Category — Drama

This a late post about Mohammed’s Radio and the Selected Shorts at Symphony Space.(Sorry Guys!)

To start off, the stage reading of Mohammed’s Radio was awesome! All of the actors had great emotion and they knew how to use dramatic pauses to their advantages. I feel that this play is very well written because it doesn’t answer all of you questions. I think that’s good because it forces you to think about the sensitive subjects brought up in the play. It also makes you want to go and find answers to questions you might have. Luckily, we had the chance to ask the crew and playwright about the play. I asked the about whether or not Kelly’s conversion was genuine or not and the answer was what I had thought; it was genuine in that she wanted an immediate escape from her problems and Islam could do that for her, but it wasn’t because she wanted to be truly involved in the Muslim Culture.

Another reason I like this play is because of how accurate it is. I felt like I could’ve known Kelly because I know teens who do things spontaneously like change religions and sexual orientations because they don’t want to deal with people shunning them or treating them a certain way. I feel that the playwright did a great job of portraying that aspect of a teenager.

Next up, Symphony Space. This was, in my opinion, not a good event to end our awesome first semester. Coming in I had no clue was this was supposed to be about. I thought it was gonna be famous people talking about food, but it turned out to be famous people reading food related stories. Uh, ok then. I found this fairly boring and wacky. I was following along with the stories, lost as to what relevance they had to anything. I fell asleep during some of the reading because I found the stories boring and the readers did nothing to keep me engaged. As for the wackiness, there was a story that was apparently about evil mushrooms making soup and killing each other with swords and guns…..what? The stories were weird, and boring to me.

This event was not for me, which is fine, but I’m glad that I got to experience it even though it wasn’t my cup of tea.

P.S:

As my last post, I would like to say that I thoroughly enjoyed your class Professor Ugoretz, it was a bunch of fun and I appreciate art way more that I did. I also learned a lot more about art forms that I hadn’t experienced, like opera and ballet. Thanks!!

In the past week I visited the Matilda Musical on Broadway with a couple of friends. As I sat in the middle section, I took note of the proficient actors/actresses. I focused on the plot of the story and listened to the sounds of the music as the actors sang aloud. I recognized that there was much more to the Broadway show then the plot and the music. This Broadway show can absolutely fall into the category of art.

As my friends were enjoying the plot and the music, I began to look around. I took note of the audience who ranged from ages 5 to about 60. I noticed the set up- the stage was centered and the seats circled the stage. I recognized the luminous lights fixated on the actors. The set up and introduction of new scenes were oblivious and the production and design was phenomenal.

The Broadway show was indeed art. The set up, the makeup on the actresses, the clothing on the performers, the lights, the stage, the acting, the movements, and the music make the Broadway show an exceptional piece of art. I truly enjoyed the show and was amazed at the thought that almost everything can fit in the category of art!

I read “The Phantom of the Opera,” by Gaston Leroux, prior to attending the Broadway show, simply because I have a habit of reading a play, novel, or script prior to attending a performance or a movie, in some cases. I watched the movie a few days after the show, and only because my friend asked me what I did that weekend, I replied that I had seen the Phantom of the Opera, and she questioned, “the movie or the Broadway show?”

However, neither the novel or nor the movie compared to the Broadway show in the Majestic Theatre. There’s a reason that the Phantom of the Opera is the longest-running show in Broadway history (besides that of the very long, around-the-block lines). 🙂 Usually, I enjoy the novel more than the corresponding production, and, although the novel was very enjoyable to read, I have a special place in my heart for music and musicals such as this show.

Admittedly, I did wonder how the infamous crashing of the chandelier would be staged, and I was very happy that I wasn’t sitting in the Orchestra section of the theatre…

Furthermore, I wondered how the boat scene would be staged, considering the fact that the stage was a dry surface without water, and I found the boat effects, as well as the effects that had been designed for the stairs, to be impressively realistic.

The scenery and costumes were impeccably produced. The singing was beautiful, the acting was amazing, and the instrumental accompaniment was graceful and phenomenal. While the Phantom of the Opera was the angel of music, the actress that played Christine had the voice of an angel. The music was so amazing that I had chills throughout the whole production. I was completely mesmerized and immersed in the show and the plot line, so much so that when the show was over and the curtain closed, I didn’t want to leave. I will definitely enjoy viewing the Phantom of the Opera a few more times in my lifetime because I think it is a timeless production of art.

Before beginning the play, I was aware that we were going to see it read aloud. Therefore, I read the play while, in my mind, each character took on a different voice to have a better picture of what I would see in a few day’s time. I had never been to a reading of a play, and it surprised me that this play was set in a part of New York City that was very familiar to me, located only a short distance from my neighborhood. While reading the play, I was able to understand all of the jokes, comments and stereotypes described about Brooklyn. In reality, the play was unlike anything I had read before.

The play is, in a way, shocking and definitely has the ability to provoke a response. I found our discussion in class to have brought up many questions that I had previously not given a thought to, which were then answered by Stephen Garcia, the writer of the play at the end of the reading.

I had not expected the reading to be so powerful. Somehow, when I found out that we were attending a reading of the play, the word “reading” downplayed my expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. The actors’ facial expressions, emotion-filled voices, and gestures allowed the members of the audience to become immersed in the play and thoroughly forget where they were located at the time. I enjoyed following the progression of the play live more-so than I did while reading it at home, because even though there was no setting created and the actors were simply reading the play, it came alive before your very eyes. I did not, in any way, expect a grown man to portray Little Joe, an eight-year-old innocent young boy, so well. Furthermore, I didn’t expect any of the actors to depict their respectable characters so well because, once the question and answer portion of the night began, it seemed as if you were broken away from  a dream and these weren’t the characters in front of you, but simply the adults or students who had played them. You were suddenly taken out of the trance.

The plot was very unique in my eyes and the actors were able to provoke reactions from the audience that Mr. Garcia had intended while writing the play. I definitely enjoyed the reading and will definitely keep my eyes open for similar events throughout the city in the future.

When I heard that we’d be watching a staged play, I imagined a couple of people lined up on a large stage, practicing their parts dully. However, this was not the case. Mohammed’s Radio, although it was staged, was a pleasure to watch.

I thought that reading the play beforehand would affect my interest while watching the actual characters act. However, when faces and voices were put to the characters, the play just got better! What I had imagined, came to life. Each character presented his/herself in an extraordinary way and each individual brought something different to the table. The actors used a voice, expression, and personality that best fit their characters’ and really brought their hearts into the play.

I was especially moved when I saw tears in ‘Alice’s’ eyes. The actress actually placed herself in Alice’s shoes and was in tears towards the end of the play when she found that her daughter had been raped. It was extraordinary to watch the regular individuals play their parts with lots of emotion and passion. The actors/actresses made it hard for me to differentiate between the performer and the true character.

Overall, the staged play was beyond what I expected. I was immersed into the play and felt that I truly understood each and every character’s motives and behaviors.