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Sabrina Dekle
Professor Kara Cantrell
TPS 1107
8 December 2014
Personal Reflection Essay
Ive always considered myself as one that can appreciate art in all forms, especially
theatre. However, prior to taking this class, my basis for that appreciation was only off of a few
select plays read in grade school and one performance I attended live at the Shakespeare
Tavern. Im happy I took this course because not only did we get to learn about plays and
musicals, we studied the historical conditions and people that led to theatre today, the impact of
theatre on society, and the cultural aspects of such stories. The thing that surprises and
impresses me most about theatre is the attention to detail. The amount of work and dedication
that goes into a play goes beyond just actors memorizing lines for a particular story. The
costume designer creates the character with their elaborate designs while keeping functionality
in mind. The director goes line by line, scene by scene with the actors and the stage manager to
perfect a natural fluidity to the script. Then theres several other designers and coordinators that
make a single play possible! After learning about theatre in depth, I have a higher appreciation
and respect for theatre as a form of art.
The greatest challenge for me was not enjoying theatre but understanding it. Everything
you can see and hear in a performance is meticulously planned out in order to invoke some type
of emotion or thought process. The dialogue can be an obvious way to portray an idea but there
are also many subtle cues that also effect the audiences mood. The lighting, music, sound,
costumes, set, and props all have a significant impact on how the performance will be
perceived. It was challenging at first for me to put into perspective how all these elements of a
performance translate into a message. What I learned is the message is for me, even though

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there are other audience members. Art can be described as many things and being open to
interpretation is one. Different people might feel similar things, but everyone will have a unique
reaction due to their own personal experiences and will make connections that are true to their
own lives. After learning more about different styles and approaches to performances, I
overcame the challenge (more of fear) of not being able to understand the directors concept. I
can now identify and experience the feelings and thoughts the director intended while adding
my own personal reflections, thus furthering my appreciation and enjoyment of a performance.
Another reason I am happy I chose to take theatre is the performances we were required
to see outside of class. Even though I take interest in theatre, I doubt I would have made the
time this semester to attend a performance. Now that Ive been exposed to quite a few, I plan on
attending future productions as well. Although the attendance was for a graded assessment, I
feel like it encouraged me to pay more attention to the details of the performances and in the
end I had a better grasp. The things we learned in the classroom such as the methods actors
use to harness their character and design elements aided my understanding of the
performances. I can identify several dramatic elements that I wouldnt of been able to before
and because of that, those elements have a bigger impact on me during the performance. This
class has a good balance of supplemental learning to the actual performances.
My history with group projects has been one to two people do all the work while the rest
of the group accepts whatever grade is earned by the few actually doing the assignment. There
is no way you can get away with that in a theatre performance because everyone has an
individual role. The thing that surprised me most is how easy it was to work as a group because
our end result is the same play! Since we all had our own roles but for a common result, the
play, everyone was eager to chip in ideas and participate. Another surprising thing to me was it
didnt matter what job a group member had whether it was web designer or an actor, all our jobs
were realized to be equally important in creating our performance.

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Our groups greatest strength was the willingness of everyone to cooperate and do their
part. From day one we set up a group messaging app so we can communicate easily outside of
class. It was easy and fair for us to vote on what play and scene we would do. The members of
our group volunteered the roles they did and did not want to do so I think everyone was content
with their job. During rehearsals we were able to openly give constructive criticism and have
opinions be heard without it turning into chaos. By having everyone content, communicative,
and compliant with their jobs, we avoided any major problems that usually come with group
projects.
My greatest individual strength was initiating things to get started in our group. For
instance I was the one who gathered everyones phone-number and found the app we could all
use to easily communicate. I also initiated the group vote to choose the play and scene we
wanted to do. When it was time for group presentations, I provided the powerpoint and
communicated with the group as to what parts they would like to dictate. During rehearsals at
times I would have to point out scenes or lines that werent flowing naturally and suggest
improvements and do overs when it seemed that no one else would even though it wasnt my
role. I wasnt afraid to call out things that needed to be improved upon. So my strength was to
assist in getting the play in order.
My greatest challenge was committing to the actor blogs. I started out organized and
blogged my research about my character. And then around the time group presentations came
around, I didnt make as much time to do my individual blogging assignments because I was
becoming more busy in work and other classes. That is not an excuse I am making. After days I
know I was supposed to blog, I put it off until it was so past the date of relevance, I just left it
out. If I had improved upon my organizational skills not only for this class but for my other
obligations this semester, I would have been better able to commit myself to finish the blogs. Its
a challenge that could have been overcome earlier in the semester if I had taken enough time to

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do so. In researching the play Ruined, I realized how completely privileged I am as an American
but also as an American female. Even the most hardworking female, Mama, was a product of
her unfortunate circumstances as a woman trying to make a living in times of desperation in a
war zone with men that may or may not harm her or the girls that reside with her. It was eye
opening how easily I can walk around anywhere Id like with little fear of something bad
happening to me where as these women have to be more tough to survive. I feel sympathetic
towards those women which I dont want to feel, not because I dont care but because I wish
their circumstances weren't so awful that they should feel others sympathy. I cant say my
perception of cultures in Africa has changed negatively because war crimes happen in every
region of the world, but my attention and perception of war in general has changed negatively.
Ruined put into perspective victims point of views that are caught in between conflicts.
The only advice I would give to future students taking this class is to practice and master
time management early on in the semester rather than later. This is a class that is enjoyable
and possible to get an A in if you stay organized and keep up with all the deadlines. I would
recommend buying a large calendar (instead of a smartphone calendar) where you can mark all
due dates for this class along with all your others. Not only will this help keep up with deadlines
it will also give you an overview of what days and weeks youll have more free time than others.
And in those days I would plan on going to the outside performances. During the performances I
would recommend bringing a classmate instead of a friend that way its easier to discuss the
performances in regards to things learned in class. If you dont do the performances
assignment the same night, I wouldnt recommend waiting more than one day to complete it. As
for the group project, communication is the only way you and your group will succeed together
and improve. The group project can either be really fun or stressful depending on how you
manage your personal time.