TGM Review

The Glass Menagerie

Written by Tennessee Williams

Watched in class on December 11-15

Movie by N/A

The Glass Menagerie, is a story that exemplifies the lives of a mother, a daughter, and a son. It play in the the perspective Tom, the son; who opens the play with a monologue about life. In the beginning Tom and Amanda fight at the dinner table, Tom goes to smoke in the living room, and Amanda starts telling the story about her 17 gentlemen callers, Tom doesn't believe it’s true so he questions her about it. Laura begins to get upset, as the story goes on because she has never had a gentleman caller and doesn't believe she will. Amanda gets into another fight with Tom after a day of work and starts yelling at him for his drinking and smoking habits, along with his frequency to the “movies”. In the fight Tom breaks some of Laura’s glass menagerie, surprisingly, he doesn't continue to fight but drops down, almost tn pain, to the glass pieces on the floor, and picks them up. Tom soon leaves and comes home drunk, to which Laura helps him into bed, Tom gives Laura a scarf he got from a magician, a magic scarf. Tom later apologizes to Amanda, who immediately starts to fuss and nag him right away, mainly about Laura. Amanda had discovered that Laura had not been going to typewriter classes and been walking in the park instead. Tom and Amanda make a wish on the moon, the first time that we see them not fighting. Tom had invited a man to dinner the next night. Amanda gets too excited and buys things for her and Laura, so they can look better than usual. Tom brings the man, Jim, Laura discovers it is her high school crush and get too nervous and faints. After dinner Jim and Laura start talking, remembering their time in school. The two of them talk about their favorite things, Jim wanting to get into television, and Laura with her glass animals. They begin to dance and during this they kiss, and then break Laura’s favorite glass animal, the unicorn.Laura discovers that Jim is engaged and they can not be together. She gives him part of the unicorn and Jim leaves. Tom gets yelled by amanda for bringing an engaged man there instead of one that could marry Laura. Tom leaves and becomes something far more, but he left just like his father did. Tom talks about how he can't get rid of Laura’s memory no matter what he does and he begs her to leave his mind.

Over the course of this story we see some major themes such as anger, guilt, regret and secrecy. These themes are interesting because they are very relatable to most families and walks of life. Anger is a large one because of the fights that Tom and Amanda have constantly. But, there is regret and guilt to balance the anger, because they always came back to each other and Tom never really left until the end. Finally, secrecy, it a major theme because Laura had lied about going to classes and Tom was lying about going to the movies. These themes are small parts that play but when they come together they form a complex story that is being told from the memory of Tom. Taking a deeper look into anger we can see that even though Amanda is always fighting Tom, I think that she is really mad at herself for letting things go with her husband because he left her, but  she went too far which made Tom leave too. In some ways Amanda is really just another victim, I don't think anyone in this story is a ‘villain’ because all of them have reasons that are not just skin deep as to why they act certain ways. Amanda had lost her husband and she regrets not doing anything more to make him stay, that's why she is so worried about Laura, because she knows what it's like to be all alone and doesn't want they for Laura. This translates to anger because she says “You’re just like your father” and she is building walls to keep Tom not only from leaving, but believing he would never leave them. Laura keeps the classes that she misses a secret because she is angry partially at herself, because she wants to do things, like go up to Jim and get her waiver signed, or go to class but she can't help what is going on with her emotions. This makes her regret choices that she had been making. Tom is angry at Amanda for yelling at him all the time, but he doesn't know why she does it because he is caught in his own bubble of torment, because he wants to be a poet but is forced into the shoe factory. He is guilty for leaving because of the decisions that made to leave.

In the movie the colors were all very muted and there wasn’t anything super bright that called out for attention, which I thought was rather interesting.They has the whole house planned out in a strange format that made it difficult to see where things were happening sometimes, also the majority of the play was either inside or outside at night, which did not allow for variations in lighting for emotional cues. This was also interesting because it forced the actor to portray things more through voice, and body movements. Something that I loved was the color of the hair; Lura and Amanda had lighter hair while Tom had dark brown almost black hair. This was interesting because Tom was the only male and he was the person who seemed to have the most negative emotions (anger, regret, guilt, sadness, etc.) while Amanda and Laura weren’t like that. Tom also wore darker clothes, which could showcase his detachment from the family, since Laura and Amanda wore some lighter clothes with some color. They didn’t do the best job of highlighting which characters were the most important because there were so few characters in the whole play that everyone really was very important. The closest thing  they did was keeping the characters who had lines on the screen rather than everyone at one time. So the scenes that Laura and Tom had lines those would be the only two on the screen rather than having Amanda there too. They also showcased this by not having anyone in the alley, or showing the classes or the factoury.

The actor who I thought was the best would have been Amanda, this is because when she held herself and how she accused Tom of things, it made me understand more about her pain and what could have been going through her mind when before I thought only about the other characters and how Amanda was nagging the and being ‘annoying’ to them.

Overall, I liked this play in some aspects because of its complex and realabel nature but I would not recommend it or watch it again, because it was plain in therms of the film. This was because there was very little color and light to change setting. This play taking place in the same color scheme and place was boring after while for me so I overall didn't enjoy it.

Journal - Laura

The Glass Menagerie

Character Choice: Laura

Day 1

Dear Diary,

Tom says that he is going to leave again, I know he won’t. Well, he might but he always comes back; just like he says that he is going to the movies. I know that he doesn’t go to any movies, he just goes to drink. I know that he means well, at least for me, I couldn’t say the same for our mother.

Love Forever,

Laura

Day 2

Dear Diary,

Tom had a fight with our mother again, he broke my glass.Shattered some of it off the shelf. He helped me clean, it kept him in the house, I guess. But, they are ruined, most of them are ruined

Love Forever,

Laura

Day 3

Dear Diary,

Mother found out about my walks, i’m afraid I won’t be able to go anymore. Oh, she’s going to take everything from me. She’s calling me for dinner, I have to go.

