Reflection Journal 12 (20/11/12)

Performances on 4/11/12

1st performance - The Spirits Play (KPK) (Absurdism)

- 5 spirits recalling their lives in the war. KPK wrote in the Japanese perspective instead of the victims' perspectives because he felt that the Japanese also are victims of the war.

- As much as they say is an absurd play, I feel strongly the elements of theatre of cruelty (artaud) because of the violence, pain and turmoil used and also symbolism because of the colours and props used. Absurdism is more of meaningless talk, therefore a communication breakdown. But the message in the play was well communicated to the audience because the sentences flow well and there was not much break down. The audience know what KPK is trying to portray here. I also felt it should be nationalism because it talks a lot about the war and politics.

- Show different perspectives of each character through monologues of the different characters. The audience get an understanding of each characters' emotions, feelings and persepectives. Without monologues, we can only understand the characters on the surface. Monologues gives a direct and frontal exposure of the different characters.

- Monologue - togetherness - monologue. We could see the links between monologues and the story itself.

- Symbolic because of the Japan flag and Noh music. Cranes - 1000 cranes to make a wish come true. Colours that are cyclical. I like the colours that they use because colours add meaning and flavour.


2nd performace - Sure thing (Modernist/Minimalist)

- I like the staging and the way they bring out the essence of the play. They used two couples instead of one couple only plus a playwright who is actually writing a script/play. It gave the understanding that the playwright is attempting to write her play. The sound of the bell becomes more meaningful.

- More prominence of playwright on stage. It shows how the writer progress through her writing her play. It shows the different possibilities that she is thinking and how she progresses from one possibility to another. How one idea forms another idea. It was interesting to see how David Ives portray a playwright doing his/her play, encountering the troubles of doing a play and the different possibilities while writing.

- 2 couples so that the play is more fluent. However, the audience attention has to be spilt into two. Requires alot of focus between the two.

- I like how they introduce the idea of a Singaporean context in their play because it relates very well to the audience and they get the Singaporean jokes.

3rd Performance - Crimes of the Heart (Feminism)

- Feminist play, Naturalistic play. The play sees three womens' struggles in society. They play describes how society portray them and their realities beneath the surface. Altered beauty of women. How women are stereotyped. It has darker meaning to it because the monologues revealed their inner struggles and realities in their lives. These issues are very real.

- It makes my heart wrench and I feel my stomach twist because these women suffered bitterness in their lives that are ignored by the men in life. I feel sorry for these women and also for myself. But that's what feminist plays are, to tell the world that women have their own struggles as well and we should not be stereotype by men. They don't know about us and what we are going through.

What is our view on dreams?

Theatre then becomes a dream or a realm where imagination, spontaneity and improvisation flow freely. I remember one of the lessons we did with Charlene based on Haresh Sharma play, Off center, where there was a scene of dreams. We then improvise our stories in class base on a dream. There were no limitations because it is a dream or a fantasy. It is not real and because it is not real that we can come up with anything.

The unexpected or unforeseen happpen. We are in a dream while doing theatre, where revelations come and surprise us. It is a place where the logical and rationale brain cannot fathom. Dream act as a bridge to another realm of the world where we can explore and sometimes find truth, at times ridiculous things and keeps us pondering. We sometimes find it end abruptly and have the feeling of wanting to know more than that. We may even imagine what happens after that and this is what 20th century playwrights wanted to portray.

In reality, the stage is the imaginary world or a 'dream' where the audience is the reality and the stage is the 'dream'. Many dramatists sought to activate the unconscious mind and internal state and psychic of human beings through various means. They try the weirdest things to activate the unconscious parts of the human mind. They did not conform to the traditions of depending on texts and Shakespearean techniques.

Conclusion of AAU 201

Study of isms:
The different isms are thought-provoking and emotional. It is an era of experimenting and liberation from regiments and traditions. An era of trying out new things that induce social reforms and transformation. As far as the Avant Garde is concerned, where are we now in Singapore? I think we are still at the beginning of looking into Avant Garde because censorship is slowly deteriorating in Singapore and more people are experimenting the Avant Garde movement. Theatre moved on to touch the sensory and critical thinking aspects rather than totally base on visual and aural aspects. They challenge, feel, bring desires, present hard truths and provoke thoughts. Many of the isms overlap each other or they may influence one another. For example, the movement of surrealism erupted from dadaism in the world war.

