Tag: extra credit

Extra Credit (The Importance of Being Earnest)

Over this past weekend I saw the Importance of Being Earnest and I’m glad to say it was a fun experience. I hadn’t seen a play in a long time so I was looking forward to this one in particular, especially because I knew some of the actors that starred in the play. When I arrived I was greeted at the ticket booth by my old professor Ryan Clark, who helped direct the play. After our brief talk, I went inside the theater and sat towards the left of the stage. The stage had been made to look like the interior of someone’s house. I took-in all the detail that was there: from the large home-made double doors in the center of the stage to the fake (or possibly real) books and other props sitting on the shelves to the left and right. Soon, the play started, but I did not recognize the initial two actors. They were funny, at times, although the actor who played Algernon kept stumbling with his lines and repeating some words. Acting aside, the play was entertaining and funny to watch, the dialogue was a little hard to follow but I adapted to the accents quickly. (I think knowing a few of the actors in the play helped with my understanding of their accents). Overall, I enjoyed the production.

The Importance of Using Your Own Name

On Saturday November 10th, Stevenson University students put on their final performance of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. The show starred Jordan Brown and Jackson Goodwin, these two were the comedy match made in heaven. Together they kept the audience intrigued whether through there battle over cucumber sandwiches and muffins or through their shared experience of faking the name Earnest. The director Jenny Male had her cast express true humor in relatable ways that allowed for the entire audience to enjoy. This comedy with the deeper meaning of being true to yourself and those around you was put on perfectly by the University and I look forward to attending other shows.

Extra Credit (Frankenreads)

On October 30th, Dr. Sheryl Wilson spoke on the History of Frankenstein for the 200th Anniversary of the novel. In the presentation Dr. Wilson gave, she discussed many points, but certain one’s grabbed my attention. The first interesting point she gave was about the narrative structure of Frankenstein, which we also discussed in class. She labeled the Creature as the center layer, Victor Frankenstein as the middle layer, and Robert Walton as the outer layer.

The next interesting point she covered was Orientalism, and how Safie represented wisdom at the center of the book, just by the meaning of her name, and her origin. Then, she asked “How long did it take Victor to create the Creature?”, leading the class (and other participants) into guessing numbers, until we ultimately learned that Mary Shelley purposefully chose the time of nine-months; this also added onto our in-class discussions on Shelley’s interest in the “rhythm of creation”, as explained by Dr. Wilson.

The last point that spoke to me was the discussion of the meaning of “my hideous progeny”. Dr. Wilson explained this phrase, by including Shelley’s statement in reference to her novel.

After this presentation, I learned that Frankenstein has an ingenious writer that does not make any mistake in the way the novel is written. Every word and phrase has meaning. Although Shelley is credited for Frankenstein, I also learned that the original journal entries of the novel show evidence that Percy Shelley may be the co-author. Dr. Wilson left us with the question, “Is Frankenstein co-authored”, and I do not have an answer; yet.

 

Extra Credit (Frankenreads)

I went to the Alchemy in Frankenstein event for Frankenreads. I thought that it was very interesting to learn the alchemy wasn’t necessarily this wrong thing, but it is seen more as a field of study that was later separated out into a lot of smaller subjects like astrology, chemistry, mathematics, etc. It was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be and the professors made the lesson very enjoyable. It gave a whole new perspective into the way of alchemy and also how it could be applied into the modern world today. This perspective was also interesting because Frankenstein kind of implied that alchemy had no use in the modern world where there could actually be some cases where it would make sense  I think it was definitely worth going to the event.

Extra Credit (The Importance of Being Earnest)

On Friday, November 2nd, I saw Stevenson University’s production of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. The writing was absolutely wonderful, the story had me engaged for the entire duration, and was very funny, with an unpredictable ending. When in attendance I was greeted with a very warm atmosphere. The theater was resonating with a soft piano track, that really welcomed me to this character’s home, which populated the stage. The first home was designed very well. It was filled with furniture, and book shelves, and in the middle big doors that entered to the rest of the home. The back of the stage was illuminated with a deep color, that slowly pulsated to a different color over time. After a while the set was switched to the other character’s house where it became an outdoor garden. The design was actually the same but with furniture being swapped to outdoor furniture, the doors being switched, and the book shelves turning into vertical gardens. The play was very character and performance heavy, and the cast did a wonderful job, and the play was a pleasant experience. The sets and lights kept everything that happened very jovial, and lent itself to creating a very pleasing atmosphere.