Novel-
One sentence mini summary
Sexist nature of the book
No female figures in charge of their own fate
Deseré controlled by other male figures periodically throughout the book
Andrea has to marry Daniel after it was arranged by her parents
Erzulie loses to Papa Gé over power
Mama Euralie has no real aspirations and restricts
Women stereotyped
Maman Eurelie is stereotypically over protective mother
Eurzulie controls love- more stereotypically feminine
Deseré is Cinderella
Andrea plays rich women character
Asaka as more of a mother figure
Women seen as pawns in a game
Andrea promised to marry Daniel and manipulated by him
Deseré sees the only way to improve her life as marrying
Daniel is manipulated by Daniel
Papa Gé and Agwe control Deserè's life
Deserè dies after trying to stand up Daniel and deciding to not kill him
Adaption-
Vision - show sexist nature of the play more blatantly
Changing genders portrayed-
Andrea made more sinister and manipulative to make Deserè more clearly a victim of sexism
Andrea was also established as being more connected to Papa Gè because of this more sinister nature of her
Asaka and Eurzulie made into a man as she had some control over Deserè's fate
Asaka and Eurzulie also made into a man to make Deserè seem more like a victim, as they give her advice that demeaned her and takes advantage of her
Thematic Elements- Subjugation of women
Deserè made into a more clear women
All other characters are played by boys to show the differences between the characters and how it separates the treatment characters in the novel, especially Deserè
Message in both the book and our production is for women more clearly be rich and conform to men's standards to be happy and it is the only way to get a better life. It also is that standing up for yourself against men will lead to your death.
Message for men is that you can do whatever you want, especially to women, as long as you follow society's standards and everyone will still love you
Staging
Overall performance-
Limited movements to focus on the dialogue
Limited blocking and props to reflect the limited descriptions in the novel
Deseré is never in the center of the stage center and the boys are always closer to stage center to visually reflect how Deserè and the other female characters (in the novel) are never equal to the male characters in bot the adaption and the play
Your Role-
Character development
Weak willed to make her seem more like a victim and allows her to be manipulated by men
Loyal to a fault to show how the women do not stand up to the men, until the end when she stands up to the other male characters to show that the novel veiws standing up to men as the worst thing to do
Works in clothing factory as a seamstress to show she has a job that fits the stereotype of women being the ones who sew clothing
Wants to be an engineer to show that she wants to have a job that is stereotypically held by men and show she would give up her the only real thing about her that breaks the stereotype at the chance to get married instead
Conclusion-
What learned
How to work with a group in the area of creating an original performance
Making characteristics of a novel be shown in a theatrical adaption
Experience helped with the understanding the book
Highlighted the sexism in the novel
Look for important symbols that should be represented in the adaption that were crucial in the novel
Friday, February 26, 2016
Thursday, February 25, 2016
Progress report
While working on “My Love, My Love” scenes, we have been working to develop our analysis of the play. My group’s analysis of the play is that the play portrays women in a very sexist manner. So through the process of working on this theory and extending it into our performance, we came across some issue, but in the end, we were successful. There has been some reluctance despite some issue that has come across through the time that our group has been working together.
One of the many ways that we showed the sexist nature of the book was by changing the genders of characters and making them more sinister. This effectively made Desiree seem more like a victim than she does in the book. The gender swapping also relates to the sexist nature of the book as Andrea is portrayed as a boy instead of a girl because it shows how Andrea is very manipulate and controlling in our adaption, despite the character itself remains a girl.
Through this process, the audience can more clearly see how sexist the book is as Desiree goes through her journey. The male characters are also portrayed as more sinister because this victimizes Desiree while also staying consistent with the fact that it shows more sexism and he male treat Desiree and want her to chance. It also shows that the one time she sticks up for herself, she is rejected by Daniel and dies as punishment for her actions. This is not as clear in the book, as it seems almost unrelated. It was also highlighted by the fact that some of the characters change genders such as Asaka and Eurizuile. IN the novel they have more power than most of the other women, but they are portrayed in a more sexist way as some of their more sexist-feminine ways remain.
We were successful in creating an atmosphere where it is quite clear that the difference between Desiree and the other characters is gender. We were also successful in creating a more sinister place with the events that take place in our fictional city of New Haiti. We also were able to use props, costuming, and dialogue to help illustrate the power that the more male characters have over Desiree. We also changed the plot to have Andrea force Desiree to try to kill Daniel. This represents the fact that she represents Papa Ge.
Despite our successes, we did come up with some problems that we had to deal with. After trying to make Jack, one of my group members, into a girl, it was difficult to find costumes that fit his character without making Jack uncomfortable. We also had conflicting ideas over some of the visions that we had over the role of the fortune teller and whether it was going to be someone who would help Desiree. I thought that the fortune teller should be someone more interested in profiting off of Desiree problems and who didn’t’ genuinely care for her. They thought that the fortune teller should care for Desiree. In the end, we thought that the fortune teller should care for Desiree.
Overall, I think that my group did a good job of portraying the sexism form the novel in our performance. We have been working hard and have been successful in this portrayal, and I think it is working out quite well.
Google.com
One of the many ways that we showed the sexist nature of the book was by changing the genders of characters and making them more sinister. This effectively made Desiree seem more like a victim than she does in the book. The gender swapping also relates to the sexist nature of the book as Andrea is portrayed as a boy instead of a girl because it shows how Andrea is very manipulate and controlling in our adaption, despite the character itself remains a girl.
