Final Post

            Out of all the topics we discussed in class this semester the one that stuck with me the most was performance. When I first began this course I believed that I had a clear understanding of what theatrical performance was. However as we later found out we truly have no idea what it means. We first defined performance as an act done with the intent of being seen by an audience. After this discussion I thought I had a better understand until the topic if liveness came in to play. When we talked about liveness we discussed what can and cannot be considered a love performance. Chat bots were than main contradiction to this. When talking about performance we said as long as it was meant to be seen by an audience then it counted as theatre. Well if this is true then are prerecorded moments that are later shared online or on TV not considered a theatrical performance. Since chat bots don’t truly talk in real time like humans are there actions not considered a performance. Can we even declare the actions of a robot to be a theatrical performance? As time goes on and the technological elements of theatre begin to change then so will the limits of performance will change as well. We may never have a set definition for performance for this very reason.

Post 11

Like most people, whenever I go to see a theatrical performance I tend to lean towards more traditional theatre. We find comfort in the known or what we consider to be the norm. When I think about uncanny theatre I think about  a production that breaks the mold. Uncanny theatre can be defined differently depending on your view point. A good example of this is a Live show that revolves around social media. To my generation this form of theatre may seem new and innovative. However to members of the previous generation may consider this to be a form of uncanny theatre. Uncanny theatre helps bring in a audience that might not see a theatrical show otherwise. In the near future the use of such or similar technology would be considered the new norm Uncanny theatre is only considered to be outrageous is because its new. For example a horror movies where the creature is right behind the victim when the believe they are safe. When this first occurred everyone was shocked surprised and scared. Nowadays acts like this are considered the norm. Uncanny theatre allows us to break through previous boundaries and set a new limit.  It can be used to get a new audience interested in more traditional shows as well.  

Post #10

Theatre is an ever changing art form. As time passes and technology improves theatre must improve as well. This is the age of special effects and green screens. Many of these techniques are used in bigger shows whuch drawmore of an audience.  However everyone enjoys s bresk from the complex for a more simple approach.  Todays children know a little more about theatre than I did growing up. When I was in elementary school if you wanted to act yiu had to pay high prices for lessons.  This is similar to how learning to play an instrument started. However once schools had bands and muduv programs it oprn the door for kids to pick up skills they might not have otherwise.  Theatre has begun to make the same chang as time has passed. However the thing that remains to be an issue are plays wit age appropriate topics. There are very view plays made souly for tge purpose of having children performe them. Most shows are written for a more mature audience.  If there were more new age plays made exclusively for kids this may continue to grab thier attention and develop sn appreciation for theatre.

Theatre will always draw inspiration from both history and current events. When people go to see a theater they learn about events they may have not known about other wise. The important thing we must remember is that when working with a production based off true or current events is to approuch the situation with an unbiased point of view.  One of the main purpose of theatre is to educate after all. I dont belive that invisible theatre is the only way to get your point across but it is a very effective one. Sometimes we need to be shocked into understanding what is truly going on in this world.

,

Comments

http://sanchavis.blogspot.com/2014/11/post-9.html?showComment=1415382763168&m=1#c1625915413053513814

Explain this to me please.

One of the first issues that comes to mind for me is college tuition. The issue that I and many other students have around campus is that we are left in the dark when it comes to certain fees. Other than the set standard rate we are required to pay, in order to complete registration, we are also required to pay fees such as the building use fee, academic excellence fee, and technology fee. The issue is that we are required to pay all of these fees with in the two weeks LSU allows and we don't know exactly what we are paying for.

In order to stage a protest and get people involved I would first start a Facebook group. I would invite students to the group and explain my view and get feedback from other students on the issue. Once the issue has gained ground we would stage an actual protest. One idea that I have is that when the clock tower begins playing the toast song at noon all the students on campus get up and leave their classes or wherever they are. We would all then meet in the quad and march to the chancellor’s office to make our presence and purpose known.

                After the protest we would also have hopefully gotten student government on our side. We would  then  either send them or our own representative to meet with the Board for the University. We would explain that we simply want a dollar for dollar break down and explanation for our fees and why certain fees increase. For example our tech fee increased yet the University has closed two of our main computer labs which has had a major negative effect on student productivity. We would know our protest was successful once we begin to see the explanation given and our accounts taking into consideration.

