Book Review about The Viewpoints Book A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition

Historical Background and Overview of the Book The term Viewpoints as used in theater arts refers to a set of terminologies given to some specific principles of motion/movement through time and space; they simply describe what happens on the stage. The viewpoints can also be defined as an improvisation technique that emanated from the postmodern world of dance. The technique was developed in the 1970s by choreographer Mary Overili by breaking down space and time. Composition on the other hand is the art of selecting and arranging the individual components of theatre language into a combined work of art. Directors Anne Bogart and Tina Landau expanded and adapted Overilie’s viewpoints for actors to work spontaneously and instinctively generating a bold theatrical art. Mary Overilie influenced Anne Bogart during their collaboration at the New York University in the late 1970s and early 1980s. While Overlie’s six viewpoints (space, time, story, movement, emotion and space) are viewed as a logical way of examining and an alyzing movement (as in dance), Bogart’s view points are considered practical steps in uniting the stage and actors. The Viewpoint Book: A Practical Guide to viewpoints and composition, authored by Anne Bogart and Tina Landau, identifies and explains the viewpoints as those associated with time (tempo, duration, kinesthetic response and repetition) and those associated to space namely (shape, architecture, spatial relationship and topography). In this book Bogart and Tina introduced the vocal view points which are pitch, timbre and dynamic. They explain the basics of viewpoints training giving specific methods and examples of using the viewpoints in rehearsal and actual production. While to Overlie the viewpoints merely represented a physical technique in Borgart’s and Tina’s book they are also an aesthetic and spiritual aspect of theatrical work. It is also worth noting that while according to Overlie the story always takes permanence over the other elements according to Bogart and Tina the viewpoints are not ordered but are simply equal in importance. Bogart refers to her work at th e SITI Company while Tina refers to her work at the Steppenwolf Theater Company. Description of Bogart’s and Tina’s viewpoints Bogart’s and Tina’s view points as described in their book are those that relate to time and space. While the story, emotion and movement are part of the original Overlie’s viewpoints Bogart and Tina did not give them attention instead choosing to add vocal viewpoints to the viewpoints of time and space. Suffice to say that space limitation can only allow a brief description of the said viewpoints in this paper without going into the detailed example of how they are employed in theater. Bogart developed the viewpoint movement as an integral part of her work as a theater director to prepare actors to become â€Å"creators† to create a common feel, collaborative vocabulary and encourage spontaneity. The viewpoints, particularly the viewpoint improvisation enhance the actors’ sense of compositional choice giving them the ultimate freedom so that they are not merely puppets of the director. Therefore in Bogart’s and Tina’s book the viewpoi nt improvisation is not merely a technique but a philosophical approach to motion on the stage and organizing movement on the stage. Their viewpoints primarily encompassed Spatial relationship, Architecture, Shape, Repetition, Kinesthetic response, Gesture and Tempo (Bogart and Landau 6). These are the viewpoints described here below. Bogart’s and Tina’s practical guide to viewpoint and composition describes Spatial Relationship as the distance between objects on the stage. It could be the distance between an actor and another, between groups or between actors and architecture. Proper use of spatial relationship therefore creates a dynamic stage picture where movement of a small group causes the rest of the group to move thus maintain a strong spatia (Bogart and Landau 11). Architecture has to do with the physical environment of the stage which includes permanent and non-permanent features. More specifically it is the actor’s use of or relationship to architecture. According to Bogart this viewpoint is probably the hardest to work with as it demands that the actor views and uses the architecture as a partner in the art. This basically means that the actor has to explore the room making the walls, the windows, the trees, the floor and many other physical components his/her set (Bogart and Landau 52). The actor has to let these physical components speak to him/her and such an actor who not only works with other actors but with their physical environment expresses a deep character.   