Professional Theater version of the journey: "Mama Will Provide" and "Some Say"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzDR9vY9hvA

Musical Adaptation of "The Help Desiree Receives" in her Journey

"Mama Will Provide"

WOMAN
But on this island the earth sings
As soon as the storm ends.

MAN
And as Ti Moune set out she realized
She was walking with old friends.

WOMAN
The birds...

THREE WOMEN
Coo coo, coo coo, coo coo coo
Coo coo, coo coo, coo coo coo

TWO MEN
Sha sha sha-aah

MAN
The trees...

BOTH
Sha sha sha-aah

TWO MEN
Ba-oom boom boom

MAN
The frogs!

BOTH
Ba-oom boom boom

WOMAN
And the breezes!

THREE WOMEN
Oooooooooh
Oooooooooh...

Man
Ti Moune lost all her fear.
She knew Asaka was near!

ASAKA
You've never been away from the sea, child.
You're gonna need a helping hand.
A fish has got to learn to swim on land!

Walk with me, little girl,
Don't you be afraid
Follow me, little girl
Let me be your guide
A pretty thing like you
Will need a thing or two
And whatever you need
Mama will provide

Oh...
Down the road, little girl
You may lose your way
All alone in a world
That may seem too wide
But sit on Mama's lap
And I will draw a map
And whatever
You need
Mama will
Provide

I'll provide you:

Storyteller
Moss!

ASAKA
To soften the road

STORYTELLER
Rocks!

ASAKA
To sit on!

STORYTELLER
Trees!

ASAKA
To sleep underneath!

STORYTELLER
Sand

ASAKA
Fun for your toes

STORYTELLER
Plantain!

ASAKA
To fill up your belly

STORYTELLER
Breeze

ASAKA
To fan your face

STORYTELLER
Grass

ASAKA
For making your bed

STORYTELLER
Ha!!
Bug will bite little girl
And the night will fall
All alone in the dark
You'll be terrified
But you will make it through
'Cause I am liking you!
And whatever you need Mama will
Provide!

Oh...
Walk with me, little girl
And I'll take you far
Round each bend, little friend
I'll be by your side
That's what a Mama's worth
To give her child the earth
And whatever you need
Mama will...
Provide!!!

Musical Adaptation of Desiree's journey in My Love, My Love

"Some Say"

ALL STORYTELLERS Some say... STORYTELLER How Ti Moune began the long journey toward the city! ALL Some say: STORYTELLER Some say her feet were bare And the road was long and cruel ALL Some say: STORYTELLER Some say she got a ride >From a vendor and his mule ALL Some say: STORYTELLER The gods pulled up in a car And drove her all the way ALL Well, no one knows How the real truth goes But that's what some say! Some say! LITTLE GIRL And how far did she travel? STORYTELLERS As far as you suppose LITTLE GIRL And how long did it take her? STORYTELLERS Much longer than your nose! LITTLE GIRL And was she ever frightened Or was her love too strong? And did she know she'd end up In our story and our song? ALL Our story and out song... ALL Some say: STORYTELLER What happened when Ti Moune finally reached the city! ALL Some say: TWO STORYTELLERS Some say they laughed at her For her peasant feet were bare ALL Some say: TWO STORYTELLERS Some say the vendor man Gave her shoes too small to wear ALL Some say: STORYTELLER The gods said put on the shoes! It's a price you have to pay! ALL The shoes were tight But she said, LITTLE GIRL All right! ALL Well, that's what some say! Some say! STORYTELLER At last Ti Moune arrived at the gates of the Hotel Beauxhomme. GUARD Stop! STORYTELLER But the gods looked down. The gates swung open. And Ti Moune went in search of her Daniel. ALL Some say... WOMAN Some say she Scrubbed the Floors Till she learned Where he was Kept Some say... MAN Some say she Climbed a vine To the window Where he slept WOMAN Some say... WOMAN, MAN The gods just Lifted her up And placed her Where he lay ALL Well, no one Knows how the Real truth goes It all depends What you hear From friends It's no surprise It it's all Just lies But that's what Some say That's what Some say That's what Some say... That's what Some say... TI MOUNE The gods sent me to make you well. DANIEL You're very young TI MOUNE I can all this way to be with you. Let me stay

"Waiting for Life" Video

Here is the video link from today's class: La Chanze, who originated the role of Ti Moune on Broadway, singing "Waiting for Life" from a concert-style reenactment of Once On This Island --

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCj8B5aLnvs

The Gods...

Be sure to look up the gods Agwe and Erzulie on Wikipedia because both of these are also names of gods in Haitian Voodoo religion.

