one woman show
A bibliography history of Empress Wu Empress Wu Zetian Tang Dynasty China (625-705AD) Only woman to be emperor of China History is full of women who stepped outside of the box. The box is full of tradition and expectations of behavior of women. Empress Wu is such a woman. Wu Zhao, also known as Wu Zetian or Empress Wu, was born in 625 A.D. She is the daughter of an influential noble at that time. She was taught reading, writing and dancing at an early age. At the age of 14, because of her beauty and intelligence, she was chosen to serve the Emperor Taizong as a concubine. Life in the palace was not easy as it should have been. Many people may think that the concubines lived in relative peace, because they had everything they wanted. However, this was not the case. It is a fact, that to be able to survive in the palace, one must obtain power. Every concubine tried their best and used many kinds of methods to gain as much power as possible. So did Wu. She was always looking for a way to impress the emperor and draw attention to herself. She would stop at nothing to gain power. At the age of 26, she became the head of the hundreds of concubines. But her goal was to be the empress. At that time, she had birthed a baby girl, suddenly, an idea came to her. She decided to kill her own child to make it appear that someone had done it. Then she ran to the emperor
Los Miserables.
Comentario: Los Miserables es la obra maestra del escritor francés Víctor Hugo, en la que se desborda toda la pasión que un hombre puede sentir por la vida y los valores. El personaje principal, Jean Veljean, es la personificación de los valores mismos, en él se conjuntan la humildad, la fe, la tenacidad, la bondad y al mismo tiempo la templanza y la fuerza (tanto física como moral, por algo le llamaban "la cabria"). Para los amantes de la buena literatura es un libro básico, tanto por su estilo como por su trama que, quizás está por demás decirlo, está magistralmente plasmada por el autor. Considero que es una novela clásica entre las clásicas. La acción se centra en la vida del prisionero, Jean-Valjean, el cual ha sido condenado a 19 años de trabajos forzosos por el simple robo de una barra de pan. Una vez que se le entrega la carta de libertad, aunque esta le tacha de proscrito de por vida, será el Obispo de Digne quien le muestre una nueva vida. Pasados ocho años, Jean Valjean es una persona respetable dirigiendo una fábrica y siendo el alcalde de Montruil-Sur-Mer. Conoce a Fantine, una de sus empleadas, la cual es despedida por tener una hija. Para mantener a la pequeña se dedica a la porstitución y case enferma gravemente. Javert la arresta, pero Valjean interviene para llevarla a un hospital donde ella fallece. Antes de morir le ha hecho prometer
Describe the state of mind of King Claudius
At the beginning of Act III scene I on page 135, Claudius is anxious to discover the reason of why Hamlet "puts on this confusion grating so harshly all his days of quiet with turbulent and dangerous lunacy." Claudius is still putting up an act and the tone he uses is one of a concerned parent. The King continues this act and accepts Hamlet's invitation to see a performance of a play, telling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to "Give him a further edge, and drive his purpose into these delights." In other words Claudius is telling encourage his enthusiasm, and direct his interest toward these amusements. This façade of fatherly love is cracked in Claudius's small aside on page 137, lines 50-55 which first reveals to us the reason of Claudius's fearfulness, it is also proves that Hamlet's Ghost was right, and Claudius truly did kill Hamlet's father. The reason for this aside is Polonius's comment on how people makes displays of devotion and pious acts in order to sweetly disguise the devil himself. To which Claudius responds, in his aside, "O, 'tis true! How smart a lash that speech doth give my consciences! The harlot's cheek, beautified with plastering art, is not more ugly to the thing that helps it than is my deed to my painted world: O heavy burden!" This is a very vivid description of a harlot's face, which has a lot of make-up on her. Makeup is used in poetry to symbolize
Which methods could a theatre company use when performing Jean Anouilh's "Antigone", keeping true to and supporting the style of the "Theatre of the Absurd"?
