Words: 1475
The play was mainly a series of fragmented retrospective memories experienced by the director. In Brief, the play constitutes of two characters, actors, Amaryllis Ad and Mike Evasion, sharing the same apartment. This show acts as a boosting stimulator to reveals what is behind our red noise as described by the director.
A series of patched stories, shy stories, that happened with each and every one of us merged together within the same plot. A prologue indicates the start of the play. Two screens, on both sides of the stage, showing the shadows of the main characters performing some daily life tasks, act as a subliminal vision to portray the duality of the actors. After three minutes of steering between the two screens, trying to grasp the longest of each performances, the two characters appear. Once on stage, one’s can realize a strong affiliation between the two actors from the first glimpse.
A dialogue between the two takes place, Mike tells Amaryllis about his interview at work, and how ironic was the interviewer when she knew that he is a communication art students. During that time, Amaryllis takes the role of that women, trying to imitate her and settles on the other side of the stage. Again one’s can realize the split between the two characters, another indicator highlighting the duality of an actor. As for the characters, they were really motivated and fitting into the role that they were playing.
In fact it was obvious that both are professional actors. Each actor had to switch between different roles: The actor, the person, the clown, the interviewer, the teacher, etc which will be hard for an amateur to perform this way. Moreover, it as clear that most of the play was written after the selection of both character. Both of the actors did a great Job and the acting was really interactive in different moments of the play. Furthermore, both actors start to improvise on stage tacking the plot to another level.
In fact, during the draw scene we can realize a strong affiliation between the audiences and the actors. During this scene we can realize how professional the acting was. I believe, that this scene added mush value to the play on different level. First, it point out our inner personality, the one “behind our red souse”, highlighting the main purpose of the director. Second it added interactivity to the play, a direct relation between actors and audiences. I was really impressed and attracted by Marylyn, especially in the last part where she turned out into a clown.
The scene starts to remind me of Charlie Chaplin movies, mainly how she starts to moves and walks. Finally, I think the symbiotic relations between audiences and actors took this play into an interesting level. As for the Spectacle, the performance took place on a kind of black box theatre. Six rows of seats on each sides in the back were settled. Another two zones on the floors were preserved as a place for the audiences. As for the set, it was mainly symmetrical: A white screen and a bedroom on each side, enhancing the idea of duality of an actor, where most of the acting took place.
Moreover, the top of the set share their memories, and real life experiences. This strong differentiation between the boundaries and the center of the stage play a big role to enhance the main idea of the director, a distinction between the duality of an actor. Furthermore, four apples on the ground, indicates the end of the stage. Due to the location, a simple set f lighting was used. A series of four rows lit up progressively indicating the start and the end of the play. Another set of projectors was used to highlight the actors during the play.
Lighting was not an important element, except for the beginning, when it accentuate the main idea of the play by casting the shadows of the actors on separate screens. In fact, I think that lighting could have been used more, especially to highlight the main idea of the director on one side, and to emphasize the different moods of the play on the other side. As for the costumes, I think the choice was really DOD, regular, non-sophisticated clothes were used at the beginning. Accessories where mainly used to differentiate between different characters.
For example, Amaryllis used a glasses to imitate the women at work, or using a wooden spoon to raise her hair once she turned into a clown. At the end, both actors dressed in a clown costumes, unlike Mike overall, Amaryllis one was much more colorful and fitting the context of the role, pointing her out by the public. Both actors put a red noise, and start to perform funny scenario that we are ashamed to do when we are in public; emphasizing more the idea of the plot. I believe that the distribution of the red noise to the public was a very smart act to involve the audiences within the play, and as a tool for the public to ….
The music was fine, fitting the context of the plot, calm music was used when it was needed, and another “clownish” music was at the end when both actors turned into clown. I think in general the music was working within the show, enhancing the performance of the actors. Finally from a student view, I believe that this play was professional on many levels as discussed before and it is was of the few plays played at the Lebanese American University that we can exposed outside the educational boundaries.
The Accident, a play written and directed by Ralph xx, was performed at Free Courtyard, a found space, at the Lebanese American University, on the 6th of June 2013. The play was really ironic tackling the Lebanese society on different levels. In Brief, the play constitutes of three characters, King Charlemagne as Derek Haddam, Hitler as Ralph coax and Joe Choosier as xx having a conflict after hitting each other. I think that Ralph was trying in this play to criticize the Lebanese society, an ironic play showing how superficial we are.
In fact, during the play, King Charlemagne, was always saying that he was the one who creates education, reminding me of us, Lebanese, and how we are living in the past of our ancestors without trying to move forward. At the same time, Hitler illustrates another part of the Lebanese society, the one who don’t mistake, in fact The play was performed in an open air setting where a minimal existing lighting was used. The crash was not rehearsed before and happened for the first time on stage, where the director took a big risk because the play was mostly about this crash.
In fact I believe that this crash, was a subliminal vision of our society on different levels, a crash of cultures, a crash that the acting was not always convincing. We can realize an affiliation between the main two actors and their roles. On one hand Ralph plays Hitler role really good on different level, he was really into the angriness and strong character of Hitler to an extent where he starts to improvise on stage. A rude and strong accent was adopted illustrating the strong characters of Hitler. At this same his character reflects a certain social parties of the Lebanese society.
The one who are always right and never mistake. Furthermore, Hitler illustrates how one parties of the country is always trying to avert the other one. On the other hand I think that Darn was less professional, one can realize that he was trying to remember his role in different moment of the play. A French accent was used, also, illustrating another Lebanese parties, the French and educated people, who are always ” FL??re” about the past without trying to move forward. The actors dressed in The setting where not really professional, in fact we can see the DC next to the stage, ND even laughing in some moment.
Another bad moments are when King Charlemagne called the expert, who was next to audience and can be seen by everyone, which creates a strong interruption between in the play. Furthermore when Ralph called his servants to take Finish Charlemagne we can realize that those two peoples where not professional at all, and they were in casual uniform in contradiction with the main characters of the play. Even though I believe that this play was not prepared, and kind of amateurish. It succeeded on different levels