wordwhacker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wordwhacker) wrote2007-03-15 01:53 am
wordwhacker) wrote2007-03-15 01:53 am
[ENGL 3203] The Glass Menagerie, a la Saint John Theatre Company
There should be an accent on the "a" in "a la", but I can't be bothered to go find it. So nyah. French grammar be damned, this is an English blog!
I went to see The Glass Menagerie for their dress rehearsal tonight. There was a fair turnout of High School students as well as a few folks from university (hi, Jay!) I really, really should go see shows more often - and get involved in their production, too. I used to work behind the scenes in Cap'n Chase's Shakespearian productions, and got lead (read: fat old lady) roles in musical productions. I miss it. Going to a production got me all riled up like going to see Rent in NYC did.
But I digress. (It's my blog, I reserve the right to digress within certain constraints.)
The Glass Menagerie essentially takes place in one room, which is both a blessing and a challenge for set design folks - it's going to be simple, but it also has to be versatile. Instead of wallpapering the room's walls (like one would imagine they'd be, seeing as how the play is set in the 30's), or painting them a uniform colour, they were a sort of dappled, motley array of pinks, purples, yellows... It was a soft enough effect not to jump right out at first glance, but depending on how it was lit, it brought out a different atmosphere - now open and bright, now closed and dark.
Light is an important symbol in the play; this production made the most of its set by using light, changing the feel and focus in a way that kept things moving and fresh (or stagnant - there's a lot of not moving forward in this play, getting stuck in a rut, etc). I particularly liked the looming building façades behind the set that became jagged silhouettes when lit from behind. They evoked broken glass.
I don't feel that I'm in a position to critique anybody's acting abilities - besides, Cap'n Chase doing a southern accent? Is there any possible way that she couldn't run away with the show? It works though - Amanda is the life force of the play, and the Cap'n carried the character really well.
Emily, you rocked. Laura is a supremely tough character to play, because she is so withdrawn. She spends a significant amount of the play being described and depicted by other characters, sometimes even when she's right there on stage. She has moments of stillness that I find interesting, almost like she's more of an idol or a concept. Anyway, literary noodling aside, I enjoyed how you portrayed her, she came across as fragile at times, tenacious at others. When I read the play back in high school I didn't much like her, but now I've been brought around. :-)
I went to see The Glass Menagerie for their dress rehearsal tonight. There was a fair turnout of High School students as well as a few folks from university (hi, Jay!) I really, really should go see shows more often - and get involved in their production, too. I used to work behind the scenes in Cap'n Chase's Shakespearian productions, and got lead (read: fat old lady) roles in musical productions. I miss it. Going to a production got me all riled up like going to see Rent in NYC did.
But I digress. (It's my blog, I reserve the right to digress within certain constraints.)
The Glass Menagerie essentially takes place in one room, which is both a blessing and a challenge for set design folks - it's going to be simple, but it also has to be versatile. Instead of wallpapering the room's walls (like one would imagine they'd be, seeing as how the play is set in the 30's), or painting them a uniform colour, they were a sort of dappled, motley array of pinks, purples, yellows... It was a soft enough effect not to jump right out at first glance, but depending on how it was lit, it brought out a different atmosphere - now open and bright, now closed and dark.
Light is an important symbol in the play; this production made the most of its set by using light, changing the feel and focus in a way that kept things moving and fresh (or stagnant - there's a lot of not moving forward in this play, getting stuck in a rut, etc). I particularly liked the looming building façades behind the set that became jagged silhouettes when lit from behind. They evoked broken glass.
I don't feel that I'm in a position to critique anybody's acting abilities - besides, Cap'n Chase doing a southern accent? Is there any possible way that she couldn't run away with the show? It works though - Amanda is the life force of the play, and the Cap'n carried the character really well.
Emily, you rocked. Laura is a supremely tough character to play, because she is so withdrawn. She spends a significant amount of the play being described and depicted by other characters, sometimes even when she's right there on stage. She has moments of stillness that I find interesting, almost like she's more of an idol or a concept. Anyway, literary noodling aside, I enjoyed how you portrayed her, she came across as fragile at times, tenacious at others. When I read the play back in high school I didn't much like her, but now I've been brought around. :-)
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(Anonymous) 2007-03-18 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)Happy weekend!