Theatre HL Theatre Arts Research Investigation Sophie Karbjinski David Vaux 23. April, 2012 Word count: 1004 Research Question: Which methods could a theatre company use while performing Jean Anouilh's 'Antigone', keeping true to and supporting the style of the Theatre of the Absurd? Theatre of the Absurd is a term that was coined by Hungarian-born theatre critic Martin Esslin, who made it the title of his 1962 book on the subject. It is refers to a particular style of theatre and the work of a number of mainly European playwrights, mostly written in the 1950s and 1960s. These plays are all related through the theme of the Absurd, first presented in this way by the French philosopher Albert Camus in his 1942 essay, “The Myth of Sisyphus” in which he deals with the meaninglessness and absurdity of the human existence and states the belief that life has no purpose. Subsequently he poses the question if the realization and acceptance of this fact must necessarily result in suicide. You can see a clear reflection of this thought in Esslin's definition of the 'Theatre of the Absurd' as that which “strives to express its sense of the senselessness of the human condition and the inadequacy of the rational approach
Slumdog millionaire
Some critics and filmmakers argue that the French New Wave merely represent a time of upheaval and change within French cinema represented by diverse works of a few young directors. The term French New Wave or La Nouvelle Vague refers to the work of a group of French film-makers between the years 1958 to 1964. The film directors who formed the core of this group, Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Charbol, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer, were once all film critics for the magazine Cahiers du Cinema. Other French directors, including Agnes Varda and Louis Malle, soon became associated with the French New Wave Movement. During the late 1950s and early 1960s young film-makers in many countries were creating their own "new waves", for example the working-class cinema of the "angry young men" in Britain, but the new wave movement in France turned out to be the most influential. The French New Wave director's background in film theory and criticism was a major factor in this. They changed notions of how a film could be made and were driven by a desire to forge a new cinema. The Cahiers du Cinema critics were highly critical of the glossy, formulaic and studio-bound French cinema of the 1940s and 1950s, but praised the work of 1930s French film-makers Jean Renoir and Jean Luc- Godard and the work of the Italian neo-realists, including Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De
Hamlet Act 3 scene 1
ACT III SCENE I - HAMLET AND OPHELIA Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It recounts how Prince Hamlet of Denmark goes about taking revenge for his father by killing his murderer, Claudius. In act 3, scene 1 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fail to report the reason for Hamlets 'madness', so Ophelia, Hamlet's lover, is instructed by Claudius to see if his 'madness' is caused by her. I chose to perform this scene because it shows key elements of Hamlets character, his contemplative yet cynical side, shown fully in his famous "to be, or not to be" soliloquy and Hamlet's rash and impulsive side, showing his anger at Ophelia as well as his unpredictability. The area that I focused on was from the start of his soliloquy to where he leaves Ophelia before her "oh what a noble mind" speech. I started the scene in silence, keeping a neutral body posture, and slowly began with "to be, or not to be", instead of making it a huge dramatic statement, I chose to make it more hesitant, with a lengthened pause at the comma, this was done to make it look like it was a statement that had just come to Hamlet. Hamlet is a scholar and a philosopher and I was trying to portray this by making it seem as if he had discovered this notion of the 'point of existence', a key recurring theme throughout the whole of the play. Hamlet is not talking about a wish to commit suicide, in fact he does not
Comparing "Romeo and Juliet" and "Macbeth".
DA1118 STAGING POSTS (2010-2011) ASSESSMENT: Essay For this essay I decided to select one the most famous writers in the world, Shakespeare, and two of his best-known plays, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. Around 1590 he started to work as a play-wright in London. Shakespeare then become one of the most famous writers in England and in part of the world. During his career he lived to reigns the one of Elizabeth I and James I (Enotes, 2011. Shakespeares biography.[online] Available at: http://www.enotes.com/william-shakespeare/shakespeare-biography [Access on 18 may 2011] ). The two plays were written practically at the same period of time Romeo and Juliet was said to be written in 1954 the year in which King Henry the IV was crowned in France. While Macbeth was written and played for the first time in 1606 the year in which England, country in which Shakespeare lived in, agreed in adopting the Union Jack as its flag (Grade saver, 2010.http://www.gradesaver.com/romeoandjuliet/ [Access on 18 May 2011]). Macbeth as I said wrote before was written in 1606, practically at the start of James I reign. James I was a supporter of Shakespeare's acting company and the story of Macbeth reflects the relationship the two had. He reflects the good kingship of James and the way he was bust developing England (Grade saver, 2010.http://www.gradesaver.com/macbeth/ [Access on 18 May 2011]).