Architecture, spatial relationship and topography (movement along the landscape- which is not elaborately described in the book) are the space related viewpoints. Kinesthetic response is the spontaneous reaction to an external stimuli or motion. In theater it is the actor’s response in moment to what is occurring in the room, the timing of movement (Bogart and Landau 8). The book gives an example of how an actor suddenly running across the floor would initiate a lot subconscious activity on the floor. Although all the viewpoints are important Bogart recons that this may probably the most important view point. The book implores actors to be sensitive to the potential flow of timing and to be aware that sudden motions, sounds and even shapes could be useful in initiating a spontaneous and immediate reaction. Repetition is repeating of movements, shapes or even sounds either by an individual actor or in relationship to other actors (Bogart and Landau 9). For example an actor may repeat a gesture again and again or an actor may do a certain gesture which is then repeated by the group. The book suggests that repetition is the most important viewpoint for building mise en scene and that repetition builds the character’s depth. Tempo has to do with the speed or the pace of occurrences on the stage (Bogart and Landau 38). It was previously considered part of kinesthetic response but Bogart and Tina started treating them separately. Duration refers to the length of time before changing an event on the stage for instance how long an actor or a group maintains a certain tempo, movement, shape, gesture and/ or sound events occur before changing it (Bogart and Landau 41). These three viewpoints are time related viewpoints. Shape refers to contouring body’s outline in space; it has to do with the outline of the body individually or in relation to others or to the physical environment (Bogart and Landau 47). Bogart instructs actor to explore creating sculptures without thinking on how the shape will turn out but focusing on allowing various shapes to be created through them as they enjoy the shapes. While gesture was initially considered part of shape Bogart distinguished the two stating that a gesture has a start point, middle and end while shape gradually takes the actor from one shape to another (Bogart and Landau 51). Bogart considers gesture to be purely cultural and urges actors to embrace the stereotype and to do it whole heartedly so as to make it work. The book also tackles the use of sound describing it as the vocal viewpoints which include timbre, pitch and dynamic (Bogart and Landau 105). The vocal viewpoints are unlike the others it has to do with sound and not movement, the other vie wpoints are thus referred to as the physical viewpoints. Having described each viewpoint Bogart and Tina assert that each actor has choose the viewpoint s/he finds easiest to work with. After a while each actor chooses another viewpoint and works wit it eventually choosing the one s/he found difficult and â€Å"doing it with vengeance†.   Viewpoints improvisation therefore develops the sensitivity of the actor to create composition. Other compositional aspects According to Bogart response is the foundation of the viewpoint improvisation philosophy because improvisation is all about reacting and not initiating action; it is not about making things happen but rather seeing things happen. The actor needs to be aware of the entire room and respond to it. Another important aspect of the viewpoint improvisation is that of discovery. In addition to being a series of responses viewpoint improvisation is a series of discoveries or a journey of making discovery with each stimulus presenting potential for a new discovery (Bogart and Landau 204). The book encourages actors to discover together and work with the ideas in other words share the idea with the audience. The spirit of enjoying discovery appears to be important in the viewpoint improvisation. The book also identifies fast paced movements as having blurring effect on composition thus encourages the actor to employ stillness (avoiding movement) and listen to what is happening in the room(Bogart and Landau 70). The book also encourages actors to use more variation in the composition stating that there should be differentiation (Bogart and Landau 52). Bogart and Tina also emphasizes on the need for clarity and specificity rather than doing general movements (Bogart and Landau 74). Finally Bogart and Tina comment that though stories and emotions are part of the viewpoint they are just â€Å"icing on the cake† stating that their occurrence shouldn’t be a deliberate effort thus should only be enjoyed. Bogart’s and Tina’s book is a guide to the use of the viewpoints- Spatial relationship, shape, architecture, repetition, kinesthetic response, gesture and tempo- in acting to give the actors an awareness that helps them create the structure within which they can work. The book focuses on aspects of formal composition rather than on the narrative. Bogart acknowledges that there are other viewpoints and that she only describes the ones she finds most applicable with the actors she works with. Works Cited Bogart, Anne and Tina Landau. The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide To Viewpoints And Composition. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2005.

