Eurydice Reflection

Describe in detail your experience with your assigned technical element as you went through the process of adapting it to the script. 
a)What did you hope to learn?

I hoped to learn about the exact role of directing as well as how to be a good visionary for a play. I wanted to be able to fully fulfill my role, as well as, lead with confidence and assurance. I wasn’t really confident about what exactly a director even was, when I signed up to direct Eurydice. I just knew that I was interested and that I wanted to help make my vision a reality. I also hoped to learn about a practitioner with greater detail and how to apply the viewpoints of Anne Bogart.

b)What did you learn?

I learned about my role as a director, and about how I could better be a leader to my cast. I also learned how to organize much better as I was in charge of meeting up with each of the directors for each role.

c)What do you wish you could've learned?

I wish that I could’ve learned to be much more efficient with the rehearsal times, as well as planning out each one with more detail. It took a while before I understood how to really lead a rehearsal that would be helpful to the cast. It was difficult as I was unsure of what to do to fill the time, or what warm ups or what practices would be helpful to the team. I also wish that I could’ve learned physical theatre with greater detail. I did some light research on Anne Bogart, but I feel that I should’ve done the actual practices with my cast.

d)What research did you do to support and enhance your work with tech?

For that, I researched how I could be more helpful as a director. I would research what exactly the tech would have to do. I also helped set up the lights and met up with Mr. Black. I also constantly checked in on my light, set, and sound directors to ensure that everything was going smoothly. I also researched the way the Sarah Ruhl had used lighting and sound in her own play, as well as what other university and theatre groups would do. However,

Describe in detail what YOU contributed to the performance concept and vision as a whole. When you think about where you began and what you saw this week, what are your feelings and/or thoughts? What have YOU personally learned about the process of building a show from the beginning to end based on the past few months?

This performance concept and vision was very specific in the beginning, however, as time passed, we honestly began to question our vision. I believe that is where we fell short. Our thoughts in the beginning was to get too much done, in an unrealistic way. I feel that we should have been more patient with each step. Or that maybe we should have taken more time to dig deeper into the play’s themes and motifs. There was a point in the middle of our rehearsal that sometimes the actors would grow weary, and I realized that that happens when the vision is not clear with the actors. What I learned is that you need to be patient and you need to listen to your cast. It needs to come together with more planning as well. I feel that my organization was not as well as I would have liked. In the future, I would definitely have

Describe in detail your response to the finished product in the following terms:

a)Acting

For acting, I feel that I really took a while to be able to fully understand each of the roles. As a director, I was not only in charge of my own acting, but I was also aiding in the blocking and characterization of the other actors. I feel that in conclusion, I am very proud of my work. I love how the stones had all come out to be humorous to the audience as well as a nice relief from the deep, sad story of Eurydice.

b)Realisation of vision

The realization of the vision happened various times throughout the play. It was not like one time that we as a cast realized the vision. Although we really talked it through in the beginning of the play rehearsal times, it really only began to come together after some of the practices. The vision constantly changed slightly and I found that receiving feedback and knowing which is realistic or not was so helpful to making your vision possible.

c)Cohesiveness of technical elements

I feel that although we may have been able to be cohesive with our planning of the technical elements of Eurydice. I felt that we could have done better with the fluidity. There were a variety of mistakes with some of the sound effects as well as the lighting, However, with the time given, I was proud at how quickly we were able to run right when we hit the ground. Everyone worked really hard to make the technical elements possible, however, I just wish we could’ve practiced it more. I was also a little disappointed about some of the sound choices. In conclusion, the lighting and sound did somehow come together, however, there were many in the audience who complained about that.

Explain what you think the overarching themes were of the play? What were the symbols? How well did you think the ideas of the play were conveyed based on audience feedback forms, questions and overall response? 

The overarching themes of the play was death, mourning, loss, and grieving. It was all about dealing with loss and learning to accept it. There are so many times that people do not know exactly how to deal with their loss and this particular play forces each of the characters to confront their losses. Each of the sounds and items and costumes and props of the play carry so much symbolism. A particular symbol was water as well as string. The water was what allowed the characters to forget about their grief. It was as if everything they felt, all their pain and loss, would wash away. However, the play is pointing to the fact that simply ignoring your problems and grief, it will be harder for you to get over your loss. I felt that from the audience’s feedback, I was able to see that they mostly understood the main themes of the play. They pointed to the fact that they were shocked by how much that they could relate with the characters, as loss is inevitably an experience that everyone will feel at least once in their lives. The questions asked by the audience were mainly about what they thought

Where do you want to go from here? How do you want to grow? What can I do to help you reach your goals?

From here, I would like to become a better director. I loved the lessons I have learned, and I feel that I am a little better equipped for the future. Especially because in our course, we learn about so many directors, I hope to be able to relate more with them and be able to recognize their flaws and mistakes as well. I think that having this experience has really prepared me for the future in a variety of ways. Being a director has taught me leadership, organization, and coordination. I feel that with our future theatre assignments and tasks I will be able to be better prepared.