Love Forever,

Laura

Day 4

Dear Diary,

Jim, a man from High School came over. He made me feel normal and broke away some of my freakiness, I guess that’s a word.

Love Forever,

Laura

Day 5

Dear Diary,

Tom, left. Again. I think that he might not come back his time. I don’t really know if he meant it or not. He seemed pretty mad, I don’t really know what to do next. Jim is getting married to someone else, now Tom is leaving and I’m not only stuck with Amanda, but with myself now too.

Love Forever,

Laura

Discussion Questions

at least 2 about act 1, at least 2 about act 2, at least 2 about the characters or their relationship, at least 2 about staging (you might do some research online to help you find good questions). Other questions can be about symbolism of particular items/props or words, questions about what happened before or after the play i

1. How does Amanda assert dominance in a way that keeps her femininity to avoid seeming like another Troy Masson that is more physical and agressive?
2. Why would Tom help Laura with her glass menagerie, be willing to fix that mistake, but unwilling to fix one with Amanda?
3. When Tom leaves, why was this particular time different to other times when Tom left? What changed?
4. Why did Laura feel like Jim was any different than other gentlemen callers? Why was she putting so much hope into a man she had just began to meet? How is this similar to Romeo and Juliet?
5. Why would the author have Laura fall on the fire escape as opposed to inside the apartment?
6. If the author had chosen a house do you think Tom would still have gone out so much or just locked himself in another room? Why?
7. Do you think Tom cared more for Laura because of her leg, or was there something more between them as siblings that Amanda would never understand?
8. Do you think Amanda really thought she was a great mother or she knew how bad things were and that was a motive to push her children? How could she be different if the husband died or never even left?
9. Why would Tom drink and smoke? Was it something that many authors did as an outlet, like Edgar Allen Poe who drank all the time?
10. How would the story have changed if it were set in modern times and the were items in place for poor, shelters, food stamps, etc.?

Visual diagram

The Glass Menagerie

Tom - "I haven't enjoyed one bite of my dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it.It's you that makes me hurry through my meals with your hawk-like attention to every bite I take. It's disgusting - all this discussion of animal secretion-salivary glands-mastication!" -- This quote is showing Tom standing against his mother and being fed up, and angry with her persistent nagging over everything that he does. It shows that Tom wants to leave because of his annoua=ence but also that he is going to still put up with it by saying that this wasn't the first time this situation has occurred.
Laura - "I don't believe we are going to receive any, Mother" -- This shows how Laura is separate because she doesn't think any of the gentlemen callers will be there and how she is separated from society. It also shows how she is upset about her mother's ability to hit her with those words because she can't seem to find a gentlemen caller.
Amanda - "I remember one Sunday afternoon in Blue Mountain when your mother was a girl she recieved-seventeen-gentlemen callers! Why sometimes there weren't chairs enough to accommodate them all and we had to send the colored boy over to the parish house to fetch the folding chairs." -- It shows how Amanda likes to lie in memories. It also shows how she loves to exaggerate things and made them seem bigger and more important than they really were. She also does it to make herself feel better about her husband leaving and the life that she used to have been so much better than this, it is the only way she can stay back in what she thinks are the "good times".

Act 1 - Glass Menagerie - Character Chart

Romeo and Juliet Adaptaion

Consider these questions in addition to your overall reflection. What did you personally do well? What did you struggle with? How have you progressed since the beginning of the school year? How did you work in your group and what successes and challenges did you experience with your scene partners? Also, did your group achieve the vision that you originally had for this scene? What do you think of this adaptation? How does it add to your understanding of Romeo and Juliet?

In my group, we went with Aaron's idea. I think that was a smart choice in terms of the idea about it being a VR (Virtual Reality) game. however, there was a lot of difficulty explaining what was going on. I also think that Aaron did the clear majority of the work and while I tried to help I don’t feel like I really did a lot of the work neither did the other two members. It also was hard considering that we had to switch Romeo's multiple times and move all the characters around. I feel like that also made it harder for me just because nobody had wanted to play Romeo and they always wanted to skip over lines where they were addressing me as Juliet. In the end, I think that it really came together well enough that everyone had a job. Based on all of this I think that I did a good job providing ideas and working on the costuming. I found that I struggled with also acting alongside everyone, plus there were times when it felt like people didn’t want to be in this project and they would be gone for periods of time, I found it hard to get into character and I definitely did not do the best or most work in the group. In fact, I feel that I did almost nothing in order to help. I have progressed by putting what I feel like I should do as a character. The biggest challenge was at the beginning when nobody would be Rome and I was told to be Juliet, it was hard to have a character assigned and nobody want to do it with you, it was also hard when Jacob couldn’t say any of the more 'romantic' lines to me at all, which made me feel a little uncomfortable when nobody else really would and we had to almost force Aaron to do it. I think that also made it hard for everyone to act in the final product, so we changed not only his character but pretty much every other persons  character. A big success that we had was knowing all of our lines in the filmed version I think that we did achieve what Aaron and said he wanted, but I don’t think the final product turned out exact because we are still very new to this. Personally, I didn’t like this adaptation or performing it. It didn't quite do anything for my understanding of Romeo and Juliet because we went over the basic ideas, the only thing was that they really did have to be truly in love to do things for this for each other. 