How Assumptions of Consensus Undermine Decision Making

Cover Letter People are always trying to come to a consensus that they know something or someone before they get the true in-depth details. This more often than not leads them to making false assumptions. False assumptions are a misuse of statistics and occurs when a statistical argument asserts a falsehood. At the end of the day these false assumptions lead us to looking stopid in the end as we were proven wrong. What I want to know is what always proppels us to want to jump to conclusion before we get to know someone or something. In my essay I will explain why people jump to conclusion and what ways we can help ourselves not make these false assumptions. Jumping to conclusion We always think we know something or someone better than we actually do. More times than not these assumptions or educated guesses what many people call them are more often wrong the majority of the times. We always try to go with our gut feeling on something that propels us to jump the gun and make a false assumption which makes us look like a fool at the end of the day. In my last two essays I proved the point how we make false assumptions that propel us to jump to conclusion and how more times than not our conclusion that we make is false. After doing an extensive amount of research im writing to figure out why we make these false assumptions that propel us to jump to conclusion. The personal assumptions that undermine people’s decisions making are unconscious. In â€Å"how assumptions ofShow MoreRelatedAdvantages And Disadvantages Of Deliberative Democracy1257 Words   |  6 Pagesdemocracy encourages the meeting of people to decide public ends and policies through rational discussion. It impels free and equal deliberations among participants. And a consensus is the preferred outcome of such discussions. 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Attack written by Seigfried Sassoon Essay Example For Students

Attack written by Seigfried Sassoon Essay Anthem For Doomed Youth Written by Wilfred Owen. The essay is to compare Attack and Anthem For Doomed Youth. In both poems the poet has described life in the World War 1 but at different stages. In Attack he is about to go into battle from a trench whereas in Anthem for Doomed Youth he is being more general, but they are both cataclysmic. The first line in Attack is about the actual battle-taking place at dawn, so straight away you know whats happening and it sets a mood, which is calm but is also goading. In Anthem for Doomed Youth the first line is a rhetorical question, which is about men during the war that went into battle and died, but bells are ringing in their honour. Then the rest of the stanza is like the answer to the question by telling you what was going on during that time. Both of these lines set your mind to think about life in the war and whats going to happen next. In the second line of Attack its very atmospheric, because it goes on to say that the troops massed in to battle in the glowering sun, which is personification because glowering is a human life form and the sun cant glower. In the second line of Anthem for Doomed Youth it uses personification by quoting anger of the guns. Its personification because it is giving guns a human form anger. The guns are angry because its war and theyre firing at the enemy and it isnt a nice sound. These lines open the poem out more by describing some of the details what it was like, such as the sun and gunfire. The line three of Attack it uses alliteration and sibilance. The words used to alliterate were smouldering, spouts, smoke and shroud. Smoke is a metaphor; shroud is a cover for a dead person but in this case its an image of death by being a cover for all the dead bodies so its a simile as well. and smouldering is burning slowly. The third line in Anthem for Doomed Youth is about gunfire Rifles rapid rattle is onomatopoeic because the words sound like what they are and it is alliterative with all the words beginning with r. These lines contrast by both being about one certain thing in the battles of each poem. The fourth line of Anthem for Doomed Youth goes on about getting rid of careless prayers that the choir are doing for the soldiers and it means theyll die, whereas in Attack personification is used to describe a bomb holed slope with dead people on the are falling one by one which I feel is effective and very clear to understand. These two lines not similar because one goes on about the war and the other is on about the choir trying to get god