This photo was taken by Edwin Mouhawasse, a student at the University of Florida. This photo was taken before I watched "The Divine: A Play for Sarah Bernhardt" on January 26. I had read about the play beforehand in order to gain a better sense of the play as I actually watched it.
The Spatial Experience
This photo was taken by Seung Park, a student at the University of Florida. The Constans Theatre was a very interesting and fascinating place as there were so many engrossing artifacts. Upon entering the theatre, I felt a rush of nostalgia. When I was in middle school, I used to take a drama class in which I would regularly attend plays. So, entering the Constans Theatre gave me a nice feeling of reminiscence. My seat was on the right side of the theatre in the back, which I feel gave me a pretty good view as I was able to see the entire stage and setting without having to squint or constantly look up. In addition, the size of the theatre was rather large, allowing a comfortable experience and letting a vast amount of students to enjoy the play. As soon as the lights dimmed and the play started, I was immediately focused on the stage and the performers. Their realistic portrayal of their characters was rather phenomenal and created a lifelike performance. In my opinion, place plays a major role in the Good Life as one's natural surroundings help shape an individual's actions, leading to a proper path to the Good Life.
The Social Experience
The picture on the left is a selfie (taken by me) of my friends and I before watching "The Divine: A Play for Sarah Bernhardt" and the picture on the right is a picture of my friends and I after the play. The photo on the right was taken by Bethany Greene, a student at the University of Florida. The student in the left photo are, from left to right, Seung Park, Hamza Elmohd, Edwin Mouhawasse, and Kunal Kaushal (me). All of us are students here at the University of Florida. To get ready for the play, I read about the play and read the program to gain a brief sense about what the play would be about. By attending the play with my friends, we were able to take our different perspectives regarding the play and discussed our thoughts and opinions after the play ended. This discussion proves the crucial role that shared experiences play in the Good Life, as thought provoking experiences with those close to you allow you to become a more informed citizen overall.
The Cultural and Intellectual
The performers made a real effort to portray the time and place of the play. Throughout the play, the main central issue that was addressed was the awareness of the injustices that were going on in Quebec City during the early 20th century. Before I watched the play, I did not have much knowledge about the social injustices of the 1900's, but I did know that the upper-class lived more luxurious and glamorous than the lower-class, who oftentimes faced inhuman and harsh conditions to survive. I also believed that the upper-class had no intentions of improving the lives of the upper-class; however, after watching the play, I realized this notion was wrong as Sarah Bernhardt (an upper-class citizen) helped expose the injustices of the Boss and his factory. This subject matter does play a role into my personal life. I used to teach taekwondo, and the kids who attended the taekwondo academy all came from different backgrounds. The kids who were from lower socioeconomic backgrounds clearly had family issues, and those kids from higher socioeconomic showed compassion by sharing their toys with the others. The moral of this personal anecdote is to prove the idea that the upper-class can oftentimes benefit those of the lower-class.
The Emotional Experience
This picture was taken by Edwin Mouhawasse, a student here at the University of Florida. In my opinion, the play allowed for katharsis because the play allowed me, personally, to experience the everyday social injustices faced by the main characters. By learning about these inequities and understanding the real life struggle of these individuals, I was able to realize the social injustices that are going on today. In a sense, the unfairnesses shown in "The Divine: A Play for Sarah Bernhardt" allowed me to come to terms with today's social inequities and to come clean by deciding to help those who are in need. Overall, this play helped me realize that in order to truly make a difference in the world, I must actively attempt to provide for those facing social injustices; this will help me come to terms with myself and clean my emotions by proving my worth as a noble human being.