"Ruined"

"Ruined" is a Pulitzer prize winning story written by Lynn Nottage. It tells the story of young Congolese women forced to live a life of servitude to their owner and caretaker Mama Nadi. The story takes place during a time of turmoil in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Congolese militias are uprising against the Government whose only retaliation is to fight back. The story core is with the women who are caught in the middle of the vicious feud for control and power of the nation. The women are merely trying to survive in a cruel world that they have unfortunately been raised in and are accustomed to. wile they desire freedom, they know it may never happen and their number one priority is to survive each and every day.

My group and I made the consensus that our universal vision of "Ruined" is centered around a war-torn part of the Democratic republic of Congo. The building, the women, the very culture would be built around this environment, but we also knew that it was important that these elements are not completely shaped by the outside world and still hold their own sense of hope and resiliency.

My part of our vision consisted of the costume designs of the characters. The basic idea of the designs was to give the impression that they were made from very elegant colors and textures. The condition of the dresses themselves would be a vital element to the character of the women; their daily clothes would be run down and worn out as supposed to their evening and working gowns that would be more elegant and beautiful. These gowns/dresses would separate them from the environment that they are so accustomed to and give them their bar a little 'pop' and make them more appealing to the customers and militants who frequent the place. It's very important to note that the color of each character's piece of clothing is very significant to the inner qualities of the character themselves.

Let's start with Mama Nadi's dress. Elegant, vibrant, and beautiful. In other words, it's a dress that spoke out to me and said that this would fit her best. The color purple (ironically much like the movie of the same name) tells the story of a noble and authoritative mother figure for the other women of the bar. It's a long violet and purple tile texture dress with long loose sleeves making it easy for the actress to move her arms up and down as she pleases.

Sophie would be wearing very dirty, run-down, and worn out clothes during the early parts of the show and whenever they're cleaning; they are brown garments cheaply woven together. Around the house when she's not working, she'll be wearing green and yellow shirts of higher quality, but very simple. These different color shirts would come along later in the story as the development of the character of Sophie progresses. During the busy hours of the night, when the bar is packed with customers, you can see her wearing a red and white dress (white shows the deep seeded and very apparent innocence and purity of the Sophie character and red is her passion and drive and desire to be free).

Salima's wardrobe, at the start of the play, would be very similar to Sophie's, she would be wearing a poor brown garment to work around the house with and we will see her wardrobe evolve and she will be wearing simple green and yellow shirts just like Sophie. It's not until the night approaches the customers are coming where we see her beautiful green dress elegantly take the floor along with a headband also the color of green with textures of trees on it to symbolize the the jungles of the Congo. Green is the ideal color for Salima as she later reveals in the story that she is pregnant and green is the color of fertility and also youth as Salima is still very young.

Josephine from the very start sees herself as better than the other two women of the bar and thus looks down at them as if they're inferior and not worthy of her attention or respect. She would start off by wearing better quality clothes no matter what the occasion is because shes been with Mama Nadi longer and is Mama Nadi's top girl. She wears an orange and white dress around the house and at night she garners a ravishing black and white dress (White to symbolize her lighter characteristics that shine later on in the story and black for her obvious darker qualities).

The men of the story would be wearing much simpler clothing. Christian would dawn a simple brown suit such as a business man would wear and brown is fitting as it's the color of reliability and stability; Mama Nadi relies on him to get her supplies for her store and he sees himself as stable enough to marry Mama. Mr. Harari would be wearing an Islamic kafia scarf over his head and a Grey suit with a yellow tie (the yellow tie will tie into the story later as he steals a diamond for his own personal gain rather than helping out Sophie; it's the color labeled for cowards, liars, and deceivers).

The militia and the government army soldiers will done traditional military uniforms, except the militia will be wearing more solid green colors as supposed to the government's army that consists of camouflage.

This concludes my part of the unified vision of "Ruined". Thank you for reading. Happy Holidays :-)


Works Cited

Felner, Mira and Orenstein, Claudia. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. New York: Pearson Education, 2006.