I personally like symbolism because it has a deeper meaning than just looking on the surface. It can be interpreted in many different meanings. It allows critical thinking, where the mind is used to analyse and do investigation, just like a crime investigator or a coroner.

Overall, throughout the module, I learnt alot of techniques, ideas, perceptions and styles of the different isms. I like the way where we are allowed to explore and study on the different isms and give a presentation about the isms. One thing that really hinders our learning might be the amount of time each of us has for our presentations. Because we wanted to learn so much more and we could not cover our ism within the 10 min. However, the module has given me alot of knowledge on the isms in the 20th century theatre and in the Singapore scene. I enjoyed it very very much.

Reflection journal 11 (18th Nov 2012)

Our performance

INTRUDER BY MAURICE MAETERLINCK
SYMBOLISM

UNCLE - SHEHANA
FATHER - ERNST
GRANDFATHER - YAN YAN
DAUGHTER - JASMINE
SISTER OF MERCY - LLOYD

Intruder has many hidden meanings which are represented symbols in it. Maurice uses many elements in the play to symbolise fear, death, silence, secrecy, etc. Four characters were waiting for the sister and the doctor to arrive. As they wait, two invalids (mother and child) were in the room. Death slowly make its entrance to the house. We have to portray that slow entrance of death into the house using the elements such as lighting, sounds, props, etc. As we wait, the father and uncle did not want to face the truth or refused to believe the truth to the grandfather, who is blind and knows the truth. There were alot of questions exchanged between the grandfather and the rest because of insecurities and fear. The daughter believed what the grandfather 'sees' and anticipated death in a terrorized manner.

Lighting is in a dark room where four people (Uncle, Father, Grandfather and daughter) sit around a table waiting for the sister to arrive to visit the invalid. We decided to dim the lights each time the clock strikes to signify the next hour. It also signify that the darkest moment/hour is coming where death (Darkness) slowly enters until only the lamp is lighted.  The last part where the red lighting comes on is to signify the death of the invalid and the sister of mercy coming in. Red to symbolise blood, therefore death in the house.

Sounds - We input the sounds as mentioned in the script. But we also added our own sounds such as the wind in the garden, clasping of daughter's hands, etc. The only constant sound is the ticking of the clock. The clock is significant because it indicates the silence and stillness of the room while the four of them are waiting. In the midst of the silence and as time ticks away, death and fear slowly creeps into the room.

Stage setting - We set up blocks to make it compact because initially we thought our room to be small because the house will be a safe and small place for them to feel comfortable (but not for long). It is also better for me (daughter) so that I would not take too many steps to get to the window and door.

Stage props - Teacups and pots for us on the table so that we have something to fiddle with because uncle, father and grandfather are very stagnant. They dont walk much so it would be good if they have something to fiddle so that they won't look so bored or empty. The way we hold a prop can also signify fear, anxiety, angry, etc. For eg, playing with the teacups may mean nervous.


Rehearsals
Rehearsals and meetings were rather late and lacking because of our timetable clashes and other
appointments. I would prefer to work with our people who have the same majors as mine because then there will be more rehearsals and we can communicate better. However, this experience has also made me be more acquainted with the people from other majors. I get to know how they work, how they behave, their views and perceptions, attitudes and beliefs. It was a great time with the Lloyd, Yan Yan, Annie, Shehana and Ernst because our friendship bonds grew and developed. We learn how to communicate and collaborate throughout the devising process.

At some points in time, we could not come into agreements regarding timings and schedules because some have to meet up with friends, some have classes, but we worked out by meeting online on Google Docs to discuss. It is a frustrating process but I learn how to deal with it with patience and understanding. I have to deal with it patiently and in a mature way because I do not want to hurt anyone and strain our friendship ties. It all comes down to empathy and understanding for each other, willing to sacrifice or compromise without complaining. In any ways, I learn much more when I give my time. A sacrifice that is worth it.

