Category Archives: Ah-ha Moments

Our Ah-Ha moment – Cindy and Carolyn

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This semester, we went to many different events that took us to places that we might not have normally gone to. The first event that gave us a taste of what was to come was the play “You Never Can Tell” at the Pearl Theatre.  This play introduced us to the world of theatre and showed us the importance of conveying emotions to the audience. What we particularly liked about this production was the acting. The director and actors gave more life to the play with their actions and their way of interpreting the script. The scene that comes to my head is when Mr. Valentine is crawling on his knees to Gloria and the way that Gloria is trying to back away from him. They show what is happening in a comical way and they keep up with the rapidly changing emotions they have, from hate to loving each other.

The “Fall for Dance Festival” at the New York City Center was another exciting event for us. It showed us how dance and music can tell a story without any actual words. The show kicked off with an extraordinary tap dance called SOUNDspace created by Michelle Dorrance and performed by her remarkable ensemble of dancers, Dorrance Dance. The dance did not incorporate any other outside music but it didn’t need it since the tapping was rhythmic enough without it. The lighting in this dance was also well thought out because, at first, you only saw the dancers’ feet tapping, but as the dance continued, the lights grew bigger and the tapping gradually grew stronger. The tap dancers also compete with each other through their dancing. They challenge each other and try to outdo their fellow dancers in a fun and witty manner. The fact that the dance solos were improvisations by the dancers even impresses us more. This piece animated us through the use of tap as music and the usage of the stage by the whole group of dancers, the trios and even the individual dancers. The Fall for Dance Festival was an enriching experience. It effectively combined different dancing styles into one show. The pieces presented each had their own story to tell but didn’t necessarily overshadow one another. The dancing styles might have been different but they all showed just how powerful dance could be.

The way the Globe Theatre production at Belasco Theater is maintaining the balance between the 17th century characteristics of the play and the way people appreciate art in the 21st century.  As a result, this classical was still understandable to the contemporary audience. In the performance, even thought there are several female characters, the director still employs males to play all the roles.  Not only is an accurate presentation of the 17th century stage practice, but also it creates an amusing atmosphere in which a male plays a female role in which she pretends to be a male.  However, what most amusing the audience is the actors’ exaggerate action/movement.  For example, when Olivia (Mark Rylance) tells Cesario (Samuel Barnett) how much she loves him, Andrew suddenly appears to the stage. Olivia immediately rises up her arm and almost throws her basket toward him, reflecting how mad she is and also promoting laughter from audiences. With a relatively silly action, the actors actually reduce the audience’s fear to a classical production.  As a result, because of a slightly change to the original production, the production still generate the audience’s laughter in Belasco Theater.

Our Ah-ha moment was the “Rigoletto”. This event gave us an appreciation for opera as a form of art. In the production, by setting the opera in Las Vegas, the director moves the 18th-century opera to the 1960s.  As a result, this performance becomes closer to the modern audience.  In addition, with a club setting, the play does not reduce but underscore Duke as a playboy.  By applying exaggerate using of light, the stage setting highlights the glamour and luxury of the club and the people’s life style in Las Vegas.  As a result, contradicted to the setting, Gilda’s innocent, purity, and unconditional love is highlighted.  By setting the play into a club in Las Vegas and the groundbreaking using of light, the director presents a piece of classical art that is more in the time of this generation, and today’s society.

While the lighting was good in some aspects, such as reflecting the mood through the elevator and background lights, the lighting was sometimes too much and distracting. One such occasion was in the last act in the scene where Gilda is going to sacrifice herself for the Duke. The lighting here was overdone, the lights to show the rain and lighting was too flashy and took away a little of the drama that was suppose to be in that tragic moment where Gilda sacrifices herself for who she thinks is the love of her life. Even though the lighting was overdone in some places, the opera had magnificent singers that effectively represented the characters and whose voices were not lost amidst the combination of voices. This was an ah-ha moment for us because it showed us that opera is not what we thought it would be and helped us realize the appreciation we gained of art through this seminar.