The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
February 24th, 2011 The Last Days of Judas Iscariot Before seeing this play I did not know a lot about Judas. I only remembered that he was the one to betray Jesus from reading the Bible early on in my childhood for CCD. After seeing The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, it helped me better understand who Judas was and the kind of life he lived. I was not fully aware of his close relationship with Jesus. I simply understood that he was chosen as one of his twelve disciples. In the play it is explained by Mary Magdalene that Jesus was closest to Judas and her out of all twelve disciples. I was also surprised when she describes their relationship as Judas being "almost an alter-ego to Jesus - he was the shadow to Jesus' light. He was the sour to the sweet and the cool to the warm." Initially I knew that he was known as the one who turned Jesus over to the Jews, but did not realize his reaction and his struggle following Jesus' death. It was if Jesus believed in Judas, even after his betrayal, even though Judas did not believe in himself or the forgiveness of Jesus. The story of Judas sharing his spinning top with the other child came as a surprise to me. Since I knew he was the one to betray Jesus, he just seemed to be a heartless person. To hear that story from his mother during his trial provided me with compassion for Judas, which I did not have before. I thought the portrayal
Explore the impact of social, cultural and or/historical conditions on the work and indicate how the influences and ideas of other playwrights and/or directors, designers and performers (i.e. practitioners) have been used.
Explore the impact of social, cultural and or/historical conditions on the work and indicate how the influences and ideas of other playwrights and/or directors, designers and performers (i.e. practitioners) have been used. It was important that our production appealed to a wide range of ages and styles as we performed to students within the school as well as teachers, friends and parents. If we had only used Shakespearian language, it would have lost the attention of younger students, and conversely, the use of only modern texts would have meant little to older audience members. By researching back as early as the 16th century, it showed that blind love affects everyone, and has always been part of love and relationships. If we had only portrayed blind love from one historical context, it could have seemed like a purely outdated or a purely recent thing. We wanted the audience to recognise this in from their own experiences. The interaction between Helena and Demetrius in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' would seem unacceptably rude in today's society "I am sick when I do look on thee", yet was not so in Shakespeare's day. Similarly, when we explored Taming of the Shrew shows the submission of women, something we would abhor today. John Fletcher's 'The Tamer Tamed' shows a contrasting scenario where Petruchio becomes dominated by his new wife, Maria. This is evidence of the
How rehearsals and the production process contributed to the final performance.
How rehearsals and the production process contributed to the final performance. During the first few rehearsals we worked as one large group. We began constructing scenes that contained as many people as possible. Scenes such as the 'campus' scene were constructed as a large group with every person involved. The second scene we created was the 'positive trip' sequence. Whilst these scenes provided us with some rough ideas they were not very focused, and due to every member of the group being involved we lacked a 'director' who could watch everybody and provide suggestions. We decided at this point that it would be smarter to split the production into several smaller stories. Each story would have a main character, and several supporting characters. However, the main character of each story is open to play the supporting characters in the other stories. At first we were split into temporary pairs and each decided on a drug. The aim was to create a scene that showed the negative effects of the chosen drug. I worked with Jack, on the drug LSD. We had conducted research before this session about the effects of LSD. We read case studies on people who had experienced using LSD and its effects. It told us that LSD can cause both bad and good trips, and that bad trips often include pain and suffering and that they feel very real. When an LSD user experiences a bad trip it is likely
Outline Stanislavski's approach to the role of the director. Give practical examples of the way a director might use the psychotechnique in the System.
Outline Stanislavski's approach to the role of the director. Give practical examples of the way a director might use the psychotechnique in the System. (50 Marks) Stanislavski was born in Moscow in 1863 to one of the richest families in Russia at the time. His father converted a wing of their house into a theatre and Stanislavski immediately performed there, before proceeding to appear in amateur theatre performances in Moscow. He then joined Moscow Theatre School, but left after only 3 weeks, due to what he thought of as the lack of method in the teaching. After this, Stanislavski directed many plays, and developed methods of directing and acting, which he thought were affective. Stanislavski tried out many aspects of the System in the plays he was directing in the 1900s. By 1912, Stanislavski's Studio was established and he continued to experiment with the psychotechnique and the rest of the System, and 'An Actor Prepares' was later published. In 1938, Stanislavski died in Moscow. The following quotation sums up the System as a whole: "The purpose of the System is to create the right conditions for the subconscious to be roused to creative work, especially in the case of actors who have talent rather than genius, like Stanislavski himself." This means that the purpose of the System is to make a realistic performance and get rid of any 'false acting'. The
Explain how David Calcutt has made the opening two scenes very dramatic. What difficulties might there be in staging them and how might the difficulties be overcome?
Explain how David Calcutt has made the opening two scenes very dramatic. What difficulties might there be in staging them and how might the difficulties be overcome? The play 'Humpty Dumpty' is about a boy called Terry Dumpton who is killed horribly by electricity from a huge pylon. Terry was the victim of a small gang, he was always bullied. Terry was forced up a pylon to retrieve a Frisbee. The play is very dramatic with lots going on. The play has a good, interesting story line and good settings. The opening scene is one of the most important in terms of events; the entire play is based upon the beginning when Terry is killed. The very first problem present is the amount of people on stage during any time of the scene because there is about eight characters present which becomes quite difficult for the director. A solution is to have different people in charge of about half the characters such as the director and assistant director. Terry was forced up the pylon after the Frisbee was deliberately thrown. "Oh, dear. It's got stuck in the pylon. What am I going to do now?" I think that it was on purpose to get Terry to fetch the Frisbee as Pete was lying" I Know. Only trouble is, I'm scared of heights. Can't stand them. I get a nosebleed just going to the top of the stairs." "Stubbs: you'll have to get someone to fetch it down for you, then." " That's right. Who,
How the group planned for a range of responses from the audience.