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Title Of The Play: The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Author: Bertolt Brecht
The Date On Which You Viewed It: Thursday, November 9,2017
The Location: Black Box, Cheshire Academy Field House
Director: Mr. Aronson
Names Of The Major Actors: N/A
In the Caucasian Chalk Circle, a war breaks out and the governor and his family are the ones under target. The wife, who is very vain, leaves her child behind and a nice maid, Grusha, took the baby and fled the palace to save the child from the public who wanted her dead. She traveled for a really long time when she passed over a traitorous bridge to get to her brother's house. At her brother's house, they set up a marriage after housing her for months so that she can live with the baby peacefully. This man is near death so she could still be with her love when he comes back from the war. However, right after the marriage is finalized the war is announced as over and the "dying" husband comes back to life and is no longer sick. For the next few years, she is stuck with him until the palace people take her child to see if it was the Governor's missing child. THen we switched to the story about the judge for their trial and how he became the judge. When they all come together and he has to judge this case he decides, after listening to both sides, he draws a chalk circle around the child and the two 'mothers' can each have half of the child. When one can't pull on the child the judge gives the child to her because he can see that she truly loves this child enough to not hurt him and the other mother is willing to hurt the child.
The staging of this play was very specific because the stage was so small. Int he beginning everyone sat in a 'V' shape and through the whole thing the maid, Grusha, is in the back of the theater. THere were not b=very many colors because of the time and the sadness, and dreary ideas of the play. aswell of the costumes are the army green, grey, and brown. This can show the 
The character that I thought was the best was either the Judge or the husband and wife who wanted to get a divorce. These were my favorite because they were funny and came in at parts that the audience needed to make the play a little more bearable. This is because the play was so long and they provided very funny elements but also very necessary ones.
I did not enjoy this play because i felt that these was alot f information that could have been taken out, also I did not like the play becasue of the length. This play was very long, and the beginning was very dry, the end was better because there was more comedy and the storyline was more active.

Blog Post 8

Blog #8 due by midnight -- talk about what group you are in, what character you will play, what your character is thinking and feeling in the scene, what emotion you will try to portray, and why this scene is important to your character. (300 words)

I am in Aaron's group, his concept is based on an idea form a show called Westworld. I would be playing Juliet, an artificial intelligence game character. The scene that Aaron chose for us to perform was the two suicides between Romeo and Juliet, in order to do a good version of this scene I will really need to get into the mind of Juliet. In my opinion, Juliet is feeling relief that she can see Romeo and be free, but when he dies she is overwashed with anger, sadness, and mourning. It is important because Juliet is really alone at this point on the screen both mentally and physically. She feels like everyone has turned or left her, and Romeo was the only one that she had left. For this, I need to portray emotions of sadness and despair. Since I have lost the love of my life, and I am desperate to leave the world of the game I will want to make sure that I am completely distraught because Juliet is so traumatized seeing Romeo die that she needs to be with him no matter what. This scene is important to my character becue it shows the extremes that I will go to in order to be with my husband Romeo, also the extreme that I am willing to go to in order to get out of this game in the end. This scene is also important because it is not only the last big moment in the story, but it also is something that was unprecedented in Aaron's version, and the company who made the game has to deal with the ideas and consequences of this 'setback'. Finally, this scene is so important to Juliet, because it is her death scene, and it is when she really realizes everything and makes huge decisions by herself, which we don't really see her do without at least another person around or their aid in her decision making.

Romeo and Juliet Adaptation Propsal

Romeo and Juliet Adaptation Proposal

In my scene of Romeo and Juliet I would choose the scene where Tybalt and Mercutio die. Tybalt would start by wearing all black and potentially something along the lines of a biker guy and be in VDP or if played by a girl in one of the other dorms. Tybalt would be talking badly about the Montague family, this is where it would change from the book, he would be amping himself up in order to go to a confrontation and kill Romeo. The screen would flash to the Montagues who were sitting in the black box wearing jeans, and plain red shirts. They would be having random small conversations and messing around with their weapons (Swords, guns, etc.) FLash again and Tybalt is walking across campus with at least one other person, while continue talking about how he is going to kill Romeo and make him pay. Cut to Tybalt barging into the Black box and confronting Mercutio and BEnvolio or whoever else is in the room at the time. Tybalt yells for Romeo, MErcutio tries to get the information to him the Romeo is not there, but Tybalt will have none of it, pushing Mercutio to the side, Tybalt walks into another room (The dressing room in Black box) and ROmeo bursts in happily and filled with joy, he wants to speak with Mercutio about something but before he can Tybalt burst out and shoot a single shot at him without any warning, while he misses ROmeo pulls his own gun and the two begin to chase and fight each other using an array of items as weapons (Guns, Swords, Chairs, anything they can get to use. Tybalt begins to get ahead at the beginning before romeo gets on tom and is attacking him. Mercutio is yelling the whole time at the two and decides to jump in even though Benvolio is trying to hold him back. Mercutio pushes Romeo to get him to stop, Tybalt in the back grabs his gun and goes to shoot romeo but hit Mercutio. He flees the second Mercutio freezes with his companion and goes to the gym. Romeo is still up with BEnvolio and you can hear him scream all the way to the gym where TYbalt is, Tybalt is in shock and his partner is trying to get him to leave but he won't. Rome gets an angry glint in his eye while holding Mercutio's body and get up, grabs his own gun and marches to the gym where he meets Tybalt. Rome advances and begins to attack TYbalt, Tybalt, partner flees through the door, and Benvolio is locked outside, but banging on the door to get Romeo to stop. Tybalt gets ahead of ROmeo and is yelling at him to stop and leave it alone because it was his fault and he points the gun at Romeo and ROmeo takes it and brings it to his head and says one of them is not going to make it out, only one of them will leave and the other will die. TYbalt hesitates and ROmeo takes the moment to grab his gun, Tybalt turns and begins to flee, ROmeo shoots him in the back and the scene fades as Tybalt hits the ground.

