As the great Shakespeare once quipped "Life is but a stage and we are merely players." A metaphorical truth rings evidently in that statement. Our text and workbook confronts the issues of roles and conflict within roles in detail. To elucidate my own experience with roles and inheren...

Looking For Richard: Today's society taking a look at Shakespeare Within the film "Looking for Richard," Al Pacino takes the works of William Shakespeare and tries to make it more understandable to today's society. Pacino says, "are goal is to reach an audienc...

In the Play Les Miserables, this past Saturday 25th of November in Broadway I had the most amazing theatre experience. The story of the Miserable itself is a touching, meaningful and extraordinary one. The cast of the play was amazing; people say that choosing a good cast of characters is 90% of m...

Canevin Catholic High School offers many extracurricular activities. Those students geared toward physical challenges may choose from various athletic programs such as basketball, soccer, and football. On the other hand, there are additional activities for those more interested in a mental challeng...

Pirandello's masterpiece, "Six Characters in Search of an Author" is well known for its innovative techniques of characterization, especially in the fullness of character as exhibited by the Stepdaughter and the Father; it is especially renowned, and rightfully so, for the brilliant staging techn...

Looking For Richard: Today's society taking a look at Shakespeare Jake Johns Within the film Looking for Richard, Al Pacino takes the works of William Shakespeare and tries to make it more understandable to today's society. Pacino says, " are goal is to reach a...

Acting is a very complex art form where the actor must abandon their own personal feelings to take on the feelings of a character. There are a few ways for an actor to be cast in a production. Sometimes actors attend open calls, where anyone may attend and there is a chance to get called back. At op...

The production of Hair was a musical melodrama that focused on the youth of the 1960s, and the tribulations that young people faced. It dealt with what the hippie generation valued most, and also what they feared. The episodic plot chronicled the life of Claude, a young man who was drafted into the ...

The production I critiqued is "Fairy Tale Follies" by A. J. Jacobs, done by the high school students of Foothills Academy. Despite the fact that they had a small cast and crew, the production was quite enjoyable. The play itself did not really follow Aristotle's components of drama,...

Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus' Mamma Mia! was the first musical that I have ever watched and it was one of the most exciting entertainment that I have ever experienced. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus have integrated their beloved lyrics and music to create a wed...

You don't need to be the best singer, dancer, or actor to succeed in the theater. You just need to feel like you are, whether you have to pretend or not. You can't go on stage with a bad attitude or else you will end up leaving the stage with an even worse attitude. What I mean is, if you think yo...

In this essay I will discuss three roles that of the chorus in the play Oedipus. First I will explain the use of the chorus as bystanders throughout the play. Second, I will explain the role of offering a sort of running narrative for the audience. Third, I will describe how the chorus is used to k...

The Canterbury Tales is about an unrelated group of pilgrims traveling together on a pilgrimage. One of the major aspects of the journey is the unique diversity of the characters. There are knights, nuns, monks, lower-class tradesman and single women. They interact together and tell each other thei...

Previously, if asked why I wanted to be an actor, I'd say I didn't know. I just loved to act. Of course, there's the obvious fame and fortune but that's not enough when choosing a career, because if you don't attain that fame and fortune, you have to love it enough to keep doing it. What makes ...

Flowers for Algernon Critique Have you ever wanted something so bad you'd sacrifice your life to have it; even if just for a moment? Charlie Gordon, played by Robert Masucci did just that. Charlie has a learning disability but gets a chance to alter his I.Q. substantially through operati...

In the Arden's performance of Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead," the production is able to surprise the audience with a brilliant display of theatricality. Tom Stoppard has even said he enjoys the theater because it incorporates many different characteristics, which help to...

Looking at what you experience during the fall, the word tradition comes to mind. People tend to stick with what they've established over the years for their personal entertainment, if being going out to the movies, football games, or the party scene. Its time for you to break outside of your comf...

I saw the play "All's Well That Ends Well" at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. The theater space was a three-quarters thrust and the theater was intimate allowing anyone to see just about anyone else in the theater. The seating also allowed everyone no matter where you sat to get an up-close view...

Campbell University's Department of Theater Arts Presented "Harvey" on April 7th and 8th and from the 13th through the 15th. The play was first presented in the early '40s. It is also set in this time period. It is a very care-free, take your mind off of your worries comedic work. The main ...

The other day, when I found out I was going to right a paper on a play, it crossed my mind that I wanted to see the Rocky Horror Picture show on Broadway in New York City. The Rocky Horror Picture Show was originally a small experimental production in a London theatre. From here, it took off inter...

When you go to the theater you may never see your name in lights but your role as an audience member is just as important as the star of the show. A play never really exists until it is performed in front of an audience. That makes an audience what the art of playwriting is all about, it's th...

Copenhagen, written by Michael Frayn, premiered at the Seattle Repertory Theater, marking the beginning of its 40th season. Frayn accomplishes a perfect mix of science and theater in this intellectual play which won a Tony award in 2000. Frayn explores the scientific ethics in the nuclear age and am...

"Monkey," a play from the 1970s, was recently performed by Grin and Tonic. Writer/director, Bryan Nason manipulated themes and issues, such as self-discovery, family, good against evil, and acceptance. The performance used and demonstrated many elements of drama as well as roles, relationships, sp...

Although not the talk of the university, "Moon Over Buffalo" was definitely the talk of those who saw it; from one comedic act to another. Whether it was Paul trying to get George's pants on or just random humorous lines when George realizes he did not quite "dress for the part," it left ever...

Problem of Genre in Drama When a reader thinks of a play that has been labeled a comedy he thinks of light-hearted and happy plots. The reader would not think of family tension, arguments or even perversion. The genre of comedy takes on the responsibility of making the audience laugh and walk awa...