August Wilson and "Joe Turner's Come and Gone"

Being the resident August Wilson "expert" (I researched him for Theatre History last year) I had read other Wilson plays and knew a little of what to expect going into reading "Joe Turner". I knew Wilson's influences, the things he was known for, and had read his most popular play, "Fences". I knew that I had previously enjoyed Wilson's work and like the things that he is trying to do. However, when I read "Joe Turner, I found that i didn't enjoy it. Unlike "Fences" which i loved, I found that I couldn't connect with any of the characters. That was weird for me because Wilson is known for creating relatable characters. I guess the closest I came was with Bertha, but she wasn't really important enough for it to draw me to the story. I'm not even sure why I feel this way but I just couldn't get into the plot without having a character I connect to.

As for the dialects thing that we discussed in class, I liked it. I knew it was coming when I picked up the play, Wilson always writes how his characters would actually speak, but this is not why I liked it. I feel like it is important for characters to talk in a way that real people talk, and in this time that is how people talked. As an actor I feel like dialects is very important in developing character because it can reveal a lot about a person, where they are from, are they educated etc. An actor must use this to create a deep and well thought out character, which is what Wilson is looking for.

Overall, though I didn't enjoy the play, I can understand why we read it. It is a classic example of Wilson's work, incorporating all he is know for. My own personal taste does not take away from its educational value.

Spinning into Butter

I really enjoy reading Spinning Into Butter by Rebecca Gilman. One of the reasons for this is that it relates rather directly to my life. I think all of us can imagine what life at Belmont is like. Other than it being a private school it is pretty much MCLA, though i think we all like to hope that our administrators are better. I think knowing this environment so well made the plot that much easier to focus on. I know I could easily imagine a lot of that stuff happening here.

While of course we like to believe that racism is non-existent it is not. In my life I have known many racist people. Back home I live in a neighborhood full of them. My neighbors have actually threatened to burn another neighbors house down because they were in favor of putting a school nearby that would have "black people" in it. These people also hate my family because we're Jewish. Interestingly enough this took place in Albany, NY, a relatively large and racially diverse city. This is the same city that Simon is supposedly from.

Another thought I had about the play was something that was discussed a little bit in class. Patrick asks Sarah to call minority students "students of color", i think this is unfair. I consider myself to be a minority student. I check other and write in Jewish as my race on every form I fill out. Being Jewish is very important to my identity, as a culture as well as a religion. Many other people feel this way too. There is even a facebook group about it. By referring to minorities as "students of color" i feel left out. What does that make me? I do not consider myself to white, but I am not "colored" either. While Sarah was definitely more in the wrong in this situation Patrick was not perfect either.

Amedeus, Amedeus

Over the years I have seen many different interpretations of this play. The first was almost 4 years ago. In a high school humanities course we watched the movie because it showed both great film technique and Opera. Back then I loved it. I thought the movie was powerful and that the use of flashback was very well done. While I do still love the movie, after reading the play I don't like it as much. I think this is because the play is so much more powerful. This is due to the use of audience directed monoluges.

The second interpretation I saw was last semester. Conor Moroney and Pete Fitzgerald choreographed a dance for MCLA's dance company to the song "Rock Me Amedeus". Their concept was based on the movie. It was complete with dancers playing Salieri and Mozart. While the dance did not, of course, tell the whole story, it was very well done. Since I had already seen the movie I could tell where the story was headed and liked watching it in an abstract way.

Finally, I read the play. I think I am glad that I read the play last, because it changed my opinions of the other ways i had seen the story. I truly enjoyed the play and especially loved the way it was said to be staged. It was a way to keep it realistic while still being able to actually stage these things. However, I was sad that reading it changed my opinion of the pervious veiwings that I had enjoyed so much.