Sollenberger 1 Aaron Sollenberger Prof.

Morong Theatre 29 October 2013 Production Analysis On Saturday, October 19, 2013 I saw the Production Othello at Robinson hall. Othello by William Shakespeare is about jealousy. Othello marries Desdemona, a young and beautiful lady that any man would want to have as a wife. Othello is ordered to defend against the Turks in Cyprus and he takes Desdemona with him. Throughout the play, Iago, an assistant of Othello, successfully manipulates Othello to doubt the loyalty of his wife. In the end Othello kills Desdemona. Briefly after his horrid act he learns that he was set up and Desdemona was loyal and deeply in love with him. Upon this realization Othello takes his own life. I believe Shakespeares purpose for writing Othello was to show the effects jealousy could have on a person. Othello is so overwhelmed with jealousy that he decides to take the life of his wife and then even takes his own life. For this specific production I think the creative team was trying to show the effects of jealousy with as much drama as they could. I know they are professionals and thats what they are supposed to do but you could just feel the emotion when the actors/actresses were talking. The most important production element of this play was the actors work. The actors did an exceptional job of conveying believable characters, feelings,

Sollenberger 2 and actions. I thought Iago did the best job of portraying his character. He made his emotions very dramatic and thats what made the production enjoyable. The actors were consistent and in control. They had the same intense emotion throughout the production and it never seemed to die off even towards the end of the play. Their control was good too. They knew when to turn it up a notch and when to soften up. The actors voices were loud and clear which made the production easier to follow. Since there were only 5 actors playing multiple roles I was worried I would get lost and not know who was who but since their voices were easy to understand I could easily follow the production. The ensemble of the actors was also impressive. They worked as a team and knew exactly what to do at the specific times. I thought the physicalization was the only part lacking in the actors work. There was less movement than I was expecting but it could be the fact that the stage was small. Another important production element was the designers work. I was disappointed with the work of the designer. There were minimum props and the costumes stayed pretty much the same throughout the production except for small changes. The lighting wasnt anything special but it was suffice for the production that was taking place. The only sound was the actors voices and two small instruments that were played few times throughout the play. Some people might have enjoyed watching the production like this but personally I think it would have been a lot better if there were more props, more sound, and better costumes. I was impressed with the directors work in this production. The elements of the play were smooth and coordinated efficiently. Also the pace and rhythm of the production was appropriate for the play and

Sollenberger 3 appropriate for the audience. The only negative element I have about the directors work is the play was not staged in an interesting way. I did not think the director created interesting stage pictures and didnt utilize the stage or available space. There was one time when Iago stepped off the stage and walked around the audience and I thought that was the only interesting way they utilized the available space. I would have liked to see more of that. I do not think the director tried to pull the experience outside of the auditorium. I think it was a wise choice not to do this because the intermission is meant to be a break from the play and if the director would have tried to pull the production into the lobby it would have been too much. I think this play was a wise choice for this particular theatre. There were only five actors so the stage size was not a problem. Also this theatre had all the technical capabilities needed for the production. I would return to see another production at this theatre and I would also see another play written by this playwright. Shakespeares tragedies seem to be entertaining and I think most of them would interest me. For the most part I enjoyed this production. The actors were very professional and even with the limited props they made the show entertaining. The emotion they showed during their performance was impressive to say the least. With the limited props and costumes it really made the viewer use their imagination. I have never experienced a production quite like this one. All of the plays Ive seen have had detailed sets, props, and costumes and this one had none of that. Also most of the plays I have seen have more than five actors. I

Sollenberger 4 wouldnt say I prefer seeing a play where you have to use your imagination to create the set, props, and costumes but it was a nice change.