We watched a performance online and was inspired by their ideas.

http://vimeo.com/21261354

"The Intruder" (L'intruse, by Maurice Maeterlinck - 1890).
The clip from the play belongs to Comparsaria Teatro's staging in 2006 in São Paulo.
dir: Fernando Faria
venue: Casarão do Belvedere
cast: Cristina Lázaro, Márcio Santos, Edson Rosa, Rogério Rodrigues.


Performance Day
I am surprised that our performance on that day was great compared to all our rehearsals. We were able to create the atmosphere because I feel that the creating that eerie, dark, terrifying atmosphere is most important in our play. The elements that I mentioned above contributed in creating this atmosphere.

All the time we are improvising despite rehearsals. No one rehearsal is exactly the same. It is different and there is something in each rehearsal that we can analyse, examine, explore and experiment other possibiities. We may find that one try not satisfying because of something, therefore, we rehearse and re-act in another way to find the breakthrough to successful acting. During the play, some of the things that needs to happen did not happen. For example, I am to react to the chair which suppose to move when the grandfather said 'someone is there in the midst of us', but it did not move. So I had to improvise and continue on the play as if there is no fault.

If the chair is suppose to move but it didn't, do we then consider it as a mistake? If something does not happen according to plan, do we see it as a mistake or something that is a challenge to us? This is where we improvise according to our intuition base on our acting skills and knowledge. We have to be sensitive and spontaneous on stage. It is this mentality that we have to embrace and be prepared for unforeseen happenings on stage. It goes the same for music performances. It only becomes a mistake when we react and respond in a confusing and unprepared way.

It was a successful performance where we were satisfied with our play. I was happy that we accomplished what we did and every member's contribution was not wasted. It was the combined efforts of each and every one of us that made this play successful. We all have different roles in the play (Actors, lighting technicians, effects manager, leader, time-keeper etc.). It doesn't matter how big or small the roles are but how committed we are in doing our roles. It is the amount of effort we put in that matters and not how significant the things we do matters.

My Presentation (23/10/12)

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16X6zTeN7XlA181MZ3fqmnKNBDgTZ84WMCkUs3Bj7DNs/edit#slide=id.g3929d750_2_122

Expression of Fear

How the warrior expresses fear through facial expressions, dance movements and make up.

Bali Dance Kebyar Terompong

Music as an integral part in their dance movement, not an accompaniment. They see it as an important element in Bali dances.


Kabuki theatre

Kabuki theatre is a Japanese play where pitch intonation varies very much (two octaves) compared to western plays (one octave). Dramatic makeup, costumes and actions. Has stoic characters.


Artaud

Reflection Journal 10 (22/10/12)

Presentation continued...

Feminism in 20th century

3 waves

1st wave
- 19th century til 1920s.
- Basic political rights

2nd wave
- 1960s-1980s
- Personal lives and education
- Women's Liberation movement

3rd wave
1990s til today
lack of attention to differences among women
'Wave' theory
Women of colour and working class women

Types of feminism
- LIberal fem - social reform equal opportunities for women. Gender and education, race and class
- Socialist - interaction of capitalist system and patriarchal system. Gender inequality. Work force.
- Radical - Sexuality and figure fertility. Eradicate women's symbol.
- Post structural - Concept of gender is conceive by existence.

- Highlights female voices and addressing stereotypes
- Radical performance strategies
- Experimental/ avant garde playwriting ensemble-based
- 'Doubling' (an actor playing multiple roles in the same play. See why there are changes in role)
- Non-linear plot with open-ended conclusions
- Ambiguity rather than clarity. (Mostly thought provoking)

Caryl Churchhill
- Non-naturalistic techniques and feminist themes
- Dramatisation of the abuses of power and exploration of sexual politics.
- Use of Brecht's 'Epic theatre'
- Experimented with dance theatre
- Incorporated Artaud's 'Theatre of Cruelty' (Surrealism)
- 'Cloud Nine' play
- Use shocking scenes to highlight the oppression of women
Magdelena project
- Primary creative voices from women instead of men
- Women from the public

Annie Griffin, Rose English, Bobby Bakin, Karen Finley
Karen Finley
- Nude, Symbolism, combination of truth and parody '38D'
- Emotional intensity
- Incest, rape, violence, suicide, poverty, discrimination, controversial subjects.

