Ishmail R.

Coleman 3/23/15 Live Performance Report

Section I- The Team

Director: Adriano Cabral

Playwright: Naomi Lizuka

Set Designer: Alan Yeong

Lighting Designer: Joe Monagh

Costume Designer: Sarah Bearden

Section II- Before the Show

Before the show began, the Townsend lobby area was being treated as an actual theatre

scenario, and we were required to line up and take a different entrance into the show. This was

not my first live play performance, but it was my first time attending Townsend for a play, which

was interesting because I never spent much time within the building until that night. The

demographics of people that were in the lobby and in the play itself were mainly college

students, and staff members along with a few older guests with children. The mixed

demographic of people made the play more authentic like because they have a variety of

different audience members and not just students attending due to a live performance

requirement. I think this made the performers perform even better because they had to

accommodate other people who were watching. I was a bit nervous walking into the theatre

because I didn’t know what to expect and I didn’t know where to find my seat, so that gave me a

bit of anxiety. Once I found my seat, I was ready to see what the play was about and was a bit

excited to see how it turned out. When watching a play with your peers as the performers, it’s a

bit more special than watching trained professionals because you get a sense of likeness from

people of your same age bracket.

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Section III- Design

Set- One thing that I was impressed by within the play was the Set Design. Although the

design was somewhat simple, the way in which they utilized it was unique and gave a bit of

unrealistic realism, meaning that they took a prop and made it live. For example, the metal

tower prop that was used as a train and an industrial item for manufacturing purposes and each

time that the prop was used, the audience knew what purpose it served for the scene. I liked how

due to the dramatic interaction between the actors and props/set, it made the visual aspect of

watching seem more real. In correlation with the lighting and the sound, the set was able to

stand out and give the audience a perception or an idea as to what is about to take place, or where

the character may be during the specific time (For example, the door props, and the fencing made

us know that we were inside a structure, whereas the blue wavy paper/blanket when utilized

made us realize that we were in an ocean. Overall, the simple designs worked effectively for this

specific type of play.

Costume- Honestly, the costumes during certain periods of the play confused me because

I couldn’t figure out which time period they were supposed to depict. For example, when the

couple came to sweatshop area trying to buy things, they were dressed in suits and causal gear,

which made me think that the play was somewhat contemporary. However, when the scene

switched to Anon and other characters, they were wearing dingy attire which made me think it

was a different time period. But after a while, I didn’t focus so much on their costumes and I just

focused on the dialogue. The main costume that majority of the cast wore was a beige like

colored shirt that was a bit worn and stretched out for a particular dingy effect. The characters

utilized a Greek persona mask in order to switch between characters. Also, certain characters

wore casual attire in order to get into character as well as a type of African skirt garment In order
Ishmail R. Coleman 3/23/15 Live Performance Report

to showcase African culture and give a sense of identity. The materials of the costumes seemed

to be made out of cloth, cotton, and silk and gave the impression of cheap, past time attire.

Lights- The lighting/lights of the play were essential to the play in which it provide

different effects for different scenarios. For example, when the scenes transitioned to the ocean,

it was blue lighting in order to signify the ocean. Also, the flickering of lights when showcasing

explosions and firefights, which gives off a realistic element, as well as suspense when in

correlation with the sound. The lighting and sound combination gave the play a realistic aspect

to it, especially with limited props. Also, another interesting thing that stuck out to me was using

lights in order to bring forth certain shadow effects (For example, the scene when Anon is

escaping from authorities and their flashing red lights are present, but the dimming of the actual

stage lights provided a background shadow, similar to a scene when showing the silhouette of a

body). Overall, I felt that the lighting was effective within the play because it brought forth

emotional and suspenseful aspects to the scenes.

Section IV- The Play

On February 24, 2015, I attended the live play titled Anonymous by Naomi Lizuka. Prior

to seeing the play, I had no information on what the play was about, or what the themes of the

play were, so I was quite anxious to see what the play was about. The play was mainly about a

young man who escaped from his war torn hometown with his mother, but lost contact with her

after a terrible storm. The play then showcases the young man journey in trying to find his

mother. My first impression of the play was that it was quite interesting and kept me captivated.

The dialogue that the play engaged in was unique because it left you wondering what was going

to happen in the next scene. The dialogue wasn’t too revealing of the storyline so the audience

had to wait to figure out what was going to happen next, which was quite interesting. However,
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one thing that kept frustrating me about the play was that I couldn’t decipher if it was supposed

to depict a specific time period. After a while, I figured that the play is doing this on purpose to

bring forth another message, so I didn’t let it bother me too much. Thematically speaking, the

play brought forth some interesting themes, such as determination, identity, acculturation, and

trust. The themes that resonate within me the most was the theme of identity, especially within

the Anon character. It seemed that everywhere he went his identity was threatened, and he was

somewhat being forced to try to accept new lifestyles or becoming acculturated into existing

lifestyles. For example, when he was staying with his new family and his “girlfriend” urged him

to change his ways and become more modernized to a sense, and he refused to forget his past

and where he came from. I believe that showcases the idea that many people when they leave

their countries/cultures, they become indoctrinated into other cultures and complete forget their

own and their identity. This was the main theme that I felt was the central core to the play

because Anon’s character refused to change into anything other than himself, no matter how

many different walks of life that he engaged in. In addition to Anon’s performance, another

performance that I felt was strong was the performance of the wife who was attempting to by

Anon’s mothers slick garment. I feel that her performance was an explicit outward expression of

how people in modern times have no cultural or moral values toward anything that is not

materialistic. Her dialogue and acting showcases mentality of a lot of people today, especially in

America, in which they are only concerned with what they can get at the moment, as well as

what they can get in order to improve social status. Her character and Anon’s are complete polar

opposites, but both showcase something meaningful within play, which is that materialism,

wealth, and certain objects don’t buy happiness or shape identity, but sometimes it’s the little

things that matter the most. Besides dialogue, costumes, and general acting, another moment in
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the play that impressed me was the final action scene. I wasn’t expecting them to be skilled in

sword fighting, as well as making it appear to be real fighting. I believe the actors did a great job

in pulling of that scene for the audience’s enjoyment.

Overall, I enjoyed the play for what it was, but there were still certain aspects of it that

could have been improved. One thing I felt that could have been improved was that they should

have had a bit more actors in order to play some of the roles. It was fine to see the same actors

play multiple roles, but at times it seemed like it became overwhelming for them. Also, the time

period aspect of the play really bothered me, in which certain times, I couldn’t tell if the play was

supposed to be based in the 1800s, 1900s, or 2000s. However, after looking back on the play, I

think that by formulating the play in that manner, it gave the play a specific type of feeling to it,

which I came to enjoy. I enjoyed attending the play and it was a great experience for me, in

which I plan to go to more plays in the future due to me enjoying this school play. I felt that the

actors did a great job as their characters and gave the audience something to enjoy. Furthermore,

by engaging in this live performance activity, it made me want to look into a career doing

something within play/theatre production, in which I would like to help provide research toward

new play ideas/topics.