The Merchant of Venice

“The Merchant of Venice” production at the Globe Theater was quite the experience. Standing for an entire three hours for a play is not my choice of a good time. Fortunately, the beer was flowing and standing was actually a comfortable pose for the time being. The play was shown during the late evening, which is interesting. In London, they have better lighting because it gets dark later here than USA. It is to their advantage there is no lighting in the theater. Throughout the play, the make- up and costumes made the lighting and environment come to life, no lighting was needed. It is interesting to see the actual replica of the most famous theater in the world, especially because it’s William Shakespeare’s theater. It was also interesting to note the theater had no curtain. The actors came out with the audiences’ attention and they had no choice of props or intricate background to distract viewers. The same scene was the backdrop throughout the play. Much the same as Shakespeare’s time, they only had minimal props and sets. It brought the play to a different status of effort to make the play as authentic as possible. The stage did, however, offer level changes, such as a balcony that was not available during Shakespeare’s era. It was intriguing to see the audience turnout and participation in the theater. The Globe's atmosphere is laid back and involved in the audience participation, in which diverts it from any other form of theater today. Theater goers should be involved in the play and not just be a face in the crowd.

STEFANIE MARTIN

And all that Jazz!!! 606 Jazz Club

After attending the 606 Jazz Club performance, the quartet jazz band’s performance was intriguing. The concert was uplifting and distinctive. Right from the start, the introduction of the saxophone player, to the gradual introduction of the base, piano (keyboard), drums brought the music to life. Each song took on its own life. While viewing the show, I was completely mesmerized by the skill of each player and even more so, on the drummer. He was compelling. Maybe it was the wine taking a toll on my mind, but somehow the music took over the emotion of the room, and all that was I was able to do was watch the drummer’s passion and lighthearted performance. Through his eyes, you could see his enjoyment of the music. The all around attitude about jazz seems to be free spirited and light. Jazz in particular is a genre that is performed outside the box, in which is completely original and unique to its own form. The pace of each song was without a script. Jazz seems to distinguish its own personality and paves imagination throughout the music and in its listeners.

Con Man Confidential; not so confidential anymore!

The whole concept behind the documentary film by Adolph, “Con Man Confidential” underlies greed and money, an obvious typecast of a con artist. It amazes me to see how much money and greed can really turn your life into a downward spiral of lies and deceit and will eventually lead to a massive downfall. This documentary is a perfect example of the old saying, “the grass is always greener on the other side.” Life definitely is what you make of it. If you’re out there searching for a something better, you will never be satisfied with what you have, and these men in the film are a perfect example of that. The director’s choice of sequences about different topics was very fascinating. The first sequence was how these different men conned people. It was a shallow sequence that contained no depth of the individual. They each talked about the characteristics of a conman. You had to be “sleek, confident, and assuring,” as well as not break eye contact with the person you were conning. Confidence was another key aspect they continually talked about. For example, one man stated, “Believe you will win and you will.” If you are confident in yourself, everyone will believe in you, which is a life lesson in itself. The second sequence of shots talked a little more about these men and how they grew up in harsh environments. The audience was really able to see how they were brought up, in a personal environment and how it really affected them in the long run. The last sequence was about how they got caught and how much they were serving in for conning people for millions. Adolph’s choice of sequence was genius. He introduced the topic, and then the audience got a background feel to these men, and then their outcomes. It unfolded the film nicely, and it was a brilliant choice of editing. This film made me realize how content I am with my life and how things have unfolded thus far. All I really need in life are friends and an open mind. Being able to travel and have a good outlook on life is all one really needs.

Jude Law (what else is there to say!?)

