Relate Theater to your Passion and Hobbies

During the first week of class, I learned how theater permeates our everyday lives. Theater can be associated with sports, music events, classrooms, etc. Performing is the way we survive. We adapt to changes in our circumstances by making adjustments in our identity. We experiment with these identities that link us to a specific culture or group that we want to be a part of. We play roles as kids as a way of learning about or preparing the roles we expect to assume in life. We also have to play different roles in a complex society and have to know which roles are appropriate for each social setting. While I was growing up, I always wanted to be associated with the “jock” group. In the past, I have been quite the athletic individual who played several of sports. These sports include baseball, football, soccer, golf, and basketball. All of which can be related to theater.

I have played baseball every since I was a child. Due to the fact that I have always been the star pitcher, I had many roles to accomplish. The game of baseball can be related to theater very easily. I, the pitcher, would be the main character or protagonist because the pitcher is in control of the game and tries to strike out every batter. The umpire would be the stage director because he calls all of the shots. The coaches, on the other hand, would be the directors because they tell each and every player where their position is, when their up to bat, and what to do if they are not in the game. The parents of the players or fans who come and watch the game would be the audience.

There can be dramatic events in baseball as well. If a person hits a homerun to win the game then usually he is very excited and got what he wanted. At other times, dramatic events can be sad, for example, when a team loses in overtime. Tragedies can also occur in baseball. If a pitcher wants to strike out an opposing batter, but the batter ends up hitting a grand slam, then that pitcher’s super-objective fails which results in a tragedy. Some tragic players have a fatal flaw called hubris. Some players have an exaggerated amount of self-pride making them cocky and arrogant. There can even be comedy in a baseball game as well. If an outfielder runs down a pop fly and hits the fence while chasing after it, most people laugh as long as the player is okay because you are suppose to know how far away you are from the fence. If the player happens to get hurt while hitting the fence, then you have a tragicomedy. This is because a tragicomedy mixes elements of tragedy and comedy, often being serious in the beginning and happy at the end or vice versa.

I find it interesting how theater is in our everyday lives. Before I took this course, I thought theater was only performed on stage in front of big audiences, but I was obviously wrong.

Famous Theater Artist

I chose to pick the famous Michel Gondry due to his interesting, crazy, and wild artistic productions. Michel Gondry grew up in Versailles with a family who was very influenced by pop music. When he was young, Gondry wanted to be a painter or an inventor. In the 80’s he entered in an art school in Paris where he could develop his graphic skills and where he also met friends with whom he created a pop-rock band called Qui-Qui. Gondry was the drummer of the band and also directed their video clips in which it was his strange world, influenced by the 60’s and by his childhood. He made a lot of commercials for Gap, Smirnoff, Air France, Nike, Coca Cola, Adidas, Polaroid, and Levi-the latter making him the most highly-awarded director for a one-off commercial. He also made music videos that were different than most others for the Foo Fighters, Radiohead, White Stripes, etc.

My favorite music video Gondry ever made was the one we saw in class for Daft Punk. The song was called Around the World and was very well put together. I thought it was interesting when the robots would walk around doing robot movements and dances. Little did I know they were representing the musical instrument of a vinyl record. He also used tall athletes wearing track suites with small prosthetic heads walking up and down the stairs. I thought these characters were funny and also caught my attention because of their big abnormal heads. He also had women dressed up as disco girls or synchronized swimmers, skeletons dancing in the center, and mummies dancing in time with the songs drum pattern.

"I realized how genius and simple the music was. Only five different instruments, with very few patterns, each to create numerous possibilities of figures. Always using the repetition, and stopping just before it's too much." – Michel Gondry

In this video, he uses different costumes for each actor to symbolize the instruments that are being played. The androids represent the singing robot voice; the physicality and small-minded rapidity of the athletes symbolizes the ascending and descending bass guitar; the femininity of the disco girls represents the high-pitched keyboard; the skeletons serve for the guitars; and the mummies represent the drum machine. I did not notice that he was trying to represent different instruments at first. I have never liked techno music until I heard this song by Daft Punk and saw their music video that Gondry directed. I think he is a brilliant guy who takes his work to the heart. I also believe that he tries his hardest and directs to the best of his knowledge which makes him one of the best and unique directors there ever was.

