Buried Child

For my performance, I chose to watch Buried Child, and I think it was a great choice. Buried Child depicted the fragmentation of a typical American family in a context of disappointment and disillusionment with the American Dream, the 1970s rural economic slowdown, and the breakdown of traditional family structures and values.

In fact, when I found the this play on the Broadway HD, I saw the tag of comedy , and that was the reason that made me want to watch it. However, after I finished watching, it was much more serious than I thought. The play was set at a farmhouse in Illinois, 1978. Vincent, a 22 years old jazz musician, came back to the house that he has left for 6 years with his girlfriend Shelly to look for the reunion with his family members. However, instead of the warm and happy family as Vincent expected, he saw his dying grandpa Dodge and the father Tilden who seems has some mental problem. Most importantly, none of them remember who he was, which made Vincent very disappointed and sad. As the play continued to progress, more sad information exposed—there was a child who was born of incest between Halie and her son Tilden. To end this terrible condition, Dodge drowned the child and buried it in the yard–all of these tragedies caused the fragmentation of the family. At the end of the play, Dodge died at last, and handed the ownership of the house to Vincent before his death.

Buried Child was written between 1970s and 1980s, one of the turbulent time periods in U.S history—-Vietnam War, Cold War, the scandal of Watergate, the economical recession……The whole society was experiencing hard time, so does Vincent’s family—the house that Vincent’s family lives in is decaying the roof is leaking, and the fields do not plant crops anymore. All of these settings reflected the economical recession during that time, and the frustration of the American people. At the same time, all the tragedy that the family experienced could be viewed as the metaphor of the disillusionment of the American dream—their son Ansel was a brilliant young man, but dead during his honeymoon; Tilden used to be a successful football player, but turned to be mentally unwell after the death of his child; the family used to be rich and wealthy that “produce milk that can fill up lake of Mexican of twice”, but turned to be poor and fragmented due to the incest between Halie and Tilden……We can see that everything was turning to decline, so did the American dream at that time. Although everything seemed depressed, it is still clear that the author Sam Shepard was trying to leave some hope at the end. Vincent received the ownership of the house and decided to stay to renew the house, which represents the fresh blood, new generation, and a new start—I believe that was also the expectation of Sam for the new American society that get rid of the past tragedy and failure.

For my opinion, I think there was one aspect that Buried Child was related to a play that we discussed before: Fun Home. There was not as much depression as Buried Child had in Fun Home and none of the topic about homosexuality appeared in Buried Child, but both of the play mentioned the secrets that was kept by the family, and both of the secrets led to some tragedy at the end, which really affected the whole play and added another layer to the theme of the production.

By using the story of a family as the epitome of the society, Sam depicted the frustration that the American society was facing at that time, which was impressive and meaningful, and I believe that was the key for this play to win the Pulitzer Price for Drama in 1979.

A Bright Room Called Day

Last April, I watched UCI’s production of A Bright Room Called Day a political piece that delves deep into 1930 Germany during the rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party. UCI takes on this piece pushing forth ideas that are both in the text, and unique from the text in a historical and social standpoint. Ideas and themes that are to showcase both a link and a collapse between the past, present, and future are heavily shown in this production and the elements of projection, set, light, and staging is all successful in supporting this.

What I feel this production has asked from us, is to dive into the political climate of several events in history. The first that we are brought into, is one of the play’s settings- Berlin 1932. A time where Hitler’s power is climbing it’s way to the top, we as audience members are sharing the space with a group of artist in the middle of the stage who are trying to make sense of this event, and the anxieties that were felt moments before finding out Hitler’s status in the Presidential election. What this scene alone has shown me, are the anxieties, reactions, calmness, and fears that some characters were feeling way before the yet unknown events became inflamed to a point that control and hope were lost- which is the Holocaust. If I am allowed to say, it is what was felt way before “shit hit the fan”. This scene is successfully supported by the projection designs of Hannah Tran who projects on the windows of the set the actual historical footage from Hitler’s campaign during 1933.

