Learning Synthesis

Section 1-Things I have learned about these topics:

• What I can or should do in reading a script:
- Reading a script with a group of other students allows for an easier distinguish between who is saying what lines. When we split into groups to read Life without Instruction, I found that because we took on different characters then we brought them to life somehow. A problem I had quite frequently was reading to myself and failing to follow who is saying what. By given the script an array of voices, it allows for easy understanding of the dialogue.
- Also, I found that reading the script aloud at home helped quite a bit. This is what I did when I took on the Cripple of Inishmaan, a play with quick transitions in the dialogue sometimes. By reading aloud I gave each character a different voice like in a group reading and this aloud for a much easier interpretation of the text.

• Ways in which scripts are presented and organized:
- Because most of these plays were easier to understand when read by a group of people taking on specific roles, I have come to believe that scripts are organized in a way that allows the cast to read the lines. I mean our focus this term has been on the transition from page to stage and playwrights compose these works in order for them to be brought to life in theatre. So it only makes sense that scripts are composed for the ones who are to perform it.
- Scripts create the dialogue and ‘instructions’ for the production of the play. If there is anything to learn about the importance of a script it is that it’s the base from which the play is constructed: the blueprints to the desired finished structure. This is why it is important for playwrights to provide a lot of information. By giving good descriptions it allows for precise directions for the director. An example is Frost/Nixon with its detailed description of characters and sets. Of course, a lack of information can result in freedom for the director which can have a positive or negative effect on the production.

• How knowledge about the playwright can affect the experience:
- Knowledge about the author can drastically affect your experience of the play. By looking at the history of the playwright themselves and their writing style, it enables you to understand where the writer is coming from. Three examples that I have noticed are:
1. Martin Mcdonagh and Cripple of Inishmaan- Martin had Irish roots which show why he would write a play like this. Knowing about his black comedy style allows for a more enlightened reading of his texts which feature some crude comments that might offend some people if they don’t know a little about Mcdonagh and his writing style.
2. Daniel MacIvor and Here Lies Henry/This is a Play- Daniel practices a very radical style called metatheatre and those are unfamiliar with his writing techniques could be very confused by his texts and performed plays.
3. Sally Clark and Life without Instruction- Sally, coming from an art background, writes about the lies of artists in the seventeenth century. She is also a women writer which comes out in her text when she talks about the roles they played in this time period.

• How knowledge of the theatrical tradition can affect the experience:
- Knowing about tradition can benefit your experience because it allows for a better perspective of what to expect in theatre
1. Learning about certain aspect of theatre like black comedy and metatheatre for example, prepares the playgoer for certain styles of theatre. If one were to walk into Cripple or HLH/TiaP for example, they would be a little confused without a little knowledge of some of the theatrical traditions they stem from.
2. Also, knowing the mindset of going into a theatre is beneficial. Certain plays follow different mindsets, for example Cripple which follows the tradition of black comedy. By understanding this tradition in playwriting it allows for a deeper understanding of the script. One would not want to go into the play Cripple, expecting a sad story about a stereotypical Irish cripple because that is not the mindset intended.
3. By knowing about certain traditions, it allows us to understand what to expect in the theatre and to adjust accordingly. We can’t go into HLH/TiaP without knowing about the tradition of metatheatre because the play relies on some knowledge of this approach by the audience.

• How having read the script can affect the experience:
-This affected my experience in two significant ways:
1. It gives the reader an advantage over those who didn’t read it. Knowing what to expect from the performance allows the playgoer to have a better eye for criticism. I must say that I thought that losing the element of surprise would ruin the experience of the play however, it enhanced it. I found this especially true with Cripple because I was on the task force. This meant that I was surrounded by information about the play. When I went to see it I knew a lot about the script and the jokes and history hidden in it. Of course I had the ability to critique the play better.
2. Another result of reading the script before the play links to the first. While it allows for a critique it also allows for you to focus on the details. I found with Beaux-Stratagem, the details of action and set really caught my attention because I was already familiar with the dialogue and plot so I didn’t have to dedicate my full attention to.

• How an audience member's pre-existing ideas and values can shape her experience:
- Knowledge about the play can prepare you for what to expect
- Thinking of a play in a certain way can alter your experience if:
1. You think the play will do a certain thing and it doesn’t, or expect certain character descriptions and their not fulfilled- This has a negative effect on the experience and I found a case of poor character with Billy’s role in Cripple.
2. You don’t think the play will be good and it is- This has a positive effect and what happened for me with Beaux.
3. The production crew does or changes certain things in the performance- negative or positive. Example is HLH/TiaP which hosts one, a positive change by making the reserved seat for Shawn Graham which struck a funny chord in the audience and two, a negative decision not making the smoke factor more advertised.

• Challenges entailed in moving from script to production:
- Challenges for Performers and Stage Crew:
1. Creating convincing roles and sets:
a) The performers must understand the character and shape their role accordingly.
b) The same for the stage crew- they must understand what the set would look like from the script and design a plan for changing it up between scenes.
2. Challenges from the audience:
a) Audience have certain expectancies. If the Director does not recognize these then it could result in a weak performance or at least a disliked one.
b) Those like us are very critical because we have prepositions. Coming from a well researched point of view, we are very aware of the expectancies and are critical of how the director fulfils them.
c) In the end, if the sets or characters fail or miss the expectancies, the play suffers.
- Challenges for Director: 1. Knowing what audience is going to expect which challenges in many ways:
a) The director must understand what the audience expects in order to organize it accordingly which is not always easy to know. This involves a large amount of interpretation on the director’s part.
b) Directors must decide what parts he/she could change or leave out. This depends highly on knowing what the audience will expect and also understand. For Beaux, a lot of time period related references were cut out which was good because the audience seemed quite uneducated about the play.
c) Director has the role of choosing the characters as well. This is a challenge because you must trust that the actor you chose is able to portray the role which takes a great level of knowledge about the characters in the play.
2) Knowing how much the audience will know about the play before hand:
a) This is a challenge because the directory plays the role of understanding what the people already know about the play before watching it and make choices based on that matter.
b) In our case, we knew much about the plays before going and had a critical eye which poses challenges from the audience.





