Intro: This past week I saw the production, "The Divine: A play for Sarah Bernhardt" and I got a great perspective on two completely different backgrounds during the early 1900's. I really enjoyed this because it gave me an opportunity to understand how people from totally different settings can meet together on their paths of life. Through a series of interesting and unfortunate events we find The Amazing Actress Sarah Marshall coming in contact with poor Bible Student Tolbert who are on the path towards doing right by themselves and the people around them. It gave a great insight on seeing how far people go to help the ones they love and how growing up in different environments guides the way we go throughout our lives.
Spatial: I have been to the Constans Theatre many times so as normal I way very exited as I walked in. My physical environment was very positive right off the bat for we found our seats very quickly and were in the middle of our and just about in the center of the theatre. Our location certainly enhanced our experience for all the action on stage could be seen and heard clearly from where we sat. Once the stage became lit and we observed the design, the room fell very silent as we were all very curious to see the actors come out, and the story unfold. The large size of the auditorium played little part due to my specific seat and the lighting helped me focus on the stage and the characters very well. I think in life when you are in a comfortable and preferred atmosphere, your attitude and maybe even success will reflect your feelings about being able to spend time in the places you love. Location and place certainly play a role in the good life by making it much easier to strive for and accomplish our goals when we reside or spend time in a preferable area.
Social: I attended this play with three of my close friends and I believe it positively enhance my experience at the production. Before production we did a little research on the history of the play and studied what the details of the assignment entailed. This helped us better focus on the play because we know what elements of our experience we should focus on. I think by attending this play with other friends it enhanced my experience because I was able to discuss my thoughts and ideas before during intermission and when the . This especially helped us all take in the good lessons and ideals that came form the play through different scenes and actions that some of us maybe didn't understand. I believe one of the most important things to keep in mind on the path towards The Good life is having shared experiences. You learn may more when doing and experiencing new things with others because you always have another perspective on the subject matter at hand
Cultural: Getting to see the struggle of Tolbert and the successes of Bernhardt helped me understand the attitude and motives of the two characters based on their very different situations. I believe the main central issue was that people born in poverty are forced to make much more difficult and harsh decisions than those born into wealth. The research I did before the performance helped me gain insight on how a young financially-unfortunate priest students comes into contact with the famous and beautiful actress Sarah Bernhardt. It was very easy to judge Tolbert for his wrong doings in the first half of the performance but after getting more details of his true story in the second half, its tough for anyone to blame him for the things he did. It was also easy to admire Sarah for her talent and fame but I was more reluctant to gain respect for her due to the fact that she never had to overcame anything as extraordinary before. It's tough for me to personally relate to the experience but it definitely changed my views on the subject matter by making me more conscious before judging someone for what could be desperate actions
Emotional: I believe this performance gives us all a great opportunity for catharsis. Many of us have guilt built up in us but by seeing other people go through tough situations just like us, it makes everything easier to accept and understand. We all at some points believe we aren't doing good enough, or maybe we don't have what it takes but by seeing the heavy struggles some people experience and are able to overcome helps us and motivates us to do better. It can motivate us to come clean and be completely honest with ourselves, by doing this one can let go of the past and embrace the future and positive change to come. Some people have downfalls and find themselves in rough positions but by experiencing things like this it gives us an opportunity of realization that we can be happy and satisfied with ourselves if we put in enough work and focus on the right things. It is important to find what makes you happy and by coming clean with yourself you can accomplish the things necessary to help you on your path to The Good Life.
Sources: Pictures 1/2/3/4/5/6: 1) Colour :: Properties of Stage Lighting." Pinterest. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017. Ouzounian, Richard. 2)"The Divine: A Play for Sarah Bernhardt Holds Harrowing Moments but Doesn't Quite Jell: Review." Thestar.com. N.p., 25 July 2015. Web. 06 Feb. 2017 3)Http://mimesis-dergi.org/author/merveis/. "Devlet Tiyatroları Temsil Ve Seyirci Sayısını Arttırdı." Mimesis Sahne Sanatları Portali. N.p., 05 Jan. 2012. Web. 06 Feb. 2017 4)Myself 5)Fischer, Mike. "Pride Theatre Delivers Emotional 'Lion in Winter'." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. N.p., 20 Jan. 2017. Web. 06 Feb. 2017 6)Jan 21, 2009 by Nicole Smith in Live Design Blog Archive. "WIREWORKS TAKES CENTER STAGE AT RENOVATED MISSOURI THEATRE." Live Design Blog Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017