The Spatial Experience

This performance was held in the Constance Theatre at the University of Florida Reitz Student Union. Overall, it was an ideal venue for this production because of the large stage space and adequate number of seats in the house. When I first entered the theatre, I had an immediate sense that this play was going to be of high quality simply based on the legitimacy of the venue and the well-designed stage set up. I was seated a few rows from the front and directly in the center which made for an optimal play watching experience. Throughout the entirety of the production, I had a clear view of all the actors faces and was thus able see every emotion they were trying to convey. When the house lights dimmed and the audience went quiet, I felt immediate anticipation and excitement for what was to come on the stage in front of me. As for place in relation to the Good Life, the quality of the place you are in can have a significant impact on your overall experience and determine whether or not you will perceive your time to be good or bad. If the venue of a performance is less than adequate, or simply not very nice, it may cause your opinion of the experience to be lower even if the play itself was good. Overall, the spatial experience the Constance Theatre provided allowed the production to be perceived by the audience in the best way possible.

The Social Experience

I attended this performance with my roommate, Kayla, who is also in my Good Life class. Kayla and I have become very good friends and having her there made my overall experience much more enjoyable. Attending art events, plays, or movies with friends will almost always enhance the quality of your experience because you now have someone to discuss and share your thoughts with about what you are seeing. As a result of attending the play with Kayla, I not only developed my own opinions about the play, but had the opportunity to hear her interpretations as well. We were then able to discuss and share our thoughts on the play which resulted in an even more enriching experience. In preparation for going to the performance, we decided to take some time just before to get ready and look a little nicer than how we usually look for a normal day of school. However, we did not look up reviews or summarizations of the play because we wanted to go into our viewing experience with a fresh and open mind as to better form our own opinions. Sharing enrichment experiences with friends is a vital part of the Good Life. Happiness is ultimately found within, however, the most fulfilling forms of joy are often found in close fellowship with friends and loved ones.

The Cultural and Intellectual Experience

Seeing this performance has both help me develop a new understanding of my own culture and expand on my previous understanding. This play has made me more aware of how the people of my generation, including myself, can often take our privileges and opportunities for granted. People that lived during the time period of this play were less likely to be exposed to the amount of opportunities we have today. Particularly, those of the working class were much more limited on what they could do with their life. The central issue addressed in the performance touches upon this notion that people living in poverty during the time period faced many life limitations and often found themselves “stuck”. Prior attending the performance, I was aware of the harsh factory conditions and how life may have been for people working in them. However, this performance shined some light on the lives of people living in Seminary school during this time would have been like and the various struggles those people might have faced. In my own life, I too must “find myself” through trial and error in faced paced world.

The Emotional Experience

In “The Divine”, the main characters undergo emotional and personal transformations by coming clean about their past and what it means to be human. For example, Talbot, comes clean about his past when he tells his story about how he was molested as a child by a priest. The characters also come clean by realizing what they truly want and what it will take for them to be happy. Whether it was meeting an idol, writing a play, being a star, providing for your family, or achieving social justice, each character discovers something about themselves that helps them find what will really make them happy. In this story, when the characters came clean it was crucial that they put aside what society demanded of them and looked inward to what they personally desire for their life. In our own search for happiness, it is important that we realize what we think it means to be human and what it means to have a good life.