Section Two- What I learned from these topics:

• Reading a script:
1. That the script enhances your experience of the play
2. It allows you to know what to expect
3. Better read in a group where different voices are heard
4. Even reading aloud at home helps

• Researching a play:
1. It allows you to understand small things about the script.
2. Knowledge of the plays background and writer allows for a better understanding of where the play comes from.
3. Known about previous performances and awards that the author has achieved allows for a better understanding of what kind of plays they write and how popular or well written they are
4. Even a slight bit of information like the ones provided in the PC can drastically alter how you see the play

• Editing a playgoer's companion:
1. You are important in deciding what is important to the audience
2. You must decide what the information in the Playgoers Companion will do.
3. Also you do not want to put in anything that might spoil the editing- ex Beaux talked about how the sword fight at the end. This may have been taking out because it does not reveal anything important about what the audience member should know about the play.
4. You want to make sure it deepens the audiences understanding of the play- ex TiaP/HLH in which a description of metatheatre deepened the audiences understanding of the type of play it was.

• A presentation of a wiki in class:
1. You must talk about the highlights- What are the most significant aspects about the play and the writer?
2. What should the class know about the play that would be important to know even if they had no intentions of reading or seeing it?
3. You don’t want to ramble on too much because people will get bored and just not listen. Keep it short and to the point, I noticed in our presentation that a member seemed to ramble on and while he was educating, I think many in the class lost interest.
4. Talk about the information that you provided. This way you can expand on concepts further if a class member asks a question.

• Something Russ said in class:
- Not so much what he said but what he did:
-What I’m mainly referring to is the ink shedding exercise- This helped in gathering others’ idea which helped gain perspective.

• Reading a playgoer's companion:
1. This helps in understanding what to expect from the play. The general playgoer with now background knowledge can read a PC and learn many important things for their experience of the play.
2. It gives comments from other sources which describe the play. The playgoer looks at a major newspaper’s good comment on the play then they will expect and interesting experience perhaps.
3. Helps describe difficult plays or one with many small references- ex Frost/Nixon which there are many references to the Watergate scandal. Having a little blurb about this help the playgoer to understand the crookedness of Nixon.

• Reading someone else's learning journal:
1. People read, learn and experience the plays (the class in general), differently which allows for various perspectives. Looking at other view helps enhance your awareness of the play.
2. Reading someone’s journal can make your remember something you learned or even point out something you learned that you were unaware of.
3. Reading other journals can make you question your beliefs and opinions. This is important because it makes your re-evaluate your assumptions and further support, refuse or change them.

• Writing a reflection on reading a script:
1. Allows you to record your initial thoughts so you can review and revise them later.
2. Also allows others to read and comment on them in the way we do it which allows for feedback on your thoughts.
3. We can comment and learn from others reflections as well which makes us engage further into our thoughts.

• Writing a reflection on attending a play:
1. This allows for you to tell your experience and relate it to your first response on the reading. You can see how your initial reactions to the script contrast with your reaction to the play.
2. You also have the ability to read other opinions as well which helps you understand some things you maybe didn’t understand in the play- ex is the use of herbal cigarettes in HLH/TiaP which I come to understand from our online conversations.
3. Others can comment as well which makes you again review and revise your initial reactions.

• Attending a production:
1. You get to see a unique experience which is unlike going to a movie- Real actors, sets and actions make for a fun experience at the play.
2. If you expect the play to be poor, then a good performance gives you a surprise- ex is Beaux for me which had a script I found difficulties with. However, when I went to the play the play came to life and I really enjoyed it.
3. It can have a negative effect in relation to your expectancies. If the play did not live up then it might ruin your overall experience.
4. Attending is heavily influenced by what you know before the play. By reading and researching the play, the playgoer is at an advantage because nothing is new and he/she can be critical and look for details.
5. In our experience, it was nice to see how the plays would turn out after vigorous work researching them. Seeing the play after reading and researching was like the cherry on top!

• Writing a learning journal entry:
1. Journal entries are easy ways to record your progress. Memory slips, so by recording what we have learned each week, we can trace our knowledge.
2. This leads to the second benefit which is that they allow for you to track your progress. By rereading your reflections then you can record how your opinions have changed and see where they are moving towards.
3. It allows you to express your feelings, anxieties and whatever about the course in confidentiality. This way, any concerns or things you think are important are available without criticism and you can always further report the status of your concerns.

• Reading someone else's reflection on reading or attending:
- I have basically described this but I will outline the main points:
1. It can help in seeing and understanding different views then your own.
2. This allows for a richer learning experience and it forces you to see new perspectives and reassess what you previously thought or knew.
3. It can clarify things that maybe you weren’t sure about or point to things you didn’t know

• Responding to someone else's reflection:
- This basically works the same way that it does when others on your reflections
- However there are some things the responder can learn from his or hers responses:
1. It allows you to think about the reflection in order to make insightful comments.
2. It can drastically alter how someone else thinks about what they wrote which may give them perspective into something else they record, which you can again learn from.
3. Also it can prompt the reflector to think about things they didn’t before and maybe create further dialogue that creates further learning.