So You Sold Your Soul to the Devil...

     There comes a point in anyone's life where they feel that they have reached capacity for their value or work in the world. Some people take satisfaction in it and others become lost. In the case of the infamous German legend of Faust, he went the extra mile and sold his soul to the Devil, not to gain riches, but for knowledge and power.
     Christopher Marlowe, an English poet and playwright, wrote this age old tale called Doctor Faustus in 1592 and became one of his greatest works. It is a very interesting 14 scene, blank verse play that takes us on a journey with Faustus, a German Doctor, to find ultimate knowledge and power. Faustus conjures the devil and is received by his servant, Mephistophilis. Faustus signs in his own blood, a pact for the desires in which he yearns for. Lucifer himself makes an appearance as well and summons the 7 deadly sins, personified as individuals. Faustus doesn't take a hint well because this was Lucifer giving him a warning for what he is in for. Faustus spends the next 24 years entertaining people of power and himself with small tricks and ends up misusing his power until it was too late and is dragged into the fiery pits of hell or devoured by demons, that part is still left up to the reader and whichever version of the play you end up reading.
   

WWU devised play poster

     For those of you who don't read and like visuals for entertainment, I am right there with ya. I read the play as well as saw a devised piece at Western Washington University called /faust, which is an adaptation of Doctor Faustus. This play was centered on Felix, an amateur film maker on the rise to stardom who calls Mephistophilis to help him create the perfect film. It was definitely a thought-provoking play. It was the perfect amount of disturbing and weird to create a story line of devils and demons. The abstract representations of the demons were interesting, their costumes consisted of fitted sheets and red lines so that when they moved it was like a blob of evil was coming for you.  The use of projectors and lights were very intricate as well, on the walls you could see video of disturbing images and often made one feel unconformable. That was their aim, and they nailed it. I appreciated that the production placed a 'trigger warning' before entering the seating area stating that there was adult content and other aspects of the show that could potentially disturb some audience members. A scene that may have been too graphic to me was a nightmare scene where Felix destroys his partners film by being the puppet of Mephistophilis.
     One aspect that was greatly incorporated, was the themes of today's day and age which is the greatly controversial topic of the gender binary. /faust did a great job of portraying the dissolution of this with many different approaches. One thing that is clear is that the world seems like it is male centered, the play features a man and a woman competing to win a film making competition and instead of portraying the woman in need of assistance, it is the man who needs the help to stand on his own. Mara, Felix's fiancée, is tempted once by Mephistophilis, but rejects the demon, automatically taking us back to the original sin made by Eve and placing it on the man. Another steotypical tradition is the man placing the wedding ring on the woman, instead we see that Mara does this. The entire film that Mara is producing is also trying to convey this idea that women can break free from the oppression of man, symbolized by a corset. A movement that is being integrated in society right now is the "Free the Tits" and in parts of the play there was footage of women breaking free from their bras and showed nipple as if to say we are just as equal as man.Lastly, I noticed that in a bedroom scene instead of a man spooning the woman, it is flipped and Mara spoons Felix.

     I mentioned above that this play was an adaptation of the written play by Marlowe. But, what is an adaptation and how many are there? Well, good question. In my class we had a discussion of what an adaptation entails. In short, it is a story based upon the general plot of another. So, /faust is definitely based upon Marlowe's Doctor Faustus. Just as there are other adaptations of other famous stories like Shakespeare's Hamlet  was adapted by Disney to make The Lion King. Or Romeo and Juliet being adapted as numerous works like West Side Story. Now, how many adaptations of this legend of Faust selling his soul to the devil? Well, there are so many mediums that have been adapted into this story plot including movies, plays, novels, music, poetry, paintings, videogames, comics and more!      
For example:

• Ghost Rider (2007)
• Click (2006 )
• The Phantom of the Opera (1989 version)
• This also has many adaptations of Gaston Leroux's Phantom of the Opera
• Marilyn Manson's "The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles" (from the album The Pale Emperor)

Sources Cited:

•  Web. 8 June 2015. http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n7BM5rnKzZU/hqdefault.jpg> .  
• "/faust." /faust. Web. 8 June 2015. <https://cfpa.wwu.edu/theatredance/faust>"Works Based on Faust." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 8 June 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Works_based_on_Faust>.
• Chapman, Kamarie. "Theatre 228 Lecture Series". WWU, Bellingham. 2015 Spring Quarter.

