Anna in the Tropics

   The moment I stepped inside the theatre I knew I was in a totally different environment. On Friday the 22^nd of October, I made way to Daytona State College for a showing of Anna in the Tropics, a play about the lives of Cuban immigrants who brought the cigar industry to Florida and how a romantic novel changed their lives forever. Entering the theatre the first thing I noticed was the stage, set up to face the audience. The seating for us, the audience, was nothing I could have foreseen, with three separate sections with a maximum of fifty seats each, rising up to overlook the stage. While it may have been small for some viewer’s taste, I felt at home as well as close to the actors as I could ever be. The vibe I felt from the fellow audience members gave me a sense that they were there to be entertained, not by each other but by the actors onstage who gave their time and skill for the production. As people waited and anticipated the beginning of the program there was chatter between them. 

   As soon as the lights dimmed, there was silence, showing the convention that the audience should, if not must, show respect to the performers. Throughout the performance the audience as a whole made sure to keep the silence as if it promised the cast beforehand. While the majority of the crowd had paid noticed to the habit of silencing, or at least setting their cell phones to vibrate, some had forgotten, possibly being too anxious for the play to start. During the show, the occasional phone would noise off, creating a temporary interruption for the audience, some even turning towards the sound’s location to glare. The performers however, ignored the potential interruptions altogether and continued to give their all for those still showing attention and respect. 

   All through the play of Anna in the Tropics, several conventions were shown through the actions of the audience. After each scene, the audience as a whole was obliged, as they should be, to clap or applaud for the recent performers. The actors too have conventions, some easier to point out than others, and example being that they would all bow together, and then individually, once the play had finished. As they did this, we as a whole would cheer and clap for them, showing our support and appreciation for their talents. Everything on both sides of the event shown nothing out of the ordinary, overall I wasn’t treated to many surprises but I did witness a great example of improv, an unrehearsed action or expression. 

I came to the play alone, however I discussed with fellow attendees about the performance. This is my favorite part, seeing what others have learned from the same event as me, often times being something totally unrelated. When you might believe that the murder of the lector in the performance was due to shear hatred, another witnesses could see it as an act of fate tying the lives of the characters even closer.

 

Felner, Mira, and Claudia Orenstein. The World of Theatre - Traditional and Innovation. 

     first. Boston MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006. 458. Print.

Mime and Pantomime

Marcel Marceau

   Mime, also known as pantomime is a performance art form that uses only the body movements and motions of the mime. With roots as far back as Ancient Greek, the art of mime came from a single masked dancer which was called Pantomimus. This language of gestures is reborn every day with the need for man to express himself, and by the mid-twentieth century artists like Marcel Marceau did just that. Accomplishing what every performer dreams about, Marceau entertained our minds by using only his body to depict objects and situations that were not even there!

   Not to be confused with silent comedy, in which an actor portrays a character in a film or sketch, miming has destinctive characteristics. The traditional mime outfit included a black and white striped top, white gloves and a black cap (see pic on left). The mime would also use makeup to conceal his or her face as well as add more depth or a certain emotion.


   Witnessing a mime performe could be a new experience in itself. You can never know what the mime could use as a prop, using body movements and actions the possibilities are endless! One moment the mime could be dancing with an invisible partner and the next pulling an audience member in with an unseeable lasso!

Did You Know?

• Most mimes won't make a sound, but some some contemporary mimes will communicate their actions with the help of vocal sounds.

• Pantomine Blanche, the white face mimes use was created by Jean-Gaspard. Many early mimes felt more comfortable performing behind masks, he found this interfered with his acting, and therefore decided to paint his mask on. 

The Legendary Marcel Marceau in action.

"THE ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE ART OF MIME."  World of Mime 
     Theatre (1996): n. pag. Web. 18 Oct 2010. <http://www.mime.info/history-lust.html>.

"mime and pantomime." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. 18 Oct. 2010 

     <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1452384/mime-and-pantomime>.

Felner, Mira, and Claudia Orenstein. The World of Theatre - Traditional and Innovation. 

     first. Boston MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006. 458. Print.

Puppetry

   Puppetry, while commonly used as entertainment for children of the United States, has roots from sophisticated cultures around the globe. Ancient cultures would use puppets to tell stories, teach lessons, and in some tribes they were used in rituals of magic and healing. Each society that incorporates a form of puppetry falls into one of four categories: hand, string, rod, or shadow puppets. A puppet can require more than one operator depending on its size and type. With hand puppets for example, a puppeteer can handle two at a time, whereas with a string puppet, a marionette (see picture below), might need two hands to produce a certain body movement. Puppetry is a true form of theatre, but among its elements, the visual effect takes precedence over the oral. Imbuing an inanimate object with life is what has kept its entertainment alive all these generations, and gives us, the audience, that puppetry is magical.

 

   Watching puppeteers perform is a sight to behold, depending on the style and tradition behind the story however will greatly alter what you gain from the experience. For a hand puppet performance, generally used to entertain children, more than likely we would see a story with comical relief and a possible moral lesson to be learned. But for a string or marionette puppet we can see much more detail and require more skill to operate, giving the audience a better description of the character, and thus allowing more elements to portray in the story. The stage will be miniature in comparison to standard theaters, an example being a booth for a hand puppeteer to hide himself behind as
he controls his hand puppets, see picture (right).

Did you know?

• The name Marionette , meaning "Little Mary" may have come from the figure of The Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus, in the telling of the Nativity story. It may also have come from the word marotte meaning fool's scepter.                                           

• In The Middle Ages the Christian Church used puppets to spread church doctrine, with the monks and priests as the puppeteers. The Nativity, the story of the birth of Jesus, was a favorite play.

Below is a video of a more modern use of hand puppets, the characters representing those from the Harry Potter series.

Sources

Copp, Linda, and Carol Carbonell. "History of Puppetry." Puppetry (2004): n. pag. 

     Web. 3 Oct 2010. <http://sunniebunniezz.com/puppetry/puphisto.htm>.

Barone, Nick. "Puppetry Traditions Around the World." Puppetry Home Page n. pag. 

     Web. 3 Oct 2010. <http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/traditions/index.html>.

Felner, Mira, and Claudia Orenstein. The World of Theatre - Traditional and Innovation. 

     first. Boston MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2006. 458. Print.