Q4:W2 Comments

Matthew - March for Our Lives

Addi - Pen and Paper

Don't Say "Good Luck"

I guess this won't help you now as the play is almost over (like in 1 hour, as I am writing this at intermission closing night), but please know this for the future: don't say "good luck" to someone about to perform a show. Tell them to "break a leg" or, if you speak French "merde." I don't know what it is in Spanish or Latin or other languages, but you get the point.

Seriously, this superstition has been true, at least for me. For example, take Episcopal's Into the Woods production last year. Before opening night, someone texted me "good luck." That night, the main character, the witch played by Lauren Hicks, was hit on the nose which caused a massive nosebleed, during the middle of her big scene on stage. We had to pause the scene for 3 minutes while she cleaned up. It was a real show-stopper (haha).

The moral of the story: don't say "good luck" to someone if they are about to perform in a show. Please! Tell them to break a leg. Be courteous. Don't ruin a show. Don't give someone a nosebleed.

Response to PURPLE HIBISCUS (through p 88)

So far, Purple Hibiscus has been really, really sad and depressing and I hope it there is some happiness in the book. I mean, by today's standards, Eugene (Papa) would have been in jail years ago. But this is 1980's post-colonial Nigeria, so he's not. This is a terrible analogy, but he's like those kids who act one way around just kids and another way when there are adults around. But in this case, Papa is full-out abusing his entire family in private and giving money to the poor in public. His title is literally Omelora, The One Who Does for the Community (see p 56). But because he is so generous, faithful, and rich, the community pays no attention, that we know of, to what abuse shows on his family.

Purple Hibiscus reminds me of The Color Purple, and no it's not because of the name, though I do wonder if the color has any significant meaning in this context. Anyway, in both stories, from the beginning, the main female protagonist is abused by her father (and later her husband in The Color Purple). Both characters are soft-spoken at the beginning, and in The Color Purple by the end, Celie (the main character) is open, confident, and free. Hopefully, Kambili will turn out the same way.

Q3:W8 Comments

Matthew - Lyric

Bronwyn - Poem: Silence

Play Rehearsal (poem)

Before
The crunching of chips
The calm chatter

Warming up
The musical scale
The practice of a piece
The harmonious chords

Full run through
The silence in the wings
The rehearsed routes
The moving songs
The real smiles

Get notes
The possibility for improvements
The pencil checks
The thankings of "you"

After
The zipping of parkas
The quiet humming of tunes

I used cacophony, sibilance, and euphony in this poem to represent the various order that occurs in rehearsal. Before rehearsal, there is barely any order, cacophony. While warming up and getting notes, there is some order, sibilance. But during a run though, there is the most order, euphony.

Analysis of "The Music of the Night" from THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

One of the most famous musical theatre songs is "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera (music and lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Webber). This song comes in the first known meeting between the Phantom and Christine, the two main characters. The Phantom sings this song to Christine while she is asleep expressing his pining for someone to appreciate him and his music.

It is a sweet song, sung at a slow pace, and the softness can be inferred from the lyrics. The song, especially at the beginning, has a lot of sibilance, which evokes the gentleness of the song. The first words are "Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagine. Slightly the senses abandon their defenses," which is full of sibilance. Not only does the sibilance contribute to the ambiance, but so does euphony. One of the verses goes like this: "Close your eyes and surrender to your darkest dreams. Purge your thoughts of the life you knew before. Close your eyes and let your spirit start to soar, and you'll live like you never did before." The repeated "r" and "l" have a soft sound that mirrors the song and its meaning.

Webber does a great job conveying the humane, gentle side of the Phantom in this song and this allows the audience to sympathize with him. When we see his dark side, one can be reminded of his gentle personality by remembering this song. We know what he is going through and what he wants, and the sibilance and euphony help the audience understand the gentle and soft side of the Phantom.

Q3:W7 Blog Comments

Gregory - LAUNCH: Effective Risk Taking

Ellie S - Free Post: Music

Theater Review of THE COLOR PURPLE

I recently went to see The Color Purple at the Saenger Theatre and was definitely touching, to say the least. For those of you who don't know, here is a basic summary: Celie is a teenager who is sexually abused by her father and later by her husband, named Mister, that her father trades her to. Living with her husband, she meets strong women like Sophia and Shug that teach her to stand up for herself against her abusive husband.

Pretty intense, right? There's some more stuff I'm leaving out, but it would spoil the show. Anyway, the acting was incredible. I could really see the connection between Celie and her sister Nettie. The actress playing Celie was my favorite, mostly because of her body language. When she was depressed and abused, you could see it. Her hunched shoulders and frown are real. When she becomes stronger at the end, she puts her shoulders back and gins.

The plot and lyrics are truly empowering. Being yourself is a repeated message, and is a really important one. My favorite song is Our Prayer. It is a song between Celie and Nettie talking about what they want in the future and is a hopeful song is a time of sadness. Overall, the show was empowering and inspiring and leaves the audience something to think about as they leave the theatre.

LAUNCH Reflection

As this was my first LAUNCH day, I don't have much to base this year's presentations off of, but this year was amazing. There were so many presentations that blew my mind. I learned so much: how to develop characters, what atonal music, and the psychology of creativity to name a few. I had many friends in the Thesis program this year, and it was great to see them kill their presentations. To me, the one with the biggest message was the psychology of creative presentation. Her thesis was about how anyone can be creative, and their feelings come out in their art. As I love the arts, this was really important to me and what I love to do. 

Over the years, I've seen the emotions that come out after the presentations. And they've been working on it for two years, so I don't judge. By the time I'm a junior, I hope to be part of the Thesis program. My problem is that I have no idea what my thesis would be. I guess that's what the first year is, and I can think about it now. I guess it's just a bit daunting. And I don't even know that I'll get in, but I can hope. Anyway, it seems that everyone picks a perfect topic. I mean, who thinks of atonal music? And then I have to make it entertaining. It has to be unique. Again, this is if I even get in. I might not. But if I do, I'll have a lot of help figuring it out.