Brett Welch 10-28-13 LBST 1104 Mr.

Morong Othello As I walked into the theater on Wednesday, October 16th, I was surprised at how big the Robinson Hall theatre was. It was definitely an amazing scene to see my first theatrical production in. Shakespeare wrote Othello in approximately 1603. The actors of a London stage performed this version of Othello; these actors seemed experience and impressed me on how well they drew the audiences concentration in. Even in a theatre full of college students who did not want to be there, they definitely got everyones attention. They spoke loud and proud and seemed to have a lot of passion in the play they were performing. It was a true blessing seeing this kind of experience the first time I saw a play. The plot of Othello was kind of confusing at first. The language blew me away in the beginning. Throughout the first scene the people sitting on the stage when they were not performing, and also the language of the script distracted me. I knew coming in a Shakespeare play would be difficult to diagnose because of the Old English language he was known for using. But as the play progressed it was easier to determine what was going on. I learned to let the actions and emotions portrayed by the actors tell the story. What I got from the production was that Othello, the main character, appointed Michael Cassio to the position of personal lieutenant and Iago, one of his best friends, got very jealous. Iago set out to ruin Othello by making him suspicious of

Desdemona, Othellos Wife. Othello tells Iago he is going to poison his wife and ends up smothering his innocent wife to death and eventually Othello wounds Iago and kills himself after he finds out the truth. Throughout the play you could tell the respect the audience had for the play and the actors. This is one of Shakespeares more famous plays and everyone there knew it. The audiences reaction to the emotions and actions put off by the actors was phenomenal. I loved seeing everyone laugh when it was appropriate and everyone feel sorrow at the end. The actors did an excellent job of making sure everyone in the crowd knew what was going on even with the hard interpretations threw the Old English language. The people there wanted to be there excluding the college students. The mens wives did not drag them out to the play for because they were in the dog house and they needed to get off the couch and suck up to their wife, they were there because they had a drive to be there. The direction of the play was superb. I was extremely impressed by the way the play flowed even with the actors not in the scene sitting behind the production. With few actors and few props the direction of the play was superb by allowing the audience to get a gist of exactly what was going on. The scenes flowed smoothly and there were hardly any mistakes. It was easy to appreciate the preparation and hard work the actors and director put into the play. The direction of the play made the piece extremely meaningful. The director put you in perspective of the time period the play was written in. There was not much technology in the piece, the props were simple, and the costumes seemed to be easily acquired. The director seemed to make it clear that simplicity was his intentions rather then the play looking poorly directed and on a

budget. You could really see yourself in a coliseum in Rome because there wasnt anything added except lighting that couldnt be accomplished on the seven teenth century. One of my favorite things about the play was that some actors played more then one part. You could tell the director and the actors challenged themselves to learn two different rolls, two different characters, and even two different characters lines in the script. The amount of trust between the directors and actors was evident in the play and clearly portrayed to a high standard. The actors who played more then one part were directed so intensely it almost seemed like they were not acting and the plot was really happening on the stage. The transition between the actors characters was very professional, so professional that an audience member was never confused on what part the actor was playing. The director was very experienced and put extreme amounts of effort into making this play something to be proud of. The actors and directors were amazing, but so was how they used so little props and scenery and still portrayed the message they were trying to. Like I said before there was nothing they could not have done in the seventeenth century other then the lighting. I do not believe there was microphones added the actors just did an excellent job of projecting their voice. The costumes did a good job of showing the character the actor was playing at the minute. You could tell the social class of the character by the costumes they were wearing. Every aspect of the play was thought about and addressed successfully in my opinion. The simplicity, yet complication of the designs was the perfect mixture for the setting and performance of the play. The stage in Robinson Hall theatre was a perfect fit for the production. It was simple yet complex just like the play. The theatre is beautiful but the stage is not huge.

The stage didnt allow for a lot of props and movement but at the same time the play didnt need those attributes to get the message across. I believe the stage was a perfect fit. Honestly, this opportunity opened me up to a new view of theatre. I really respect the people who perform and direct theater arts. I would see another play by this director because it was so professionally done that it was impossible not to give the production all the credit it deserves. I am excited for the next production I am going to see in this theater. I hope the performance holds up to the expectations I have now. The quality of work I saw with Othello was extremely high quality so I would expect my next production to be the same. At the same time, you have to realize that this production was from the actors from a London stage. These actors may be more experienced and more professional then the next actors I might see. They set the bar high for the next productions I will see, so I am interested to see how the next production I attend will compare to the passion and quality of this play.