"Ruined" poster.

Purple dress picture.

Militia picture.

Green African headband.

"Amy's Wish"

When I pulled up to the theatre, which was only a 40-second drive from my home, I saw a host of elderly couples pouring into the theatre with big smiles on their faces. I walked into the box office and the man selling the tickets was nice enough to give one ticket for a youth as a sort of student discount; it was his 'holiday gift' from him to me. I thanked him for it and entered the theatre. The first thing I noticed was the massive red curtain on the stage. It reminded me of those old movie palaces; very classic, refined, and elegant for such an ordinary theatre. The performances were considerably well played and well suited for the people who played them. I especially thought that the performance of Melinda Tedeschi who played the snotty neighbor Irma Pry was the best. The basic plot of 'Amy's Wish' is about a simple elderly couple who are married and decide to spend the rest of their lives together. They start to converse and the subject of youth and wishes comes to mind along with the foreshadowing element of the fountain of youth and how the conquistadors tried for years to find it and in a matter of a single night's rest, Amy Galway is transformed to her younger 19 year old self.

What I found to be probably the best part about 'Amy's Wish' was how it took an ancient folklore (the fountain of youth) and took a classic new-couples love story and turned it into something fresh and new. I also found it to be very refreshing to know that the story maintained a sharp wit of comedy throughout, but I could see the underlying issues at heart with the characters and how Sam and Amy Galway were troubled by the whole issue of how they might have to live with it the rest of their lives. In the end, all the suspions and issues were put to rest by an even more comical ending as the husband, Sam Galway, would be turned young as Amy had just turned back to her real age. 'Amy's Wish' has a central theme of love and how love has no face or age number. Big thumbs up for this one :-)

"Romeo and Juliet"

"Romeo and Juliet" is quite possibly the most famous tragedy of all time and it is most certainly the most recognized of all the works by William Shakespeare. It is the most adapted play around the world by both theatre and film. The following is a script analysis of 'Romeo and Juliet' along with the essential facts and themes that coincide with this marvelous piece of literature. It's setting is in that of the city of Verona, Italy. In this city, there is a bitter rival feud between the two families that rule Verona, the Capulet and the Montagues(The Major Conflict). Another important conflict in the story is with Romeo and Juliet (man) against the two families (society). They defy the very principles that their families have raised them to believe out of the sake of love.

In between the feud is the prince of Verona, Escalus, who acts as the peacekeeper of the city and prevents the two families from causing chaos and bloodshed. Along with the prince are the two children of the families, both of which have no ill intent of the other despite what their families have taught them, Romeo of Montague and Juliet of Capulet. They both love each other unconditionally and with restrain; they don't care what their families think of their affair and fall completely in love with each other. To me, Romeo and Juliet both represent love, undying, unconditional, and eternal. The families represent division as they are divided against each other and hate each other for whatever reason. The climax of this play is reached when Romeo kills Tybalt in cold blood for killing his friend Mercutio. From that moment on Romeo is banished from Verona and Juliet is left to find a drastic way to reunite with him and to fight off marrying Paris and her stubborn father; the rivalry between the two families is fueled even greater with both sides of the family mourning their losses.

The resolution is when Romeo goes to see the body of Juliet thus breaking his banishment and possibly facing his death by the Capulets or even the Prince. The Final Action is reached when the Prince shouts to the public "ALL ARE PUNISHED!" in anger of the lives taken by Romeo and Juliet themselves and because their suicides came from the bitterness between the two families inability to accept each other and make peace on their own. Romeo's objective is to find a new love or a new spark in his life after his heartbreak at the start of the play with Rosaline. Juliet's objective is experience real love and to not have it brought to her, but for her to find it herself, which she does with Romeo. The Subject of the play is about love and fate. The Idea of the play is that in our search for love, we may have to defy our parents and society as love itself has no boundaries, but there are consequences that love can bring, some of which are more severe than can be imagined.