on their side with prayers, so I think that it is effective with descriptive words like menacing and hasty. Line five of Anthem for Doomed Youth is about making no wounding remarks with prayers or bells. In Attack it says about tanks flattening barbed wire to help troops get over it with out being noticed. These lines to me calm the poem down a bit with more of a creeping motion or suggesting feelings. The sixth line of Anthem for Doomed Youth its still became calm because the voice isnt there so it represents sadness. In Attack its describes a barrage as guns firing bullets into one anothers trenches to batter it before the attack. The troops are bowed because of all the weapons they are carrying on their backs. .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 , .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 .postImageUrl , .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 , .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720:hover , .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720:visited , .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720:active { border:0!important; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720:active , .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720 .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf9f6c241906c85954a3d1a99923c1720:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Exam Stoker's presentation of women in Dracula EssayIt makes you feel as if you were actually there at the battle with the troops the amount of description that has been used throughout the poem, whereas the other poem is more of a religious one with the vocabulary used in that one. Line seven of Anthem for Doomed Youth goes on about shells firing from the guns which sounds like a choir to the troops, but its more of a insane choir because its different. Attack it just tell you whats on the troops back for the reason that theyre bowed. I feel that these lines both describe the attack stage of the battle when theyre out of their trenches, with noise of guns and ducking for cover. The eighth line of Anthem for Doomed Youth the poet describes the start of death with bugles sounding from sad area. In Attack it shows how determined they are to stay alive with jostling to get to where they had to. These lines are completely different because the one describes the ending and the other is half way through. Anthem for Doomed Youth starts a new stanza with a rhetorical question, which means good and evil with no candles or bells. In Attack line nine talks about the last prayer because the troops are scared now and they are muttering their last words, which emphasizes the dread that they feel. This part starts to make you feel a bit sad because you wouldnt want to be in that position, so you feel sorry for them. Line ten of Anthem for Doomed Youth is about looking back at the brave soldiers who fort in the war. In Attack it tells you about them getting out of the trench and going into battle. So now you gets worse because in Attack they are about to die and in Anthem for Doomed Youth theyre looking back on times youd rather forget. The eleventh line of Anthem for Doomed Youth it is thinking about light shining on the troops for their bravery in the war. Attack uses alliteration blank and busy because the moment is like a movie where it goes into slow motion as theyre running across the field. So know it starts to make you want it to stop in Attack and in the other poem it stays sad. The penultimate line in Attack says about the little bit of hope that the troops have of surviving, and in Anthem for Doomed Youth its talks about their wives coming to visit them in their coffins. Now theyre ending they become less grappling and more understand and calm. The last line in Attack is an exclamation about the poet actually speaking to god to stop the war because how dreadful it is. Whereas in Anthem for Doomed Youth it talks about the wives placing flowers in memory like on Remembrance Day. These lines are both opposite because Attack is on about trying to stop the war and Anthem for Doomed Youth is about peoples though of the war. The last line of Anthem for Doomed Youth has huge impact because it explains about how the troops lives are at an end with drawing-down of blinds as if they have just died in the evening. I think that both poems have a lot in common because the poets were friends during the war and they wrote in similar ways. I prefer Attack because I think it is more exciting than Anthem for Doomed Youth, which is more religious and sad.