How the group planned for a range of responses from the audience. It has always been the group's intentions to show both sides of drugs, both the positive and negative effects of taking certain drugs and differences between them. We were also eager to explain this in a way which is not 'preaching' to our audience or telling them what or what not to do. Our piece was aimed at older children, mid-to-late teens, as we felt that these are the people, who are more aware of what is going on in the world, and the topic of drugs is very relevant - however the current methods of drug education are quite one-dimensional. We knew this having just experienced the education first hand. All educational films and products all show drugs in an extremely negative light. We wanted to show both sides, and show that drugs do have positive effects - or at least, be better than other 'alternatives'. We began constructing our play with language that we felt would be suitable for the intended audience. We used words that they may understand, and slang terms which they may use. It is also the reason that we tended to shy away from using strong swear words. At this age, teenagers often have a short concentration span, and are unwilling to respond should the piece they are watching bore them. It was therefore important the piece be interesting, as well as being informative. We employed comedic scenes
Consider how set can be used to communicate successfully the dance's ideal concept. Give an example from
Consider how set can be used to communicate successfully the dance's ideal concept. Give an example from "Still Life at the Penguin Café" and four other professional dance works When a dance piece is created, it is not just the choreography of the steps that needs to be considered. To make a successful piece, firstly a starting point needs to be found, this can be anything ranging from an emotion, an animal, or even someone's journey to work or school. When this has been decided upon, there are five main areas that need to be concentrated on. These are; costume, music, set, lighting and choreography. These different fields of the dance cannot be considered separate, nor is there a rank of importance; all five areas need to be created together. They compliment each other, and grow together to form the piece. In this essay I am going to focus on the importance of just one of these factors, the set. Using examples from professional dance works I am going to discuss how the set successfully communicates the dance's ideal concept. The first dance work I am going to use as an example, is from "Still Life at the Penguin Café" choreographed by David Bintley and designed by Hayden Griffin. I have chosen to discuss the set in the first scene of the performance, "The Great Auk". There are two sections to this scene, the first section being a representation of the Great Auk's habitat,
Whiteclay Sundance
Chelsea T. Morales ENEX 101.40 Michael Lukas-Revision November 18, 2007 Whiteclay Sundance Lodge It was only my first time experiencing the four day event of the Whiteclay Sundance ceremony as a curious onlooker. It was the final day of the ceremony and the dancers would soon be done with their spiritual mission and fasting. The ceremony took place in a lodge that was framed like a circle but with a flat top and made of a wood from the surrounding area. The inside was enclosed with walls of brush. It was open from the top with maybe only eight poles serving as a roof base, but still able to let in the blistering summer sun. So we all suffered under the blare of the scorching temperature. Some of the dancers had already collapsed from the heat, but refused to leave the lodge until their personal mission was completed. I was now seated on the right side where the women and women dancers sat, opposite of the men and male dancers. My body was beginning to ignore the heat on the back of my neck and I was now drawn to the sweet aroma of sage that had dominated every inch of the lodge. One of the drummers had gotten up and started to walk around with a shell full of burning sage for those who wished to smudge. I had smudged almost all my life during ceremonies like this one, but never had to relay the meaning or purpose of it until now. My only definition of a smudge has been to
Stanislavski sought to create a "sense of truth" in his productions - Explain what he meant by the term and how he attempted to create this truth through rehearsal.
Stanislavski sought to create a "sense of truth" in his productions. Explain what he meant by the term and how he attempted to create this truth through rehearsal. Stanislavski said there were two kinds of truth, the first is 'the one created automatically and on the plane of actual fact' and the second 'the scenic type, which is equally truthful but originates on the plane of imaginative and artistic fiction.' The first kind of truth is created in subconsciously in real life. An example of this truth was the actors were searching for a lost purse, they didn't know the director was watching them but he said they acted with truth. The actors were asked to put the purse back in the same place and repeat the exercise this time it wasn't truthful. The actors argued that this was because the first time it was necessary and reality where the second time it was forced and a 'false imitation.' By using "given circumstances" scenic truth can be created and therefore the acting becomes true and believable. They can also use emotional memory to recall experiences so the acting becomes real and believable. The actor must believe in the given circumstances; through this belief she or he will be able to function at a high level of involvement (INSPIRATION). The goal throughout is a quest for truth '. . . it is necessary for the actor to develop to the highest degree his imagination, a
Drama theorist Jerzy Grotowski.
Grotowski Today in drama class we learned about the new drama theorist Jerzy Grotowski who believed in the concept of drama being performed in its most basic and pure state. Our group was to research facts about his theory and present it to our class with a presentation along with some workshops. We found that his main workshops were categorized as plastiques, corporals and vocals. Plastiques dealt with physical movements that collaborate with your emotions. The workshop we found was a very simple workshop. The person had to breath deeply and exhales deeply as well. As soon as the person is relaxed, he or she is to move any part of their body instinctively and continue that particular movement for 30 seconds or more. Then the person is to move on to another part of their body and do the same. The purpose of this exercise is to connect with your movements and emotions. I realized that the plastiques very similar to yoga. I didn't know if random movements that abruptly came into your head could connect movements and emotions. The second exercise the corporal was an exercise dealing with acting like a cat. It is more complex than the plastiques in that the movements are more violent and sharp while the plastiques is more gentle and relaxing. The workshop was for the person to begin with a starting position, which is the resting cat. The person must react to different movements