140 Characters

          Time and pace play a major role when discussing twitter based plays. Twitter plays are limitec tomonly 140 characters pernpost this includes spaces and puncuation so that does not leave much room to discuss a topic. When your writing a single tweet play you must be quick and to the point .if you take to much time to get your point across you risk either losing intrest or running out of  characters. You must also make sure your post still makes some kind of since. However if you are writing a multi-tweet play you have a little more leway. You have a little more time to bulid a story because you are using multi post so you technically have more than 140 characters to use. Pace however will still need to be quick to grab a readers attention.  We live in a fast pace society where everyone expects things to be instantaneous.  With this being said if you don't make your point quick and provide quick defails the reader will get tired or lose intrest in reading each of the post.
          Now for this second question there are many things that could be done to bring us to the here and now. One idea would be to have a play based off events that may have occured that day. You could have the audience write a brief summary on their day. You could also create a facebook page for people to post current events or even simple fml statuses. Each day the cast would go through these post and create a story. This would also create a different show each time so the audience will never truly know what they will see.

Post #7

If I were to direct a play it would be based on Football. The play would take place in an actual football stadium. People would by tickets and have assigned seating.  Based on where you are seating would determine which team you would go for. Before going into the stadium the audience would watch part of the play outside which would show there team practicing and all the challenges that lead up to the big game.  The audience would only see there teams side of the story that way once the entered the stadium it would promote audience interaction.  The winner of the game would never be determined beforehand that way a different outcome would be provided each time. This would be considered a found space.

The framework of site-specific theatre and environmental theatre would have a strong effect on my production.  This is because my production does not take place in the theatre.  The audience also plays a major rake do to the fact that their involvement is heavily encouraged and needed. 

I agree with Tadeusz Kantor quote, “It is only in a place and at a time where we do not expect anything to happen that something we will unquestionably believe in can happen, whenever theatre takes place in a place outside of the theatre the audience is really drawn in for a unique experience. No More Sleep is a good example of this. During this spin on Macbeth you never knew what to expect and each time you went through the maze you had a different experience. This just shows what else theatre could be. The only thing that will hinder theatres evolution is if we continue to put it in a set box.

 

The Future of Theater

         For this first question I don't believe that theater will simplify ad disappear. This is age of the now. People expect everything to be instant no one likes waiting. Even having to wait a few minutes for a WiFi connection irritates people. Now theater gives us a break from all that. As time may evolve so may theater but i don't believe it will stray away from the definition given about performance being present with physical bodies. People will always want to see something considered to be classic or retro.  Today we still love old Motown music nearly a decade later. When Disney put Lion King back in theaters even though we owned the VHS we still brought tickets to see it. We are curious people and are interested to see how certain things as related to theater will play out. I honestly believe within the next 20 years if people heard Wicked or Rent were being put on by a local theater they would pay to go see it.
        For the second question the first thing that popped into mind was the situation in Ferguson, Missouri with Mike Brown, I was not there personally so I don't know what truly happened. The only thing I know is the facts that are shared in social media and on the news. The news couldn't be truly reliable because each station portrayed him as a different person. To one station he was a victim to another he was a criminal. However I was able to get the since that I was fully presence after during the protest. We all know that there are still racist people in the world many who are cops. I myself have been racially profiled and questioned for no reason. A cop pulled me over on my bicycle because he did not believe I lived in my apartment. I was stopped by another because he did not believe I worked in the building even though I had for a month he thought I looked suspicious. There are corrupt people everywhere and this does not reflect the police department as a whole. However it does bring important topics back into discussion. Since I was not physically present I have no way of truly knowing what happened but I could simply believe either side. The media only shows what the want the truth is rarely shared.

See No Evil.

   The first moment that came to mind when thinking bout moments that shouldn't be represented is the elephants death in The Elephant's Grave Yard . In this production an elephant was hung as punishment for accidentally killing her new trainer.  The actors stood in a cirlce and pretended to watch this horrific event. The hanging is discribed in such detail that there was no need for a visual. This act should never be portrayed, not even in film, due to the horrific nature.  Just by seeing the reactions of the cast members  and hearing the event occur is just as powerful.
   Now when approaching abstraction as it relates to the Holocaust is a very delecat subject. As we said in our discussion when working with true stories you must find a balance between both entertainment and documentary. You must stay true to the story without picking a side.  For example what if someone made a movie about a Nazi solider who was against everything he was forced to do. Some might be offended that a member of the Nazi party is being portrayed as a victim instead of the people he is killing.  Thete is always a risk when working with true historical events.

Welcome to the new age.