Though most of this play is a timepiece, UCI’s production made it difficult to ignore a comparison between the political climate back then and the political climate now. Especially in the director choice of making the second time frame of the piece to not be in 1985 as written in the text by Tony Kushner’s comparison to Regan. But rather, the second setting is in 2018 to compare Hitler to Trump. The character, Zillah Katz is a personification that embodies this idea or this comparison between Hitler and Trump. The points that Zillah makes throughout the play as being the “2018 view” is well supported by costumes, in the way that she is fashioned in a modern day outfit of Levis Jeans and Doc Martin Boots.

From past to present, I think what was most interesting to have seen embodied on stage is the collapsing of past and present. These scenes I felt, where effectively staged when the characters Agnes Eggling and Zillah Katz were both on stage at the same time. During these scenes, the existence of contrasting individuals of 1930’s Berlin and 2018- makes an interesting comparison as to how they both use the apartment. Agnes used it as a place of comfort away from the evil outside her doors, and Zillah comes to this apartment leaving America to make sense of evil past and present itself. Both of these characters being present at the same time sets this sense of tone as if they are in a different world, and dimension. This tone is well supported by the dim lighting design, smoke effects, and sound design.

I feel like what this show ultimately leaves to question, is that the moments that existed before Hitler started the events that the world will forever know and wish to have never happened are the moments we are experiencing now? Is the climate we are living in the same moment before “shit hits the fan” and the worst is yet to come. Events that are unknown yet, as the “Holocaust” was yet unknown to the characters of Bright Room. Must we look back at history and remember, and to do better?  I feel this was the success in using the black box as the space for this show, and for Tyler Scrivner to have designed a space that tightly includes the audience in the room, as if there is no escape to the hard conversations we are about to face and the realities we must come to terms with.

I feel this production and its focus relates to our classrooms ideas and themes in the exploration of past, present, and future. Because in class, we often look into the history of why pieces are written and for what reason, how it is currently showcased in the present, and what future do we desire to see for it.

I think it goes against the traditional canon because it puts us in a position to not ignore the terrible things that have happened in history and to come to terms with the stressful climate we are a part of today. Which is not always what people want to pay to see or hear. Again, this I felt was an advantage of using a black box, and to have set the piece with the audience trapped in the room, creating this claustrophobic experience- that this is a conversation we cannot escape.

I feel that this piece is a development in Drama in the way that it asks us to make deep and challenging conversations about society and politics. Because it is only in these conversations where there is potential for change. In the trajectory of Western Drama, I think this piece somewhat goes against it in the way that it does not glorify the greatness, advancements or achievements in the West- but instead, highlights what has been wrong, what is still wrong, and what needs to be changed. 

 

Performance Critical Response – Falsettos

In 2016, the musical Falsettos by James Lapine and William Finn was revived on Broadway. With a star studded cast, it was decided that the show, which had been directed by James Lapine, would be recorded for the PBS television program Live From Lincoln center.  Through BroadwayHD I had the opportunity to watch this recorded live performance and experience the tragic yet heartfelt story that is Falsettos. This recent production related to many themes and ideas brought up in class while dealing with prevalent social and cultural problems that were prevalent during its time of origin while still being applicable today.

To begin with, this musical deals heavily with themes concerning family, identity, and the LGTBQ community. Within Drama 40C, we covered all of these topics through different plays such as Fun Home and Indecent. Falsettos‘ book deals heavily with this idea of finding and establishing family along with coming to terms with one’s identity. In particular, the audience sees how adamantly Marvin desires to have a tight knit family at the beginning while juggling  and through many trials and tribulations he finally obtains that family through the death of Whizzer at the end. Whizzer’s death brings him, his ex-wife, her new husband, and his son into a much more stable and healthy relationship instead of the constant fighting that is witness and runs most of the tension throughout the musical. Coming into who he truly is and who he truly loves allows Marvin to grow while not changing him completely, such as Christopher Boone from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. As far as coming to term with one’s identity the way we have seen in pieces such as Fun Home, we see this within the characters Marvin, Trina, and Jason. Marvin has trouble coming to terms with his true self since he struggles with his constant desire to have a normal family while maintaining his sexuality. Trina is incapable of letting go of her past love and life, constantly obsessed with Marvin’s love life. Last, Jason is constantly changing his opinions (such as his love for chess to his love for girls) until he finds how much he respects Whizzer and wants to have his bar mitzvah with his family versus inviting all of the girls we wants to invite. Falsettos is a musical that deals with more than what people associate it with, as it represents the LGTBQ community in a very humanistic way instead of making it all about their sexuality.

