The Woodsman

The most effective scene in The Woodsman, was when Nimmie had to yell out “please” to the tinkers in order to save Nick Chopper. I found it really compelling because throughout the whole play the people who lived there were only allowed to communicate through noises. The fact that she was brave enough to finally speak out and risk getting punished by the witch, it shows how much she loved Nick Chopper. Another scene I found interesting was when the Tinkers first appear and the enter in rhythm. What was very interesting about that scene was how they were able to create distinctions of who was the goofball and and who were the serious Tinkers. It is interesting to see how they are able to interpret that through sound and movement and not use speech to give away their characteristics.

This is a type play I have never seen before, it was almost like silent film and the sound effects were an added element. The opening monologue was a nice set up to a world that we weren’t expecting was to be silent. As an audience member I would have been even more confused is the actors just began the play without speaking. I love how relationships can be build and the story can develop without any text.

This version of The Woodsman is a great example to bring into the classroom because it uses theatrical elements in a way a typical audience member might not be used to. This would be a great example to show that the theatre can be interpreted in many ways and it does not always have to stick to the typical straight dialogue. It is even more interesting when plays add live music, simple harmonies, fun stage choreographies, and puppetry. It would be categorized as a musical but it does have musical theatre elements to help liven the production.

Blog post 5

As I began watching The Woodsman, I did not know what I was getting myself into. I did not look into what the play was about before watching it because I wanted to be surprised. Surprised I was. I was not expecting a puppetry play without any lines for sure. When Stephanie said in class that this play is a little different, I was not nearly envisioning the performance we watched. However, with all this shook, I did throughly enjoy the play. I found that the fact the play had very few lines spoken in words we could understand, a wonderful and challenging concept. In most cases I would say you can’t have a play without lines, but The woodsman proves me wrong. I think we forget how much our body language speaks, and how the little inflections in our voice when we make gasps or grunts can project a feeling. For example, in real life we do not need to announce when we are sad, our body language does it for us. This play does a wonderful job at recreating that same concept. I think this play and concept is really great for the hearing but also the hearing impaired. It allows for both to have a similar experience while watching the performance without any exclusions. I also loved that this play was a take on The Wizard of Oz before Dorthy. I personally love when plays or movies take something that is already done and put their own spin on it. As far a the set goes, or lack there of, usually I don’t like performances to not have sets. I just thing it add a necessary design element and when plays don’t have one or it is very simple I think it could be better. However, the empty set for this play works. It allows for so much imagination to take over and challenges the actors to make the space work.

Expression

In The Woodsman I saw something that it hardly ever seen in mainstream American Theatre: non-verbal expression. This is the first language of every living thing in the Animal Kingdom (and some extent plants, but that’s a different didcussion). In a world dominated by flashy theatre with overlapping lyrics, there’s something incredibly refreshing about seeing something so simply and elegantly done.

This is not, however, anything new to the world of stage. Even recently, War Horse used puppeteers, though at a much more complex level. And as for non-verbal expression you don’t have to go far–just go to any dance show. In fact I would say there’s no new theatrical conventions in the show at all, rather a revival of some of the primary components: puppeteering, mime, and dance.

I do not, however, wish to discredit the show. I find immense beauty in almost all simplicity, and think it was very well done. Beautiful? Yes. Refreshing? Yes. New? Certainly not.

Blog Post #5

I thought that The Woodsman effectively re-imagined Baum’s classic work of Wizard of Oz. Similarly to Wicked, it shows what happened before Dorothy came and met all of the other characters along the way. I thought it was interesting to see how different the minimalistic puppetry style of this show was in comparison to a show like Wicked which uses a similar concept to it’s story. This show has so much more to do with emotional connection than it has to do with spectacle. I thought it was really interesting to have a minimalist show as a whole especially with little dialogue involved. Our generation is known for having short attention spans and always needing to multi-task on our cellphones, however, I found it extremely bold that this show decided to stay raw and unapologetically bare. It just trusted that the audience would engage and watch. I think something that made it work so well was that the “body language” and physicality worked so well. I love to see how well this conveyed the message because at the end of the day physicality is universal, unlike dialogue. I think that this adds a dimension of complex simplicity to “Western” theatre. Theatre seems to have always been big and bold – even though it has scaled down somewhat – but this show challenged audiences to find a new way to connect. Earlier, I mentioned Wicked, this show is known for it’s large dance numbers, powerhouse vocals, intense and over-the-top costumes. The show draws the audience in to a point where they have no choice but to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show – the Woodsman challenges audiences to fully engage, think, empathize, understand and enjoy the show. I think more plays like this should be made to bring back the quality of simple interaction and connection to the world, the classroom, and theatre.

