Identify the performance that you have selected
The performance selected is the play of William Shakespeare classic The Tempest: St Louis Shakespeare Festival and The Tempest: Savage Rose Theater Company and its adaptation The Tempest: Central Washington production and The Tempest: a rock and roll space odyssey.
Describe the staging, lighting, costumes, and characters of the performance. How do these matches or revise the written version of the play?
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In the classical The Tempest St Louis Shakespeare Festival, The lighting at the beginning of the scene displayed lightening on the back of the stage ( Shakespeare, 2017) . The lighting of the stage mostly focused on the characters and also the stage sides is not illuminated. The lighting is delicate and dark nearly all the time, and this can be said throughout the play having soft light with a spotlight focused in the center stage where the characters are performing. The staging is simple with an elaborate twisted tree at the stage centerpiece ( Hatchuel, & Vienne-Guerrin, 2017) . Also, the costume used looked simple and reflected the timeframe in which the play was written. The Elizabethan character costumes incorporated sequins, brighter color chiffons and characters wore a more elaborate makeup. The costume also indicated different classes as well as social status as Caliban the servant wore a loincloth. Likewise in the classical The Tempest Savage Rose Theater Company, the play opening begins with dark lighting indicating the storm. The whole play captures the staging set of the ship; which captured no other scenery. The costume used reflected the times of the 17 th century, clothing that portrayed wealth and status.
In the adaptation of The Tempest by the Central Washington production the staging used is quite simple. The lighting is much clear compared to the classical productions. The stage lighting covers a considerable bigger space and spotlight the entire stage. Also, the lighting follows the atmosphere of the scenery, the sharp light and contrast have been applied to bring out the various theme of the play. For instance, the scene when Ferdinand proposes his love for Miranda, the intense atmosphere was displayed with sharp light ( Hatchuel, & Vienne-Guerrin, 2017) . The costume used is quite modern compared to the classical production; in this case, Caliban simply wore shattered cloths. In the other adaptation The Tempest: a rock and roll space odyssey, the props and costumes took the genre of rock and roll. The staging of the play has been modifying to incorporate the rock and roll kind of production ( Shakespeare, 2017) . The costume used is colorful costume at some point they used clone costumes, and there is no any distinguishable design of the costuming in the scenes, they looked like normal clothing with some little adjustment to fit in different characters in the play ( Hatchuel, & Vienne-Guerrin, 2017) . The stage lighting is dark with flashy light, and in some part, the lighting makes the characters more visible.
What type of mood and tone does the performance create? How?
The performance in the classical plays has a more somber mood, The Tempest by the Central Washington production also have the same kind of somber mood ( Hatchuel, & Vienne-Guerrin, 2017) . The adaptation in The Tempest: a rock and roll space odyssey brings out the cheerful mood and an animated tone.
What parts of the play are easier to understand through performance? What are some details that stood out through performance?
The part which I easily connected with through the performance is the part when Ferdinand and Miranda are on stage professing their love to each other; there is an intense mood, the lighting contrast brings out the mood of love ( Shakespeare, 2017) . Also in part the last scene when Prospero and both Miranda and Ferdinand are on stage here the mood is also intense as Ferdinand is asking for a hand in marriage for his daughter Miranda.
What does the performance suggest the role of theater in the contemporary culture?
The performance suggests that the role of theater in the contemporary culture is about infotainment ( Hatchuel, & Vienne-Guerrin, 2017) . It carries the role of entertainment and passing information.
References
Hatchuel, S., & Vienne-Guerrin, N. (Eds.). (2017). Shakespeare on Screen . Cambridge University Press.
Shakespeare, W. (2017). THE TEMPEST: Including The Classic Biography: The Life of William Shakespeare . Musaicum Books.