By seeing a couple videos that Gondry directed in class made me a huge fan of his. I have never seen such interesting and well put together music videos before. I believe the videos in class were the best music videos I have ever seen due to their storylines and how unique they were. Everything makes sense at the end of each video but makes you think while the video is playing. As of now, Michel Gondry is my most favorite director.

Broadway

Broadway theatre, simply called Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York and in Manhattan, New York City. Along with London’s West End theatre, Broadway theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. The Broadway theatre district is a popular tourist in New York City, New York. According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold approximately $937 million worth of tickets in the 2007-08 seasons.

Looking for tickets? Getting your hands on tickets can be easy at times and hard at others. Tickets for Broadway can be bought online and at the box office. Buying tickets online is recommended highly because you can print the tickets right after paying with a card of some sort. A couple websites that sell tickets are www.playbill.com, www.theatermania.com, and/or www.broadway.com. Musical tickets can range from $100 to $500 while straight or non-musical tickets range from $100 to $150. Off Broadway tickets are much cheaper and range from $50 to $75. There can also be discounts on tickets for people who cannot afford the real price. In Duffy Square and South Street Seaport, New York, you can find these discount booths that have 25 to 50 percent off face value tickets. These booths are formerly known as TKTS and do not take credit cards.

There are five different shows who currently have made over one million dollars in gross profit last week. These shows are Wicked, West Side Story, Billy Elliot: The Musical, The Lion King, and Jersey Boys. I have never seen a Broadway show yet, but would absolutely love to see the show Wicked. Ever since I was a child, my favorite movie has been the Wizard of Oz. I used to watch it every day with my little brother, Nick. It always reminds me of my little brother whenever I hear of or see the movie. It made me and my little brother bond and become good friends when we were really young.

Wicked tells the story of two girls in the Land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery, and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious, and very popular. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, the spellbinding musical takes a look at how these unlikely friends end up as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. Stephen Schwartz is the producer of the new musical while Joe Mantello is the director. Wicked is the winner of the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical and is currently making the most money while showing on Broadway. The musical Wicket has also won two other Tony Awards in 2004 as well.

The top stars in the show consist of Nicole Parker (Elphaba), Alli Mauzey (Glinda), P.J. Benjamin (The Wizard), Rondi Reed (Madame Morrible), Kevin Kern (Fiyero), Alex Brightman (Boq), Christy Candler (Nessarose), and Timothy Britten Barker (Doctor Dillamond).

Show Report

I chose to pick the show Beauty and the Beast. When I was a younger, I would always want to watch the movie the Beauty and the Beast. It has always been one of my favorite movies ever since. I have never had the opportunity to see the musical, but would absolutely love to in the near future. The movie taught me not to judge a book by its cover or basically not to judge a person depending on how they look or act. As a result, I have made so many friends because I like them for who they are.

Beauty and the Beast is a musical with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman and Tim Rice, and a book written by Linda Woolverton. The musical is based on the 1991 Disney film of the same name. It ran on Broadway for 5,464 performances between 1994 and 2007, becoming Broadway’s sixth longest running production. The production holds the record of being the longest running production at both the Palace Theater (where it opened) and the Lunt-Fontanne Theater (where it closed its Broadway run). The musical has grossed more than $1.4 billion worldwide and played in thirteen countries and 115 cities. Produced by Disney Theatrical, a fully owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, the show debuted on Broadway three years after the release of the movie.

The original cast consisted of Terrence Man (the beast), Susan Egan (Belle), Burke Moses (Gaston), Gary Beach (Lumiere), Heath Lamberts (Cogsworth), Tom Bosley (Maurice), Beth Fowler (Mrs. Potts), Stacey Logan (Babette), Eleanor Glockner (Madam de la Grande Bouche), Kenny Raskin (Lefou), Brian Press and Michael Korniewics (Chip), and Gordon Stanley (Monsieur D’Arque).

