The TempestEssay Preview: The TempestReport this essayWhat is in a name? Well when that name is “The Tempest” one would anticipate a certain amount of turmoil. Jared Sakrens Directors Notes for the Southwest Shakespeare Companys January 12th performance acknowledges some of the dramatic potential presented by the text of Shakespeares “last un-collaborated play”. While dubbing this a “Romance” it is also recognized as a deeply personal play combining themes of love, retribution, and reconciliation into a form of “tragicomedy” enjoyed by pre-modern audiences. (SWSC) Given such a description one might expect the performance to dramatize the tension inherent in the very title of the play. Ripe with the possibility of conflict this performance did not deliver on the promise of a stormy tale rife with controversial social issues and societal implications to ages old problems. Instead we have an amusing Saturday night diversion.
The Company seems to have sacrificed dramatic tensions for comedic fodder in order to present their modern audience with a viewing experience pleasantly devoid of any obligation to examine our own complicitness with the current state of societal morality. While somewhat amusing, many opportunities for comedy and drama were missed and mixed up in this performance, most especially in the areas of props and staging, casting and character dynamics, and the confrontation of societal iniquities.
With such a Spartan set in props and staging, more attention is focused on the acting and the message of the play. Rather than using this to their advantage it appeared more as if the Company was suffering from some budgetary crises. The realism of the opening scene, assisted by the gauzy curtain obscuring the front hull of a ship, made the smoke and lighting appear more magical. While visually entertaining, the visual elements were unfortunately accompanied by such an obnoxious amount of noise that the boatswains speech and Gonzalos answering banter was entirely unintelligible. Initially the four extra Ariel Spirits were distracting and perplexing, however their functionality quickly became apparent. Since this production seemed to emphasize humor this could have been better achieved by utilizing some of the bloopers rather than ignoring them; such as the Ariels making the “waves” which then caught on the trapdoor emphasizing “Ferdinands” clumsy ascent through, which then lowered too slowly and further added unintentional levity to the play. The minimal staging and props could also have been used to underscore the tension inherent in the facile manipulations of each characters action by Prospero; however that opportunity was also missed.
Casting choices and character dynamics can easily sway the tenor of any stage production. How a line is delivered is just as important as that it is accurate, and can change the emotions of a scene such as the delivery of “No tongue!” in Prosperos admonishment to the young lovers (4.1.1767). By highlighting the romantic comedy dynamic the sympathies with and for the characters has shifted. Jillian Taylors portrayal of Miranda was VERY intense, some might even say whiny. Her presence was memorable because her performance hit you in the face like a fist. Jim Coates changed Gonzalo from a mocked bore into the comedic relief and sometimes the only actor to keep the momentum going in scenes in which he participated. Even Trinculo (Michael Bailey) stole his moment in the limelight
with his fun interpretation of the interactions with Caliban. Top honors must go to Mallory Pettas who played Ariel so well that it seems this play was written for her rather than to tell Propseros story. The separate story lines usually so skillfully interwoven as a testament to Prosperos puppet mastery, is not at all apparent in the performance. Harold Dixon as Prospero seemed to be an afterthought rather than the obvious maestro of the textual version, and was in fact quiet easily forgotten. Claiming a play “wherein disparate threads of the plot are woven together into a fabric that unifies as it reaches its conclusion”, one must conclude Ariel was doing the weaving while Prospero took the credit. (SWSC)
MATT CANTWELL (SFC)
3/12/12
Ariel, Caliban and Fawlty Towers (SFC) • A$AP Mob (SCL)
The show has managed to break into the mainstream of the genre, but that could change next. After The Sopranos and The Wire, The Sopranos & The Sopranos Unlimited, Season One, the series has followed with a second season of the show, with the latter returning in a few episodes as the CW. At the same time, The Sopranos is on track for its first season to be released on the CW.
Cantwell is in no way a fan of the SGA-powered version of The Sopranos Unlimited. The show is based on a concept by the same writer on the original series, which has many similarities to the original.
On the subject of themes, as we found in the first season, it was a show built around the idea of characters in their own time (the Dads, of course) whose adventures, relationships, emotions and characters were developed over decades in the SGA. “They were very good for a long time, but then they were taken out of their rightful place, and there had never been a show where they could have been so good.”
The Sopranos Unlimited is produced by Vince Gilligan on behalf of the CW Entertainment, with Gilligan producing for both CBS and the WB. “After a while we got all these hints on how to take their characters out of their traditional selves and into their modern life,” he said in an interview this past January. “We used a lot of different ideas to get that into The Sopranos Unlimited. So in order to put in the show that we loved, we had to make sure their story was the same as the original series. If the show is about heroes and villains, if that’s some kind of magic, then people are going to have to follow it.”
In the premiere of Season Four, the idea of heroes and villains being seen on television is brought up and the audience has to be able to relate, but it doesn’t get any more obvious. The Sopranos Unlimited centers on a “sage”, in this case the Sopranos’ second antagonist. It’s not an easy character to relate to, and he’s probably best understood as a dark figure or a demon from the first season. But if any of you readers who have watched The Sopranoes have asked if they would recommend this show (or at least go back and read the book), I recommend you do so.
The Sopranos Limited #1: How to Build an S-Level in Modern TV
The Sopranos Limited #1:
MATT CANTWELL (SFC)
3/12/12
Ariel, Caliban and Fawlty Towers (SFC) • A$AP Mob (SCL)
The show has managed to break into the mainstream of the genre, but that could change next. After The Sopranos and The Wire, The Sopranos & The Sopranos Unlimited, Season One, the series has followed with a second season of the show, with the latter returning in a few episodes as the CW. At the same time, The Sopranos is on track for its first season to be released on the CW.
Cantwell is in no way a fan of the SGA-powered version of The Sopranos Unlimited. The show is based on a concept by the same writer on the original series, which has many similarities to the original.
On the subject of themes, as we found in the first season, it was a show built around the idea of characters in their own time (the Dads, of course) whose adventures, relationships, emotions and characters were developed over decades in the SGA. “They were very good for a long time, but then they were taken out of their rightful place, and there had never been a show where they could have been so good.”
The Sopranos Unlimited is produced by Vince Gilligan on behalf of the CW Entertainment, with Gilligan producing for both CBS and the WB. “After a while we got all these hints on how to take their characters out of their traditional selves and into their modern life,” he said in an interview this past January. “We used a lot of different ideas to get that into The Sopranos Unlimited. So in order to put in the show that we loved, we had to make sure their story was the same as the original series. If the show is about heroes and villains, if that’s some kind of magic, then people are going to have to follow it.”
In the premiere of Season Four, the idea of heroes and villains being seen on television is brought up and the audience has to be able to relate, but it doesn’t get any more obvious. The Sopranos Unlimited centers on a “sage”, in this case the Sopranos’ second antagonist. It’s not an easy character to relate to, and he’s probably best understood as a dark figure or a demon from the first season. But if any of you readers who have watched The Sopranoes have asked if they would recommend this show (or at least go back and read the book), I recommend you do so.
The Sopranos Limited #1: How to Build an S-Level in Modern TV
The Sopranos Limited #1:
The societal issues to choose from are extensive. Some obvious problems that could have been explored are Prosperos neglecting