Play Day for Hamlet, and...Titus

Sad endings are so much more complex...What I love, is that Shakespeare makes me reevaluate the way I view things. His work seem to have a knack for entertaining the parts of my humanity that I usually ignore. For instance, maybe it is nobler to die, than to live in dishonesty. There is a definite romanticization of death, that makes a part of me very uncomfortable, and yet another part sincerely intrigued. Our play group, The Great Danes, will be performing a worshipful production of the play. This play/acting experience is giving me an experience with the work that I would have never otherwise receive. I am excited to learn more about theater, Hamlet, and Shakespeare. As far as Titus goes, I am enjoying it. I cannot emphasize enough, how much more accessible it makes the play to watch it before I read it. Titus was a troubled man. It would be interesting to do a psychological analysis of him. I find myself paying much more attention to the stage direction in the written play, now that I am anticipating going about performing my own.

Nik

Romeo and Juliet production

I never realized how much really goes into a production. The truth is simply that I never really thought about it. In Monday's class activity, my group analyzed the makeup worn by the characters in the film adaptation of the play. For some reason, I had a hard time distinguishing makeup from costume. It is now so obvious that every aspect of a production demands meticulous and careful attention: an eye for detail. There is so much to this story. It begs the question of whether or not all this meticulous detail, by the director and production designer, is meant to lend any specific ideas about interpretation to the audience, or is the audience still free to come up with their own interpretations although there are no real blanks to fill in? Perhaps this is why some plays are performed with simple costumes and near-naked sets... Just a thought.

Shakepeare in Love, and Romeo and Juliet Act I

I found it incredibly useful to read the play and watch the movie at the same time. I initially tried to read the play first, but had a hard time visualising what was happening. So I decided to watch the movie first and then cut into the play, which helped immensely. As I watch the film I couldn't help but think that Leonardo was totally outshining Claire. Especially in the final scene, it seemed as though she was less into it then he was. His death was just so much more dramatic, and yet not too over the top. Maybe she was just trying to seem confused. Maybe she thought he was just ingesting a small vile of apple juice and then just took a fright at the utter shock of seeing that she was actually alive...I watched that part twice and left that moment angry that she didn't speak up sooner. I really did enjoy this adaptation of the work...all things considered.