My version of "RUINED"

1.      I suppose my vision for the play 'Ruined' would be how we let situations in our past hold us back from furthering ourselves. Many of the characters in this play have something holding them back from their true future, and like always, it takes another drastic experience to counteract the first. While of course the agony and struggle of war will be the pinnacle of what causes these problems, people always have to choice to move onward away from their troubles.

2.      I suppose I would choose for my version to play at the African Continuun Theatre in Washington DC.   They are based on ethnic relationships and the human condition. I believe it would be a great location due to the amount of struggle there is, and amidst the walls of the White House. War. Always war. Whether it be on the home front or not, it hits home. I'm sure it would be enjoyed for those who would choose to see it, since it would be the genre specified for the theatre they're going to. 

3.      I would have one of those old western bar/prostitution houses. All wood with stairs on both sides leading around, and a hidden back. Nothing too much around other than a few tables with chairs, some bar stools and a space for dancing and performing. Outside lay plains of low grass with scattered trees in the distance. No other buildings are around on this deserted dirt road. The place is two stories and run down.

4.      For costumes I would have Mama dressed in a medium blue cloth wrapped around her, along with a rolled up cloth on her head.

      For Josephine I see a pale yet pretty pink silk like dress that shows off her figure.

      Salima would be ragged looking but still attractive at the same time. She might have a decent face, but her body makes up for the pain in her eyes. Sophie is just a beautifully made young woman, with elegant attire, and hair always attended to as Josephine’s is as well.

      Mr. Harari would be in a cream colored suit as it would make sense around the dusty surroundings, and being as he always loses his shoes.

      Christian I would see to be a more casual dresser, sporting some cargo shorts along with a t-shirt and button up short sleeve left unbuttoned. The miners, I see as dirty and with their hardhats still on, and dressed in overalls. The rebel soldiers would be scruffy looking and in black and red uniforms somewhat covered in blood, yet hard to tell with the red already on the uniform. Also, the men wore caps slightly tipped to the side. The rebel leader, Kisembe, would have a slightly cleaner cut uniform with brighter red stripes along the sides. His cap would be upright and rises higher than the others, with a red star atop.

      The government soldiers have clean cut uniforms of darker green and black, yet still also with blood amongst the colors. The Government Military leader, Osembenga, would have a slightly brighter green color along with his ranking along his chest and cap.

      The other women of the house would all be wearing gowns as if to sleep in since they have no real importance other than to be there. The aid workers would be in grey jumpsuits with hard caps.

5.      The lighting would be very dim and have the aura of a sunset. Depending on the mood shifts, I would like for some scenes to have a moonlit feel to evoke the chillness of night. At some points I would like for the light to be centered on Sophie in her singing. Not totally blocking out everyone else, yet leaving them in dimmer lighting to further aim her words recognition. Also, in the scenes between Mama and Christian, I would like for there to be light and dark shades. Maybe half light on Christian’s side, and half darker on Mama’s side to show the difference in their showings of emotions. When there are soldiers from either side I would like the lighting to be red, as red as the bloody battlefield of war. For they carry the blood of others along their paths of fury. Since Sophie is never made to do any deeds with men, I would like her lighting to be a soft white as she is as delicate as a white rose petal at the moment.

6.       For the sound, I would like it to be as though even the slightest whisper could be heard at the back of the theatre. Maybe everyone would have individual microphones set up in their costumes. All I would ask is for the whispers and secrets of that sort be acknowledged by the actors, to let be known that in fact what is being said is also being kept from reaching others ears. With the gunfire in the background, I would like it to be very scattered and unpredictable yet always somewhere in the background to show that this war just won’t let up. Dealing with the sounds of the forest would come about when there are awkward silences and serious times of discussion. Again, even in the forest noises during silence and discussion, I would like a very distance yet subtle version gunfire in the background. Other than that, I’m good.

The Madrigal

All the extra preparation for the Medieval Festival was totally worth all the hassle. While it was a lot of work, the expressions on the faces of the 'Lords and Ladies'(spectators) was fitting for the experience. The hall decorated as a castle, and being dressed as a member of the Royal Court all led to a very theatrical experience. Songs were sung, food was eaten, and laughter was about, all amidst the fantasy world of our ‘Home’. Our guests were rather amused by our candlelit entrance to a welcoming song of joy. Smiles on the faces of all, and a clench in the hearts of those who truly value the experience, we invited the holiday spirit into those present.          

