(no subject)
Alexandria Sanders English 100
Jeremy Hector
31 July 2008/revised 10 August 2008
Escape to the Stage
There are different types of art, usually when the subject of art is brought into question and attention the first thought is usually drawing, painting, or some other varies medium. Art is an expression of a thought ultimately. That thought could branch out into millions of different things, which turn into masterpieces or misunderstood disasters. But, those types of mediums were the earliest forms of expression; artists took an evolutionary step up. The paintbrush and canvas are replaced by quill and parchment, and instead of splashes of vibrant color that flow is expressed through body movement. Artists are now called actors and playwrights. I, of course speak of theatre. It’s the ultimate escape from reality. Imagination has completely taken over the senses, and regardless if the actors cannot break the forth wall, we can see through and witness something amazing.
Logic Broken
Theatre stimulates visual creativity in its audience. Try thinking about a play, or even perhaps a movie based off one, whether or not it was likeable isn’t the point. The point is, that the brain goes into hyper drive because due to what’s just been seen as fueled the senses. Winterson’s short essay “Imagination and Reality” states that “we have to admit the arts stimulate and satisfy a part of our nature that would otherwise be left untouched and that emotions art arouses in us are of different order to those aroused by experience of any other kind” (599). That part of our nature left untouched, being the part of us that’s encased in logic and too much reason. We are constantly arguing with ourselves when something, some aspect of life refused to make sense or logic. Art doesn’t necessarily need to make sense. “Art isn’t safe,” said Rob Zombie on the set of his 2005 movie, The Devil’s Rejects.
Buy why, is it we as the audience or those who are within the moment (the actors/performers) feel the need to escape our own realistic reality and transfer into a new world that can obviously be somewhat far-fetched and odd? For example, Tuan, author of “Earth” mentions that “real life is the life on earth; it is here that we have our roots and our being…” (549). “Interestingly, they discover that the earth is never quite that home humans want it to be; hence the dream of flying and of a paradise located elsewhere that are common to many cultures” (549). This, of course, stretched out into the “far-fetched” but he makes a good point about dreams of being “taken away” to another place much different from our own reality. Unfortunately, there’s no real answer to the question. It’s more something to think about for yourself. But, on a simply guess, theatre is about life being born upon a stage through gifted players, the energy from the audience on the edge of their seats dying to know what happens next.
In famous playwright William Shakespeare’s age, theatre was changing. Previously there was the Tudor mortality plays, which were a blend of piety, farce and slapstick in which characters were personifying moral attributes. These were quite popular in London before 1850. Writers in England started combining two different strands of dramatic tradition into a new distinctively Elizabethan synthesis www.balletmet.org. Shakespeare definitely paved the way to creating alternate realities
High School Drama
Drama courses started at fifteen for me, as a way to broaden my knowledge of theatre arts and acting. I learned the different techniques and methods of modern acting for the stage. So much is taboo, and your throat will be ripped out at the slightest slip up. The overall atmosphere of pushing yourself out of your own reality is intriguing and can be a frightening mental orgasm. For a few moments as the curtain pulls back, you are not you. You are the person you have committed to play to the fullest extent without committing identity fraud. Whatever reality you did not want to deal with is instantly transformed. You hear the expression “hundreds of want-to-be actors come off the bus to Hollywood everyday;” well why is that? Maybe to be the “next big thing,” or even the money. But, really think into this. Could it also be true that, these actors are trying to leave a life that didn’t suit them to enter a glamorous reality they’ve seen somewhere else?
The core element of theatre and all plays ever made first starts with an idea. Everything deprives from an idea. A simple note or word can trigger an idea, and then there’s the process of flushing that idea out. It’s called writing! Every good play starts with a good script, without a script it’s just improv. I actually had the chance to write out my own monologue for a small showcase. It was a humorous piece that I rushed through the first time around, eventually went back and tinkered with the unsteady edges to make the piece flow. My screenwriting professor had once asked me “how many people want to be directors?” I recall going into a short anecdote about how I hated career days in high school. But what he was getting at was this; there is a higher demand for writers than there are for directors, cinematographers and especially actors. It doesn’t seen that anyone wants to make the time and effort to filling in the blank pages to create the big picture.
The acting portion of theatre is very important. Without the actors there’s nothing to see but an empty stage and pretty curtains. It’s through the actors there’s a voice to be heard, someone to identify with. An actor usually can manipulate their posture, expression, and voice to communicate the motivations of the character they play. The actor is said to be ‘assuming the role’ mostly for the benefit of the audience, but also because it can bring one a sense of artistic satisfaction. The belief here is not only do the audience get to take part in an alternate reality of their own to see the world through the eyes of another, but so does the actors themselves. They’re met with a satisfaction equivalent of being “taken away.”
Once Is Never Enough
And it’s a one shot deal! Don’t for one moment think that the stage and film are evenly matched, they are not. It can be told within the acting itself. First off, film actors have the luxury of screwing up. There is this concept they deeply depend on if ever or whenever an actor might mess up a line or just give a lousy performance, it’s called a cut. When you cut the director can say "do it over again"; this can go on as much as the director sees fit. However, for the stage an actor has one chance to play their part flawlessly or they bring down the entire production. That’s how much power the theatre holds. Theatre is a finely tune and oiled machine that breathes life into itself and can survive as long as the imagination exists. I have a deep understanding and respect for theatre, it paved the way for many things to come after it. It takes one to another place to escape to. There are honestly no limitations other than the sky. Imagine that.
Work Cited
1. Winterson, Jeanette. “Imagination and Reality.” 1996.
2. Tuan, Yi-Fu. “Earth.”
3. William Shakespeare. February 2000. http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Shakespeare.html#anchor177912. August 10, 2008.