Interestingly, we talked about the different sides of Erzulie in class today, and she has many facets -- she can be associated with a mother figure as well as a siren/temptress figure like Mami Wata from African religions.

These connections are important to explore as much as we have explored their potential counterpoints from Greek and Roman mythology.

Scenes from Romeo and Juliet

Some photos from our Romeo and Juliet Scenes -- I can't wait to see the videos!

Project Abstract Assignment

What needs to be included in your project abstract?

1. Give your project a Working Title

2. First paragraph

               a. What literary feature(s) of the play do you want to examine?

               b. How will this analysis help you think more critically or deeply or creatively about the themes/characters/ etc. in the play?

3. Second Paragraph

               a. What scene or scenes (or parts of scenes) will you stage in order to explore your analysis?

               b. How will you stage and perform this scene in order to highlight your analysis?

4. Final Paragraph

               a. How many people are required and who do you propose to play which parts?

               b. How will you ensure that each group member has an equal share in creating and performing in this project?

Scenes from Acts 2 and 3

Check out these great performances:

Shakespeare's Language Modernized

A lot of you wrote this week about film adaptations that modernized Shakespeare's traditional language, changing the Iambic Pentameter and Elizabethan English into more contemporary, easier-to-understand, prose. This week, a famous Shakespeare festival in Oregon announced that it would be hiring playwrights to modernize the language of all of Shakespeare's plays. Two articles follow which comment on this decision, the first criticizing it and the second downplaying that criticism.

 1. From The New York Times: "Shakespeare in Modern English?"

2. From The New Yorker: "Why We (Mostly) Stopped Messing With Shakespeare's Language"

IB Lit and Performance Interprets "The Balcony Scene"

Check out these awesome videos from the 6 groups (both classes) -- they are so much fun to watch!

Elements of Literature/Performance Discussed in Weeks 1 and 2 (for all who added late)

In weeks 1-2, we discussed how to read a play, some critical elements to successful performance, and the differences between plays and novels. If you weren't here, hadn't added the class yet, or didn't take notes, I am summarizing that material in this post. I will normally expect you to take notes or get notes from someone in class, but since it is the beginning of the year, here is some assistance so you are not feeling lost.

Under "topics" on the portal page for this class, click on "How To Read a Play" and there you will find some useful information:

1. A link to info on Stage Layout and proper terminology used on stage [Ex: Stage Left (SL) is left from the actor's perspective, facing out into the audience.] Actors use these terms and abbreviations when writing blocking into their performers' scripts. The IB also expects students to use this terminology when writing papers or taking exams in this course, so be sure to familiarize yourself with this link.

2. A link to a glossary of other important terms. Browse this to see if there are words you do not recognize, but also use it as a resource if you read or hear a word used that you do not understand.

We also discussed some other important terms:

1. projection -- the need to talk loudly on stage; using an actor's voice in order to project your voice to the back of the audience; use your diaphragm to get enough air to be loud, but never scream

2. enunciation, articulation, and good diction -- the need to speak clearly (and slowly) on stage and pronounce each letter in each word so the audience can easily understand what you are saying

3. body language and facial expressions -- so important to help conveying the emotions of a scene, in addition to reading lines

4. reacting -- just as important as acting (saying lines) is listening to others and reacting to their lines

5. cheat out/fan out -- the need to face toward the audience on stage (try not to turn your back to the audience so they can see and hear you better

6. upstaging another actor -- try to position yourself so that you are not blocking the audience fro seeing another actor; also do not try to overact and call attention to yourself and away from other actors

7. monologue -- solo speaking on stage

8. dialogue -- speaking with others on stage

9. stage directions -- info in parentheses or italics which tells actors about movement, etc that should happen while lines are delivered

10. motivation -- the reasons behind why characters are saying and doing what they are doing -- so important to understanding characters

When reading a play, it is important to visualize the setting on the stage: scenery, set deisgn, backdrop, props, costumes, lighting, and sound. Scripts are mainly comprised of the dialogue spoken by each character without a lot of other description, so readers need to fill that in mentally as they read. When reading a novel, the author puts a lot of description into the prose, so that is why novels are generally longer than plays. Plays are made up of Acts and Scenes whereas novels are written in Chapters and Paragraphs. An adaptation of a novel into a play makes decisions about what to cut, change, or simplify in order to stage it live. A playwright who adapts a novel generally needs to get permission to make such changes, just like a director of a film adaptation usually does. Both plays and novels involve characters who confront some kind of conflict, go on a journey, and usually experience some sort of change. As the year progresses, we will apply these basic concepts to both plays and novels.

Welcome to the First Week of Classes!