Liberalism
- an Ideology used in theatre i 18th century
- Post war. Social discontent and rise of workers theatre movement in fight for their rights
- Rapid growth in industrialization, telecommunications, education, social, political and religion issues
- Anti-oppression (class, gender, culture)
- More personal perspectives, human consciousness.
- Pushing of limitations, boundaries.
- Liberalism in performing, creating and developing in theaters
- Epic theatre and theatre of cruelty
- For gays, lesbians and minority races as well
- Berlin was the 20th century stage for modern drama.
- Latin America theatre - Paulo Freire's pedagogy of the oppressed.
- Caryl Churchhill.
- Philippines theatre for education and liberation for all females. Eradicate poverty. Social transformation
'Mother Courage'

Reflection Journal 9 (15/10/12)

Continuation of Presentation...

Minimalism ( Candice)
- Expose the essence of subject while generating visual and psychological impact.
- Emphasizing on simplification of forms and shapes
- Prominent figures : Beckett and Grotowski
- Does away decor and music (richness of the play). Truth through acting.
- Less is more. Elements demands more creativity.
- Cause of war. Pure notion of self. Essence of life. Inner most truth

Theatre
- Less details, props, elements brings about more imagination, creativity and essentials.
- Emphasis on language, gestures and body.
- Tension between Silence and words.
- Tension between mobility and immobility. Creates a kind of dynamic.
- Tension between century space. Adding weight into the physical space.

Poor theatre (Polish)
- Takes away unnecessary
- Spectacle makeup, decorations.
- Rhythms and other elements
- Less about acting, more about being.

How did it began?
- Expressionism (unclear through expressions)
- Content more explicit through moods.


Naturalism (Ezanne) 

- Started 1879

- Virtual reality

- Naked, pure, undiluted
- movement that seeks to replicate a believable everyday reality while realism is the opposite.
- Strictly no miming. Realism encourages miming.
- Grounded by Darwin's Notions of Evolution.

Theatre Libre (1887) by andre antoine
- free theatre
- Exempt from censorship
- Plays Banned in Europe

Emile Zola
- French writer, important contibution to naturalism in theatre.
- No dream-scape, mythological stuff.
- Effect of Materialist causes
- Based alot on Darwinian notions of evolution
- Human beings as a product of biological evolution.
- Governed by social environment (cause). Our behaviour is the effect of social causes.
- Focus on depicting lower class.

Leo Tolstoy
- Russian playwright
- Considered life related to christian agenda
- Vivid moral lessons
- Sin and redemption, involving adultery and infanticide, lower classes.
- 'Power of Darkness' - reveals 'human animal' in sheer brutality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUUjmQI-CQ8

Buddhism, Modern Age (Si Chuan)
- Influenced art, dance, music and theatre.
- Elements of symbolism and expressionism. Symbolism, gestures for expressions.
- Inner peace, Relaxation.

Burmese Marionette theatre (Yokhte Pwe) - Puppetry
Burmese dance-drama (Zat Pwe) - more dramatic and realistic direction.

Feminism (Annie)
- Gender equality
- Removal of pre-set gender roles. Away with woman being stereotyped as housewife, etc.

Responding through theatre
- Non-linear
- Makes use of ensemble
- Singapore only take certain strands of western feminism

How feminism manifests itself in Singapore
- Disrupting, Dismantling and returning the gaze. Affirmative actions.  Gaze is silent.
Disrupting - Breaking the tension between the gaze of men to women
Dismantling - Overdoing the stereotypes of woman
Returning - giving them back the gaze
Affirmative actions - uniqueness of women instead of how they are perceived.
'Ovidia Yu'

Chin Woon Ping '4 Daruma'
- Strong symbolic elements
- Satire and humour

Eleanor Wong
- Address the cultural inability to accept homosexual relationships.

Feminism (Hailwa)
- 2nd wave of feminism, Political movement in 1960s.
- Urging woman to recognise their universal oppression.
- Gender, race, class and sexuality. Lesbianism included
- Initially focused only on Middle class white woman and then came the black women theatre.
- Feminist theatre of the 1970s dominated by white middle class woman.
- Created their own perf groups, space or networks. But not successful.