The social and cultural problems addressed within Falsettos are still relevant in the bigger picture today, which is why a recent adaption has been so vital. Falsettos deals with what it is like to grow up in a family that is so divided it is hard to find oneself. In Falsettos, we see how not coming out and instead trying to hide your true self can lead to less happiness for those who identify and LGBTQ, while affecting those around them. In this particular production, the usage of the white blocks constantly showed how a home could be knocked down simply which reflects how chaotic the life that these people faced were. Not only that, but it is a piece of theatre for an underrepresented group during a time in which they were severally hurting. Falsettos sets out to heal the trauma faced by those during the AIDS epidemic while still treating these people as normal human beings. The characters within Falsettos, from the two lesbians next door to Whizzer are treated as completely normal with their own concerns instead of dramatizing and stereotyping them, which is also seen in the performances of these characters as the were more modernized and relatable in the recent production. Despite dealing with a topic covered in other musicals, Falsettos is an important piece of theatre for the LGBTQ community as it gave a sad historical moment characters who seemed to live beyond and before his pivotal time in history.

Falsettos is an important piece of theatre as it is tells the narrative of Jewish LGBTQ while also talking about AIDS. It expands theatre canon by extending the space created for those of Jewish descent and those than identify as anything beyond heterosexual. Through themes such as finding family and discovering your true identity, Falsettos manages to navigate being both a somewhat historical piece and a piece that tells real stories while dealing with cultural and social problems faced by LGBTQ. I am beyond grateful that the 2016 production was recorded as the production was directed with clear intent to help spread a truly meaningful story.

 

Performance Response

 

I saw American Idiot Thursday night and I loved it. It was a very fun show and it almost felt like a concert most of the time. As for the social and political issues there were many. The ones I specifically want to talk about gender in the show which I feel is the most prominent.

The first major issue I found was the lack of strong female characters. This was definitely a show run by men made by men. The women showed, “Whatsername”, “Heather”, and “Extraordinary Girl” all were introduced because of their looks and it didn’t seem the guys liked them because of their looks it seemed a lot more like lust to me than love. And what made that even more apparent was the lack of names for two of the three emphasising that it was only lust. Heather was the only girl with a real name and was the only one that was in a real relationship with Will before she got pregnant, the others were more or less only hook ups. The only time Heather was shown, other than her first scene, was with a baby showing that she is nothing without her baby. Whatername is basically only shown hooking up showing that she is only good for one thing, sex. Extraordinary Girl was similar in that she met Tunny in the hospital and was his nurse she helped save his life which could also be a reason for his attraction to her and the fact that she was attractive. This does not send a good message out to young women or men watching it. It says that women are only valued for their looks, are only good for being mothers and having a good time. They are so undervalued that they don’t even have real names and the guys who are supposedly “in love” with them can’t even remember or don’t even know their names to begin with. Which is why I am glad we got to see that scene where Whatsername fights back and goes into “21 Guns” then has her solo song. I felt it was very needed but I wish all three had a solo song to get into their minds. I think that is going to be one of the main issues talked about after seeing this production, as I’m sure it has been talked about since the play premiered on Broadway.