Romeo and Juliet Movie Reiew

Romeo and Juliet: The Never Ending Tragedy

Review on the movie Romeo and Juliet Directed By Baz Lurhmann

Title of play/movie: Romeo + Juliet (Romeo and Juliet)

Original Author: William Shakespear

Date viewed:

Location of Viewing:

Important Actors: Leonardo DiCaprio (Romeo), Claire Danes (Juliet), Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino, Diane Venora

Romeo and Juliet is a timeless, classic, story that exhibits the vile hate that two families have against each other and the war, death, and despair it brings upon the households. In, Romeo and Juliet the town of Verona is heavily plagued by the continuous Disputes from the Montagues (Romeo's lineage) and the Capulets (Juliet's lineage). The two households begin the story fighting with each other in public (The gas station in the movie). The prince intervenes before any deaths occur and refuse to let this continue in his city, therefore he warns the next brawl will end in the punishment of death. This heavily displays the anger and hostility between the two families, as to go to a gunfight in the middle of a public place (Movie version). It also shows the disregard for others lives, and the blinding abilities of their feud. Skipping forward, Romeo gets word of a party at the Capulet house; to this, his friends (Mercutio and others) convince him to go with them and crash the party. When the camera changes and Juliet is shown underwater, we see her young face and the innocence that she holds. The water is a recurring theme to show a cleansing and waking up from the illusion of rivalry. At this costume or masquerade party Romeo is first under the impression of drugs, again this happens in the movie, and he begins to freak out, rushing to the bathroom, he uses water, our recurring 'wake up' and cleansing element, before seeing Juliet through a fish tank, there a lot of water in this movie clearly there is a big meaning behind the idea of water. This is the first look they have at each other, and Juliet is dressed as an angel (innocence), Romeo is a knight (Protector).The two later dance and kiss in an elevator before being separated. Later that night in the first balcony scene, Romeo learns about Juliet as she does him, deciding their names have no interest to them as to affect their new undying love for each other. In this scene, Romeo and Juliet end up both in the water (again innocent, cleansing, and rejuvenation). In the morning Romeo meers up with Friar Lawrence to ask for his permission to marry Juliet (They agreed on this in the balcony scene the night before, also the night they met.) Reluctantly he agrees, marries' them. Later Tybalt goes to speak with Romeo (Who he saw at the party but held back due to Lord Capulets insrructions), Romeo, however, is not there so Mercutio stands up and the two share crude words before Rmoeo shows up trying to calm the situation and avoid fighting. Tybalt will no longer have peace and he beings to beat Romeo, who is not fighting back. Mercutio teps in and the fight goes across the street to a run down theatre, a glass mirror breaks, and Tybalt, now loosing, uses a piece to try and stab Romeo, Mercutio stads in nteh way and gets stabbed hiself. As he is dying her refused help from Romeo (his closest friend) gets back to the beach across the road, and dies there cursing the two houses. Romeo, in a fit or rage chases Tybalt, crashes into him with his car befroe shooting him into a fountain. Romeo runs but the police show up and Benvolio (Romeo's cousin) says that it was Romeo who killed Tybalt, but that Tybalt had already killed Mercutio. THe Prince (Police cheif) banishes Romeo. To which Romeo says he would rather die so he could atleast be with Juliet, the Friar and Nurse convince him to go to Juliet to which they spend the nigth together and Romeo leaves in the morning. JUliet is then being forced to marry Paris ( a rich Bachalor) and rushed to the Friar for a solution, she then claims she would like to kill herself to be with Romeo, the Friar gives her a sleepign draftto make it look like she is dead, and he will send for Romoe so the two can run away together. Juliet agrees, takes the vile that night, and the Friar sends a essage to Romeo. Romeo never gets ther proper message and instead gets one of her acutally being dea, which she is not, he goes to an apothicary, gets poison and goes to Juleits grave. Her hten in the book fights and kills Paris in the movie just walks in and speaks to Juliet before taking the posion. Juleit wakes up just after Romeo drinks teh posion and they see each otehr for one last time and speak goodbyes befroe Romeo dies. Juliet, so distrauht kills herself soon after. 

In the movie, there is a lot of the same colors, such as orange, blue, red, black, and so forth. It seems like the whole city that they are living is supposed to be destroyed, much like an actual full war went on there. They also made costume choices that the Capulets would look more like a gang and the Montagues looked more like beach boys. They also kept it so that they Capulet mansion was much more extravagant than anything else in the movie, as far as places. The only place that could have been more overdone and extravagant would have been Juliet's funeral and the tomb where Romeo sees her. This is filled with candles but it is also in the place where she had the funeral rather than a stone tomb in a graveyard or somewhere like that. This particular version also had a lot of yelling, the characters would often yell around or over each other which made it hard to understand int he beginning sometimes, amoung that there were many dark scenes with very little light, sign it in class that didn't work because you couldn't see what was happening from your seat so you have to read the subtitles. Romeo looked quite a lot older than Juliet in many of the scenes, there was also alot of smoking in the movie, mainly the male characters, this could show a certain dominace. The Nurse wasnt as prominate intheis movie aswell, it seemed like she lacked certain lines and towards the end just started falling away.The music choices, however did fit really well especially during figth or death scenes. THe charaters didn't seems to folow very many positions on the screen that were consistat enough to call out in order to show a change or any type of power. That I din't like but Romeo and Juliet were almost always across from each other. They were the only ones that had a consistant position. 

My favorite actor in this movie was, by far, Leonardo DiCaprio. He played Romeo in the movie and was able to pull off very poetic scenes but also bring anger and dangerous tendencies during fights. It was a great balance between gentle and tough. Leonardo was amazing in his scene where he killed Tybalt because it was so raw and powerful that is actually made me freeze. He held a certian softness in parts with juleit but made subtle changes almsot when away from her and he needed to be tough and protect.He was by far the best and most believeable at being distraugth about death. When he craddled Mercutio aswell, the audice could feel his emotions from eathcing with mad the character of Romeo seems so much more realistic and he kept it from justbeing about the dea4th in the end. 

I did not really like this verson aside from Romeo (Leanardo DiCaprio) becaseu itg seemed to exajurat4ed and cheesy for me. I felt liek every one else was just kindof messing aorund andhad moments o seriousnessbut over did it alot and Romeo blended the ost seamlessly between scense so that you could follow and feel their emotions. I also thought that it was tofake looking with the scene, and was very loud. It deffinatley was a digfferentideaa about how to do Romeo and Juleit, and I am very glad taht I got to see it but it was far from my favorite version taht I have seen before.

