Thursday, January 31, 2008

Chance, Choice, and Tragedy

Please find a fairly recent article (within the past year) that describes a tragedy that a person or group of people have faced.

First, please offer a brief summary of your article (3-5 sentences).

Second, comment on whether or not you think this person had control over this tragedy--did this happen by choice or by chance? Explain your thinking.

Third, please read over the comments on this post and respond to the following question: Which is the greater tragedy--one that happens because of a bad choice, or the one that happens by random chance? Explain your thinking.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

The Director's Cut

Thinking back to your performances last Friday and the observations you made today as you watched the film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, what are some of the directorial choices you noticed in the film version, and what do they signify? In other words, what point do you think the director was trying to emphasize in adding a scene, dressing a character or staging a scene in a certain way, selecting an actor to play a certain part, offering a new symbol, etc.?

As always, remember that this is a conversation; read and comment on each other's posts as well as offering your own ideas.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Unrequited Love



Unrequited love is love that is given but not returned. For example, if you were desperately in love with someone but they failed to love you in return, your love would be unrequited.

A Midsummer Night's Dream explores several instances of unrequited love, but the most predominant instance in Act 1 is that of Helena and Demetrius. Is Helena pathetic for pursuing Demetrius so insistently, or can we call her brave? Is better to follow your love, even if your feelings are unreturned? At what point should you back down and give up?

As always, BE SURE TO READ THE OTHER COMMENTS BEFORE POSTING YOUR OWN. PLEASE COMMENT ON OTHERS' COMMENTS AND AVOID REPETITION.