Continuing the topic on gender this was something specific to UCI’s production was how it appeared to me that they had some crossdressing, with two members in the ensemble and St. Jimmy was gender bended to a girl. Kent Burns one of the male ensemble members was wearing a skirt and Kinsey Lahn one of the female ensemble members had a pixie/buzz cut and was wearing baggier clothing making her look very androgynous. That was something that stood out to me when they first came out. I thought it was a very bold statement especially since Kent was the one to say the “kill all the fags that don’t agree” then got shot right after. It was an incredibly bold move and was probably one of the images that stuck most to me in the entire play. As much as it was jarring it was necessary especially in the times of today which is why I think it hurt so much seeing that.

In conclusion, I think there is so much to talk about with gender in this play. So many topics were brought up and I wonder if there is anything they can do one day to help fix these issues especially the issue of the women in the show. It talks about so many important political topics but since so much is unsaid about the women that is what stands out. There is still a ways to go but with other musicals coming out I think they are heading in the right direction with women roles.

American Idiot

I have been working on American Idiot since the beginning of March and I came in very familiar with the music but I did not start to understand the book until rehearsals started. Our production of American idiot highlights the mass use of social media and distracted our younger generation is. In the opening number, “American Idiot”, there is a moment when we completely stop dancing and pull out our cell phones to check our social media accounts. While that moment is taking place, current events and important political events begin to project on the big screens but we are completely unaware of what is going on due to us being sucked into our phones. Then we all do phone choreography while singing “don’t wanna be an American Idiot” and at the same time we all come to a realization how unhealthy our phones are. We put them away and claim we need to get our heads out of social media and focus on the real issues happening in America. The designers chose to make this version of American Idiot very contemporary and include modern costuming and project current events on the screens. This story really focuses on the evolution of the millennial and shows the generation’s journey to understand how to engage in out nation’s political system.

In the first week of class we discussed how theatre was created for the enjoyment of a live audience to live and breath with a live being on stage going through a journey. American Idiot highlights the rage and conflict within someone and is very relatable to each audience member. To quote Ayad Akhtar, “It only happens when and where it happens. Once it starts, you can’t stop it. It doesn’t exist to be paused or pulled out at the consumer’s whim.” This statement is very important to how this show was created, the original artistic team of American Idiot purposely shaped this show into a one act because they did not want people leaving during intermission. They wanted the message to get their message out there, whether it mad an audience member feel uncomfortable or not.

American Idiot is definitely considered a rock opera but I would not consider this show to fit into the typical musical theatre canon. I consider this musical to be more on the experimental end of theatrical creations. It is not typical for traditional musicals to be written in one act and even though this is show claims to be a sing through, there are still text in between scenes. This show does not have much character development or a complete arch in the book, but it is given some room for interpretation since it is a jukebox style musical.

Even though this show does not fit into the traditional musical theatre canon this show is pushing the theatrical world to think outside the box and challenge the audience more. Even though this show solely focuses on how the political system effects America, the overall message of American Idiot reaches out to corrupt minds and social classes all around the world. This show defiantly pushes western theatre in a new direction, making a direct statement on social issues.

Critical Response

UCI’s production of Green Day’s American Idiot appears to be just like any other concert musical at first. It has a live band, a lot of lights, theatrical haze–the works. The book for the play itself seems like a very loose attempt to make a narrative from the “American Idiot” album. It took a lot of great minds at UCI to put some really great symbolism into the show, a lot of which was incorporated into movement and lighting. Much like Water by the Spoonful, Fun Home, and Curious Incident, these technical elements helped to convey the internal thoughts and struggles of the characters, as well as cleverly suggest ideas to the audience.

As I also pointed out in my lighting response for 50 C, color is one thing that really jumped out. There were essentially four worlds which existed arguably in two or three color palettes. The first world was suburbia. It was lit with a lot of saturated natural light colors, which tended to shift more toward the warm amber end of the spectrum. Suburbia was dull, but still, a warm and safe place where everyone ends back up and feels like home. The next two worlds, the city, and the war existed within the same color worlds of red, white and blue lights, though they each had their own different hues of these colors. This, of course, plays on the “American’ part of American Idiot. Finally, there was Jimmy’s world, the underbelly of the city, which used red as its color palette. The ways that each of these worlds was lit reminded me of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s production of Water by the Spoonful.