"Romeo and Juliet" is to me what it has been to millions of people across the world for centuries now, the greatest love story ever told. It hits a note on going against what society rules as wrong and chasing your love wherever it may take you. But it serves as a reminder to me to never fall to in love with someone for the end results could cost you your life and the lives of those you love the most. Yet at the same time, out of that could come something more. The ultimate irony of this play is that it was not the union of Romeo and Juliet that would bring the two families together as they and Friar Laurence had hoped for, but it was their death.




Works Cited

Felner, Mira and Orenstein, Claudia. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. New York: Pearson Education, 2006.

"Romeo + Juliet" poster pic. 1996. .

'Romeo and Juliet" picture. stage. .

"All the World's a Stage"

In my life, I believe the best possible structure for it would be in the climactic structure that we discussed in class before. I also believe that my life would fall under the category of comic-tragedy. The audience is my family, friends, co-workers, classmates and I. And I am the so-called’ hero’ of the story. A large ensemble of characters (based on real people in my life) would shape this play. Everyone has a part to play and a role in my personal life. Whether it is to hinder me or lift me up, they are the characters who have shaped me into who I am today. The point of attack, believe it or not, would be at the start of this year. This year, by far, has been the most defining year of my life. The exposition is when the actor playing me starts at school with four brand new, exciting classes which include Spanish I, broadcast news writing, oceanography, and dramatics 1 (acting). He entered these classes not knowing much or expecting much, and only took dramatics 1 and broadcasting to fulfill my 12-credit hour requirement so he would be covered for medical. What was strange about those two particular classes is how much they would change his life by the people he would meet. But it is worth while to note that before classes started he was completely fixated on going to UCF in the fall and majoring in film and he told everybody, “The last thing I want is a girlfriend.”

He takes the stage of my life itself as he walks through the doors room 103 in the acting studio. The light from above hits him and he enters and the first thing he always do is scan the room for any familiar faces that he might know or recognize so he wouldn’t feel completely alone. He found about two faces he’s seen before and sits by them and starts up small talk. He looks around the class and notices no one else, until the door opens and more students arrive just two minutes late and take a seat. He’s a little stunned at how ‘attractive’ this class is as there are at least four to six really beautiful girls in his class which is a record for all the classes he’s taken at Daytona State College. But, there is always one that captures you more than the others, one that steals your intrigue and fascination, and that one was named Andrea. He left that class intrigued, but still fixated on an education, not dating. Broadcasting class was yet another class filled to the brim with hotties from left to right. He was even more astounded when he met two more in his oceanography class; this semester was shaping to be the ‘best looking’ semester he’s ever taken. And as the weeks rolled on, he was doing well in all of my classes, but, in the end, the one class he had the most fun in and was able to express myself the best in was dramatics 1. The complications in this part arose in early March when spring break came and he had decided to ask Andrea on a date, but right when he was about to, another boy named Pete (the antagonist of this part of the story) came in and stole his thunder and made the first move. He felt defeated and said, “There goes another one.” Two weeks went by and for his improv speech, he gave a rant on social issues and his own personal beliefs and hatreds about society itself and from that moment on came a series of events that would alter his life forever. A week passed and it’s St. Patrick’s Day and he works up the nerve to ask Andrea on a date which she surprisingly accepts and acts quite excited about. He looks to the audience with a stunned face and says, “I know that the last thing I wanted was a relationship, but screw it! I like this girl.” They had decided to go see “The Last House On The Left” at ocean walk theatres and after waiting for about two hours and missing the movie, he started to think she bailed on me (this happened to him about three weeks prior by a girl he met at a bar… (Look at the audience) “Tip: never ever date girls you meet at bars!”), but she didn’t and they decided to just walk on the beach and talk about stuff. By the end of the night, they kissed (fireworks go off in the stage). She later told him that she always liked him more than Pete (He laughed at the undeniable irony). He then went on to tell his brother, his sister, and his dad, who have always wanted him to finally find a girl and tell them as soon as he did.