Party

Theme

• Theme would be Alice in Wonderland
• There would be a really long purple table with lots of mix matched fabric as a table cloth
• There would be chairs that are distressed and all different colors, patterns, textures, etc.
• There would be all sorts of dishes, and glasses, and objects thrown around the table 
• Cracked and broken plates and a mix of gold and silver table wear.

Where

• On a rocky cliff over looking a lush green forest
• There would be more forest in the back
• There would be deer and all sorts of birds and wildlife 
• There might be wolves
• All animals would Friendly and nice, not dangerous 

When

• A crisp fall day
• The leaves would all be different colors and litterin the ground
• The branches would be still fairly full of leaves
• 
  

Who Invited

• IB Literature and Performances 

Decorations

• Nothing would match
• Everything would be crazy colors. 
• Nothing ordinary 
• MAybe some streamers on the trees.
• Clocks thrown around
• A pond with fish
• Balloons with scrolls insid of them
• 
  

Food

• Tea or water to drink
• Weird fooods (Foods that are regular but made to look weird)
• Olive eyeballs
• Candy skulls
• Sugar cubes that look like skulls
• Worm pasta
• And anything interesting and weird made from regularly found foods

Special

• It would be on a cliff
• Have a bunch of animals 

Entertainment

• Scavenger hunt
• Capture the Queen (White queen with Alice side Red QUeen with the other side)

Activities

• Games, 
• Watch the movies
• Mysteries to be solves
• 
  

Who Comes
Invitations

• PArchment paper, written by a feather quill and ink
• With a wax seal, red, white rabbit pattern
• Stained yellow parchment

Object Casting

Explain the choices you made in class for the casting/object selection for Romeo and Juliet. 
Who did you choose and why? 
I chose, 

1. Romeo (suit of armor with masking helmet)
2. Juliet (folding fan, one side white with a gold halo ring and the other side black)
3. Lord capulet (tall staff made of gold with Jews on it)
4. Lady capulet (scarf, or long piece of fabric)
5. Mercutio (two small daggers)
6. Paris (huge ring)
7. The Prince (huge jeweled crown)
8. Tybalt (Long, extravagant, bejeweled sword)
9. Nurse (box of tissues)
10. Friar Lawrence (juliets sleeping draft)

Who did you leave out and why? 
I left out the family of Romeo because they only end in the scene and I thought that they could not be there to show their uninvolved with the whole play, I also chose to leave our Benvolio because he even though had a lot of times where he talked to Romeo he never rally was the only one there for him and Romeo left him in the end. I also left out the Apothicalry because I thought Romeo could use something else and there were more people that need to be in the play more.
What objects did you choose and why?
I chose,

1. Suite suite Of armor with helmet (I chose this to show how knights are supposed to be strong and brave and know what they are re going and where they are going but Romeo tries to appear that way but is really lost, and it also is a shell for Romeo to hide behind in some of the scenes.)
2. A folding fan with different colors (this would show Juliets innocence then her turinging into a different person while providing a partial mask and way to cool herself to think.)
3. A tall staff with jeweled on it (this would show a sign of wealth and power but also authority if he were to ban grit on the ground or use it as a weapon.)
4. A long scarf (to show the fuilidity of the Lady Capulets sawing opinions and shift in her sides. It also would show her not rally being a stir uttered character and figure for Juliet.)
5. Two small daggers (this would show Mercutios two side of loyal and loving nad brave and angry. Mercutio doesn't want to fight but will not step down from a challenge that would hurt his ego or pride.)
6. Huge ring (Paris would have this to show his intent of marriage and it would be huge becaus o this status and wealth.)
7. Huge Jeweled crown (this would show the Princes authority, power, wealth, and where he stands. Above the two family's both internally and metaphorically.)
8. Long, extravagant, bejeweled, sword (to show the cock aspect of Tybalt nad the ideas that he believes he is better than everyone, always easy to fight, but also careful not to get to close to anyone fighting or in life.)
9. Box of tissues (show that worry of the nurse and how she always want to comfort and protect shelt and nurture everyone. 
10. Juliets sleeping draft (to show where this would go and the Friars contradictions and everything he wants but can't have.

 How will your character use this object in the play?
My characters will use their objects to show how they change and what they have for motives, even what they are thinking or have an emotion about.
 What effect will this have on your production overall? Also, if you were ti use your classmates, explain who you would cast in these roles and why.
This would give the effect of clearing and representation as to who is doing what and what some of each other's motives are in the play. If I were to cast my classmates in this I would have David be Juliet, because he is quiet and has an element of childhood with a smaller face structure, then I would cast Denny as lady capulet because he seems to be a protector but would side with a higher power more likely than a lower one. I would have Yun be lord CApulet because he has a tall build and can manipulate his weight and has a deeper voice to show power. I would cast David as Friar Lawrence because he always has things to say about everything and it very much into what he knows and believes. I would have Stella be Mercutio because she has a lot of spark and fire in her to pull off his personality, I would cast Aaron as Tybalt, because he very much can change himself to be a character nad I think that he has a great acting a ilty to pull of the feel of a more violent character. I would have Grace be the Prince because she is calm and could stop fights with just her words and always demands a presence when on stage. I would cast Jacob as Paris, because he is not quite with anyone in the class but has an element of being furfilled and content when he speaks and is working on his own. I would put myself in as THe Nurse because I want to make sure everyone is good and well, I also will talk a lot and bother everyone by hounding over them. Lastly I would put in Mrs. Guarino for Juliet because she can use the fan in a bunch of different ways even for improv and would be able to change between a small innocent child and an older version of Juliet. 

Romeo and Juliet Act 5 Scene 1&2

• Romeo wakes up and had a dream about Juliet, so he his happy.
• He dreamed that Juliet found him dead and kissed him and he came back to life. 
• Romeos servant arrives with news. 
• He tells Romeo that Juliet is dead. 
• Romeo decides he will go to Juliets grave and commit suicide to be with her. 
• He goes to an apothecary and gets a poison. 
• Romeo then leaves for Verona to be with Juliet. 
• Friar Lawrences messenger comes back saying he couldn't get the message to Romeo
• He was held up
• The Friar gets a bad feeling and goes to Juliets grave thinking he will have to wake her alone rather than with Romeo

Meaty Paragraph

Who in the play is most at fault in the play?

