"I hope she'll be a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool." - Daisy Buchanan
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Oh My Dear Hamlet
I will begin with honesty, which is ironic considering this play, but I feel it is only appropriate. I wanted to analyze Chekhov's the Cherry Orchard, I read up on it and searched and searched for videos but could only find one that fit the criteria. So, I am returning to my old friend Hamlet. I chose the scene where Ophelia presents flowers to everyone because there are many people in the scene and I wanted to see how they chose to handle her dialog and "insanity."
1:57:25 - 1:59:35
When looking at dialog this actress puts a lot of emphasis on Ophelia's swaying mood into the way she voices the lines to display Ophelia's "madness" You may notice that Hamlet's actor is female, which I think was an interesting decision. The set and costumes are very showy and bold. Also, all the actors use dramatic movements while speaking and face towards the audience, which makes this like a dramatic reading almost.
1:23:08 - 1:25:14
The set, costume, and props for this performance are very unique as it seems to have a ship theme, while keeping the same dialog. As a result Ophelia gives them metal and glass tools instead of flowers, which seems to add the emphasis of her "going mad" as well as her tattered and dirty dress.
1:24:18 - 1:26:57 (this one is a French production, I'm not pandering to Professor Burton, the German and Korean versions were just way too weird:)
This performance is very interesting because when Ophelia sings she has music accompaniment. The rest of the dialog has no background noise. Along with the ornate dress of each character Ophelia's flower crown and the beautiful music make this scene more elegant, which contrasts the tension of this situation.
Mya, Great thoughts on Hamlet! I loved how you used the same scene to watch over and made such distinct connections to every little bit of it. Great work!
Mya! Loved the variety you chose in your plays! One thing I liked about these three is each of them try different things with the lighting, whether it be full lighting for the whole stage, the mix match lighting of the ship almost like it's a dark night at sea, and the orangish tint lighting of the 3rd video really making props stand out against a black backdrop!
Mya, Way to point out the emphasis on Ophelia's mood and swaying. Character portrayal is a big deal in order to engage the audience. It's an enjoyable performance when actors are comfortable in character!
Mya,
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts on Hamlet! I loved how you used the same scene to watch over and made such distinct connections to every little bit of it. Great work!
Mya!
ReplyDeleteLoved the variety you chose in your plays! One thing I liked about these three is each of them try different things with the lighting, whether it be full lighting for the whole stage, the mix match lighting of the ship almost like it's a dark night at sea, and the orangish tint lighting of the 3rd video really making props stand out against a black backdrop!
Mya,
ReplyDeleteWay to point out the emphasis on Ophelia's mood and swaying. Character portrayal is a big deal in order to engage the audience. It's an enjoyable performance when actors are comfortable in character!