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When I read the script as it was, I visualized characterized and places differently than they were in the read aloud. When I read the script, I felt as if Howe was a harsher than the actor portrayal. I felt as if he would be taller and not so emotional. I felt that Whitney would be more jolly about life, in the beginning, than Joshua was.

The read aloud was AMAZING! When I was reading the the play, the order of the events confused me little bit. however the read aloud, even though it was not acted out fully, made more sense to me. It helped to understand the different scenes better. The actors was great; I felt all emotions that the actors felt as they were reading out loud. It even helped me interpret certain scenes better. Overall, the experience was great! I can’t wait to watch the whole play!

The Garth Fagan dance performance was so symbolic and meaningful. Fagan’s choreography and dance style is truly unique. It consists of the same precision and accuracy as ballet, as well as the same freedom of modern dance. The ballet could be seen in the intricacies of the spins and jumps from the opening piece. Then the focus on contortion and balance could be attributed to modern dance and some forms of Caribbean dancing. Their routines are clearly physically demanding, as evident from the sweat running down the dancers’ faces and the ability to hear their heavy breathing.  I felt that dancers conveyed a lot of emotion in their movements. Every extension, each time a dancer tensed a muscle and then relaxed themselves spoke something about the story that the dancers were depicting in the their movements.

The dancers wasted no actions on stage, everything meant something in the deeper story of the piece. This was present in Natalia Roger’s solo in the beginning of the piece “In Context”. The blue lighting and backdrop in this dance sent the message that this performance takes place under water. Also Roger’s violent shaking and erratic movements in the beginning made me feel as if she was drowning and gasping for life. But, somewhat abruptly she stops moving, and after her dancing is more fluid, more calculated and calm. Perhaps this signifies the peace and sense of release of death, or just from being saved.

In general, the body control shown from the dancers was impressive and beautiful to watch. As mentioned before, I loved how the dancers would tense their muscles to convey fear or affliction and then relieve the tension to show a sense of relief or elation. Their dancing was like another form of communication; comparable to Morse code, the pauses or breaks between dance moves changed the entire message directed to the audience.

One thing that I thought was odd at the beginning of the performances was that the dancers kept a straight face. It did not seem as if they were looking at the audience or each other. I do not know if this is customary in dancing, but it varied differently from the opera and plays that we have seen. In these cases, the actors seemed to be energized from the crowd and our reactions were derivative of the mood they established with their expressions. At first it did seem very mechanical as they dance, and this strongly contrasted the dynamic movements made. As the show went on, I started to see more smiling between the dancers as they performed, and this made me feel like they enjoyed performing. I think it was the dual performance with Davente Gilreath and Sarah Herbert where they both appeared to be very playful with each other as they danced; here they truly seemed to move cooperatively. This was carried on in the piece “Estrogen/Genius” as well as the other concluding pieces.

The most interesting part of this play reading was seeing the contrast between how I visioned the play in my head, and how the actors performed. When I read the play by myself, I knew the characters of Paula and Howe were from Tennessee, but I did not read their lines with a southern accent. But it added more to their characters hearing the actors speak with a southern drawl. Specifically, it made Paula’s character seem more sagacious and spiritual. I could not imagine the demeanor or appearance of the characters in my head, but I understood their personalities. With that considered, I felt that the actors perfectly embodied the characters and what they represented. The actor playing Joshua was very entertaining. He hit his lines so perfectly, that I thought in my head that this is classic Joshua and he would definitely emote this way.  

I thought it was interesting to hear Stephen Gracia mention that initially Alex, Whitney, and Joshua were younger men in the script because while I was reading, I had a hard time seeing them as old men. It just seemed easier for me to envision the characters as being relatively the same age. But I am sure that there is a legitimate reason creatively for this change in the script. I think having an elderly gay company, leave the oppressive south to the more open west shows that they are taking direction in their life. Also it makes Whitney’s interactions with Howe more meaningful. In my opinion, Whitney and Howe had the greatest characters arcs. Howe may describe the two of them as being sell-outs because they both adopted new ways of perceiving the world and let go of their old beliefs that were haunting them. However, I see them as two people who have grown from this experience. The age gap shows that humans are continuous learners who can have marvelous revelations to promote a happier existence at any part of life. No one has to be stuck in their ways and suffer alone.

This play was so spontaneous in its direction and vivid in its storytelling. The character interactions are very realistic and humorous. I very much enjoyed the inner monologues that people had with Alex because at these moments you can see Howe and Whitney deeply ponder their actions and motives, as a result the audience is blessed with moments of profound thought and intriguing questions. The idea of having characters speak with the ghost haunting them was a great story telling device. The story is just so solid in my opinion, the witty banter allowed me to quickly sympathize with the characters and become invested in their well-being. This is a classical tale of growth, a story about maintaining friends and relationships in a changing world and through a tumultuous time period. There is a little of something for everybody to relate to, and I do not see any reason a play like this would not take off.