In Shakespears' Romeo and Juliet, the two lovers fall to their own demise shortly after marriage. Romeo and Juliet are two teens, both ending with death meet and fall in love. At some point in time both sought refugee with one Friar Lawrence, who advised ideas that he knew could and would end in tragedy for the lovers and families. Friar Lawrence was a well know man that could solve problems, so when the opportunity came and he had two lovers from opposing houses he saw a chance and took it. In the end, Friar Lawrence was the sole person responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet. In the first meeting Romeo had with Friar Lawrence(FL) Romeo went to seek aid to which Fl responded “I’ll thy assistant be;For this alliance may so happy prove To turn your households’ rancor to pure love.” (Line 90-92) Here FL is taking the cry of help from Romeo and manipulating it to be an outcome that he desires, it shows an aspect of selfishness in FL. FL wants to be the one to make the Montague's and Capulet's love again, if he were to be this person his wealth and fame would in fact grow. Also, FL wanted to take this on b cause he believe tat only he could solve these problems. So when he sees Romeo wanting to take his life after killing Tybalt, he continues to help even with the sign that this is going to end badly for the two. “O, tell me, friar, tell me, in what vile part of this anatomy doth my name lodge? Tell me, that I may sack the hateful mansion.” (Lines 105-108) Romeo is already feeling a lack of devotion and love, he is seeking more help from the Friar, because Romeo believes that FL can solve his problems and grant him everything he wishes, like the marriage. FL after seeing this does indeed stop Romeo, but continues to aid in their task of meeting, and running away together. Friar Lawrence is the reason the Rome and Juliet are dead because even when he saw what his actions had already done, by giving the two bad counsel, he continued on all the way to their deaths.

Act 3 Notes Scene 3&4

• Romeo is in Friar Lawerences cell and I upset about what happpened and wonders what punishment the king has given him. 

• Friar Lawrence tells him that he got off easy and is lucky because the prince only banished him. 

• Romeo is upset

• Romeo thinks being banished is worse than death

• This is because he has to be separate from Juliet. 

• THe Nurse comes in and Romeo asks how Juliet is and if she thinks he is a murderer. 

• Romeo threatens to stab himself. 

• Friar stops and scolds him. 

• The Friar decided Romeo will go and be with Juliet but leave when the sun comes up

• The. He will wait until the news from their marriage can spread. 

• THe Nurse hands Romeo the ring from Juliet which makes him feel better

• the calumets walk with Paris. 

• Lord CApulet says that because of what's happened e ad not asked Juliet is she like Paris. 

• Lady CApulet says he will by morning

• Lord CApulet promises Paris there will be a wedding on Wednesday. 

• Lord CApulet asks what day it is 

• Then moves the wedding to Thursday because wednesday was too close to Monday. Which was the day it was

Act 3 Scene 4 

Les Miserables Review

Les Miserables Review, Live at the Bushnell 

Play: Les Miserables 

Author: 

Book -Victor Hugo

Musical-Claude-Michel Schönberg

Date viewed: October 7,2017

Location: Bushnell Theater 

Director: did not receive a playbill

Names of major actors: did not receive playbill

In les miserables we look at the lives of the members of France after the French Revolution. In the play we can see the people that spark the revolution and their lives. The musical demonstrates how people lived when they were poor, what they were willing to do for family. For example  Jean Valjean, a prisoner who doesn't follow the rules laid out by the jail for him and the police inspector, Javert, who tries to hunt him down for this. After meeting and saving a poor factory worker with a child who resorts to prostitution to feed and pay for her child. Jean Valjean after taking this woman to the hospital vows to take care of her child. Haven't discovering Jean Valjean is the man he has been hunt goes after him, a fight breaks out between the two. Valjean gets away and goes to get the woman's daughter, Cosette. Forward many years later the rebellion is picking up partially led by Marius a member of this rebellion who is se cereal y loved by Eponine, a girl of the streets meets Colette and falls in love. The rebellion begins and Valjean saves Maris fro Cosette, and the two marry. Valjean dies their wedding night and comes clean about being a prisoner and his life before. 

This musical was amazing to see with all the parts of the set. There ere walls that would move and the barricade was impressive as to show all the complexity that is in the theme. They also made sure that when someone would die in the main fight they would have a flash of spotlight. There were the sounds of real gunshots with sparks from the guns, there were very realistic flames through the whole show and 

they used all levels of the stage to display the sheer amount of people and all different levels of life. The costumes mostly for the townspeople were dark and bland colors because he bright colors were for the wealthy. The lighting was mainly displayed thought spotlights which helped keep track of everything and the lights for all the soldiers that died after the battle after were really amazing. Many of the men were tall and squared their shoulders to appear larger, the women shrank down to appear small. Also, the characters expressed their emotions bigger than if you were watching from the street because they had to show for people a long way away. The stage also was kept dark in the corners to hide the movement of the props. Finally they had a lot of randomized it ms, papers, glasses, and other rubble to show how many people were around, but it wasn't nice or good quality in the items to display the factor of money or lack thereof. 

My favorite actor was the one who play Maris. This actor displayed a true effect iIn for the Cosette and had so many conflicting emotions in all the right places. He was created by disguising himself as a poor man when he really was a rich boy who was getting and education. He had an amazing solo during Empty Chairs, during this song I felt that the audience could actually feel Maris in the room and the emotions were flowing off of him in waves. The same thing when A Little Fall Of Rain was going on because after Eponine died you saw and felt him loose part of himself. 

In my opinion the musical was amazing. All the actors had such a passion and didn't care what their role was they were amazed to be there and you could tell how genuine they were. I learned that sometimes you can change parts of the character to get a different fell across and a different message. I loved being able to see this musical in real life rather than the movie. 