Magdalena Project - Wales (1986)
- International network of women in contemporary theatre.
- forum for discussion and a source of support and performance training.
- 1989, Put up 1st all black perf. Tried to move to multi racial group.

Theatre of the Black women
- Shut down in 1988. Founders Bernadine and Rendell.
- Aim to give artistic expression to the experience of the black women in past and present.
- Focus on black women
- Fight against oppression and define feminism in their own terms by reliving history and own struggles.
- Involve very few men and females in their production.

A process towards Liberalism (Sharon)
- Constantly in search of inner truth, more dialectic.
- Liberalism is a philosophy on ideas of liberation and equality. Eg. French, American revolution.

Forum theatre by Augusto Boal (1950s)
- Joker to facilitate the process
- Alot of physical aggression.
- Theatre of the oppressed
- Dialogue becomes monologue. Aim is to become human again by re-establishing the dialogue' Describes us as animals.
- Inclusivity and express their own solutions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOgv91qQyJc

- Conscientization - complex process of self enlightenment through critical consciousness.
- Theatre as catharsis
- Essence of Self consciousness
- Bertolt Brecht Breaking the 4th wall, Paulo Freire pedagogy of the oppressed, Karl Marx class struggles.

Surrealism (Joyce)
- Andre Breton inspired by Sigmund Freud and his studies of subconscious.
- liberate imagination by using the dream analysis. (Conscious, pre-conscious and unconscious)
- Surprise, hypnosis, unexpected juxtaposition, hallucinations, effects of dreams.
- Defy logic and structure of reality.
- Autonomy and liberation in writing and drawing.
- Experimental theatre with moral, psychological and ideological problems.
2 phenomenon: - Disappearance of custom and using sternographic resources. (Order, Clarity, rational thought)
Rid the audience of civilized thought and free their natural energy.
Go through a catharsis (relieving of emotions)
- Experimented with a stream of consciousness techniques, creating works that defy logic and structure of reality.

Exquisite corpse
- Producing a surprising and absurdphrase.

Existentialism (Lloyd)
- Seen in Shakespearean plays.
- To understand what a human being is through more than scientific knowledge
- Nietzsche, Satre, Camus.
- came about by God, christianity. It can apply to any religion/ philosophies.
- Can transcend it


Post Modernism (Hui Chi)
- Fauvism
- Post modernist found Modernist too pure
- High brow art.
- Merging of different art forms.
- Influx of ideologies during cold war period. Alot of countries developing.
- Hybrid of multiple interpretation of words and hybrid of popular and high culture.
- Relativity to our culture of today.
- Questions alot but not answering anything

Deconstruction (Jacques Derrida)
- The way u deconstruct the scripts
- Readers more authority instead of the director. More active role now.

Death of the Author (Roland Barthes)
- Presence of the author is not there. Power of author is being reduced.
- Authoritative.

' The Comedy of Error'
- Perform key roles and trickery. Modern rejected this impurist.

Orientalism

Constructivism
- Driven by sharing and meaning making by the casts rather than scripted text.
- More full and whole because it involved more people.

Reflection Journal 8 (8/10/12)

20^th century Presentation

Futurism - Jeanne

Expressionism - Shahidah and Shehana

Dadaism - Joanne

Symbolism - Carmen

Orientalism - Jasmine (Me)

Surrealism - Faeezah

American Realism - Ernst

My thoughts

I felt that throughout these few presentations, I was more informed of the various styles of the ‘ism’ involved in the 20^th century theatre Avande Garde movement. They differ in concepts, perspectives, styles and techniques from each other. They may oppose each other; some were influenced by one another. Example, the Dadaism gave birth to Surrealism. Because there were so many ‘isms’, I felt that it was a great idea to share knowledge about the 20^th century theatre through the individual study of each different ism, and then presenting it to the whole class. That way, more time was spent on exploring the different plays of the different isms. (eg, Doll House, Waiting for Godot, etc.) It was a good exposure and privilege to be able to work out those plays.

However, 15 min for each ism is quite short because I felt that I did not have time to elaborate though I wanted to. I missed a few key points and my videos were not shown. I missed out the last segment where I wanted to touch on Orientalism on other forms of Art.

