Write a 2 page single spaced paper (12 font) on how symbolism and imagery was used in the play and if the symbolism/imagery worked in telling this story. Did it help the play? The plot? The characters? You must use detailed moments/sequences from the play to support your findings.
It's an assignment that was given to us today. So, I don't want anything sophisticated. It's a small assignment. Since it's not an essay, I don't need a thesis, conclusion, etc. I just need a small introduction, small conclusion, and for the questions to be answered. Keep in mind that I'm a freshman in high school, so I don't want it to seem like an adult wrote it or something like that.
Microsoft Word - Black Dog.doc B lack Dog : 4 vs the wr ld by Matthew Heiti 114 David Street / Sudbury, ON / P3E 1T1 705.207.7849 /
[email protected] March 2015 Synopsis “Hello? Are you there? Somebody needs your help.” Four teenage outsiders struggle with the sudden death of a friend and unite to battle teachers, parents, therapists and the shadow of a large black dog that towers over them. Darkly comic but brimming with hope, Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld fuses live theatre and technology in an experience about being together and getting better. Characters ONE – (late teens - 20s) The original misfit. Two’s big brother. A ghost. A guide. TWO – (late teens) Baggy clothing. Fading away. Reeling from the death of her brother and impossible expectations from her parents. THREE – (late teens) The quiet one. Shabby appearance, doesn’t look after himself. Lives in an interior world that no one else can see. Abused, misunderstood. FOUR – (late teens) The class clown. Part of the in-crowd. Fashionable. Bossy and dramatic, sparking with energy, extremely vulnerable. FIVE – (late teens) Classic rebel. Fights against everyone and everything and plays it for cool. Wears it all to cover up the scars. Notes on staging Projection is a must, everything else can be whispers of these real places. The secret world of these five is what is important. The presence of ONE should haunt the space. He might never leave the stage, he might wander the house. His song is central to the piece. The music should be original, preferably composed by the actor playing ONE – as personal as possible. Perhaps he accompanies the piece throughout with his playing. The use of technology and social media should be central to the performance, without gimmick. It should serve only to bring down the walls between audience and performer as much as possible. At all opportunities the idea of the traditional performance space should be subverted. When the audience is interacted with, it is not tentative or awkward. “Live Tweets” provide another layer of implication. The intention is to make the Twitter account accessible through the pre-show and then Tweet live during the show during each performance. It’s quite possible not everyone, or even the majority, will have access to these Tweets or feel comfortable using their phones in the theatre. That is okay. The use of social media should be a rebellious act. The Tweets are just one more way to make us feel like we’re part of a secret “club” – that we are in new territory. We usually forbid audience members to use cell phones during a show – this is a chance for an audience to feel like there are no restrictions. If this results in a bit of chaos, it should be embraced. As social media progresses, and crowds attach themselves to new fads, please be free to modify/replace these sections with whatever apps, platforms or tools may be more immediate with your audience. In general, the social media effect should pervade the piece, the space, if possible the entire advertising campaign (Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Youtube, Vine, QR codes, etc.) The audience should be made to feel like they are “in” on something, that they are participating in its creation, and that there are secrets to discover that demand attention. Creative methods not discussed here are encouraged. New developments in social media technology should be incorporated. If necessary, a more stripped down approach also has its merits. If the live feed is not possible, the “Live Tweets” may become projection titles, and text referring to Twitter omitted. Contact information for local mental health organizations (specifically those that deal with teens and youth) should be made available in the programs, the lobby, over the Twitter feed, and on the projection screen before, but more importantly, following the show. During our production, we felt it wise to have health care professionals on hand, and students who were particularly affected were brought into a private area, where they could speak freely with someone. Notes