And as the weeks rolled by he was in bliss (cue the chipper/happy musical score) and everything seemed soo good. He was losing weight, eating healthier (courtesy of his girlfriend being a vegetarian), passing all of his classes, and he was never happier. They were rehearsing for a show for their acting class and their scene was from ‘42^nd Street’ and after saying ‘no’ countless times, he agreed to do a kissing scene in front of an audience of people. But then they had their first ‘verbal’ fight (cue depressing music) and he felt lost, he felt confused, and he felt guilty. Then they made up and went on with the show. The show was a hit and they felt glad to finally be over and done with it. He was looking forward to the summer and spending it with her. After classes ended, however, they lost touch and drifted away (this is the crisis and it stays here for about three to five months). Shortly after, he realizes that his dreams of going to UCF were going to be delayed and the possibility of going into the film department and even being accepted into the school was becoming more and more distant. In that time, he would visit his dad in New York who was battling prostate cancer. He returned to work and school in the beginning of the fall semester and life seemed to get better again for him. That is until September rolled around when he received the news that his father passed away (the climax). He returned to New York, possibly for the last time, with his sister to bury their dad. At the funeral, he and his sister run into their brother Matthew, who has always been a recluse from them and has always harbored a deep jealously against them for being the more favored of the siblings. Although this time, they all seemed to push their differences aside for this one moment, this moment where they needed each other more than ever. Family is seen all around the funeral room. The reverend is seen standing close by. Flowers from all sides of the family arrive; from their father’s relatives to families of his ex-wives, flowers fill the room with their deep sympathy and love for a good man who’s gone from us. The following day was the actual funeral. It’s a beautiful ceremony decorated with the presence of the United States Marines and the Town of Newburgh police department honoring their fallen brother. ‘Taps’ is being played and three shots are discharged into the air. The audience remains in a state of silence and sorrow as this occurs.

They returned to Florida the following day. When he returned home, it seemed as though he had never lost his dad and he actually called his number a few times to talk to him only to realize that he wasn’t there to pick up the phone. It was soo strange and unreal to him that he was really gone. He had his friends, his brothers, his sister, and even Andrea to comfort him in this time. He was very surprised to know that she still cared about him after months of having hardly any contact. What made this even more significant to him is even though they never made it work out, she and him became even better friends then when they were dating. A large light encompasses them as they hug and tell each other, “I love you.” To hear her say that and know in his heart that she means it is a wave of relief and closure for him as he knows he feels the same way and maybe always has. The week passes and he is seen next at a hospital standing next to his friend Jessica who is only five months older than he is and has already become a mother. Her baby boy, Landon, is in her arms and as she passes her boy over to Wade (The lights dim to Jessica passing the baby to Wade), he holds him and a deep look comes over his face. In this moment, he realizes the beauty of life itself and how when one loved one’s life ends, a new one will come into this world and make it whole again. This revelation causes Wade to have newer, better outlook on life, one that promises hope and love in the coming years. He acts more prepared now than ever before because he realizes this will not be the first and only loved he will lose; there will be more and those times will be even harder, but as long as he and his sister recognize it and accept it, they can be prepared for it more than they were before.