I emailed Dr Jane, regarding a question between my presentation and Faeezah’s presentation because I realized that Faeezah said that theatre of cruelty came from surrealism, but my research (Pronko's book on western and eastern perspectives on theatre and 'artaud on theatre' by Schumacher) stated that he moved away from surrealism. Dr Jane reassured that I did fine and she was pleased with the material that I use and the face that I address such an important topic that particularly concerns the people in Singapore, as Singapore is a country between the East and West.  I felt comforted that my content of the presentation was well because I did not want my classmates to absorb the wrong information. Also, I was afraid my topic is out of topic.

What interests me the most is futurism. I think if I were an audience who has to choose an ism down a row of theatres, each offering a different ism, then I will choose to go for the futurism theatre, because it is very engaging in an entertaining way. I love how the actors could make audience laugh. However, it no matter which ism I like, it still depends on which one I want to watch. It depends on my mood also. For example, if I want to have a good laugh, I will go for a futurist play. If I want to make my brains work a little, it would surrealist or symbolist play, plays that are thought-provoking and deep enough to make my brains go on fire or to make me think for many days. 

Brief info for each ism

Futurism

-       Came about in relation to velocity. The swiftness of pictures just zooming by.

-       Did not like to be related to the past/history themes. Even sort to demolish historical museums and artifacts. Emphasized on the future.

-       Dynamism of fake.

-       The Variety of Manifesto, 1913 – money vs inspiration. Money for the tickets was randomly picked by throwing dice.

-       Manifesto of synthetic theatre, 1915 – brevity.

-       Neo futuristic - 2 min per play. 20 min, 20 people reduced to 2 min.

-       Non-illusionary theatre - Audience interaction, all characters as themselves.

-       Dislike naturalism. More engaging and entertaining.

Expressionism

-       Emphasis on Conscious & Sub-conscious mind

-       German.

-       Dramatic forms, emotional effect in order to evoke moods. Objective reality but rather the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in him

-       Georg Buchner, 1813 – 1837.

-       Stringberg – more than 70 plays.

-       Meyerhold

-       Bizarre shapes and colours. Broken episodes. Disjointed tabloids. Characters as figures. Grotesque

-       Intense colour. Staccato telegraphy

-       Deliberate departure from realism of Stanislavsky

-       Atheletic, Physical control. Biomechanics. Prepare for next action + middle of act + reaction of action.

-       ‘Woyzeck’ play and ‘Spring awakening’.

Dadaism

-       Against any cultural intellectual conformity. French Avant Garde movement.

-       Rejects reason and logic

-       Negative and illogical

-       Destruction = creation

-       Hugo Ball, who is like Artaud, was quite mad.

-       Cabaret Voltaire – spoken word, dance and music in the night club by Hugo Ball.

-       No clear name.

-       Spontaneity, shouting and growling.

-       Acomapanied by music, dance, theory, poems paintings, masks and costumes.

-       Abstract minds

-       Not linked to reality.

-       Simultaneism.

Surrealism

-       Emphasis on Sub conscious mind and conscious mind. The Human dreams and their desire.

-       Does not follow any logic form

-       Andre Breton (1896 – 1966)

-       Surprise, attractive, abstract, unexpected, humour

-       Element of cruelty in sex, love, violence and insanity.

-       Metaphysical. Physically, mythological. World of dreams. Shatter reality. Realization of worse nightmares and fears

-       Disjointed structure

-       Truth that they did not want to see.

-       Led to ‘theatre of Absurd’

-       Literary, artistic and revolutionary movement.

-       Source of truth

-       Liberation and exploration of soul and body

American realism (1865 – 1915)

-       Contemporary

-       Hardships. Tests actors and actresses.

-       Normal people in everyday life – portray life as it is.

-       Marked by end of civil war.

-       2 literary movements: Realism (Norwegian Henrik Ibsen) & Naturalism (German Anton Chekhov)

-       Lab performance. Public theater.

-       Provoking moral and social questions.