on the text Grayed text indicates text or images shown on the projection screen. A slash “/” indicates a slide change. In dialogue a long hyphen “—“ indicates where characters are cut off or overlap. It is encouraged that overlap and cutting off should be allowed to occur naturally – it should not be clean. More than ever, there is the tendency in our Wikipedia-obsessed society to self-diagnose and slap easy labels on people. It’s in our language – we say “He’s a schizophrenic,” when we should say “He is a person with schizophrenia.” The numerical names of the characters are intended to subvert this notion. Mental health and illness exists on a spectrum – there are no absolute diagnoses or labels. Any disorder is simply an extreme of some emotional, physical or biological state with which we can all identify. I have tried to create characters beyond labels, but I have also made an attempt to represent this spectrum. The issues these characters are dealing with include: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Anorexia/Bulimia, Self-Harm, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, Substance Abuse, Oppositional Defiance Disorder, Depression, and Post-Traumatic Stress. Please be free to update both pharmacological and diagnostic information in the text as research on these matters evolves. Playwright’s bio - Matthew Heiti Born in a meteor crater called Sudbury, Matthew holds a BFA in Acting from Ryerson University and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of New Brunswick. His plays, which include The Nick Drake Project, Aviatrix, Mucking in the Drift and Plague, have been workshopped across Canada and produced at various festivals including SummerWorks, Lunchbox Theatre and the Sudbury Theatre Centre. He has attended writing retreats with the Stratford Festival and Playwrights’ Theatre Centre. He is the winner of the Tarragon Theatre RBC Emerging Playwrights Award and his play, Mucking in the Drift, was recently shortlisted for the Carol Bolt Award by the Playwrights Guild. An award-winning playwright, he is also a Genie-nominated screenwriter and his novel, The City Still Breathing, is published by Coach House Books. He was recently named one of twelve "Writers to Watch" by the CBC. He is an associate artist with Encore Theatre Company, Pat the Dog Theatre Creation and a rep for the Playwrights Guild of Canada. In his spare time, he tinkers with old bicycles. Development Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld was commissioned by Sudbury Theatre Centre, and received its premiere there in April 2013. A remount followed in May 2014. Director: Judi Straughan Stage Manager: Colin Williams Videographer / Projection Designer: Greg Tremblay Puppet Designer: Jenny Hazelton Composer (for “Hello”): Christian Williams Performers: ONE Christian Williams TWO Morgan St. Onge THREE Michael Boyce FOUR April Perrin FIVE Jake Deeth Special thanks to Judi Straughan, Morgan Cook, Sara-Gaye Warren, Line Roberge, and all the organizational partners who assisted with the research and development. I’d also like to acknowledge, as always, the script support of Lisa O’Connell and Pat the Dog Theatre Creation. * The script will be published in 2016 by Playwrights’ Canada Press Black Dog: 4 vs the wrld 1 PRESHOW In the lobby: The characters might be immersed in with the audience waiting to get in. Maybe we see THREE mumbling to himself in a corner. FIVE picking a fight with FOUR. TWO writing in her notebook. They should be noticed, part of the group but singled out. Inside the theatre: The stage is clear, except for a projection screen. Everything else is bare, barren, empty. There is no real indication that anything out of the ordinary is about to take place. As the audience enters—a series of projections cycle. Statistics. Simple text on black background. These slides should begin with contain contact information for local mental health organizations, specifically those that deal with youth/teens. The tone is disarming – stuffy even. Then local/regional/national/global statistics, such as: PROJECTION (“/” indicates a change of slide): 1 in 5 Ontarians will suffer from mental illness in their lifetimes / 2% of Ontario youth are on a prescribed antidepressant / 5% of young women (15-25) have an eating disorder / 1% of Ontarians suffer from schizophrenia / 3% of Ontarians suffer from bipolar disorder / 5-12% of men and 10-25% of women in Ontario will have at least one episode of major depressive disorder in their lifetime / Studies consistently confirm a 50-80% prevalence rate of sexual and physical abuse among persons who later receive diagnoses of mental illness / Suicide is the second leading cause of death in young people / 1 in 10 teenagers contemplates suicide /