(The denouement)It’s been over a month now since that day. It does seem to him that this past year has been one to remember and it seemed very structured as a play or dramatic series of events on his life. (The resolution) Now he is just picking up the pieces of a broken relationship that blossomed into a great friendship instead. He’s learning how to cope with the loss of his father everyday by living as a happy a life as possible. He’s continuing to go to class everyday and pass all of his examines and turn in all of his homework. He’s learned so much about the complexities and responsibility of relationships, even with one that ended soo soon. He’s obtained valuable lessons in how to help your body stay and remain healthy and to eat healthier. But out of all of these things he’s learned throughout this year, he has learned how to grow up and become a person that is truly his own. Taking what he’s learned from all of these characters and help shape him into the person he is today. He learned how to depend on himself and except his own mistakes and learn how to fix them and if he can’t fix them, he learns how to cope with it and learn from it for future reference. The most important thing he could possibly learn out of this entire year was to never compromise yourself. Never lose who you are no matter what may happen. Whether it’s a family lose, a break-up, or your dreams of going to school are getting bleaker and bleaker to the point of where you just don’t want to do it anymore, never give up who you are. The things I’ve learned this year have shaped me into a newer, better me…a more free me. It’s taught me that if you want to change, do it for yourself, not for someone else or for some type of social status you want to obtain. Never falter on yourself and remain ambitious in your pursuits. Keep those you care about, no matter what the past may have been, close to you; as William Shakespeare once wrote in ‘The Tempest’, “What’s past is prologue”. Life always goes on and finds a way, with the passing of another comes the ushering of the beginning of a new life.

I believe my life would make for an interesting play if it were to ever make it to the stage simply because this year alone had all of the elements that a successful play would need to be loved by the audience. It features a central character, the supporting characters, a stage that changes through time and adapts to the main characters experiences, a conflict, multiple complications, a climax, and a satisfying and cathartic resolution.

Works Cited

Felner, Mira and Orenstein, Claudia. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. New York: Pearson Education, 2006.

Shakespeare, William. "The Tempest". 1610-1611. Jalic Inc. 2000-2009. Accessed on 03 November 2009. Jalic, Inc. 2000 - 2009. http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/tempest/3/

'The Variety Entertainer'and 'The Storyteller'

The Variety Entertainer

Entertainment and storytelling are the core of any dramatic or comedic play. Without these elements, there is no story and the audience will lose interest very fast if they even were interested in the beginning. These shows are always high on fun, low on intellectual demands; they have appealed to the general public.

Clowns and Fools

Clowns and fools on the stage do not rely on the written text as much, but more so they rely on tradition, improvisation, and physical action. Native American texts were based on ritual and had even contained elements of a ceremonial clown. Silent films contained the English pantomime and music hall tradition. In today’s world, the talking clown who uses verbal humor as a nontraditional written text is known as a stand-up comedian. Certain areas of Anglophone Africa have a form of variety entertainment called concert parties, which evolved in the 1920s, and its touring companies have performed all over western Africa since that time. African entertainment makes use of a wide variety of musical instruments, all made out of materials found in nature. These instruments include drums, gongs, bells, harps, flutes and xylophones. A hybrid combination of African, American, and European entertainments brought by traders which included musical numbers, brief topical sketches, female interpreters, and comic routines with clowns and tricksters winning the day in slap-stick romps with stock characters out of West African society. From early American film inspiration, the concert party clown often appears with heavy white lips of the American minstrel show, which is a 19^th century racist performance style in which whites both appreciated African American culture and music and at the same time created the denigrating blackface, white-lipped racial stereotype. Nowadays, these themes would cause a great deal of controversy due to the sensitive topic of racial stereotypes and tensions.

Today’s concert parties include a blending of traditional music that includes gospel, rock, and soul music mixed with African themes. Vaudeville is incorporated into many African performances; it is a popular American variety show form that incorporated many different kinds of dramatic texts and relied heavily on stand up routines and knockabout humor that had come out of earlier traditions. Vaudeville, in fact, has a counterpart which is less family-oriented called the burlesque show, which had bawdier humor and usually included striptease. The evening following these performances would normally end with an extended theatrical scene.

Variety Entertainment and the Avant-Garde

In the early 20^th century there was the avant-garde which focused on variety show performances as a means of developing a new artistic sensibility. Their goals were to break down the barrier separating the audience and the performers known as the fourth wall, rid themselves of the illusionary stage world, and to foster an active interaction with the audience. Some of the ideal performers in mind for this were: The clown, the acrobat, and the juggler; they were ideal because they represented no one else and nothing else other than themselves.