#5

Woodsman would be intriguing to new audience members because- it doesn’t take the traditional form of a story being told through dialogue. This piece relies on other elements such as acoustic sound, meaningful body movement, and scrappy props- and in that way, this piece also brings people like us- who study theatre, down the memory lane to the ancient and cultural storytelling methods.

Since attending UCI, the closest friends I have made (by chance) are those who are not Drama Majors/ or are very well versed in theatre shows/plays/performances. They admitted to me that their first theatre experiences happened when they were around 9-12 and were rather boring, “long dialogue, too long shows” they said. In a way, this excited me because I thought of all the plays I could introduce them to. In our current state- theatre has become so inventive, transformative, layered in thoughts through design choices and elements.

The Woodsman is definitely a piece that I want to include on the list of “shows for audience new to the theatre”, because- continuously; it’s not like the norm. Not like the norm, for the fact that this show has no dialogue. Words are not at all the focus, and that is the shows greatest strength because it allows an intense and precise focus on movement, design, and sound. This show truly forces audience members to watch and not blink, and to act upon so are worth it because it’s choreography and movements are so fluid and purposeful, as if every second mattered. This is quite an experience in that way. For the fact that there are no words, is the reason why it will be intriguing to new audience members- because it is not the experience one might prepare for when walking into a theatre show for the first time.

I feel that this piece is a wonderful addition to a classroom setting because it is an example of the ways theatre is ever growing. Always innovative in performance style and storytelling- and one of the ways it is innovative is the way it can modernize old forms of storytelling. The scene where the tin man and his lover are sitting on a bench (33:36) and their shadows are cast behind them- brought me back to the Han Dynasty’s Shadow Puppetry. The use of scrappy props throughout the show that does well in moving the plot makes me think of the Medieval touring theatres.

As Drama majors, we are to be well versed in the history of theatre and the origins of its forms. The Piece the Woodsman, is a prime example where drama history knowledge pays of – because one of the creative ways to make a new drama form, is finding inspiration from the ancient ones.

Blog #5

The Woodsman was a very impressive play since its setting was really unique—-from lighting to props, sound to “line” speaking, were all very amazing. Different from normal plays, The Woodsman did not really set many lines for the actors as the illustration of the performance; instead, during the whole acting process, the performers took gasps, grunts, mumbles, yelling, and many other vocal voice as the way of the emotional expression even without speaking a word. That was very fantastic since it is not normal to see a play without any speaking lines, and as the audience I could still have great empathy with the actors on the stage. Besides of the vocal voice, the sounds created by body movements were also amazing—take the snaps as the sound of woods cracking in the campfire, the claps as the sound of woods chopping,by knocking the metal props to create the sound of crafting arms and legs for Nick…These settings fitted the play very well—audiences could clearly see where did the sound come from, which made the everything more natural and real.

The Woodsman also used the puppets to complete the acting of the witch and the tin man. The use of the puppet pointed out the inhumanity of these two characters, which was very successful. Especially for witch, her inhumanity provided the explanation for her supernatural power , and also raised stressful atmosphere at some point in the play. The interaction between Nimme and the witch was fantastic: the screaming and the fluent movement of the witch puppet, the struggling of Nimme, and the lights that represent Nimme’s power—when all the element combined with each other, I felt the witch became alive, which was really impressive.

From my perspective, it would be a very enjoyable and unique experience for the audiences who are new to the theater since the setting of the play totally broke the stereotype that most people have about theater. For people who do not know theater well, the impression they have about theater is a bunch of people acting on the stage, making long and complicated speeches.That is why when people are watching a play, most of them would only focus on the actors and their speech, but ignore the efforts that the designing group had paid for the show. The Woodsman is a play with amazing designing of lighting, props , and using of sounds, and without any speaking lines. Because of that, the whole play was easier for people to understand since they do not need to struggling to understand each line of the play, and people would also realize not only the actors on the stages are important, but the designing that make the whole play more vivid and real is necessary, too. 

#5

The Woodsman was completely intriguing. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this play and felt creatively moved by it. I don’t know many plays so this was completely new for me and I don’t know if there are any other plays like it. There have been many pieces of art inspired by The Wizard of Oz though and I thought this one was a great addition. It was insanely impressive.

