Film &Theater studies

 

Momentum

Introduction

Attending performance shows entertains and gives us an opportunity to learn different things. The people who act in these dramas have different interesting abilities and combining them together results in best results. The shows enable us to learn various skills and they may help us to change our attitudes. For instance, in a show one may admire a particular character due to his or her confidence and stunning performance. In this way, we learn effective qualities from others who have achieved in acting. Therefore, it is imperative that the show must be effective to enable us to learn besides entertaining us. This paper looks at momentum and other different shows and their features. The paper is also a critique of these acts.

The Critique

Attending The Momentum show was really an astonishing exposure. Being an engineering major student, I was very excited to see Professor Jerry McCoy, who is my physics professor, as one of the dancers. The professor came out in a group of other performers. He was wearing a mask and dancing effectively. Thereafter, as the other dancers went out of the stage, the Professor stood somewhere in the dark and removed his mask. Professor McCoy being a physics instructor is effective in introducing physics material and other theories in simple, reasonable and easy concepts.

The inclusion of professor McCoy of Physics in acting was very effective in telling the audience that performance can be done by any interested person. Many a times, people have always thought that acting is best when the characters are from literature or languages fields. This has always been an obstacle to scientists admiring to act but hindered by their disciplines. Therefore, inclusion of a scientist of higher rank like Professor McCoy is a strategy to enlighten the world that scientists can be effective actors in theatres and other drama settings. In fact, Professor McCoy added a lot of humor to the show showing that he was a motivated actor.

Concisely, the show was very effective and I enjoyed it to the fullest. However, there are certain features in the show that were not considered sufficiently. For instance, the setting missed some materials and a few surroundings. The stage only mainly consisted of performers changing costumes now and again. The other aspect that was present in the stage is lighting. These were the only things that characterized the stage. However, I suppose that the stage could have incorporated other materials and surroundings. Some of other shows that had empty spaces in the stages are (This too Shall Pass and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy). However, these shows had a few dancers. Nevertheless, the empty space in the stage should have been filled with some interesting materials. For instance, instead of leaving centre of the stage empty, they could have put some attractive chairs or well-carved stones. This would have encouraged the audience to participate in the show.

The other show, besides the (This too Shall Pass and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy), was the African Sunset. The show was performed effectively and in an entertaining manner. The features that came out clear are those of sound and costumes. There was high quality of sound making every person in the audience to feel as part of the acting. In addition, the costumes were well designed and of high quality and great aesthetic value. They were beautiful and I can admit that they were of the highest standard for an efficient performance. However, some specific features were supposed to be taken into account. For instance, the setting should have been the forest, jungle or somewhere that looks like a wild habitat in Africa.

Acting in Gravity, was characterized by two dancers. There was slow replay black and white image that compelled the audience to concentrate on looking at a single view and the screen. The act having two dancers was a feature that thrilled me very much. The dancers, Sean and Becca, danced effectively with one supplementing the other. This looked very exciting in that their movements were systematic and consistent. They seemed to have mastered the rhythm of the songs thus exploiting it effectively. In addition, sound and lighting, and costumes were of high standard. Their combination brought about a beautiful scene enjoyed by every one present.

However, the audience and I noticed that the two dancers made mistakes in two different acts, (Quantum Leap and In the Brush). In (Quantum Leap), two dancers held the ends of a rope. They attempted to swing the rope while other dancers tried to pass under the rope. Accidentally, one of the dancers dropped one end of the rope. In addition, in the Brush, one dancer accidentally slipped while attempting to make a move. It is common that mistakes do happen. As human beings, we are all bound to err. However, we need to avoid mistakes rather than escaping from them. From there, it is better when we can learn from our mistakes.

However, the two incidences of mistakes in front of a large audience, really affected the quality of the performance. For instance, some of the members of the audience agreed with me that the dancers did not practice very well on how to use the rope and make moves. Nevertheless, thereafter, the dancers learnt from their mistakes and performed cautiously without further mistakes. This is where the act became more interesting for the audience to enjoy. I listened to hip-hop, which is my favorite music. This pleased more when the dancers danced perfectly to the music while incorporating styles like Boom Boom Row. This brought the show to a smart ending after an involvement with simple and easy terms of physics. I must acknowledge that the hit song Black Eyed Peas was a thrill to me. It was such a beautiful Saturday night when I enjoyed watching the show.

Conclusion

The time I spent watching the shows allowed me to learn many things. I learnt that an effective harmonization of lightings, sound, and actors’ performances should be used to bring out the best results. Some shows failed to harmonize these features and this led to some errors in the shows. Nevertheless, despite a few shortcomings, the performances were very effective. Therefore, this paper offered a critique of the momentum and other acts and this has enabled us to learn the importance of having a quality performance.