The large unit set was reminiscent of the production of Mrs. Packard that UCI did in the fall. While it had a lot of the same attributes, it still lent itself to this particular show. There were places for the actors to climb on and gave a lot of levels to play with. This gave a lot of power dynamics, especially for What’s Her Name at the end, who ends up on the highest level in the center of the stage, and that’s who I was most drawn to. I don’t know what point that was trying to make, but it made a point. 

Each of these worlds also had a different texture, which was shown through both lights and costumes. Not a lot of shadows, textures, or movement existed in suburbia. The clothes were all in a very limited grey palette.  The city had more shadows which created texture, as well as more movement, and the costumes became fore “edgy” and incorporated a lot of saturated red, as did the lights. The military/war had a blocky looking gobo with suggested camouflage as well as the strict and ordered world of the military, and the costumes took on a muted deep blue, and the lights also. On top of this, the lights moved in predictable patterns in the aforementioned worlds. Jimmy’s world had a lot of sharp, jagged textures, and the lights moved in unexpected ways, much like Jimmy to the world was unpredictable for the audiance. All in all, I think the team did a really good job adding a lot of meaning into a show that had a very loose plot. They made it much more than a concert musical.

Performance Critical Response – American Idiot

Green Day’s American Idiot is the theatrical remaking of the popular punk rock band Green Day and their music. Earlier today, June 6th, I watched the UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts performance, Green Day’s American Idiot directed by Andrew Palermo. The story follows Johnny, Will and Tunny, young men who were frustrated at the world around them and their lives as they sought out for success and happiness. Unfortunately, the boys were faced with heartaches, drug abuse, and let downs.

One subject matter this production addresses is the political climate of today. At the time in which the original band Green Day wrote the album American Idiot, it was to comment on the Bush administration and their frustration with the countries politics. In the song “American Idiot” they are outright claiming the president to be an idiot, and depending on your personal views on the current Trump administration, can be applicable today. There are lots of references to the United States politics through out the show and the costuming and lighting is filled with red, white and blue.

This production relates to the themes discussed in class because it highlights young adults trying to break free of social norms. This can be related to class and how we often discussed the idea of theater breaking or not breaking the boundaries of what is considered normative through the stage. In productions such as, Fun Home, which brought awareness to the LGBTQ community or Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which brought awareness to down syndrome and disabilities, we have discussed their significance in breaking what we consider normal in a mostly white, male, and cisgender ran society. American Idiot goes against the norms by questioning the previous (and current) political climate and highlighting young people trying to break free of the normative life.

American Idiot is not a production I would consider in the genre of “traditional” theatre. This is because it is an adaptation of punk rock and roll music. Nothing about the plot line, the costumes, the subject matter or the music screams “traditional”. American Idiot should be considered a rock opera. This is a genre in itself. There are very few rock operas out there and this is one of the main ones.

This production follows the development of drama by bringing theater to a different type of audience. The band Green’s Days original fans were typical angsty teens who listen to punk rock. By taking something edgy like Green Day and moving to the theater, it allowed for a different crowd of interest to fill the audience. People who had never had an interest in going to the theater might have when they heard it was all about Green Day.  This production is angsty, in your face and rock and roll which is against the typical feel good, happy go lucky musical. I believe this ties into where theater is headed. More and more musicals such as Dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton are making it to mainstream media. As more and more theater that is relatable and targeted for today is sweeping the nation, it is changing the way we view Western drama and theater.

 

Performance Critical Response

This week I got the chance to see Green Day’s American Idiot. This musical follows three disaffected young men, Johnny, Will and Tunny. Johnny and Tunny flee a stifling suburban lifestyle and parental restrictions, while Will stays home to work out his relationship with his pregnant girlfriend, Heather. The former pair look for meaning in life and try out the freedom and excitement of the city.

