I was really entertained by the three performances of Oedipus in class to-day. I wanted you to do this little exercise not so I could measure your acting ability, but to see if you understood the plot of this very famous play.
All of you demonstrated very well that you did. Perhaps there was just one aspect which, while you were all aware of, you forgot to include: the name of the play is Oedipus Rex (Rex simply means ‘King” in Latin so it’s also called Oedipus the King). Now, the name Oedipus means “swollen foot” which one group did mention. However, the reason that he was given this name was not made clear.
Each group presented the scene where Jocasta parts with her baby, but no-one emphasized the poor child’s ankles were pinned together!
Now this small fact becomes very important because a) well, it would have made all those Greek audiences wonder why the mighty king who appears in the first act has such a strange name b) it provides proof that Oedipus WAS Jocasta’s son. Which is why, in some productions, as I said, he actually walks with a slight limp. C) it allows some of the audience to guess at what is happening in the play as the story of the shepherds is being told.
The title of any play or movie is very important and is always chosen with care. Sometimes, indeed, it is not until the very end of a production that one completely understands what is going on – by using the title as a clue.
Often a production is criticized because the audience is left wondering what on earth the title had to do with the actual movie/play. Or because the title of the movie misled them. The play/movie title is the very first thing we discover and it often gives us a clue as to whether we will even want to see that production or not.
For example: the movie “Titanic” caught the public attention straight away: the story about this doomed ship has fascinated people for decades and people who would not go to see a movie called, say “Rose and Jack’s Love Story” all went to see the movie about the ship that the whole Western world has dreamed about since the beginning of the twentieth century
The Movie called “The Revenge of the Killer Tomatoes” on the other hand, only attracted people who found the idea of tomatoes killing people funny (I did).
As we are still not in what I hope will be our proper classroom, it’s a bit hard to do much training activity but we did in class manage to mention, briefly, the semiotics and positioning on stage. The relationship not just of the actors to each other, but to everything else on stage (or in a scene in a movie) is a very important part of any production as well.
It is someone’s job both in a movie and on-stage to “set the scene” (a phrase which we borrowed from the Theatre to use in everyday English when we mean to prepare something well).
In a movie, for example, if there is an outdoor street scene, the director must take care that shadows from buildings or trees are not hiding the actors, or that too many people are in the scene so we are not sure where the main character is.
On a stage its important that an actor is’nt hidden by the furniture or another actor (called “up staging” ) - and of course that one doesn’t fall over the props or walk off the edge of the stage in a very busy scene. (My father once slipped right off the stage and landed in the musician’s area! The audience thought it was so funny that the director got him to do it every night after that!)If on-stage one must ensure never to turn one’s back on the audience and “act” to the back wall! Apart from anything else, no-one can hear what’s being said. Movies or plays which allow these kinds of things to happen are not good productions.
We also did a little diaphragm breathing and, hopefully, will practice this more when we are in another classroom.
Vocabulary:
Catharsis….to let go of all ones tension and negative feelings. To feel calmed.
Tragedy…a form of drama that deals with serious issues
Upstage…to block another actor from the camera or audience
Semiotics…the relationship between people and objects on-stage: the symbolic placement of objects on-stage or in a scene
Slice n’ dice…a genre of very brutal and graphic horror movie
To be “up to the mark”…to be ready, to feel well and fit, to do something well
Btw: a good website for discussions about Oedipus is:http://www.gradesaver.com/oedipus-rex-or-oedipus-the-king/
All of you demonstrated very well that you did. Perhaps there was just one aspect which, while you were all aware of, you forgot to include: the name of the play is Oedipus Rex (Rex simply means ‘King” in Latin so it’s also called Oedipus the King). Now, the name Oedipus means “swollen foot” which one group did mention. However, the reason that he was given this name was not made clear.
Each group presented the scene where Jocasta parts with her baby, but no-one emphasized the poor child’s ankles were pinned together!
Now this small fact becomes very important because a) well, it would have made all those Greek audiences wonder why the mighty king who appears in the first act has such a strange name b) it provides proof that Oedipus WAS Jocasta’s son. Which is why, in some productions, as I said, he actually walks with a slight limp. C) it allows some of the audience to guess at what is happening in the play as the story of the shepherds is being told.
The title of any play or movie is very important and is always chosen with care. Sometimes, indeed, it is not until the very end of a production that one completely understands what is going on – by using the title as a clue.
