Cinderel.....wha?

In the beginning I was excited at the idea of going to Cinderella and it only being $5.00 made it a prime opportunity. I was astounded at the size of the theater, which was a theater-in-the-round; I had never seen one so small. We were practically on the actors, it was crazy! I soon found by the second act that I was not going to enjoy this at all.

It all started with the lead being late and the host told some jokes, of which some were pretty good, the the show ended up starting at 7:45 instead of the original 7:30. We were also informed the the prince and Cinderella were actually getting married in real life! Cool, eh? In the first scene I was impressed by the voice Cinderella's character had; it was beautiful and crystal clear. The next scene dashed all hopes of it being an enjoyable show. The second scene was one with the step-sisters and the evil step-mother, and it was horrific. Sorry, to be so blunt about it, but this is my honest opinion of the show. If you don't like what you are reading, you are welcome to stop now and are free to be critical of my comments. As the play went on I got to thinking, "my junior high could do 5 times better than this!" and shaking my head after every scene. Some of the actors had no idea how to act and pretty much just walked around on stage like idiots, and the evil step-mother didn't even sing, but merely spoke to a little tune. What also astounded me was that the prince never even sang a line. What? This play was called Cinderella, where the prince and Cinderella fall in love right? Doesn't that mean there should be some kind of love song that they sing together at the end? How about like in Slipper and the Rose? There was even a point where I wanted to walk out, but didn't, and I wanted to stand up and yell stop at one of the step-sisters! I knew that shows like Cinderella, with step-sisters and evil step-mothers, were supposed to make you hate those characters, but this was bad. (I never would actually ever stand up and yell stop at an actor, but I sure felt like it!) I give this cultural event a 5 out of 10! Harsh I know, but it's an honest opinion from me, and I'm glad I didn't pay more that five dollars for it.

BYU Summer Dancesport Challenge

When this event was first introduced, and the price said to be $11.00 I was not too interested. But soon I found that two of my roommates were going to be participating, as well as some of my other friends I was significantly more interested. I was planning to go at 12:00 on the dot and watch the beginning where I knew for sure that my roommates were competing, but I didn't make it as to my late night the night before. I eventually attending from 5:00 to 6:00 and ended up sitting with Natalie from our very own humanities class!

Before I even entered the Wilk Ballroom I thought I would just be there for forty-five minutes or so, but I was engrossed just a dance or two. Me and Natalie very quickly picked our favorites from the dancers, and watched them succeed to win first and second places. It was even better when our friends would dance, because we felt more connected with the dancers and enjoyed it more. We sat up and took many pictures, and even some film, from where we were sitting on the second row. By the end we were standing up, and eventually jumping up and down and yelling by the time they got to the awards! It was intense, and I'm very glad I went.

One of the things I loved the most about the Dancesport Challenge was that whether there to really compete or there for fun, you could tell all the dancers loved what they were doing. Some were a little stressed if I might say, but for the most part they were enjoying every minutes of it; you could see it in their faces. We also enjoyed seeing the little ones dance. I wish I could have learned to dance like that when I was younger. It was good to see how even though some of them were only ten or twelve, they knew what they were doing. Some were dancing like it was their job! You could tell they enjoyed doing what they were doing and for some of them it looked as if it was a part of them. By the way they moved and the look in their faces you could tell that some of them wouldn't want to be anywhere else than there on the dance floor. It even made me happy! I came home from the Dancesport and was bursting with joy for some reason I still don't know. I didn't know watching and getting into the dances could be so amazing for my emotions. I was so happy, I could have danced and sung all night!

For my video screening I went to the showing of Amadeus that Ms. Stokes so kindly put on for the few of us that weren't able to make it to another one. I had only seen the clip of when Mozart plays the harpsicord for the Emperor, where he makes a fool of the court composer and laughs his little head off, but never the whole thing. I was very excited to see this film, and I'm happy to report that I was not let down in any way. My expectations were met in full.

Afterward Jasie mentioned that during the movie she kept wanting to jump up and pause it to show us what the cinematographer was doing to make us feel the way we did, and what techniques they were using to achieve that effect. I noticed a couple of the high and low-angle shots, but I was too engrossed in the storyline of the movie I didn't notice much else. Afterward as I was talking with Joann, we found that we both were very into the movie the entire time. I think that is what makes a film a great film; when you are engaged in what is happening.

I definitely think that this movie is a great success. As for it's length, it was long but I hardly noticed the time go. Time flies when you are having fun! I think they really did a wonderful job eith this film. There was both the facts of his life, and the fictional points, but it was interesting nonetheless. I think that is another quality of a good film; if you learned something or took something from the movie that you didn't ever know before. I walked away feeling better aquainted with Mozart's life and what he went through. I know that not all aspects of the movie and the facts produced were correct, but for the most part I think it was. I learned something new andn enjoyed it thoroughly! I give this cultural event a 10 out of 10! Bravo!

Video Art

What I found interesting in this weeks reading was where the video art article said:
"the definition of spectatorship is hereby challenged; where the audience member becomes a mandatorily active participant in the work itself- differing from performance art, where the artist is present." I think this is very true. It's like what they say about when a teacher teaches; the teacher learns from the students more than the students learn from the teacher. Or like what they say about a play. The audience is most of the show because without the reactions and the applause of the audience the performers wouldn't do as well. When you get a good applause after a number or a good reaction to a funny part in the show, you know you are doing well and you keep trying to do well. The audience is kinda like the adrenaline for your show.

