stupid final essay for mr.graff...
Final Essay
Karla Otero
Per. # 1
Drama III
For our final, for our advanced drama classes, we have been told that we are to assemble two productions. Each production would have it's own cast, crew, stage manager and director. I thought that this would be a great idea for a final. However, many things were not taken into consideration at the time of the assignment being given.
I was casted in Laudelino's student directed play, entitled "Sorry, Wrong Number". Many students were involved in the making and creating of this production. We had a Stage Manager, who did an amazing job at keeping everyone on task and in place. She did a wonderful job at making sure that everything was in place and functioning to everyones convienience.
We had two crew members who worked hard to set sounds and light cues just right with the play. Both of these roles were crucial to the production of this play. Without these two people, the play would not have the same intensity and enhancements during character changes and shifts in the conflict.
Our cast consisted of 7 students, each of whichhad an important role withing the play. Even though some had more lines then others, mostly everyone showed the same dedication and commitment. Even those that had the fewest lines showed more dedication then the lead character herself!
The play itself was very clever. I for one enjoyed it, and was surprised when it came to the ending. I , however, can not say that I was proud to be a part of the production. My reasons for my feelings are simple. To begin with, I believe that the casting for this play was done in a completely unfair manner. Many roles that were assigned we done so poorly. An example of this, would be the lead character. She was casted as the lead and she did not even audition for the play. She was not even present at the auditions. Also, parts in the play were distributed very unevenly. A few members of the cast only had one character, while others had three or even four. Many cast members were unhappy with this situation, and even though it was brought to the attention of the director, on many numerous occasions, nothing was done, on his part, to make any sort of commodity for the actors.
The cast and crew of this production encountered many occasions where disagreements would conflict with rehearsals. This was not exactly a good thing, seeing as how we rarely had a full cast to work with. Even when we did have a full cast, not alot would be accomplished because litle or no direction was given to the actors from the director. This was the topic of multiple other sessions that would disrupt rehearsal.
My role in the production was originally only one character, Mrs. Curtis. However, after the second practice, I had about 5 characters. Not only was I Mrs.Curtis (the Cheif Operator), I was an operator, a women, and a nurse. Each of these roles was different from the other, however, they had enough in common for me to work with them and not have to make too drastic of a character change.
I was on my own, for the most part, to develope these characters and bring them to life. I had to give each of them personality, feelings, and a sense of professionalism. I had to develope chemistry when needed between the characters. The characters also needed a back story so that I could relate to each of them more.
In order to prepare myself for my roles in the play, I had to rehearse every class period that i could. I had to run lines and practice some character developement excercises. One of the most difficult things that needed to be done was building chemistry between characters, most of them are so different.
Most of my rehearsals took place outside of school, where I was free to open up, not have to be restricted to negative vibes. In order to get into my characters, which were all only slightly different from each other, I would need to get myself into a "happy-go-peppy" state of mind. Most of my characters are calm and professional, so there was no room for silly. My characters all remained calm, even while recieving information that a murder is being planned. These parts were harder for me because they were awkward. As I would practice, I would tend to leave my character, and change from calm to chipper, to peppy, and I really needed to focus. Eventually though, I understood my characters, and I grew fonder and fonder, and eventually i as really comfortable with what I was doing. Now I feel as if I was ready to perform. However, I am a bit nervous, I would not like for my mood changing habits to resurface in the middle of the presentation of the production.
Karla Otero
Per. # 1
Drama III
For our final, for our advanced drama classes, we have been told that we are to assemble two productions. Each production would have it's own cast, crew, stage manager and director. I thought that this would be a great idea for a final. However, many things were not taken into consideration at the time of the assignment being given.
I was casted in Laudelino's student directed play, entitled "Sorry, Wrong Number". Many students were involved in the making and creating of this production. We had a Stage Manager, who did an amazing job at keeping everyone on task and in place. She did a wonderful job at making sure that everything was in place and functioning to everyones convienience.
We had two crew members who worked hard to set sounds and light cues just right with the play. Both of these roles were crucial to the production of this play. Without these two people, the play would not have the same intensity and enhancements during character changes and shifts in the conflict.
Our cast consisted of 7 students, each of whichhad an important role withing the play. Even though some had more lines then others, mostly everyone showed the same dedication and commitment. Even those that had the fewest lines showed more dedication then the lead character herself!
The play itself was very clever. I for one enjoyed it, and was surprised when it came to the ending. I , however, can not say that I was proud to be a part of the production. My reasons for my feelings are simple. To begin with, I believe that the casting for this play was done in a completely unfair manner. Many roles that were assigned we done so poorly. An example of this, would be the lead character. She was casted as the lead and she did not even audition for the play. She was not even present at the auditions. Also, parts in the play were distributed very unevenly. A few members of the cast only had one character, while others had three or even four. Many cast members were unhappy with this situation, and even though it was brought to the attention of the director, on many numerous occasions, nothing was done, on his part, to make any sort of commodity for the actors.
The cast and crew of this production encountered many occasions where disagreements would conflict with rehearsals. This was not exactly a good thing, seeing as how we rarely had a full cast to work with. Even when we did have a full cast, not alot would be accomplished because litle or no direction was given to the actors from the director. This was the topic of multiple other sessions that would disrupt rehearsal.
My role in the production was originally only one character, Mrs. Curtis. However, after the second practice, I had about 5 characters. Not only was I Mrs.Curtis (the Cheif Operator), I was an operator, a women, and a nurse. Each of these roles was different from the other, however, they had enough in common for me to work with them and not have to make too drastic of a character change.
I was on my own, for the most part, to develope these characters and bring them to life. I had to give each of them personality, feelings, and a sense of professionalism. I had to develope chemistry when needed between the characters. The characters also needed a back story so that I could relate to each of them more.
In order to prepare myself for my roles in the play, I had to rehearse every class period that i could. I had to run lines and practice some character developement excercises. One of the most difficult things that needed to be done was building chemistry between characters, most of them are so different.
Most of my rehearsals took place outside of school, where I was free to open up, not have to be restricted to negative vibes. In order to get into my characters, which were all only slightly different from each other, I would need to get myself into a "happy-go-peppy" state of mind. Most of my characters are calm and professional, so there was no room for silly. My characters all remained calm, even while recieving information that a murder is being planned. These parts were harder for me because they were awkward. As I would practice, I would tend to leave my character, and change from calm to chipper, to peppy, and I really needed to focus. Eventually though, I understood my characters, and I grew fonder and fonder, and eventually i as really comfortable with what I was doing. Now I feel as if I was ready to perform. However, I am a bit nervous, I would not like for my mood changing habits to resurface in the middle of the presentation of the production.