Often a production is criticized because the audience is left wondering what on earth the title had to do with the actual movie/play. Or because the title of the movie misled them. The play/movie title is the very first thing we discover and it often gives us a clue as to whether we will even want to see that production or not.
For example: the movie “Titanic” caught the public attention straight away: the story about this doomed ship has fascinated people for decades and people who would not go to see a movie called, say “Rose and Jack’s Love Story” all went to see the movie about the ship that the whole Western world has dreamed about since the beginning of the twentieth century
The Movie called “The Revenge of the Killer Tomatoes” on the other hand, only attracted people who found the idea of tomatoes killing people funny (I did).
As we are still not in what I hope will be our proper classroom, it’s a bit hard to do much training activity but we did in class manage to mention, briefly, the semiotics and positioning on stage. The relationship not just of the actors to each other, but to everything else on stage (or in a scene in a movie) is a very important part of any production as well.
It is someone’s job both in a movie and on-stage to “set the scene” (a phrase which we borrowed from the Theatre to use in everyday English when we mean to prepare something well).
In a movie, for example, if there is an outdoor street scene, the director must take care that shadows from buildings or trees are not hiding the actors, or that too many people are in the scene so we are not sure where the main character is.
On a stage its important that an actor is’nt hidden by the furniture or another actor (called “up staging” ) - and of course that one doesn’t fall over the props or walk off the edge of the stage in a very busy scene. (My father once slipped right off the stage and landed in the musician’s area! The audience thought it was so funny that the director got him to do it every night after that!)If on-stage one must ensure never to turn one’s back on the audience and “act” to the back wall! Apart from anything else, no-one can hear what’s being said. Movies or plays which allow these kinds of things to happen are not good productions.
We also did a little diaphragm breathing and, hopefully, will practice this more when we are in another classroom.
Vocabulary:
Catharsis….to let go of all ones tension and negative feelings. To feel calmed.
Tragedy…a form of drama that deals with serious issues
Upstage…to block another actor from the camera or audience
Semiotics…the relationship between people and objects on-stage: the symbolic placement of objects on-stage or in a scene
Slice n’ dice…a genre of very brutal and graphic horror movie
To be “up to the mark”…to be ready, to feel well and fit, to do something well
Btw: a good website for discussions about Oedipus is:http://www.gradesaver.com/oedipus-rex-or-oedipus-the-king/
i guess i'm the 1st one in this class who discovered this blog and finish reading the article, what a honor._.'
ReplyDeletei have to say i had a lot of fun in your drama class, which is both beneficial enlightening. actually, i had taken your oral class in my second year. and honestly you made a positive impression on me during that period. the class seemed messy and aimless. gradly, i have exprirenced a great change of opinoin about you through the drama class this semaster, especially when i found that you were actually
a specialist in drama(at least you are, when compared with us).
i'm a honest guy,forgive me if there's anything considered offensive above.
finally, i'll pay close attention the this blog and i'm looking forward to next class~
Welcome! And great that you have the fine distinction of being the first one. Though I hope the others follow soon - we have no set textbook this semester so these posts will take their place.
ReplyDeleteNo, of course you did not offend me: often things I do and the way I teach may seem puzzling to students.
I guess I did not bother explaining myself to the class - perhaps I should have. Yes, I have been involved in the Theatre all my life, as have both my parents. My father stopped acting and became a Director as he got older.
I am also a playwright (surely you knew I am a proffessional writer?) and have had my plays produced both on-stage and on the air - I have done quite a bit of directing and co-prodution.
The last production I acted in was just before I came to China was the Vagina Monologues = which had been my dream to do for a long time.
My main genre both for acting and writing, though, is comedy and satire.
I have also written for television and have written a full-length movie.From 2000 until coming to China I was making t.v. documentaries with a partner who did all the camera work...and is a great writer himself.
I also recieved Honours in 2006 in Drama(after I had left to come to China) from my University where I was the only person involved in doing research on the "Lost" plays of women playwrights in England. (16th & 17th Centuries)
I taught Drama the first year I was here and have been disapointed not to have had the chance again. This class, of course, is more theory than practice as it is called "Drama Criticism" (Dram.Crit as we usually refer to it in the West.) Still, I hope that we can have some fun, as well as learning some stuff, during this semester.
Damn! Google is playing up again so will have to sign as Anonymous)!! cheers, cireena