REVIEW: In a Handbag Darkly

In a Handbag Darkly                     Runs Apr 30–May 23                                iDiOM Theater

   By Robin Johnson                         Tickets- $10 advance, $12 at door         1418 Cornwall Ave

                                                                                                                            Bellingham, WA 98225

     For their Spring Rep, The iDiOM Theater showcased a back-to-back showing of two one-act plays called Broken Holmes and In a Handbag Darkly. For those of you who are fairly familiar with the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes, and the play The Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde, you will all have a wonderful laugh with the cast of these two plays. They are quite spoofy and have inside jokes relating to the actual works and I highly recommend reading or getting familiar with them. 

     First of all, I wanted to note that both of the plays were written by Robin Johnson and directed by iDiOM veteran Bryce Hamilton. Knowing this, it was very interesting to see two works on the same stage, with the same actors and familiar props. Most people would agree that it would be a dangerous move to recycle the actors in two different plays, not to mention directly after one another! However, Hamilton pulled through and the actors made it refreshing to see them again in another context. As for the props and stage, it quite helped that these two plays could be considered part of the same era and it worked for the crew to keep most of the furnishings for both acts. I had never been to the iDiOM before this show, very lovely space to work in and just big enough for a good number of people but not large enough to feel like you're just another person who paid and sits in row 600 from the main stage only squinting to see what they are doing or cupping your ear to hear what they were saying. Nice and quaint; but I like that personal atmosphere.
   

Broken Holmes/In a Handbag Darkly at iDiOM Theater. Photo: Jolene Hanson

     Let's take a closer look into In a Handbag Darkly. I had just read The Importance of Being Earnest, and was able to comprehend the clever puns that hid in the dialogue. My favorite being the nod to 'Bunbury'. Though, I took my boyfriend with me (who was quite unfamiliar with the story or text) and everyone could tell he was definitely lost or missed the punchline of the whole act. Most the time I had to lean over and explain some things whilst it was too late and another complicated inside joke occurred. Although, he was not the only one, there were moments where I felt like the act went on a tangent and wondered "Where the hell did this Mr. Handbag come from?!". One piece I quite enjoy in theatre, is that there are parts that are left up to the audience member to interpret for themselves. The decision to create a "backstage" area behind the set to give an idea of another room was very well thought out. Not everything needs to be right in front of our eyes to understand what's going on. The train station's luggage room was unseen but we understood that that area was meant to symbolize it and we can add our own imagination into that as well.  Quite an interesting story overall and a hilarious take on a classic piece of work.

Sources Cited:

• "Spring Rep: Broken Holmes & In a Handbag Darkly | IDiOM Theater." IDiOM Theater. Web. 18 May 2015.  
•  "Review: Broken Holmes/In a Handbag Darkly." PlayBell. 2 May 2015. Web. 18 May 2015.
•   "The Importance of Being Earnest." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 18 May 2015.
•   "Sherlock Holmes." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 18 May 2015.  

REVIEW: on reviews of 'Late: A Cowboy Song'

                                             
     'Late: A Cowboy Song' is a play written by Sarah Ruhl, a now prize-winning playwright who also wrote 'In the Next Room, or the vibrator play', about the struggles of Mary, who is a lonely wife to Crick who is just dim-witted, who finds a long lost friend named Red, who is a cowgirl. This is aiming to write a critical review of three others reviews on this exact play with three unique takes on the play itself when it showed at the The Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia through January 19th, 2014.


     Theater review: ‘Late: A Cowboy Song’ staged with bluesy whimsy.
     In the first review, the author, Nelson Pressley, seemed quite enthused with the way the everything turned out. It seemed to me, Pressley liked the fact that it was whimsical and fantasy-like, calling it "blusey-whimsy"and raved about the plot. The only downside with this review though, is that the summary portion goes for nearly half the paper until you reach the opinions and the evidence that shows it. It starts with the directors method of pushing his actors towards the absurd and the author points out that this is what Ruhl wanted for her characters. Next, Pressley talks on every little key point on the way the play was set up, by touching on the music, lights, and set. Pressley really does compliment the writer of the play, Ruhl, for her ambition and how she "has a finger to her chin in poetic meditation, with the added attraction of a youthful yodel in her heart."

     Theatre Review: ‘Late: a Cowboy Song’ by No Rules Theatre Company at Signature Theatre
     When I read the second review, I got a little lost with what the opinion was, whether Roger Catlin was raving or panning the play. I read the beginning and it sounded like Catlin didn't like the way Ruhl wrote her plays saying that "as well acted as it is throughout, it lacks a kind of cohesive whole and strong dramatic shape." But, reading further Catlin summarizes the play just perfectly so I still get the sense of the play and what happens without giving too many spoilers. The next topic the author chooses, is to talk about the literary elements put into the play through acting. My favorite point Catlin talks about is the sound design in the beginning that is a 'vortex of noise', provided by the designer, Brandon Roe, which conveys a metaphor for modern life. However, I am a nerd for those types of things, the underlying message within a scene. Catlin goes into a little more detail with the lighting and the set, and ties it up at the end to say that Ruhl will have a rich career.

