include images of Loose Knit or of Rebeck's or of the figures or situations similar to the themes of the play. Don't forget to embed link. 

    I was required to go see a play for Loose Knit for my TA-10 class. Although viewing theatrical performances isn't something that I have been into, I can definitely appreciate a good play. I enjoy stories that focus on human interaction and relationships since I am personally and naturally a people person. 

A cover which illustrates the knitting that the characters practiced in this story

    The first play I saw for this class, To Kill a Mockingbird, was free but this time I had to pay $10, which sort of bummed me out. Nevertheless, I will say that Loose Knit was quite enjoyable; the humor that the cast actors employed in their performances was a great addition to this play. 

    A young and talented cast for Loose Knit at Wagner College

    My favorite moment from this play was also the scene in which Rebeck conveys her message on marriage and sexual relationships. The message that she conveyed suggested that perhaps marriage and committed relationships aren't necessary in this world. Surprisingly, I can relate to this idea because I have always seen relationships in one light: they always end. Although a fair share of couples end up to be life-time lovers, the majority of committed end in a break up. Additionally, this scene included Miles and Bob conversing about how relationships heavily depend on your social status, another idea that I totally agree with.

    Watching this humorous play by Rebeck was extremely relatable to my life. I have built my life around the amazing relationships I have built with my close family members and my friends. A common theme and motif in this adaptation of loose knit was the importance of friends. Commitments and relationships were portrayed in a negative light while fun and 'loose' friendships were championed. This thought and concept raises the question of whether it is even necessary to make relationships a priority in one's life when all you need is friends....

    Loose Knit had me smiling and laughing and thinking about my own life throughout most of the performance; I occasionally found myself assigning characters to people in my life who I felt I had similar relationships with. The cast members were all cool and funny. However, with every great work of art comes a great or minimal amount of flaws and drawbacks. One thing that bothered me about this play was how it was performed at a thrust spacial theater. The benefits of a thrust stage is that you are allowed to be closer to the cast members which makes it much more personal; however, the characters often moved around and faced in different directions which threw me off to a certain extent. This was something that isn't too big of a flaw since it can be changed by relocating the performance to a different arena.

   Overall, I would have to say that watching this play has made me like theater a lot more. A young, energetic and humorous cast group could be a reason as to why, but overall I really enjoyed this adaption of Theresa Rebeck's Loose Knit. 


http://www.wagner.edu/departments/theatre/communitynews/looseknit