Jeremy Hector
31 July 2008/revised 10 August 2008
Escape to the Stage
There are different types of art, usually when the subject of art is brought into question and attention the first thought is usually drawing, painting, or some other varies medium. Art is an expression of a thought ultimately. That thought could branch out into millions of different things, which turn into masterpieces or misunderstood disasters. But, those types of mediums were the earliest forms of expression; artists took an evolutionary step up. The paintbrush and canvas are replaced by quill and parchment, and instead of splashes of vibrant color that flow is expressed through body movement. Artists are now called actors and playwrights. I, of course speak of theatre. It’s the ultimate escape from reality. Imagination has completely taken over the senses, and regardless if the actors cannot break the forth wall, we can see through and witness something amazing.
Logic Broken
Theatre stimulates visual creativity in its audience. Try thinking about a play, or even perhaps a movie based off one, whether or not it was likeable isn’t the point. The point is, that the brain goes into hyper drive because due to what’s just been seen as fueled the senses. Winterson’s short essay “Imagination and Reality” states that “we have to admit the arts stimulate and satisfy a part of our nature that would otherwise be left untouched and that emotions art arouses in us are of different order to those aroused by experience of any other kind” (599). That part of our nature left untouched, being the part of us that’s encased in logic and too much reason. We are constantly arguing with ourselves when something, some aspect of life refused to make sense or logic. Art doesn’t necessarily need to make sense. “Art isn’t safe,” said Rob Zombie on the set of his 2005 movie, The Devil’s Rejects.
Buy why, is it we as the audience or those who are within the moment (the actors/performers) feel the need to escape our own realistic reality and transfer into a new world that can obviously be somewhat far-fetched and odd? For example, Tuan, author of “Earth” mentions that “real life is the life on earth; it is here that we have our roots and our being…” (549). “Interestingly, they discover that the earth is never quite that home humans want it to be; hence the dream of flying and of a paradise located elsewhere that are common to many cultures” (549). This, of course, stretched out into the “far-fetched” but he makes a good point about dreams of being “taken away” to another place much different from our own reality. Unfortunately, there’s no real answer to the question. It’s more something to think about for yourself. But, on a simply guess, theatre is about life being born upon a stage through gifted players, the energy from the audience on the edge of their seats dying to know what happens next.
In famous playwright William Shakespeare’s age, theatre was changing. Previously there was the Tudor mortality plays, which were a blend of piety, farce and slapstick in which characters were personifying moral attributes. These were quite popular in London before 1850. Writers in England started combining two different strands of dramatic tradition into a new distinctively Elizabethan synthesis www.balletmet.org. Shakespeare definitely paved the way to creating alternate realities
High School Drama
Drama courses started at fifteen for me, as a way to broaden my knowledge of theatre arts and acting. I learned the different techniques and methods of modern acting for the stage. So much is taboo, and your throat will be ripped out at the slightest slip up. The overall atmosphere of pushing yourself out of your own reality is intriguing and can be a frightening mental orgasm. For a few moments as the curtain pulls back, you are not you. You are the person you have committed to play to the fullest extent without committing identity fraud. Whatever reality you did not want to deal with is instantly transformed. You hear the expression “hundreds of want-to-be actors come off the bus to Hollywood everyday;” well why is that? Maybe to be the “next big thing,” or even the money. But, really think into this. Could it also be true that, these actors are trying to leave a life that didn’t suit them to enter a glamorous reality they’ve seen somewhere else?
The core element of theatre and all plays ever made first starts with an idea. Everything deprives from an idea. A simple note or word can trigger an idea, and then there’s the process of flushing that idea out. It’s called writing! Every good play starts with a good script, without a script it’s just improv. I actually had the chance to write out my own monologue for a small showcase. It was a humorous piece that I rushed through the first time around, eventually went back and tinkered with the unsteady edges to make the piece flow. My screenwriting professor had once asked me “how many people want to be directors?” I recall going into a short anecdote about how I hated career days in high school. But what he was getting at was this; there is a higher demand for writers than there are for directors, cinematographers and especially actors. It doesn’t seen that anyone wants to make the time and effort to filling in the blank pages to create the big picture.
The acting portion of theatre is very important. Without the actors there’s nothing to see but an empty stage and pretty curtains. It’s through the actors there’s a voice to be heard, someone to identify with. An actor usually can manipulate their posture, expression, and voice to communicate the motivations of the character they play. The actor is said to be ‘assuming the role’ mostly for the benefit of the audience, but also because it can bring one a sense of artistic satisfaction. The belief here is not only do the audience get to take part in an alternate reality of their own to see the world through the eyes of another, but so does the actors themselves. They’re met with a satisfaction equivalent of being “taken away.”
Once Is Never Enough
And it’s a one shot deal! Don’t for one moment think that the stage and film are evenly matched, they are not. It can be told within the acting itself. First off, film actors have the luxury of screwing up. There is this concept they deeply depend on if ever or whenever an actor might mess up a line or just give a lousy performance, it’s called a cut. When you cut the director can say "do it over again"; this can go on as much as the director sees fit. However, for the stage an actor has one chance to play their part flawlessly or they bring down the entire production. That’s how much power the theatre holds. Theatre is a finely tune and oiled machine that breathes life into itself and can survive as long as the imagination exists. I have a deep understanding and respect for theatre, it paved the way for many things to come after it. It takes one to another place to escape to. There are honestly no limitations other than the sky. Imagine that.
Work Cited
1. Winterson, Jeanette. “Imagination and Reality.” 1996.
2. Tuan, Yi-Fu. “Earth.”
3. William Shakespeare. February 2000. http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Shakespeare.html#anchor177912. August 10, 2008.