     An eccentric play about eccentrics (and the Pittsburgh cowboy isn't even the most eccentric thing)
     Notice the title. Two things, there isn't even the actual title of the play which we know is  'Late: A Cowboy Song'. and then just the wording is slightly scornful with eccentrics, eccentrics, eccentrics. We know now, just from he title that this is the pan review. Rebecca J. Ritzel, is another playwright, roughly the same age, same career, and intriguingly similar looking to Sarah Ruhl. With her review, Ritzel says almost everything about it was mediocre. The characters spoil the play and it was written with much effort but little outcome. Ritzel goes into summary but I feel she never stopped and I didn't appreciate the detail into the ending and spoiling it for me. Ritzel commented on the fact that the actor who played Red the cowgirl, Alyssa Wilmoth, played guitar and sang on stage, almost in a way as to say 'don't show off'. Ritzel continues her pan with talking about the sex scenes and saying they were too elaborate, which is a good thing to note on a review that it won't be appropriate for younger audience members, but it was a little elaborate in the detail department.

     I would definitely rate this play 4/6 because it hits the mark on major issues in today's society. Some controversial and others not so much, but the fact that we are talking about a butch cowgirl and a naive housewife becoming 'friends' is something that could become controversial or been mistaken for something that it isn't. Firstly, the play is not about lesbian lovers and the wife leaves her husband etcetera... This play is much more centered on the fact that love has no center and it cant be clearly defined, just as sexuality is unclear. Just as you may have already read the play and the panning review, we have learned that Mary has a baby that is intersex and they try to decide what the sexuality of it will be and the name and anything that has to do with its gender that is also what Mary is feeling and she is confused right now; especially because she feels like time has never been on her side, hence the title, "Late".

Works Cited:

• Pressley, Nelson. "Theater Review: 'Late: A Cowboy Song' Staged with Bluesy Whimsy." Washington Post. The Washington Post. Web. 5 May 2015.  
• Catlin, Roger. "Theatre Review: ‘Late: A Cowboy Song’ by No Rules Theatre Company at Signature Theatre." Maryland Theatre Guide. 7 Jan. 2014. Web. 5 May 2015.  
• Ritzel, Rebecca J. "Late: A Cowboy Song, Reviewed: An Eccentric Play about Eccentrics (and the Pittsburgh Cowboy Isn't Even the Most Eccentric Thing) - Washington City Paper." Washington City Paper. Web. 5 May 2015.  
• Chapman, Kamarie. "Theatre 228 Class." Western Washington University, . 30 Apr. 2015. Lecture.  
• "Third Street Theatre." Calgarys Queer Theatre Company. 29 July 2012. Web. 5 May 2015.  

Thank you for stumbling upon my blog!

Hello!
Have no fear, I will be posting some work in no time I'm sure, I am very excited to share my findings with you (being whomever is reading this now). For now, my history in the world of the arts:

I am extremely passionate about theatre and all the forms of work that apply.
I want to make the distinction as well, that if I use the word THEATRE instead of the word THEATER, then I am using it in the sense "that a theater is a venue while theatre is an art form, or that a theater is a movie theater while a theatre is a drama venue"(1.), etcetera...

Visiting a theatre and watching a play is so exciting, it makes me feel like I am walking into the world of the characters, be it in France during the revolution, or deep in the heart of the Opera Populaire. Don't get me wrong, movies and film give me the same cathartic feeling, however, theatre is so much better because you are in the flesh and leave lots to the imagination. I don't have a particular genre that I favor more, but I have a wide variety that I love, I'll give you the ones I have seen I consider top of my list (Pictured throughout post).

Phantom of the Opera

Les Miserables

Kinky Boots

My Fair Lady

I absolutely love Shakespeare. I have read nearly every play, I am halfway through his sonnets and I love the use of the language. I even took a class on specifically how to read it in his iambic pentameter, where you go through passage by passage line by line to see where you need a trochee or a spondee. Now, if you understand what I am saying then, congratulations, you are also a theatre geek like me! If not, I highly recommend that you look into what I mean because it is very interesting and you would be surprised with how it relates to our language today.

Taking a class on understanding plays is a bit different but not in the slightest less intriguing to me. I want to share what I learn and hope to pass on the knowledge so that we can all be informed and know what is in the now as well as the past and how they relate. We looked at a video comparing Shakespeare with Hip Hop today. I want to share that with you now and see what you think! There is a short quiz in the beginning, how many did you get right?

The Seagull

References:
1.) http://grammarist.com/spelling/theater-theatre/
2.)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSbtkLA3GrY