Videos are like this too. Without the audiences reaction and support of the movie, movie producers wouldn't get very far. If we, as the general public, didn't go to the movies and give good reports on those that we enjoy, the movies wouldn't be as big of a hit as they are. But it's not all us either, without the artist there would be no art to look at and enjoy, therefore we wouldn't have that enjoyment without the artist there to make it enjoyable for us.

I also like where it said:
"In these spaces, a more complete understanding of a particular view of the world can be communicated to the senses of the audience-sonic and physical elements which attend to the audience’s emotion, physicality, and intellect." I totally agree with this statement as well. I think movies say a lot that you can't say with words. I know that sounds weird, but it's true in some circumstances. There are scenes in film that make you feel in a way you wouldn't normally either; whether it's joy or sadness it is that you're feeling, the movie can communicate that without words. Who had ever thought that a moving picture could make you feel that way? I never knew, but boy does it.

I also think music has a lot to do with it. The score to movies is most often my most favorite part of the whole thing. It is often that I get done with a movie, and go, "I need to get the soundtrack to that one." Music has always been a big influence in my life, and I have noticed that these last few years even more, with going to movies, and concerto concerts at my high school; I love music! Even though I'm not the best at it, I still love it and it will always be an important part of my life. Music is what helps the movie to be able to speak without words. Music plays with the emotions, and without it our life would be a lot less enjoyable and emotional.

A Zoopraxiscope? What?

In class this week we finished up our discussion about music and it was great! We went through the types of music, specifically including vocal. We were going through the different types of vocal music and listening to some examples \and the song Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring came on and immediately I recognized it as a song that my choir sang this last year, except that we sang in the German, not English. It is a great song; long but wonderful. Next we moved on to cinema and while we were going through the terminology and history of cinema we talked about a Zoopraxiscope, and to myself I was like, "What the heck is a Zoopraxiscope?". So, I did some more research on it and this is what I found:

A Zoopraxiscope is an early device for displaying motion pictures. Created by photographic pioneer Eadweard Muybridge in 1879 and may be considered the first movie projector. The zoopraxiscope projected images from rotating glass disks in rapid succession to give the impression of motion. The stop-motion images were initially painted onto the glass, as silhouettes. A second series of discs, made in 1892-94, used outline drawings printed onto the discs photographically, then colored by hand. Some of the animated images are very complex, featuring multiple combinations of sequences of animal and human movement.(Wikipedia)

Then we moved on to discuss cinema some more. It was interesting to see what the cinematographer does to make us feel a certain way when we view a movie. I had never realized that the high and low-angle shots were what made you feel sorry for the person on the bottom, because they are made to look so small. I loved learning all this about film and then being able to watch movies, and clips from movies, and be able to pick out the characteristics we talked about in class. Now it all makes sense!

...Regrets...

I am deeply sorry to inform you that I wasn't able to attend a cultural event this week due to the lack of time and my being out of town this weekend. I will be attending two next week (a theatrical and a dance event) as well as the class video screening of Amadeus set for Thursday night. So come back next week, for it is sure to be action packed.

Sincerest apologies, Mindy

Musical Drama

In reading this week’s reading I found it interesting that even as we Americans bash European Opera, the shows that we enjoy (contemporary musicals) all originated or came from Europe. For example: the Broadway Musicals, Cats, Les Misérables, and Phantom of the Opera. What people don’t realize is that these modern musicals are a uniquely American invention and very close to classical opera. Music drama (whether opera or musical) affords one of the most powerful means of expressing deep emotion in an elaborate dramatic setting. It is worth your time, effort, and money to see if it speaks to you.

I totally agree with this statement. The only thing that I would add to this statement is that it is worth your time, effort, and money to see if it speaks to you, if it’s a quality performance. I would rather pay a higher amount to see something of quality, than for nothing. In trying to define the uniquely American genre of the musical, Leonard Bernstein once said, “The glittering world of musical theater is an enormous field that includes everything from your nephew’s high school pageant to [Wagner’s] Götterdämmerung”. This is one of the things that I like the most about musicals. There are the serious ones, the crying ones, the dramatic ones, the hilarious ones, the sad ones, and then those that couldn’t be funnier. Musicals are like music in that way; there is something for everyone, as long as you like your plays sung.

I was in the school play every year in junior high, and then this last year in high school. In junior high I was in Crazy for You, and Oliver, and in high school I was in Beauty and the Beast. What I loved about the junior high plays was that the drama teacher, Ms. Dodge, let anyone who wanted to be in it, play a part. Whether they were just a member of the chorus or one of the leads, everyone who wanted one, got a part. Perfection wasn’t the goal, quality was. Even though there was ever type of personality and level of skill, each play was molded and shaped by her patient hands into a beautiful masterpiece that everyone enjoyed. People are heard to say that Ms. Dodge’s plays are the best junior high plays they’ve ever seen. I know they are, and I’m not just saying that because I was in two of them, but because they always have been and they still are. In high school we were going for perfection and quality. I loved being in al of them; they were all fun and learning experiences. In the book it said, “It seems like this American original still has some life left in it” and I couldn’t agree more.