Act 3 Notes

Act 3 Scene 1

Benvolio and Mercutio are outside.

Mercutio says that they should then go inside because he thinks a fight will start.

MErcutio says that Benvolio just gets angry fast and they can stay because he can control himself.

Tybalt comes in with some of his friends 

Mercutio and Tybalt begin to sen rude words to each other.

Tybalt had asked to speak to eith Benvolio or Mercutio 

Then the two begins to taunt him and Romeo walks in

Tybalt calls romeo a villain 

Since Romeo was already married to Juliet at this point he is trying not to be angered by his new 'family member' 

Tybalt wants Romeo to pull his sword and fight him

Romeo tell tybalt that he does not want to fight because he does not hate tybalt.

Romeo doesn't tell Tybalt about his marriage but urges him to wait until he does to fight him

Mercutio steps in because he wants to fight Tybalt if Romeo wont. 

They start to fight

Mercutio gets stabbed by Tybalt under Romeos arm?

Tybalt then runs with his group that he came with

Mercutio dies and curses both households while doing so.

Romeo gets angry and wants to fight Tybalt, who then comes back into the scene and. Romeo now draws his sword.

Rome and Tybalt fight and Romeo kills Tybalt.

Benvolio tells Romeo to run 

The Prince comes, finds out what happened and banishes. Romeo.

He (Prince) says if Romeo is to come back then he will be killed.

Act 3 Scene 2

Juliet doesn't know of the fight yet but wants night so Romeo can come, see her.

THe Nurse rushed in and tells her what happened between Reome and Tybalt.

The NUrse is so upset that she stumbles over words

Juliet thinks Romeo is dead

WHen she finally can explain Juliet finds out how Romeo killed Tybalt.

HTe nurse agrees with juliet for being angry at Romeo for this and she curses his name.

Juliet gets upset that she would say that about Romeo

She says she feels bad fro doing it herself too.

She says romeo leaving is far worse than Tybalt dying.

THe Nurse knows where Rome is hiding and says she will go get him.

Juliet gives her a ring to give to Romeo as a token for their love. 

In Class Writing - 10/10/17 Mercutio's Death

Part one --

In Act 3 Scene 1 who is really responsible for Mercutio’s death: Mercutio, who provoked the fight, Tybalt who stabbed him, or Romeo who got between them? Use specific evidence (direct quotes) from the play to back this up.

Part two --

How would you stage this as a director? Be specific.



Part One --
In the scene where Mercutio is killed (Act 3 Scene 1) I feel that it is his own fault for starting a fight out of nothing in the first place. In the beginning of the scene Benvolio is trying to avoid any violent confrontation and he wants to keep the peace around the two families “I pray thee, good Mercutio, let’s retire.The day is hot, the Capels are abroad,And if we meet we shall not scape a brawl,”(Excerpt From: Shakespeare, William. “Romeo and Juliet Untranslated (Enhanced Edition).” v1.0. The New Book Press, LLC, 2014. iBooks.) Here Benvolio clearly states that he wants them to leave, and warns that it is hot and he is tired but he also fears that because of the heat it will go to their head and they will 'brawl' or fight because of this immense heat. However, Mercutio pokes and stabs at Benvolio with his words to prove that he has no fear of anything coming or going as to cause a fight to break out. When, an enemy to the Montagues, Tybalt, comes into the scene he begins to stab words and emotions at the two so that a fight would break out between them. Tybalt rage, though, is not aimed at Benvolio and Mercutio, he wants Romeo, he wants Romeo because that is the source of Tybalt hate. Because as much as they are still Montagues Romeo is a direct descendant of Lord Montague, so he is far worse than the others. By living, Romeo, to Tybalt, signed his own death certificate. When Romeo comes in to break up the fight and Mercutio ends up being wounded and dying for the anger and hate meant for Romeo he is the one to blame. Because, he pushed Romeo to go to the party, which is where we see Tybalt pick up and assert his hate from Romeo. Mercutio does seem to be an instigator by being the one to start fighting with Tybalt, but he has a lot of ego and pride that he carries, and that load was too heavy for him to put down. While Tybalt, still had this burden he knew how to throw it at any moment in order to become quicker and more nimble in order to win the fight. Mercutio is at fault for his death because he knew going into it that he was fighting an uphill battle that would cause his death, he knew the weight on his shoulders slowed him but even wit that he wanted to prove something, everything else aside. All logic thrown from the window and swiftly the battle began. Mercutio also knew that what he was doing and saying in all of the rest of his life would catch up to him and this is where it did.



Part Two--

If I were to stage this scene, I would have Mercutio stand up on a bench when Tybalt walks in to show that he thinks of himself more, but as the words begging to get thrown I would spotlight Mercutio and Tybalt while having Tybalt rise to stand next to him and Benvolio lower, and hidden more in the dark. They would both then come back to ground level and be on equal plains. I would have a rising volume of music with short staccato notes and when Romeo comes into the scene I would have him and Benvolio share a softer spotlight while the rest of the stage would be dark, as Romeo grew with conviction in his words I would separate his spotlight from Benvolio and brighten it. Then, the music would rise again in volume and the temp would speed. When Mercutio gets stabbed the music would quickly stop and there would be three really bright spotlights, one on Mercutio who would stand for a minute before falling to knees and finally succumbing and collapsing into the ground for death, one on Tybalt who would be shocked for a moment before a smile would grow on his face and he would remove his sword in a villain like manner and back away a few steps, Finally I would have Romeo in another spotlight that would have a red tinge to it to show anger and his grown hate for nothing, he would stand there for a few seconds before backing up by stumbling like he was the one hurt and then his face would change and the whole stage would light up in a flash of red before Romeo begging is anger on Tybalt and revenge would begin.