Going into the city on a week night was not something I was looking forward to at first. The night seemed to just keep going wrong between my dad’s car getting a flat tire and of course, the classic case of NYC traffic. Things got better once I arrived to the Macaulay building. Having an interest in writing definitely made the night worthwhile to me. Seeing somebody’s work in a kind of “in between” stage was amazing. Though there was no set or costumes, the actors were able  to immerse their viewers fully into the story. I think what I liked most about not having a given set or costumes, was that I could imagine what they dressed like and how the given location looked where the characters were. It lets the viewer see things how he or she would like to. Which to me, makes the story even more special, especially if you have an imaginative and creative mind.

Talking to the writers and actors was really great, though it was brief. Listening about how they were originally going to kill of a character was kind of relatable. When I write and sometimes kill off certain characters, I am often asked the question, “Why?” There is not definitive answer I can give besides, “I needed to for the story.” So it was interesting to hear the same kind of problem behind writing and killing off characters for the writers of the play.  Now I have even thought of some questions that I would like to ask them myself. The experience Tuesday night is up on the list of my favorite Macaulay activities thus far.

Despite having to go into Manhattan after a long day of classes, I very much enjoyed sitting through the play reading. After reading the script, I found the play rather mediocre, but upon hearing it read aloud with actors, I thoroughly enjoyed it and appreciated it. The actors were able to add a depth and an emotion to the characters than the script alone can provide. They were able to establish and convey the setting and events of the play to the audience more convincingly than words. The play felt more personal when I was able to put faces to the characters and actions to their words. The playwright and cast were also very informative and forthcoming in response to the questions that we had as an audience.

The dance last Sunday was not exactly something that I would have gone to see on my own. Being an English major, I try to find the meaning behind everything. I guess it is because of my investigative personality. However, I was getting aggravated because I could not draw a conclusion as to what the meaning of the dance was. The dance numbers themselves were very entertaining to watch and I was eager to see what the next move was. I give the dancers a lot of credit for what they do because, I certainly can not spin around really fast multiple times and not get dizzy. My favorite dance number was the last one where all the dancers came out in colorful costumes. My favorite part of the show would have to be the second half. The music was more upbeat and some songs even had lyrics, which made the dance in a sense easier to follow. All in all the Garth Fagan dance was very interesting and unique.

When I arrived at the Macaulay Building, I totally dreaded having to stay for a play till 11:00 at night. Once the play progressed, however, my dread of having to stay in the city till near midnight disappeared and I sat there with my full attention on the actors. The story of the play intrigued me and I wondered if the play actually was reflected on a personal experience. I loved how the actors got into character and it was interesting seeing them put a lot of emotion into their presentations. I would rather have the actors have more movement instead of having the narrator read out each action. It would’ve made the play much more interesting and we would’ve been able to observe the different stage directions that the actors decided to choose and use.

I really enjoyed the dance last Sunday. I wasn’t really sure what to expect because I’m not really familiar with any dances other than ballet and whatever they do on Dancing with the Stars. When the curtains opened and there was a shirtless older man standing there, I was shocked because I expected to see all young dancers. It was cool to see some older dancers who were all in such amazing shape. The dancing itself was incredible. All of the performers had such control over their bodies. In high school, a troupe of dancers who performed African-style dancing came and performed, and it was interesting to see the influences of that style in this performance. The dances seemed to have deep symbolism, but I’m not sure I got all of it. I’m really glad we got to go; I doubt I would ever had gone to a dance performance on my own.

The theater which this dance was held at was magnificent. The ambiance of the theater was very grand. Although it was rather small in size, everybody seemed to be very well dressed and mature. When I entered the theater, I was placed in a seat that was isolated from the rest of the Macaulay kids. Once the show progressed i couldn’t help but doze off a bit. The dance and the music did not appeal to me and i found it very uncomfortable to sit through the show. The only thing that appealed to me was the physique and the athleticism of the dancers. The choreography of the dance was interesting in that it was very well synchronized, but it was a bunch of random dance moves that were repeated over and over again. Another thing that was rather uncomfortable to me was how they bowed twice after eat scene. I had to continue my applause for 5 straight minutes before the scene finally ended.

The play reading at the Macaulay building was a great experience. When reading the play, I really loved the characters and their uniqueness from each other. Each character had a unique backstory and, although they were all different from each other, they were all relatable in some way. Howe was by far my favorite character, somewhat nihilistic and optimistic at the same time. His growth from a man without a home to a person with a goal was really satisfying. The character interactions were also entertaining to watch. Seeing Howe trying to defend his decisions to Alex really added to his character. The interactions between Howe and Alex let the audience know Howe’s true feelings without compromising his relationship with the other characters. The other characters had very interesting motivations that led them to San Francisco. Whitney and Joshua’s relationship showed a lot of emotion for two people dejected from the society in Virginia. Paola’s journey to California was interesting, where she realizes she wants something more when already there, leading to a faster growth than the other characters. The play was very enjoyable, good story telling and character development. I would have enjoyed the show more if I didn’t watch it at 8 o’clock on a school night.