Instructions are uploaded
Each student is required to view one production and write a 2-3 page (500 -750 words) response, paying particular attention to the representation of the body and violence. You will not be required to see a live performance. A list of live and filmed options is provided below. Students will see the transformation from the page to the stage and reflect on this experience by writing a review.
pick one flim
Invisible Women
Written by Pamela Russell
Here is a link to the taped performance:
Invisible Women
(Running time 1hr 5 min)
Presented by the John Lion New Plays Festival
After years of stealing wallets from wealthy men, slip-and-fall lawsuits, credit card fraud and all-around grifting, two septuagenarians decide to up their game by volunteering at a local homeless shelter. Posing as kind old ladies with hearts of gold, they befriend a few down-on-their-luck homeless men and appear willing to do anything to help them get back on their feet. But things get a little less charitable and a lot more sinister when the men start turning up dead!
Filmed Professional Productions
A Woman in Waiting
Written by Yael Farber and Thembi Mtshali-Jones
Directed and Created by Yael Farber
Farber Foundry Company
A semi-autobiographical one-woman show about Thembi Mtshali-Jones and her life growing up in apartheid South Africa.
Here is a link to the taped performance:
A Woman in WaitingLinks to an external site.
(Running time: 1 hr, 13 min)
* For full screen, click on the farthest bottom right button
Step 2: Questions to Consider:
You can focus on the questions that interest you the most, but you should address the question(s) from each section.
Description: describe the production (what you saw and heard)
Include basic details: titles, director, major performers
Describe the audience and the performance venue, if shown
Describe the acting or performance style and performances that stood out to you
Describe the world of the piece (sets, lighting, costumes, etc.)
Describe staging conventions (example: do performers acknowledge the spectators?)
Interpretation: interpret the production (you can refer to programs and other sources to support your interpretation)
What was it about to you? (Do not include a plot synopsis. You can assume your reader is familiar with the play.)
Does the performance relate to any of the styles or plays we have discussed at in class? If so, how?
How is the theme of violence represented? (ie graphically, or subtly, onstage or offstage?)
What do you think were the artists’ intentions through their depiction of violence?
Evaluation: evaluate what you saw within the context of what you think they were attempting
Was the intention worthwhile?
How effectively did it fulfill what you believe was the intention?
How did the spectators respond?
Would you recommend the production? Why or why not?
*Step 3: Remember to organize your response into paragraph form and pay attention to spelling and grammar!