Beauty and the Beast starts out when a handsome but conceited prince treats a beggar woman poorly. The woman turns out to be a beautiful enchantress and turns the prince into a beast. The prince’s staff is all transformed into objects that deal with their professions. The prince is given a magical mirror to view the outside world. To break the spell, he needs to learn to love a person for who they are, and get her to love him before a magical rose loses its petals. Meanwhile in a nearby village, a beautiful young bookworm, Belle, feels lonely and out of place. She lives with her eccentric but kind father, Maurice. Soon, Maurice goes off to compete at an investors’ fair but gets lost in the woods and ends up a prisoner at the beast’s castle. Belle eventually finds the castle and makes a deal with the beast to let her father go in return for her staying there with the beast. As the beast’s inner kindness slowly reveals itself, Belle grows to be in love with him. However, a self-centered and overly-masculine suitor from Belle’s village, Gaston, takes a posse to save Belle from the beast. Gaston ends up stabbing the beast. Luckily, when Belle rushes to the beast and expresses her love for him, he comes back to life again as a handsome prince.

Theater Profile

I chose to pick The Goodman Theater in Chicago because I absolutely love the city of Chicago. I like the fact that it has a giant vertical sign with big bright red letters spelling out Goodman that overlooks the main street of Chicago. Due to how many people live in the city of Chicago, I believe that this particular theater brings in a lot of viewers who love theatrical productions. I also like how the stage is set up like an orchestra so all of the viewers can see the play no matter where they sit. It seems to me that it is very fancy and looks like it attracts people mostly from the upper class as well as some from the middle class. I think this theater is beautiful and would love to see a show there if at any time in my life I visit Chicago.

Every season, the Goodman presents the work of an extraordinary group of local, national, and international artists. It is the oldest and largest theater and is well known for their quality of productions, the depth and diversity of artistic leadership, and the excellence of its many community and educational programs. Under the guidance of Artistic Director Robert Falls and Executive Director Roche Schulfer, the Goodman is committed to producing both classic and contemporary works, giving full voice to a wide range of artists and visions. This particular theater seeks to be the premier cultural organization in Chicago, providing productions and programs that make an essential contribution to the quality of life in Chicago.

The Goodman Theater was established in July, 1922, by a gift of $250,000 from William and Erna Goodman to the Art Institute of Chicago for the purpose of building a theater to memorialize their son, Kenneth Goodman. Before his death, Kenneth had written, published, and produced a number of plays in Chicago, and had expressed his vision of an ideal theater, one that would combine professional training with the highest possible performance standards. The Art Institute began construction of the new theater four months after the gift was received.

They soon hired the theaters first artistic director, Thomas Stevens. The new theater opened its doors on October 20, 1925. Two nights later the Goodman began its first regular season with John Galsworthy’s, The Forest. Stevens led the Goodman for five years before resigning in 1930 over a dispute about the deficit the theater had accumulated. The Art Institute replaced him with Hubert Osbourne who ran the theater for a year until the Art Institute decided that the professional acting company would prove too costly to maintain.

Maurice Gnesin stepped up as the new head of the theater for the next twenty-seven years. In 1957, Maurice died. Therefore, the Art Institute offered the artistic directorship to John Reich who accepted the position. In 1972 John Reich was asked to resign. A new managing director, Ken Myers, brought in during Reich's last year to oversee the theater's business side, ran the theater for a year before resigning himself. In 1973, William Woodman was appointed artistic director. After running the Goodman for five seasons, William Woodman resigned in 1978 and Gregory Mosher was appointed artistic director. A year later Roche Schulfer was appointed managing director. The Goodman replaced Mosher with Robert Falls.

In the mid-1980s, concerned about the adequacy of its aging theater behind the Art Institute, the Goodman began to explore the possibility of a new facility. Led by Roche Schulfer and members of the Board of Trustees, the theater came to the conclusion that rebuilding on the site of the old theater was not a viable proposition and other locations in downtown Chicago were scouted. In the early 1990s the Goodman committed to building on the new site and fundraising efforts began. The new Goodman Theatre opened in December, 2000 with August Wilson's play, King Hedley II.