New vaudeville and new burlesque are new versions of the old popular entertainments discussed before; now these new clowns, comics, acrobats, mimes, and others bring an aesthetic and social self-consciousness that seeks to alter audience sensibilities. Their physical humor and movement are part of a dramatic text with other messages and goals. Bill Irwin is the best possible example of this new clown because he was trained as a circus performer, dancer, actor, and mime. In The Regard Evening, Irwin spoofs the avant-garde as well as the conventions of realism and variety theatre.

The Quebec-based Cirque du Soleil has found a way to use circus performances as a theatrical text playing on the inherent dramatic content in feats that defy gravity and the limits of the human body, and it spawned imitators around the world. There is attention to every aesthetic detail everywhere from the dramatic lighting to costumes and sound and it all adds to overall dazzling effect it has on the audience.



The Storyteller

Telling the Community's Story

Storytelling is one of the origins of theatre and it contains all of the fundamental elements including a performer, an audience, characters, and narrative. Narration, acting, drumming, and song are all interwoven into a participatory form, and audience response can create improvised moments. Often stories begin with riddles posed to the children of the community as a teaching device. The legends tend to have morals and imply behavioral dictates. In Africa, storytelling is used for education of the young and entertainment for the community. The African storyteller is a talented impersonator who can portray all the characters, human and animal, through alterations in voice and body.

The stories belong to their communities and are passed on from one generation to the next with each one adding their own embellishments. Often community members interpret the story to act out particular passages or sing an appropriate song, and the audience can spontaneously enter the playing space to dance and sing and add to the performance. Griots, storytellers of West Africa, provided an oral history of their communities through their recitation of the epic heroic tales that can go on for hours; these sagas are filled with music and songs, praises for leaders and their ancestors, genealogies that connect the past to the present, and proverbs that ensure the continuity of cultural values.

In the Americas, the culture of the Native American cultures lives on today through oral stories told at pow-wows, over campfires, at any time. The power of stories is revered, and a storyteller holds an important place in all their cultures.

Personal Stories, Political Agendas

Spalding Grey often focused on political or social commentary while women claimed the solo stage for feminism. Female performers such as Karen Finley and Holly Hughes used shock value of nudity and sexual images to raise awareness of their political concerns; these performances would give way to explorations of class, race, ethnicity, and sexuality. Another prominent female performer is Rosanne Barr form the famous television show named after her.



Solo artists pierce through the nature of identity and social definitions of difference, self, and religious belief, sexual orientation, and others while bringing visibility to the concerns of disenfranchised groups around their environment and around the world. They challenge our minds and our thinking of how we view ourselves and others. Danny Hoch is another excellent example of a solo performer with personal expression with both a comedic and dramatic approach.




Solo performers have been know for imitating characters that they know or can relate to personally such the actor John Leguizamo who by himself did a show of upwards to thirty-nine characters from the Latin community. What all of these artists and many more have in common is their authorship of texts that require their presence on stage. The actor’s relationship to the individuals and experiences presented is an integral part of the entire experience of solo work, and unlike a play written as a monologue and dialogue, these personal performance pieces can’t be reproduced by another actor.

Works Cited

'Aerial high Bar Act- ALGERIA (Cirque du Soleil)'. 01 October 2006. Online video clip. Accessed on 26 October 2009. .

Cosser, Sandy. 'Traditional Forms of African Entertianment." Ezinearticles.com 06 November 2007. Accessed on 26 October 2009. .

Felner, Mira and Orenstein, Claudia. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. New York: Pearson Education, 2006.

"PSA" Danny Hoch (Def Poetry). 18 April 2003. Online video clip. Accessed on 26 October 2009. .

'Rosanne, the Candidates and the campaign.' 09 May 2008. Online video clip. Accessed on 26 october 2009.<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMgIrFV1p1s>.

'swimming to cambodia'. 15 December 2007. Online video clip. Accessed on 26 October 2009. .

Wilson, Jamie. 'The History of Storytelling." 2002. 26 October 2009.<http://www.essortment.com/all/historystorytel_tukm.htm>.