When I think about public disturbance in theater the first thing that comes to mind is a flash mob. In recent years more and more people have begun to express themselves through dance. By organizing a flash mob you appeal to people’s curiosity and make it easier to spread your message to different crowds, even though most flash mobs are just for enjoyment. I consider this to be a form of public disturbance because it disrupts the normal flow of events. For example, if you are walking through a mall or busy street and then everyone around you begins to dance or freeze you will become confused stop to figure out what has just happened. Flash mobs have become so effective just for the fact the appeal to a modern audience. This is the era of kids who grew up watching movies like Step Up or High School musical so seen events like this reach out to them. Now a way that we could change theater to appeal to this type of audience is a difficult question. If people would like to see dancing all over stage they could easily just go see a musical. One way to accomplish this goal could be to have the cast sit in the audience. Imagining if you went to go see a show and when the curtain opened no one was there. You sit confused but notice groups of people in the audience stand up in anger and begin to leave the theater. You get up thinking you should leave as well when all of a sudden all those people stop moving.  All of the actors began walking a backwards or dancing until they get up on the stage for the show to begin. This would grab the audience attention by appealing to their sense of curiosity and just being outside the norm.  

Comments 3

http://sanchavis.blogspot.com/2014/09/im-still-relatively-new-to-theatre-and.html?showComment=1411146036758&m=1#c9075969414879647323

True or False?

The first two plays that popped into my head were The Color Purple and All the Kings Men. While in New York during a middle school trip I was able to watch The Color Purple on Broadway. It was an amazing experience. This play made me laugh and cry just a little. Even though the story was made up you really began to connect with the characters, the second play I named,   All the Kings Men, was a play that I worked on while at LSU, This play was about the story of Huey P. Long, one of Louisiana’s most iconic governors.  This story connected to me on a much deeper level, mainly because we have been taught his history since middle school. Even though names were changed you still had a since of what was going on and of course knowing that it was based on a true story caused you to feel more deeply than   if it were made up.

Both plays, as most plays do, cause you to feel several types of emotions, whether you feel happy or sad truly depends on your point of few.  It could be argued that even though The Color Purple was made up it has historical values, but that could also be said about any productions.  The think that separates the two plays is even though the both may be historically accurate All the Kings Men is based off of actual events that occurred during his life time. However even though they may have different motives  they were each created for the same reasons, to teach and to entertain.  We learn about historic encounters from both plays as well as have a few good laughs. The purpose of any production whether naturalistic or documentary is to appeal to an audience, I truly enjoyed both productions. 

GIFSoup

Comments 2

http://muffinsthtr4130.blogspot.com/2014/09/performative-utterance.html?showComment=1410539462619#c5306338321185272389

Now everybody dance!!!

The topic for this blog was to find a performative act that can be recognized nationally. What better way to show this than through dance. Everyone knows how to do the Macarena and Head, Shoulders Knees, and Toes. We all remember doing these dances back in elementary school and if you heard the songs toady you know exactly what to do. However as times change so do fads and dance moves. This is the age of 7 second videos and learning a new dance move every week. This being said it did not surprise me at all when these two vine celebrities decided to add a modern twist to a 90s kid classic.  Since we all grew up with these dances what better way to keep them alive than add modern dance movies. To me this also shows how a performative act may begin one way but as time and culture changes it can be revamped to appeal to a younger audience. An example of this is most of the Disney movies we have grown up with. Most of the Disney stories are based off of actual stories which don’t all have such very happy endings. However each story was altered to appeal to younger audiences in order to  continue share each story.  That is one of the interesting things about a performative act they are always changing. Actual by remixing a performative act you also get people to research the original. It could be said that by remixing an act your shown appreciation for the original, even if it is just for fun. Now if you don't know these dances well .....

Comment 1

http://muffinsthtr4130.blogspot.com/2014/09/performance-or-identity.html?showComment=1409890262436#c3120186906136303762

Post 1: Is This A Performance?

        The quote that stood out to me while reading Carlson's essay was, "Performance is always a performance for someone". This quote pretty much summarizes his ideal that performance has no set definition. Performance can be separated into different categories each with its own mock definition, used to establish some sort of standard. For example performance referring to sports or ability and performance to an actual act on stage. What a person considers to be and not to be a performance relies entirely on their mind set.
       I chose the following video because it raises many questions about what performance is. It can be said that this compilation of clips is just the combination of several different performances. However what about this makes it a performance? Is it because the animals owners laid in wait with a camera to record something planned? Is it because they just so happened to have a camera at the right time to record their pets moment  to share with an audience? Our is it a performance just because we watch it for enjoyment. It could also be said that this is not a performance because it was not made aware by both parties. The animals did not know they were being recorded. Each clip is of an animal going about their normal day to day business. So then why would it be considered a performance? Well why wouldn't it be since a performance is always a performance for someone. There is no set answer to these questions. No matter what your personal few is you still enjoy watching. Wait so doesn't that make you the audience to thier performance? ......Mind=Blown