Through this process, the audience can more clearly see how sexist the book is as Desiree goes through her journey. The male characters are also portrayed as more sinister because this victimizes Desiree while also staying consistent with the fact that it shows more sexism and he male treat Desiree and want her to chance. It also shows that the one time she sticks up for herself, she is rejected by Daniel and dies as punishment for her actions. This is not as clear in the book, as it seems almost unrelated. It was also highlighted by the fact that some of the characters change genders such as Asaka and Eurizuile. IN the novel they have more power than most of the other women, but they are portrayed in a more sexist way as some of their more sexist-feminine ways remain.
We were successful in creating an atmosphere where it is quite clear that the difference between Desiree and the other characters is gender. We were also successful in creating a more sinister place with the events that take place in our fictional city of New Haiti. We also were able to use props, costuming, and dialogue to help illustrate the power that the more male characters have over Desiree. We also changed the plot to have Andrea force Desiree to try to kill Daniel. This represents the fact that she represents Papa Ge.
Despite our successes, we did come up with some problems that we had to deal with. After trying to make Jack, one of my group members, into a girl, it was difficult to find costumes that fit his character without making Jack uncomfortable. We also had conflicting ideas over some of the visions that we had over the role of the fortune teller and whether it was going to be someone who would help Desiree. I thought that the fortune teller should be someone more interested in profiting off of Desiree problems and who didn’t’ genuinely care for her. They thought that the fortune teller should care for Desiree. In the end, we thought that the fortune teller should care for Desiree.
Overall, I think that my group did a good job of portraying the sexism form the novel in our performance. We have been working hard and have been successful in this portrayal, and I think it is working out quite well.
Google.com
Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Adaption update
In the past few weeks, my class has been working on performing adaptions of "My Love, My Love." I am working with Adler and Jack on our modern adaption of the book, where I play Deseré. Our goal for our adaption is to show the sexist message of the book. We have been doing a lot of work on our adaption and it is coming along quite nicely.
The blocking of our adaption is quite good, because it reflects the power dynamics between the male and female characters quite well. An example of this is how I never am in the sender of the stage, as I am the only female character. It also draws focus to the important events, as it is quite simple and mostly is quite stationary. I also think that we have good chemistry, as it looks believable that we have the complex relationships between the characters in the adaption. I also am doing quite well with the memorization of the blocking and my lines, which lets us have more freedom acting it out. I am also doing a good job leading my group, as I help Adler and Jack learn their lines. I also wrote the majority of the script and give most of the blocking.
I also noticed that we could improve on certain aspects in our performance. After seeing the differences in projection in the other actors performances, I realized that I need to be able to project a little more, while still giving the impression that I am more timid that the other characters in my scene. I also saw that pacing was quite important after watching one of the other groups go too fast, so I have to work on slowing down when I talk. I also noticed how important it is for certain characters to have definable characteristics, but in my case, I need to have my character, Deseré, have very few defining characteristics compares to the other characters.
I think we are also don't a very good job at making it show that the book is very sexist and promotes women to change themselves for men, as it shows that it is the only way to move up in society. The casting is very reflective of this , as a girl plays Deseré, a character that has very little influence in the story. This is very different from the more dominate characters, who are played by the boys. The staging is one of the best ways that this is shown. I do not go into center stage at all during the adaption, while the other characters are in center stage. I also speak quieter than the other characters. It also is significantly shown in the script. Deseré is repeatedly controlled by the other characters in the adaption. She also is shown to give up many different things for the benefit of the characters portrayed by the boys. The other characters also often diminish Deseré and her desires.
Over the past few weeks, my group has made a lot of progress on our adaption of "My Love, My Love." We have been working very hard on our scenes. The blocking, script, and performances have evolved over our many practiced during class and has turned into something amazing. With more time, our performance will only get better and better. I can not wait to share that progress with you.
Write back soon.
Maddy L
The blocking of our adaption is quite good, because it reflects the power dynamics between the male and female characters quite well. An example of this is how I never am in the sender of the stage, as I am the only female character. It also draws focus to the important events, as it is quite simple and mostly is quite stationary. I also think that we have good chemistry, as it looks believable that we have the complex relationships between the characters in the adaption. I also am doing quite well with the memorization of the blocking and my lines, which lets us have more freedom acting it out. I am also doing a good job leading my group, as I help Adler and Jack learn their lines. I also wrote the majority of the script and give most of the blocking.
I also noticed that we could improve on certain aspects in our performance. After seeing the differences in projection in the other actors performances, I realized that I need to be able to project a little more, while still giving the impression that I am more timid that the other characters in my scene. I also saw that pacing was quite important after watching one of the other groups go too fast, so I have to work on slowing down when I talk. I also noticed how important it is for certain characters to have definable characteristics, but in my case, I need to have my character, Deseré, have very few defining characteristics compares to the other characters.
I think we are also don't a very good job at making it show that the book is very sexist and promotes women to change themselves for men, as it shows that it is the only way to move up in society. The casting is very reflective of this , as a girl plays Deseré, a character that has very little influence in the story. This is very different from the more dominate characters, who are played by the boys. The staging is one of the best ways that this is shown. I do not go into center stage at all during the adaption, while the other characters are in center stage. I also speak quieter than the other characters. It also is significantly shown in the script. Deseré is repeatedly controlled by the other characters in the adaption. She also is shown to give up many different things for the benefit of the characters portrayed by the boys. The other characters also often diminish Deseré and her desires.
Over the past few weeks, my group has made a lot of progress on our adaption of "My Love, My Love." We have been working very hard on our scenes. The blocking, script, and performances have evolved over our many practiced during class and has turned into something amazing. With more time, our performance will only get better and better. I can not wait to share that progress with you.
Write back soon.
Maddy L
Google.com
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