Since the musical is based off of the music of Green Day, I knew that the musical will talk about a lot of issues our country faces. The musical really covers the political climate of our nation. During the time the musical was first put on it was during the Bush Administration, so we see the recurring theme of pro-war or pro-peace and how it affects the lives of certain individuals in the play. We can see this in the songs like “Wake Me Up When September Ends” and “American Idiot”. In the show they represent the divided sides of the war with the different lighting elements. There are a lot of red, white, and blue lights, which symbolizes our country. In addition, there is the recurring theme of the struggle between rage and love. This is shown in the music with the lyrics highlighting themes of false hope, alienation and disillusionment.Furthermore, the use of recurring musical material draws connections in the storyline, promotes continuity, and creates foreshadowing.

In the show I notice some themes and ideas that we had discussed in class with other shows we read in class. Some of those ideas that I found connected to this show was the idea on normalization and social norms. We has a society have a problem with letting people break the historical norms that have been passed down from generation. We see this a lot in musical theatre, but in this day we our trying to change that, specifically what the new normalization is. All the plays/musical we have read I notice that we touch on how society views certain class/ethnicity/disability groups. In this play I notice that the three main characters our trying to break those norms that society dims upon them. These characters are trying to create their own path, but society keeps pushing them in a different direction.

After watching this show I think that this show would not fit into our “cannon”. The show would be considered radical, due to the different political issues it brings up. Even though the musical is written by white man, it talks about the issues that our country is faced with no matter who is in charge. Therefore it is not your typical nice happy cannon show. It is a show that is in your face and no matter how much you are against a liberal idea, you are sucked into by the plot and music.

This musical is a groundbreaking show and is starting the conversation of our political climate in our country. This show is great way to talk to other opposing views on our presidential administration. Even with the show originally focusing on Bush Administration we can tie it to the Trump Administration. I believe the show is about rising up, which is something that audience members need to do has people. We all need to use our voices because if we do not than someone else will make decisions for us.

Performance Critical Response

Tam Tran Goes to Washington is an excellent tour performance to watch. The main story is about Tam Tran, a UCLA student who is also a Vietnamese immigrant, tried to fight for the right of being a legal American citizen. Tam Tran was born in a Germany boat because her family was escaping from Vietnam War. They hoped to be reunited with their relatives in American, but they also knew that it would be so difficult to get political asylum in the United States. Unfortunately, their failed and were forced to go back to Germany. However, Germany did not admit them either. With no hope, they stayed in California, where Tam grew up in Orange County. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California. During the early twenty years, she deeply felt inequality in her life, so she decided to conquer for her and other students like her. She was confused and hesitant about what she was doing because every step she took may harm herself and her family. The most heartrending part of the play is when Tam Tran knew that her family was under arrest because of her decision of going to Washington. When she made a call to someone who may help her, I could see the hopelessness in her eyes and through her despairing voice even though I was sitting in the last row.

The performance reveals the long-standing immigration problem in American. According to Boom California, I have a general idea of Dream Act: “The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act proposes to grant United States citizenship to undocumented students or those who entered the country while still children.1 It was first introduced in Congress in 2001 under another name and has been reintroduced several times, most recently in 2010. (Boom California)” Passing the Dream Act arose in the hearts and minds of thousands of young immigrants who claim America as their home; it has created powerful bonds among these young activists, who are assuming leadership roles and shaping the nation’s future. Tam and her friend, Cinthya both had grown up in undocumented immigrant families. They against the odds and they both had graduated from UCLA. Both of them aimed at assisting undocumented students like herself attend college, attain legal status and escape the shadow existence of illegal immigrants. Tam and Cinthya were both leading advocates for the enactment of Dream Act, as activists. If Dream Act could come to reality, students would be carrying on their work in their honor and memory. Activists like Tam and Cinthya have become advocates of their legal status as part of a broader struggle for immigration reform. Tam and Cinthya, and other people like them, shows us a different and more accurate undocumented youth image and reflects our value and hope to children: leadership, courage, clear commitment and expertise. Overall, about the theme, the show conveys a positive view of immigrants in America, which is that with courage, Dream Act is not just a dream.