Friar Lawrence

I think that Friar Lawrence is trying  be a peacemaker but comes in sure of doing that by giving that to him the option to kill themselves but he's trying to be a peacemaker by seeing that by marrying them they can stop the future which is why he does know them and order vision of a peaceful Verona but he also enables them to kill themselves and harm the quarral potential he in the mix.  He also feels that he is such a figure to them that it is his duty and responsibility to guide them and ate them and what they want even though it might harm them and they didn't really consider that he almost was little bit selfish and not him for keeping him self in that row for these kids lives  And the scene where he helps Romeo by saying that he will marry them here thinking about how to being an admin marriage could change the families in the way that they thought about each other so he's trying to be a peacemaker between the two families by marrying is too so that they can stop there fighting but he's not a piece and strive to make sure that it was a safe option for the two lovers he just wanted it so that he could be going to pacemaker which makes him rather than a peacemaker a very selfish person that is drive by his own individual goals.  And the scene where he helps Romeo by saying that he will marry them here thinking about how to being an admin marriage could change the families in the way that they thought about each other so he's trying to be a peacemaker between the two families by marrying is too so that they can stop there fighting but he's not a piece and strive to make sure that it was a safe option for the two lovers he just wanted it so that he could be going to pacemaker which makes him rather than a peacemaker a very selfish person that is drive by his own individual goals.  Also I would say that he's not a peacemaker because he doesn't try to talk to the families about saving them he only talks to the two individually sometimes together so I think that if you really wanted to be the peacemaker that he says he's trying to be in dreaming of trying to be and he should've talk to the parents in order to make sure that everything would've been OK rather than just sending this to you into this love battle with their parents

Blog Post 5

If you were to stage the play, how might you depict the Montagues and Capulets to show that they are of similar class status and wealth but also make them recognizably different from each other and show the audience that they are enemies? You can talk about placement on the stage, costuming, props, body language, style of speaking or any other dramatic elements.  

If I were going to be staging the play I would have them both wear bright colors because in the time period it was originally set the colored clothing was more expensive so they would have more expensive clothes. But I would have them each a different color. I would pick ones that can led each other out like red and green to show the equality in the end and how they never really can beat each other in their feud. I would also have the, always stand across from each other but on the same plan without one behind the other unless it was a fight scene where there would need to be the show of dominance by the winner. I would also try to keep them around the same body posture to keep one side from looking bigger In casual conversation. However I would add body language depending on what line or scene was being acted out at the time. I would also have bothered sides have different origins, so skin tint like in the movie, and accent of voice, again like we can see in the movie. This would show different cultures that come together. Finally, I would have these rules not apply to Romeo and Juliet to show that they don't quite fit in but are on their own and fit together that way. 

Oh Romeo (Blog Post 4)

Discuss the first time Shakespeare introduces Romeo -- What is he doing? What is he saying? What do we learn about his character and personality? What is your first impression of him as a person? Do you like him, respect him, admire him, etc.? Do the same for Juliet. Compare them. Which do you like better?

When  Shakespeare first introduces Romeo he is very sad and depressed because he cannot be with Juliet's cousin.  He is saying how much he loved her and just wanted to be with her because she was this beautiful person, the most beautiful he has ever seen and wants to marry her.  We learned that he is a character that wants to find love in the most unlikely of places and have a connection to someone that might not exist based on an opinion but he sees on the outside of a persons body by what they want to represent rather than getting to know them and really seeing what's on the inside.  It's also tells us that he is more superficial than someone that really wants to look into somebody's personality and what they're like you would much rather be with someone that's pretty than someone that is intelligent or kind.  My first impression of him is that he's almost shallow because he doesn't care about anyone else but Juliet's cousin he wishes to mary because of her beauty.  In my opinion I respect him because of the family that he comes from and knowing what he does however I do not admire him or think that he would be a kind person because he is more into the looks of a person then the personality traits or what they're made of.  However when Juliet first comes in to be seen she does not want to marry Paris because she wants to be her own person and still be young she would much rather know the person and phone love with them because that's what she feels rather than being in range marriage especially at her age because she wants to be able to make her own choice and then be her own person. While, Romeos more just in to marry someone because of a name or their looks and he just wants a pretty  trophy wife almost.  My first impression and Juliet is that she's young and almost a little bit naïve because she has been so sheltered by her parents that she doesn't really understand what love is and how to embrace it and except it but also because cautious  with it.  I also love respect and Juliet because of her social status and I would almost admire her for being so naïve and not knowing a lot about the real world but I would almost pity her because of that as well.  I enjoy about it because I feel like she's a more sincere person and Romeo because Romeo just wants the looks and title she wants a person that she's going to love and cherish and relate with.

Romeo and Juliet Activity (.30, 1, 2)

Based on the three Romeo and Juliet activities that we did, I think that some of the most important themes and ideas were the following,

1. Everyone has their own way of displaying the importance of Romeo and Juliet's with their relationship.
2.  That sometimes actions are way more effective than words.
3. There are common themes but how people get there is the interesting part to show their version of the story, which is different from their interpretation because it is what Shakespeare wrote and how they think they can get that across the best way for the short amount of time that they have.

These are some of the main things but there always will be common themes for Romeo and Juliet when it is performed so I don't think those need to be stressed as much as interpretation, imagination, and effectiveness.

Devised Theater link

https://youtu.be/O7xqL1jsW_o

Romeo and Juliet Act 1 Scene 2 Book Notes

Cast:

• Capulet
• County Paris
• Benvolio
• Romeo
• 
  

Notes:

• Capulet thinks that the Montague and him can keep the peace because they are old
• Capulet is worried about his daughter
• Capulet wants his daughter to marry and wants her to marry Paris (County Paris)
• Juliet agreed to marry County Paris and Capulet (Her father) allowed him to
• IN a new section the Capulet’s and County Paris have left and Romeo and Benvolio come on
• The capulet servant asks Romeo if he can read so that he could know who to give the letter to.
• The letter os for a party at the Capulet’s house and it is an invitation to some people
• Romeo and Benvolio are going to crash the Capulet party