The Spatial Experience

When I entered the auditorium, I noticed the very nice facility and the theatre. This was my first experience at the theatre. I arrived early which resulted with me being seated in the pit at the very front about three rows back. The dimming of the lights made the audience feel like a part of the play and personally being seated so close enhanced my experience. The role of shared experiences in the good life are for us to understand one another whether we have the same experiences or different experiences.

The Social Experience

I attended the play alone, but found friends when I arrived there. It made the experience better as we helped one another understand what was going on in the play and we bounced our thoughts off one another. The discussion at the end of the play helped open everyone's minds up to different ideas as well.

The Cultural and Intellectual Experience

I didn't have a good understanding of the play before I went so I went to it completely blind and not knowing what to expect. The play addressed a few conflicts that were in society during that time period. One of the issues was the sexual assault of the priest on the main character Leo. This issue refers to some mistakes that were made in the church a long time ago. This issue showed how it hurt Leo and how it affected him negatively long term as he resulted in being more violent and doing outrageous things like stealing the silverware. Another issue was that of child labor which was also a huge issue back in the day as many children were being injured and being killed from accidents when they were working with the dangerous machinery in the textile mills. The church addressed the issue of the child labor, but the boss of the factory argued that the children who work in the factories are the one's who make all the fancy goods for the church.

The Emotional Experience

The play opened our minds up to a better understanding of the issues that occurred back then. However, I was raised Catholic, so my viewpoint didn't really change at all. I understand the issues back in the day, but that is the past. I personally feel like this play was aimed at and attacked the church which I personally take some offense to.

Sources

http://jameskarasreviews.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-divine-play-for-sarah-bernhardt.html

https://tsgds.com/theater-design-consulting/

http://arts.ufl.edu/in-the-loop/events/the-divine-a-play-for-sarah-bernhardt/

http://www.jacksongalloway.com/news/2015/7/22/remnants-of-a-bygone-era