Jude freaking LAW!!! What is there to say about such a refined and delicious young amazing actor?! Obviously the audience was filled with a more feminine crowd and it seemed people were more interested in seeing him versus hearing what he actually had to say. Although somewhat guilty myself, I did find some of his comments about “Le Samourai” quite intriguing. He talked about the chirping bird at the beginning and how it painted a poetic mood for the movie. Jude also talked about the simplicity of the plot and yet it still was an excellent film. The beginning was a silent scene with no dialogue. And continually Jef has several silent scenes which are quite difficult for an actor, and yet Alain Delon acted out each scene with amazing presence and attitude. The director Jean-Pierre Melville creates this character with Jef, in which you almost feel bad for him and the audience is on his side. Sympathetic for him and his situation, even though Jef did steal cars and kill a man for money. Melville makes you see things through the other point of view. Throughout the film, noise was apparent in the bird chips as well and the subway noises. Melville wanted the audience to feel as if they were there, striking an empathetic emotion. An interesting technique used for editing was the use of the wipe. A wipe is where the scene is wiped from one side of the screen vertically and opens up to a new scene. This technique can be seen in a lot of 1980’s films and it was interesting to see that in this film from 1971, and it was used throughout. I loved the film, not only because Jude Law said he liked it, but because it showed an out of the ordinary twist of emotion you experience while watching the film from the beginning to the end.

Dali and Film exhibit

During our visit to the Dali and film exhibit at the Tate Modern, I found Salvador Dali’s artwork more profound that I originally had preconceived. My favorite art displayed there was his film called “Destino,” a Disney film that was never released because of its content. This film was so amazing how it brought his artwork to life. The film showed a beautiful woman with long wavy brown hair that seemed to have a life of its own. In fact, every aspect of the film had a life of its own, from the imagery to the scenery that began to come alive throughout the film, it really made this film intriguing to watch. Dali used his unique approach to illustrate a spiraling love saga. It caught my eye, and I watched it three times to really catch every aspect of the intensity of this dark film. Even though "Destino" was made in 1946, it used a very futuristic approach to the storyline unfolding literally in front of your eyes. Another art work I also enjoyed was Dali’s drawing called “Harpo Marx." I love the fact that they were friends. I love the Marx Brothers films, and I found it interesting to see him use the image of Harpo and incorporate that into his works. I thoroughly enjoyed his work and glad we got to experience his art in person.

Whitechapel Films

Although we attended the wrong film for the cinetrek on Sunday, we ended up watching the three different films, “An Epic Poem”, “Home and Dry”, as well as “Living the Sacrifice.” However I did not enjoy these films, nor understand them, I found the cinematography on “An Epic Poem” by Lezli Ann Barret quite aesthetically pleasing. The images used throughout combined still photography with motion picture as well as drawing and cartoons. Barret used films and photos from old to new in which brought a unique approach to the film. Throughout the film, she used cupid as a modern day man showing him in different viewpoints with a naked woman reenacting this classic cupid portrait holding a mirror for a beautiful lady while in bed. There is a repetition of this image throughout the film in different scenarios and it seemed to always come back to the original image presented. She also continually used mirrors throughout. Barret used many scenes with pillars in the background, in which I found to be a profound image. She used women walking alone throughout these pillars as a time of solitude. She also used several of the long shots with these scenery images to show the massive structures and to get a better sense of the location. Her mixture of camera angles was very unique to this film. She made her audience continually move to follow the subject, using every part of the screen for her focus. Barret used different vibrant colors of red and yellow for particular scenes as well as sepia tone shots. The cinematography of this film is quite inspirational and exclusive to her personal style.

Put another POUND in that jukebox baby! Rock N' Roll Cinema

What can I say about the Rock n’ Roll cinema? It was everything I had never imagined. It was an interesting combination of the cinema slash bar scene duo. It combined a childlike scene using “Mongos” fake birthday party as the backdrop for the entry room providing child- like games. The people there all seemed to be young at heart, and the whole feel of the venue was very laidback and comfortable. Even though we were all thrown in a situation we were confused about at first, in the end, we all seemed to embrace the differences in our two cultures with a new light. This fun scene of something unheard of in America can possibly be the most inspirational and eye-opening event in my life. From the amazing short films, to the way the venue was set up really opened up my mind to possibilities in the future. The films were inspiring because they all attempted art in a new frame. The DJ also made this theater an intriguing one. From playing The Beatles to The Sound of Music songs, it also made the theater feel like a night club at times. The music made the films. The music “jelled” the whole program together. It made the times in between films seem somewhat equal to the films being presented because the music was so diverse and intriguing. All the films seen and the people running the show seemed like they were all original, in which is sometimes hard to come by in America these days. These people weren’t trying to fit into the “in” crowd, they were being themselves in a unique way, and it really shinned through in each film and in the venue.