Assignment task:
How can you respond to this discussion: In the production of Madam Butterfly, the dancers utilize the whole stage as though it were a painting. Constantly, I was looking around at the various moving parts in the foreground, background, and center stage. I enjoyed the LED screen above the actors; I loved that different perspective of seeing what was on the stage. When the actors moved, they moved in an adjacent manner with facial expressions like glances and stares within conversational spacing. Quite the opposite happened in group movements; they moved as a cohesive unit and as one unified body, like the puppeteers moving about with the child. The choreography did a fantastic job of supporting the storytelling by helping the audience feel the richness of the cultural and traditional values of the characters in gestures, songs, and dance scenes like the opening geisha wedding scene. The production was beautiful in more ways than one, capturing an American and Japanese love story through theater, songs, and the storyline of young love. As far as productions go, it was a brilliant choice to have a live orchestra present, which was a great addition to this production. As a result, it added richness to the production and made it even more grandiose. When the music had high tones and pitches, I felt happier. The music was sad, gloomy, and melancholy when the tone turned low. As the music became sharper, I became anxious in anticipation of the next part. The music helped me to follow the story and attach emotionally to the characters, and the storyline was similar to a romantic tragedy like Romeo and Juliet. In this romantic tragedy, the producers used various theater techniques, including verbal and nonverbal cues, using eye contact to capture attention or lack thereof to provoke more attention to the reading of body language. Body movement and gestures were used in the play to show openness, closeness, and approval and disapproval of the actors' actions during the opera singing acts. Moreover, I noted that as the geisha danced, her fans responded with hand gestures. In this fairytale and tragic drama, these elements are crucial for guiding the audience to the place, time, and space of the story. As the play concluded, I would say that the most successful scene was the bride's wedding scene, which showcased a mix of Japanese geisha culture and American traditions. In this scene, I felt most connected to the beautiful elements of Japanese culture that reminded me of Memoirs of a Geisha, my favorite movie. It was also part of traditional American weddings, where the bride wore a white dress with a long train-like tail and veil. The guy was very masculine-looking and sharp in his navy Lutenuat uniform. It felt the fussiness, excitement, and chaos as the bride was draped and wrapped in red cloth by the dancer, who twirled and spun around her gracefully and strategically. The orchestra played enthusiastic, lovely, and whimsical music to set the tone for the happy occasion. I thought the production was fantastic. I am usually not much of an opera listener or lover because it puts me to sleep.