Marx Essay Example For Students

Marx Essay Marxism is a philosophical system developed by Marx and Friedrich Engels. The theory is also known as dialectical materialism, under which matter gives rise to mind. Dialectical materialism is based on social and political institutions progressively changing their nature as economic developments transform material conditions. This is the basis for communism. The reverse theory would be capitalism. While communism in some forms can be traced to various utopian ideas, the theoretical basis for the communist countries is from Karl Marx, an impoverished German, and his colleague Friedrich Engels. Marx believed that all the evil in the world could be attributed to a class struggle between the haves, the wealthy, who controlled the means of production and the have nots, the workers, who actually did the laboring. Marx saw greater and greater wealth being concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer, while the masses, the workers, were being deprived of the rightful fruits of their labors. Marx envisioned a world union of the Working Classes, where the proletariat would arise and overthrow the bosses. Then, with the workers controlling everything, everyone would work to the limits of his (or her) abilities, and everyone would receive all he or she needed. We will write a custom essay on Marx specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Marx envisioned this taking place first in the highly industrialized countries of Germany and England, not in largely rural and illiterate Russia. Lenins contribution to Marxist theory was the concept of the weakest link: that Russia, as the weak link in the chain of industrialized countries, should be the first to overthrow the bourgeois and establish a dictatorship of the proletariat. As we can see in recent years, things did not go according to his plan. Marxs economic theories were complicated and mostly very wrong. Central to his conception of economics was the labor theory of value. According to this theory, the amount a product was worth depended on how much labor was put into it. In reality, a product is worth how much you can sell it for. Marx thought that capitalists, the people who owned the means of production, would constantly push to get more and more labor out of workers, the people who comprised the proletariat, so they could get more and more profits. In his view, competition tended to merely lower wages. In the end, the smaller capitalists would not be able to compete and would become part of the proletariat as well. When the proletariat finally became large and oppressed enough, it would rise and overthrow the capitalists and take control of the means of production and operate them for the public good. Today, we acknowledge that competition also lowers prices, which makes goods cheaper for everyone. Marxs view of new technology was also rather backward. He saw it as tending to make workers redundant, which is true, and thus making workers more desperate for work and driving wages down. He failed to realize that gains in productivity also make goods cheaper for everyone, including workers, and that the savings in one industry could be invested in another and result in greater employment in the end. Rising productivity is actually essential to rising standards of living over the long run. Marx often used the views of other philosophers, like Hegel and Feuerbach to support his social theories. Feuerbach, for instance, was very critical of religion. Hegel saw human history as the progression from bondage to freedom. Freedom is achieved as the desires of the individual are integrated into the unified system of the state, in which the will of one is replaced by the will of all. This theory is shown in his division of history into three stages, the first of which is in the ancient orient where only the ruler was free, the second in Greece and Rome where some were free, and modern world where all are considered free. This view of history divided Hegels followers into left- and right-wing camps, with leftists like Marx turning the dialectic of Spirit into the dialectic of economic conditions and rightists stressing the unity of the state and breathing new life into Protestantism. When Marx wrote about revolution, in many ways he did not have a clear idea regarding its logist ics. It is one thing to write about expropriating the expropriator; it is quite another to figure out just how to do it. Marx assumed that the ruling class, capitalists, would not relinquish power without a fight, so he foresaw a violent struggle. Toward the end of his life, however, Marx began to waver on this as well as some other important issues. But it was not until after his death that Marxists (revisionists) began to come up with concrete strategies to bring about revolution via nonviolent parliamentary participation. .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 , .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 .postImageUrl , .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 , .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823:hover , .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823:visited , .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823:active { border:0!important; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823:active , .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823 .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4931f545bdb12c43fd63ce1bb14b2823:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Child Abuse Essay Marx had the idea that the people should rise from the lower classes and overthrow the rich or ruling class. His error in assuming classes was that in a capitalist system, where there is no monarchy, there is no distinct social class, and upward mobility of the middle class is a dynamic. Social distinctions are made, but are made in standards of living that are only guaranteed by the hard work and risks of engaging in profit making business. Limits of upward mobility are only limited by the lack of talent and hard work. In a Utopian society such as the one Marx envisioned, there would not be the need to invest hard work and risks for greater returns. With out motivation and hard work, Utopia is only a dream, and living standards will probably seek the lowest level of subsistence. This has proven true in most all such experiments with communism. Even the lowest level in a good capitalist society gains advantages as the standard of living rises. The rising tide raises all boats. Some boats may not be as grand as others but are adequate for those who apply their talents and energy. In the Marxist social model, there is a trend toward mediocrity at best and mere survival at worst. Competition and striving seem to gravitate toward the best of all worlds even for the least of us. We can, in effect, enjoy the fruits of the efforts of others and aid their ascension while enjoying these benefits. Utopia is a situation of unrealistic expectations where there is not a drive to excel and compete. A pie that is small and divided evenly is still a small piece of pie. On the other hand, a larger and more magnificent pie has the potential of satisfying needs although the wedge is narrower.