One intended effect was to bring out the tension. Our piece revolved around a tense atmosphere and to achieve the effect we brought in music. The music was slow and dreary and very tense, the kind that gives you goose bumps. We also used thought-tracking in a scene to show the struggle Chris was having trying to fit in when he was Jewish. We also had a chorus as used in Greek tragedies. The presence of the chorus alerted the audience to a tense scene or one that was important. The chorus was there almost as an evil character, prodding Chris and making comments. These aspects tied together really brought out the tense atmosphere we were trying to achieve. (Kelsey)

Each member had the responsibility of creating their own character, based on some basic ideas that the whole group came up with. This meant that they had to make lines and the ‘character’ by themselves. Because of our tension, we seemed not to want to help as much, making us more independent, which, for this assignment, was not a good thing. Everyone did well in creating their characters, but, once again, I think that they could have been developed better if we had discussed them as a group.

Our group had many challenges. As stated above, there was a lot of friction between some of the group members, which slowed us down and made us lose focus on what we had to do. This was the biggest drawback we had. If we had been able to get along better, and work as a democracy, a lot more could have been achieved. All of this has shown me that life is tough, there will be times like this, and, I hope that I will be able to use this experience to solve future problems more effectively.

Overall, I am unsure about the performance. It had many good aspects but I feel strongly that it could have been much better with just a little more focus. I had a few friends come up to me and tell me that they were very impressed and that they enjoyed it very much. This, I hope, will help me open up new doors into the acting field, as it has given me more confidence about my abilities. I look forward to the next performance piece. (Chris)

Though this play I have learned a couple of things. One is that I find that before the real performance we need to do a dress rehearsal and not just go straight into the play, because if we had a dress rehearsal then we could have figured out better transitions between the scenes and the pace could have been worked on. Second is that, more time needs to be spent on the story and that before practice starts the group needs to agree on the plot so that there is total co-operation. Finally I learnt that what can make or break a good performance is the use of lighting and of sound. The other group used lighting particularly well, especially in the tent scene. Our group never got to fully use the lighting since we had to focus on the changes made in the final week. The music used is also important because it is able to set a mood, and if the mood coincides with the intended atmosphere of the piece then it is all great, but if not it can ruin even the most serious of scenes. (John)

The level of our group’s spirit was very impressive during this time period, our group was very excited about the story and I think it helped us to come up with better plans and suggestions to making our play a success. I think that’s where we had an advantage over the other group, because we were very into our ideas helping one another and each day having new ideas.

This being our second performance I think overall both groups and the class did better. I really enjoyed the performances. Both had a sense of reality to them; things that could actually happen. (Chris)

Throughout our play I think every character had some kid of sadness to the face because we were showing how horrible it is to be a child in Uganda in their time of darkness.  We also used movement to convey the meaning of the play.  The skit was very fast paced and abrupt to create tension and to show how the people of Uganda lived day to day.  The most important way we communicated the meaning of the skit was through our voices.  In the beginning of the play it was completely dark and all the audience heard was Chris’s, Maya’s, and then Jimi’s voices which helped set the mood of the play.  In addition I screamed several times in the play to help create a feeling of uneasiness and to once again show how it was in the villages during the war.  Ret’s yelling and harsh voice showed how ruthless the LRA could be and this added to the overall piece’s impact.  I think we communicated the mood and the atmosphere while conveying the meaning of our play.  We used our facial expressions, movement, and voice to show mood and atmosphere.

Making this play I learned so much about the events in Uganda and about the invisible children.  Adam, Jimi, and I watched part of a documentary about the children and it broke my heart to see what these children had to go through if they were snatched be the LRA.  I just couldn’t believe this is happening today and the only way to escape from them is to walk nightly into cities to hide.  Making this skit opened my eyes to other parts of the world and to people who are less fortunate than I am.  I also learned that a group of people that had just learned of the invisible children could make such a heart stopping play that it made the audience cry in such a short amount of time. (Casey)