            Amongst the glorious songs of praise and cheer, there were skits of jokes and greetings. While everyone scarves down their food on their plates, we provide entertainment in the utmost of manners.

Many of the guests are yearly visitors. Yet the other half were new to the experience, they seemed to enjoy it just the same. 

Being a member of the experience over the four days led a different version for every night. While the first night, the President’s night, was the most glamorous and extravagant, it held only one thing above all the others. Our instructor, Dr. Norton Christeson, offered a performance of his own to our former president, Kent Sharples on this night. Not to mention it was the only night steak and shrimp was dined upon. All the others consisted of chicken and rice. Each night progressed very well, and our guests seemed to enjoy every moment of our gathering.

Upon dismissal of our performance, which had consisted of plenty Christmas songs, along with medieval tunes mixed with prayers to the Heavenly Father on high, people were lifted with cheer and holiday spirit. Indeed being our aim, led our spirits to rise along with. All the nights led up to what the season is all about, spreading good tidings and cheer.

Now to await the next year, and yet again spread the  joy of Christmas and the celebrate the  birth of Christ our Lord and Savior.   

MY "DEARLY DEPARTED"

Ready to attend the play, DEARLY DEPARTED, I try to get someone to go with me. No one takes the offer. We prepare to pick up my brother from work, and then off to the play. My sister goes for the ride, along with my mother and myself. Set to go alone, unbeknownst to me, my sister offers to join. Having but one ticket, I just hope to get a ticket at the door; less I watch alone. 

We arrive, and there are some others approaching as well. We wander inside the doors, greeted by ladies in nice little suits. Down to the ticket booth where I see an old friend. Conversing is upon everyone around. Whether with those you know, or knew, or even just met. Glances passed to and from everyone surrounding halls, curious as to see who else would be attending. Very rich community I would say. My sister, April, and I were having a great time admiring to infrastructure as we traveled up the escalator that seemed to climb forever. Maybe it was how many people that were on as well, that made me realize the actual size of the beast. 

We made our way into the theatre and were stopped at a fork in the road. We took the right entrance, and decided to carry over to the left upon entering. The middle section was totally filled up. I suppose because the stage directly faced that way. Everyone seemed to know someone else in attendance. Laughter and excited was ringing throughout the theatre until the lights went down. 

The show turns out to be very exciting, and funny, even though tragic events occur. April and I haven't attended a play in quite some time, so this was rather a treat. Throughout the play the set came upon our direction for plenty of the time, giving us time to enjoy the expressions of the performers. Familiar faces appear in the actors, and seeing the skill of the performance was a awing spectacle. The audience was as great and rambunctious as the play itself. Definitely to the point where you knew it was greatly executed. 

During intermission and upon departure, my sister and I were adventuring around the building. We'd talk of how great the play was. We didn't know what to expect upon arrival or our first departure. Thus, we had no expectations other than what we had hoped to see. Something good, and that's exactly what we got. 

!STORYTELLING! ?WHAT WHAT?

Storytelling is the aspect of sharing with someone a story obviously. Originally, storytelling was oral mixed with gestures and emotion. Gradually, stories evolved into carvings in cave walls, and eventually writings on paper. Whether the story is true or not makes no difference. Some like to be entertained with wild, extravagant stories about fantasy worlds or action packed adventure. While others prefer more realistic stories about history, or just anything based on actual events. Either way, a lot of thought gets put into ones' storytelling. Anyone can pass down from generation to generation a tale of a hero, and how they came to be that hero. Or one can even look at it as in terms of The Bible, whereas we are all to learn from this text(which I believe pastors/preachers are storytellers of God). Many different aspects of storytelling include: what are you trying to say?, the actual story, from what point of view the story is viewed, and of course conflict.

In storytelling we would expect to see an individual, or individuals depicting events that did or did not happen for an audience. Person(s) would explain in depth conversation an incident, maybe even with visual stimulants.

Above we have Jesus Christ, our Earth's 'Savior'. He was sent to Earth by Almighty God to teach his children, us, the ways we should lead our lives. He would travel city to city preaching the ways of the Lord. He would show the peoples miracles such as vastly multiplying one fish and a loaf of bread into many of each. He would influence others through his conviction of the ways in which he would speak.