-       Removing of fourth wall – relating to past and present. Imagery wall

IIt is really interesting to have knowledge about these isms. I am really excited to see what is in store for us next week. =)

Journal Reflection 7 (24/9/12)

Reflection: Write a Paragraph reflecting upon the plays that you have explored in class. Waiting for Godot, Measures taken, Doll's House, The Crucible. Comment upon the genre, styles, political comment. Social comment, Which one you like or didn't like and why? Reflect upon whether you think the plays have impacted in anyway upon you today?

The plays that we did in class were all different from each other in style and genre. The isms were different in each play, which drives the play in different directions. Overall, it was interesting on how we went through the plays in different techniques, performance styles, backgrounds and mindsets.

Genre
Because the 'isms' were different, the plays have different motives and styles therefore different directions. For example, the 'Doll's House' is based on realism and feminism while 'Measures taken' is based on Marxism. One is focused on political issues while the other is based on everyday life. Each plays are directed to different audiences. 'Doll's House' is directed to females in family household while 'Measures taken' is directed to people who are interested in politics in those times of the day. 'Waiting for Godot' is an absurdist play, somewhat similar to Doll's House in presenting reality to the audience but in a very straightforward, 'wake-up', 'in-your-face' manner. 'Waiting for Godot' presents reality in a symbolic way rather than the aesthetic way. 'The Crucible' written by Miller, who wants to portray the idea of McCarthyism through unnatural and magical means. Every play is symbolic and has hidden meaning in varying degree, especially in 'Waiting in Godot'. The very fact that it is an absurdist play has the notion of making a fool out of you, or at least making u feel that this is absurd.

Styles

The atmosphere of the plays varies. Imagine that they are atoms in a space or room:

Doll’s house – fluid, flowy with a moderate speed. Then it gets a little faster, starting to collide into one another with impact until it gets to the highest tension. Almost increasing the heat of the surrounding, where the kinesthetic speed of the atoms gets faster. It is as if the Water molecules transform into air molecules. Tension is build gradually, dynamically and dramatically. The space is small and confined because it is taken in a small house.

Measure Taken – The atom’s speed is almost like a marching style. It goes in a constant maybe rigid robotic marching. It is very rhythmic in action and speed, even for the way of speaking. There are many commands and choppy words and movements to it. Space is also confined or rather there are many rooms that the atoms can go to fill in with. It is up to the audience to choose which space they want to fill.

Waiting for Godot - The atom's speed varies a lot in this play. It maybe spastic, jolting at some movements. Drugged movements. Atoms collides very little. Dull colour. Space is unlimited, free for atoms to roam around. In this play, it is subjected to audience' preference, whether they could take the 'face-smacking', absurdism of this play.

The Crucible - Darker atmosphere. Dull and cold. Atoms move slowly and occasional collides at each other. Tension is random and explodes anytime. It is also quite difficult to understand and grasp the meaning of the play because magic, witchcraft are involved here. It represents something. It is symbolic. Idea of McCarthyism is used to fight against USA's accusations against the communists. 

What I like
I actually like the absurdist play, 'Waiting for Godot'. The acting styles and techniques are really different from the rest and it is really interesting. The way the actor stands, walks, sits, takes off his hat or boots. The way he speaks is also different. It is not so much of speech that we use as a means of communication. It is now the symbols, gestures, actions that have great importance in communicating the message as well. There are now more emphasis on the other factors rather than just using words to deliver the message.
But at the same time, I like simplicity of 'Doll's House'. It is straightforward in that the audience understands it very well. There is not much of a extraction of hidden meaning compared to the other plays. It leaves you thinking and also applies to me in my life, where I am now. It depends on my mood. It is just some times where you want to just watch simple plays on some days. =D

What I do not like
I absolutely do not like 'Measures Taken'. I find it too boring because of its rigidity and rhythmic movement that imitates after robots. It presents different views of political parties and feeds audience with political messages. The agenda is to get people arise against the Nazis. However, I do understand that the context now and in the past is different. They face the Nazis and we do not face the Nazis, so our feelings are not stirred up by these kind of plays. But I wouldn't want to pay to watch these kind of plays.
I find it difficult to understand 'The Crucible', because of the involvement of magic and the spiritual realm. The atmosphere here is quite dreadful because tension is almost everywhere. There are alot of accusations and dark meanings to it that I do not like. Too many accusations may not provide a direction for the audience because it is unresolved.