Theatre Production Critiques
What is a critique about?
You will be required to see 2 full length professional or college level theater productions during the semester. You will write a theater critique for each production.
There will not be any ELAC theater productions during the summer. Follow this link to theater productions in the Los Angeles Area: Los Angeles Theater. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)
If you are out of state, please email me the show you would like to attend and I will let you know if it is appropriate for the assignment. Be aware that you may be able to see shows for free or discounted student ticket prices.
How do I submit my critiques?
Critiques will be turned in via Turnitin.com Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)
Class ID 15426683
Enrollment Key: Theatre
How to use Turnitin.com (Links to an external site.)
When are the critiques due?
Critiques are due the last day of Week 5. Papers will not be accepted after this date.
How are we graded?
All papers are graded according to a rubric.
Extra Credit Critiques
If you choose to write an additional critique for a theater production you will need to see an college level production or higher of campus and follow all of the same guidelines and deadlines apply for the extra credit critique. There is a limit to one extra theater critique.
Plagiarism
Please be aware plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of three (3) or more words from another person’s writing, or of any of their ideas without proper attribution. You must cite your sources. It is fine to refer to what someone else said or wrote to further a discussion, but the writing or words used must be attributed to that person. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense. If you have any questions about how to cite a source please use:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an external site.)
http://www.plagiarism.org/citing-sources/cite-sources/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
PRODUCTION #2: ENDGAME by Samuel Beckett
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Show Link: https://vimeo.com/410824729 (Links to an external site.)
Password: Dark Gray
Script for Endgame: https://edisciplinas.usp.br/pluginfile.php/3346220/mod_resource/content/1/ENDGAME%20BY%20SAMUEL%20BECKETT.pdf (Links to an external site.)
Stage Agent's Synopsis:
"In a bleak house by the sea, blind and paralyzed Hamm torments his servant Clov, and his parents, Nagg and Nell. Hamm cannot stand up, while Clov cannot sit down. Nagg and Nell, who are legless and live in dustbins, cannot do either. Despite verbal abuse from Hamm, Clov is dedicated to the small family, and knows that they cannot exist without him. At the same time, Hamm realizes that Clov will have no purpose if he doesn’t serve them. Everyone threatens to leave each other, knowing that it will never happen.
Often viewed as the follow-up to Waiting for Godot, Endgame was originally written in French before being translated into English by Beckett himself. Set in a type of post-apocalyptic landscape, Endgame explores the same philosophies and theories of existence--specifically, the absurdity of life and its continuous repetitions without any meaning."
ENDGAME BY SAMUEL BECKETT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS
posted by bachelorandmaster.com
The Endgame falls into the category of theatre of absurd since it is a despairing play about hopelessness. It is a play where nothing happens once. The sense of despair is heightened by the fact that the characters are not waiting for anything other than death in the play. The fear of being incarnated after death is dominant to all the characters.
black and white photo of Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
In the play, two senses of characters are presented. Hamm and Clov represent human brain while Nagg and Nell represent memory. Hamm is a master, father figure. He is blind, paralytic and cannot stand. He sits on a chair and tells Clov to look on the dustbin and outside. Clov is servant son who cannot sit. The Idea of dependence is dominant on the play. The reciprocity is also realized in the play as Hamm provides food and shelter for Clov and Clov provides legs and eyesight to him. Finally, the break of reciprocity is the death for both of them in the play. Nagg and Nell are parents to Hamm. The parents Nagg and Nell are in the dustbin that displays the meaningless existence of old people.
Like other absurd drama the Endgame basically projects the human condition. In the play, Hamm and Clov talk the things related to brain that is the attempt to gain knowledge. Time and again Clov looks out on the sea, but finds nothing. There is no ship, no sail and no fish which suggest that there is no development in the life of these characters. Dead existence is prominent in the play. Clov looks out on the earth, but finds no tree and leaf.
As far as the stage setting is concerned; it is like a skull that suggests hell. The two windows, the ladder and the chair posited into the center embody the sign of danger. It is a creative element in the play. The play also possesses quite a number of allusions. The universe of endgame is seen as purgatory that is a state of limbo for purification. The purgatory is a region where one sinks to wipe out the sin. The play suggests purgatory. The characters have committed a sin, so they are in the process of purification in purgatory. Their sin was their birth and the window in the play represents the hope of salvation. As the play consists of Death in life and Life in Death, it tries to convey the idea that the worst thing that can happen to us is to be born and the next best thing that can happen to us is to be dying. The death is a reality, so it is better to be prepared for death. In this sense it is pessimistic play. Killing the rats and the flies suggests the death consciousness.
As far as the title is concerned; Endgame is a certain move in the chess. It is a term that describes an ending in chess where the outcome is already known. The reference of white and red is the pun for chess. In chess, someone loses and someone wins but in the play no one wins but all dies. The title of this play is symbolic in the sense that living the life is analogous to playing chess. All the characters are waiting for death. The death consciousness is alive throughout the play. That projects the helpless situation of human beings.
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