Storytelling affects people in different ways. It all depends on the opinions and views in the person, and how the person decides to take the story. 

Above we have a woman telling a story to children. Now, she may be dressed and have visual stimulants to further entertain her listeners in understanding and relating to her story. As we would understand, visual stimulants would definitely grab our attention and hopefully keep it.





Now, above we have an old show called "Reading Rainbow". Now this is how far we've come from the beginning of storytelling. While books allow 'US' to become the storyteller, even if technically the book is the story, we also have shows like this that entertain us while telling us a story. In the show we have a narrator who explains every detail to us so we better understand. The top video is only here because it is the original theme. The lower video is here to show how stories get our minds thinking. We also have the gentleman coming along with the children, who he tells stories to, representing us as viewers. I couldn't find a good enough clip to share, so I thought this would be sufficient enough. I'm sure you get the idea. Another similar show was "Wishbone", which had a little dog as our narrator/actor in the storytelling. "Wishbone" tried to teach the moral of the stories and entertain at the same time. I've also included the theme of this show below, and am sure you can grasp the idea with just that.




Work Citing:
http://allthingswildlyconsidered.blogspot.com/2009/12/storytellers-jesus-and-parables.html
http://42explore.com/story.htm
Also, The World of Theatre book.

Marionettes

HISTORY

Traced as far back as 2000 B.C. in Ancient Egypt, marionettes are one of the oldest and most complex of the puppets genre. They were used to portray rituals, celebrations, and even daily activities. Marionettes were even placed by burial sites to guide or encourage the passed in death.

It was believed that the Egyptian Priestesses would carry around marionettes in likeness of the "God of Death"-Osiris. 

The word "Marionette" originates from the Greek word "puppets" as "neurospasta", meaning "string-pulling".

There are two different types of marionettes:one of which has a metal rod connecting to the head, while the other has a string connecting to the head depending on the skill level of the "Manipulator". 

The operator is known as the "Manipulator", and controls what they call the "Airplane". The "Airplane" is the propellor shaped cross the strings attatch to. By manipulating of the "Airplane" and plucking at the strings the puppet gains movement. These marionettes were usually made of wood, foam, or paper mache. 

Background

Some say Marionettes pre-date actors, while they were used as an example of how rituals and festivals were suppose to play out. Along with plays as entertainment representing upper-class and lower-class individuals without them actually being on the same stage. Marionettes usually have about nine to over thirty strings connecting to various limbs of the puppet. More simple marionettes have a rod connecting through the head for easier movement, while more skilled "Manipulators" have string(s) in place of the rod allowing more dramatic effects of the acting puppet. 

(as we see in the image above:The puppets are being controlled from above and behind the background of the set.)

Conventions

In Marionette performances there are many different ways in which they can be viewed. There are mini-theaters, which are portable and can be performed anywhere. There are also actual theaters which are open to marionette performances in form or opera or any other sort. In either type of performance, there is usually some type of music in the background, a stage as a background, and a curtain as any other theatrical performance would include. 

Banning of Puppets from the church

While puppetry was a part of the church originally, and taught morals and thoughts of good will. The performances had become rather comedic and offensive in the churches eyes. This led to the banning of puppetry from the church. In retaliation, puppeteers set up tents outside of Cathedrals and the routines became more and more Slapstick.

Growth from the ban

After being banned from the church, puppeteering became more and more comedic. This led to the Italian Comedy known as 'Commedia dell'Arte'

(as we see in the image above:This is a portable theater, in which a performer(s) travel around with putting on shows and plays of their own making after being banned from the church.

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To me this video depicts how much of a longing this "Puppeteer" has for another. He has a puppet as himself, and also a puppet of woman he is in Love with. While there are other segments in the clip as well, the basis is how much of a longing he has for this woman. In his act of puppetry, he can perform acts that he wouldn't be able to in a real-life situation. At one of the moments he/himself as a puppet realizes he is being manipulated by another and is not in actuality performing these well thought out acts. Pay attention to his puppet's solo performance and the actual human actor's performance in the end. I believe playing parts that aren't actually reality still give those performers hope that moments can still happen. In turn give them hope.


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This video depicts how even if some of the puppets are larger than others, they can still me manipulated in rather sophisticated ways. Overall, marionettes are rather sophisticated and very complex puppets. Stick around through this video. !!!THE SKELETON IS RATHER HILARIOUS!!!