Research Investigation: commedia dell'arte masks. It is believed that the use of mask in commedia dell'atre originated in 1570 with Andrea Calmo, the actor and author who was inspired by the Venetian carnivals of the time.
Theatre IB: research investigation: Oonagh English Commedia dell'arte Masks According to italian theatre historians, such as Roberto Tessari, Ferdinando Taviani, and Luciano Pinto, Commedia dell'arte, which literally translated as improvised comedy, developed as a response to the political and economic crisis of the 16th century in Italy and, as a consequence, became the first entirely professional form of theatre [1]. It is believed that the use of mask in commedia dell'atre originated in 1570 with Andrea Calmo, the actor and author who was inspired by the venetian carnivals of the time. She created Pantaloon who is the one of the most famous characters of commedia dell'arte today. She went on to create the spanish captain 'Il Capitano'. Although her characters were initially unmasked, Andrea wished that the spirit of the Italian carnival ( which celebrates the epiphany [2] ) would be represented in her plays and therefore she introduced the masks and thus created the commedia dell'arte that we know today. [3] The carnival of venice. [1] Records of commedia dell'arte performances date back as early as 1551, where they were acted by professionals outside on temporary stages with costumes and masks. But as it was so popular with the nobles, many performances were also done indoors at court for
Sin and Ego in Crime and Punishment
Sin and Ego Psychology The actions of Raskolnikov in Fydor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment illuminate the complexity of his character. Raskolnikov rationalizes his murders and evil deeds, and feels compelled to take action when fellow tenants suggest that the two old sisters are "...Cursed wr-r-etches!" (Dostoyevsky 101). He determines that some people do not deserve to live; therefore, he feels justified in carrying out the murders. Raskolnikov neither questions the morality of his actions, nor considers them as sins. Instead, he remains detached and objective. Exploring Raskolnikov's motivations for his actions and the psychology behind his actions are the predominant themes in this chapter. Prior to committing the murders, Raskolnikov is motivated by his unfortunate circumstances. Destitute and alienated in the emotionally-suffocating environment of St. Petersburg, Raskolnikov finds himself feeling compelled to take some form of action by murdering Alyona and, later, Lizaveta. Raskolnikov is motivated primarily by his dire financial circumstances. By killing Alyona, Raskolnikov knows that he can rob her and improve his life. Following her murder, Raskolnikov "[takes] the keys out at once," (Dostoyevsky 95) and uses them to unlock a large box which contains "items made of gold, bracelets, chains, earrings, and hatpins" (Dostoyevsky 101). Interestingly, he feels no
There are a number of logistical and dramatic factors to be decided upon in a production of Philadelphia, Here I Come. Discuss the set, lighting, sound, music or any other element of the play that you feel relevant.
There are a number of logistical and dramatic factors to be decided upon in a production of Philadelphia, Here I Come. Discuss the set, lighting, sound, music or any other element of the play that you feel relevant ________________ Friel raises issues, explores them to a certain degree. However the end is left open. The play “Philadelphia, Here I Come!” is both realistic as it presents real life situation, but also expressionistic, trying to dig into Gar’s subconscious. Gar has a choice to make, ultimatum that could vary depending if S.B. was to reveal his true emotions towards his son. Gar lacks the same attribute as his father; the ability to communicate with one another. Gar also failed to make an oral impression on Katie’s father in the past and this element cost him her hand in marriage. We are presented with Private Gar and Public Gar on the stage. Public Gar is the Gar that people see, talk to and talk about. Private Gar is the unseen character, the alter ego of our main hero. Although Public Gar is the only person that can hear Private talk he never looks at him, he cannot look at his alter ego. On stage two characters play Public and Private. One utters what is acceptable and the other utters what he’d really like to say if he wasn’t so inhabited. The central struggle is not between the public and private but between Gar both private and public and