The amount of detail that was put into every move and every sound was noticeable. You could tell they went to great lengths to make it so this story read well with the audience and I can’t even imagine the rehearsal process. I loved the scenes that took place in the woods, especially when  Nimmee first left the witch to find the stuff she accidentally threw in the fire. I wouldn’t call it “realistic” necessarily, but it made you feel like you were with her and you forgot where you were while she was making her way through the forest.

The other thing that I was extremely impressed with was the way the actors used their voices. When I found out they weren’t going to be using words to tell the story, I thought that it was mostly just going to be mining and obviously it was, but I was surprised at how much their voices carried the story along and how much they altered the different settings and emotions. It was pretty much just as effective as having an orchestra which is interesting to think about. I definitely wouldn’t think of this play as a musical, but it does have something special and very specific to it that makes it stand out. The story is good and simple and they portray everything perfectly. It would be interesting to see a more complicated story adapted into this type of a performance.

Blog Post#5

James Ortiz’s “The Woodsman” takes place in a magical setting that explores the familiar but reimagined character of the Tin Man from Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz. In a prelude to the Wizard of Oz, The Woodsman looks at the life of the Tin Man before the girl from Kansas fell from the sky. What is very characteristically unique of “The Woodsman” was that it diverges from the western tradition of using language and verbal communication and instead opts to develop the story in a wordless play. At the center of the story is main character Nick Chopper, a woodsman that had a spell cast upon his axe and eventually becomes the Tin Man. Nick meets and falls in love with Nimmee, some mishaps occurs with Ms. Simpson and Mr. Ortiz tangles with a large and frightening beast.

What was truly spectacular about the play was the heartwarming moments within the play. Chopper and Nimmee huddle themselves in front of a fire, the visual and auditory appeal of the play was truly fantastic. It would seem that there was a tremendous effort put into the play in creating an atmosphere that was filled with imagination from the audience to fill in the blanks. In this sense, the play was not a direct representation of reality and the story as it was common in the legacy of western theatre tradition. Rather, it is more of guide towards what happened and allows the audience to fill in the specific details with their own vivid imaginations.

One of the only characters that actually speaks and addresses the audience was Mr. Ortiz, who speaks and provides enough information to put the story into perspective. He talks about the wick witch, he talks about the monsters in the woods, and the dictatorship that the witch holds over the people of the once peace and harmonious land. In this sense, words become dangerous because the witch can hear what everyone is saying, those that speak, those that dare to say anything, are at risk of the wrath of the witch. The only sound there after remains the sound of the diegetic music – the violins and the sounds of nature.

I believe this play serves as an important lesson for theatre. Especially to students in that it shows us a play does not need to take the conventional approach in communicating a story and entertaining the audience. Even silently, through actions, sounds, and noises, a play can be just as effective as those that use words. Afterall, only a small part of all human communication comes from verbal language.

Blog Post #5 – The Emphasis on Sound

The Woodsman, created by James Ortiz, opens up a completely new door to tumble through concerning our ideas of what “Western” theatre is. This 70 minute show manages to tie puppetry, speech, movement and physicality into a thoughtful retelling. Delving into the story of the “tin man,” The Woodsman offers its audience an experience completely different from traditional theatre. Two distinctive things that made The Woodsman unique and interesting to watch were its use of puppets and its focus on sound that wasn’t spoken words. I personally thought this play worked as a whole really well and enjoyed it because this particular piece was incredibly focused on crafting a story in which the audience wanted to pay attention.

The Woodsman is an intriguing play for audiences new to theatre to experience because of its developed use of things often overlooked, such as movement and speech and its distinct lack of spoken dialogue. Obviously the design elements such as the puppets, costume design, and lighting made the play the full experience that it was and propelled it into a level of theatre not often explored. The puppets themselves were intriguing to watch and helped tell the story in a new yet thoughtful way. However, what I think made The Woodsman a truly thrilling theatre experience was this lack of spoken word yet emphasis on sound. Everything about that makes the play somewhat unconventional as we are often so focused on listening to dialogue and trying to pick out double meanings in phrases.  Having this complete focus on nonverbal sounds, such as clapping, the violin, the sound of drumming fingertips can bring an audience to be truly invested in a way some shows don’t often succeed. The inclusion of laughter, gasps, and screeches only go to further audience involvement because this limited dialogue makes the audience have to watch and want to watch and truly be invested in the show, especially when the players do start to speak or sing.  This is a great play for new theatre audiences to experience because it covers so many aspects of theatre not often explored in the familiar setting of Oz, which is why it is great play to possibly help teach theatre in general.