Monthly Archives: August 2013
Theatre Reflection
Keep these in mind as you attend the performance.
1. How would you describe the venue (setting for the building, lobby, theatre space)? How did the actual
architecture of the space make you feel and/or affect your experience?
I would describe the lobby venue as something similar to an American movie theatre. However, once you got inside the stadium it reminded me of a medieval times production I went to when I was younger. I think because it was so big, the production felt less intimate and more powerful, masculine. The chairs were extremely uncomfortable and I found it at times distracting because the space was so big and there was almost too much to focus on.
2. What was the “unifying vision for the world of the play?” Analyze the performance using the design
principles and theatrical elements (see powerpoints and notes from first week of class).
To be honest, I have no idea how to answer this question. It was easily, hands down the strangest experience of my time in Paris. This is not to say I didn’t enjoy it, but I just was unprepared for such confusion, making it difficult to find deep contextual principals of design. Yes, of course, there was unity with they horses going around and around and variety with the music. Additionally variety was added because it seemed during the entire production seemed to tow the line between submissiveness between the horses and man, who had ultimate control over another and it at times seemed to have an overarching theme of sex and sexual connotations between men and women. I think the attire, music and choreography made the experience dirty, raw and organic. Almost as if this conflict was emerging from the ground. I have no idea what I was suppose to take away from this or what the ultimate message was, but I can see how something so off the charts and taboo would attract so much attention to draw a full house.
3. How did the production make you feel? What did it make you think about?
I don’t have other additional thoughts other than what was mentioned above because it I really didn’t understand it, so it makes it difficult to have concrete opinions on something that is so unclear. I think it is unclear for many reasons. The biggest being it was in French and what they find worthy is very different than what Americans deem worthy. Additionally it was more of a production and less of a play or story with a clear plot. If there was a clear plot, I may have missed it. Overall, I think it was interesting, but I would never go to see something like this on my own time.
SCA 321_Reflective Paper
I did it all the time when I was younger. Not like toddler young, but also not any time within the past five years either. Essentially I am looking to define a time of my life between five and ten. I will call these years the inquisitive ones; the years where I was cognitively developed enough to grasp the concept of how the world worked, but still brimming with so many questions only satisfied with the logic of Crayola markers and some glitter glue. It’s not like I wanted to know how to perform brain surgery or file a tax return, no— for it was the more abstract concepts. Like where do fish sleep, do their mothers tuck them in like mine? How come I can still see the moon in the day? Or the one that always made me think long and hard, does Santa see the same clouds I do? This idea of a vast expansive blue abyss constantly blanketing all of humanity always lead me to believe it meant we were all experiencing the same thing. Every time a cloud looked like a dinosaur, everyone else saw. Every time it rained, it rained everywhere else. Every time a plane flew over and made a loud noise, the whole world heard it. Essentially I was under the impression that the blanket of blue above was not in fact, that big, and everything I saw, so too did the rest of the world.
Somewhere between watching CNN regularly, getting my first Bolivian pen pal and traveling to Europe for the first time this past year, I may confidently assert that this world and the individual experiences man faces that end up, in culmination, molding humanity, are in fact, the farthest thing from the same.
I think as an American I was inherently brought up to believe that there was a certain regimentation I needed to abide by in order to be considered an American. It wasn’t like anyone sat me down and said this is what you will believe and if anyone questions it just tell them it’s the American, I mean AMURIKA way of doing things. No, it wasn’t quiet like that, rather just an expectation of accepted blanketed stereotypes and expectations from American society. Yes, we may have copious amounts of resources from live news streams, to social media and relatively easy access to international travel available to us at our fingers, yet we are quick to put parameters on what we as Americans deem worthy. One is either rich or poor, gay or straight, Christian or Atheist, good or bad, black or white, leaving no room for the gray. I did not understand this concept of non existent ambiguity until I went to Europe.
My study abroad experience shaped and molded a new expectation for a simplistic life blue print, that unfortunately, crumbled the second the plane tires hit the tarmac on U.S. soil. Prior to my Europe travels, I thought the whole world looked at life like we did. Instead, I was so pleasantly surprised that people in other countries simply do not find a use for the excess. The Jones do not exist and they certainly are not trying to keep up with them. As an example, clothes dryers, air conditioning and hot water are either non existent or used very sparingly, setting a tone of respect and humility for the world we live in.
Paris was beyond just the monuments, gelato and smoke chalked air. Paris was a wake up call to not only recognize, but engage and react to the cosmopolitan culture around me. I have a new, everlasting respect for the country and their way of humble, reserved outlooks. If I could sum up one word to describe Parisian culture it would be: overly simplified. Which, in juxtaposition to the gaudy, flamboyant and wasteful excess of America would balance each other out nicely if the two countries ever decide to establish their own country. Just a thought! Now I recognize I can’t move mountains over night, but recognizing where we fall short as a culture is a start. I think the thing that I have noticed the most since I have been home are the attitudes of my fellow American commuting comrades nine-to-fiving it everyday to and from the city. Everyone is ALWAYS in a rush, but for what I cannot tell you. Additionally, the amount of people whom are in this country obese are staggering. I guess because I didn’t really notice it before until it wasn’t here for an extended period of time and then coming back from Paris and seeing it still surprises me. However, the biggest thing I am aware of is how we as Americans, take for granite the programs and financial infrastructure in place to help those who can’t help themselves. For example, the people on welfare in this country have the access to resources that France would only dream of. There is really no reason to beg on the streets here. We have devoted entire agencies, departments and clinical resources to helping people get back on their feet. However, in France there is not this this safety net, nor is there a middle class. Rather the have and have nots.
Now don’t get me wrong I love my air conditioning on a steamy summer day, or a hot shower in the morning to wake me up. And I do have pride in this country. Pride for the determination, moxie and continued devotion to freedom. However, what I am not proud of is the attitude of entitlement that American citizens are known for. We may be prideful, but without the disregard and disrespect of those around us. I am not looking to change this culture, but I am looking to change at how I view the world. I recognize a lot of the things I deemed so important, really aren’t. Ultimately, the Parisian mentality of doing without the excess has given me a fruitful, simplified rest of my summer that I look to make into a lifestyle choice into adulthood.
321_Reflection Composition
I loved the metro and the catalyst of opportunities it provided me with as my time in Paris, therefore I chose that as my text. Now I recognized that a page of a metro map is not a “book”, but it was certainly the most important thing I carried around with me next to my passport and had one of the largest impacts. All of the items on this page were keepsakes from the places I was able to go to, visit and experience. Beyond the physical infrastructure of taking me from point A to point B, the metro taught me so much about French culture, for it was where I was able to gain raw, at times intense and fascinating glimpses into French culture. Everything from street performers to commuters to even a deceased homeless person all contributed to make up my metro experience a cornerstone in my time in Paris.
Annie J Goes to Paris 