final week

This is the final week of lecture, which means Finals are creeping in around the corner. The atmosphere is tense as the clocks are ticking wildly. Anyway I just wanted to pen down my final piece before I close the chapter for this course EDU3217 Teaching the Language of Drama. The experience did do me good. I have learned a lot about literature and I have to admit that it seriously did help me in my understanding of literature, though I must admit that I did not improve much in Shakespeare’s work. I have learned so many new figurative terms and words which I had not known before. For example, I had no idea that homosexual is not a term used in literature, it did help my understanding on the play A Streetcar Named Desire when I discovered that words like “something I cannot talk about” or “degenerate” actually referred to Homosexuals. I kept cracking my head trying to figure out the words that actually meant Allan Grey was gay. Hamartia, tragic hero, reversal of fortune, all these terms made me understand one thing; everyone is a tragic hero who experiences the reversal of fortune at one point or another. Oedipus Rex was a really good play as I never seen a more pitiful character in my life. Anthony and Cleopatra I did not like very much as the script was too tedious to understand. My favorite I would say in Streetcar Named Desire as the issues dealt in the play was more recognizable. The final play 30 Days of September is a brilliant piece of work which I admire very much because the issue it highlights is of rising concern these days and I hope that by reading this, I will open the eyes of many. On the whole I think the course will be useful when I teach in the future. Before I end, I would like to thank my lecturer and my tutor for the guidance they have provided

Passion- play in KLPAC

yesterday, 1^st April 2008, we watched a real beautiful play called PASSION in KLPAC, Sentul. I have been to a play once before but this time it was way better because the message was conveyed through dance and not conversation. The dance was really brilliant but after the play I realized that everyone who watched it had their own version of the story. There wasn’t any conversation in the entire play. The only words heard were the introduction and the ending. This is where stages directions come in handy. We had to be really careful to watch the expressions and the actions of the actors. If left unnoticed the story would not be understood. As I said, after the play I heard many versions of the play which differ with mine. Well, from what I understand from all the dancing, the play is about two ladies who are actually not the protagonist but the source of the conflict. These two ladies were disappointed by the protagonist and the other men, thus leaving them to have affairs and in the end decided to be together. In my opinion I think that the ladies realized that the men in their lives only desired them sexually. The title of the play is really suitable I would think because the dance was so passionate if not the love scenes. One of the stage directions I noticed was the color scheme of the clothes used by the dancers for certain scene. It depicts the atmosphere of the scene just like the “blue piano” from a Streetcar named Desire. I really admire those dancers as I think they did a good job communicating with the audience through their facial expressions and their body movements. But I have to admit that some scenes was a bit boring as I had no idea what it meant.

how we evaluate others

Evaluating my peers’ teaching was a real fun thing to do. I have learned a lot from this experience as I think that it would be very useful in my future teaching career. Evaluating helps people improve themselves, as they are able to identify their mistakes and avoid from future reoccurrence. In my opinion I think my peers, like myself prefer peer evaluation as it is less critical and even if is very critical, we are able to look past it as it criticism from own our friends.

When I evaluate my peers, I have to say that I look mainly at their set induction and their grammar, as I feel that it is important for future Tesl teachers to use proper grammar as students are going to learn from us. I also follow closely the peer evaluation guide provided which allows me to concentrate on the pre-reading and while-reading activities. I also look into the connection between the different stages as many of us tend to create exercises that do not relate to the topic of the lesson or the previous exercise. Besides that, I also look into the behavior of my peers as they teach. Today one teacher taught the class while she sat on top of the table. This type of behavior is unacceptable as students watch your move. So far, the use of language is average as only a handful are fluent. Their teaching style however, is very good and impressive, as they now have confidence. Overall, I think that evaluating has not only help them but also myself as I am able to recognize mistakes made and make sure that I do not do them.

how others evaluate us

Today I did my simulated teaching for EDU 3217 Teaching the Language of Drama. I taught on the characteristics of Anthony from the play Anthony and Cleopatra by Shakespeare. My teaching partner of the day was Jayshri Subramaniam. At first I was nervous as I knew that my peers were evaluating our teaching. I felt like a prey being fed to a pack of vultures. Cutting the drama, it was really comforting to know that my evaluation was being done by my peers who have been with me for four semesters now. It somehow lessen the load of pressure that I felt about the 15% that I was going to be graded on by my tutor. The teaching went pretty smoothly, as we were quite prepared now after the many weeks of anticipation.
After we had finished, our peers returned the evaluation forms. It was disappointing at first as many of them returned empty sheets, not given their comments of improvement. we were judged on our presentation of our set induction as well as our pre- reading and while- reading activities. Based on the feedback, our teaching was well done with excellent fluency and relation of tasks. The setbacks were the projection of voice, especially mine which was quite soft. Besides that the set induction was quiet appropriate as the story we told related to Anthony’s character. Another minor setback was we not asking for student’s feedback. there was also some complains about the text as it a difficult to comprehend.
On the whole, I think that we were evaluated fairly by our peers and I think that it should be done more often as students like me feel more comfortable hearing what our peers critically than our lecturers. Evaluation by itself helps us realize our faults and gives a chance to correct our mistakes in the future

as you like it

first of all let me say that i love Shakespeare for his beautiful creation of literature, unfortunately his language is incomprehensible and i find extremely difficult to even make out the gist of the story. except for the Japanese setting i hardly understood anything but Calvin Klein's melancholy character did fascinate me as he seemed to play quite an important role by hardly saying anything except for occasional crucial remarks. i am proud to say that i did recognize the script that we read in Now Read On about the stages of men. other than that i have nothing much to say unless if i maybe watch another time.

a streetcar named desire- movie reflection

today we watched the play A Streetcar Named Desire. the movie was really good. by watching the movie,i was able to increase my understanding of the play. the portrayal of the characters was done really well. the actions done by characters gave me a better understanding on the on the stage directions and the feelings and emotions the characters are actually feeling.
Blanche's seductiveness and Stanley's brutalness was clearer for me in the play as the stage directions when read as quite vague. plays are actually meant to be watched and not read anyway.
one slight difference between the movie and the written script that could actually have an impact is the ending. in the movie version of the play, Stella actually believes her sister's accusiation of Stanley raping the latter, and Stella decides to leave him, an unlikely decision which is not a norm for her or the people living in Elysian Fields. in the written version however, the ending shows Stanley caressing Stella and comforting.
i like the movie version though as it has a more feministic reproach where women do not have to depend on men to survive.

macbeth

i was really looking forward to this movie as i have heard so much about it and am really glad to say that i actually enjoyed it. i have not watched many of shakespeare's work but i must say that this is one brilliant tragedy play. there were many gruesome scenes but i have to admit that it really added colour to the movie as we audience dwelt into Macbeth's actions as he greedily sought power and fame without any remorse or guilt. the movie might not have been portrayed exactly as the play would but i would say that it was really good and entertaining all the same while increasing my knowledge on literature as well as shakespeare's work.
i enjoyed the movie and i am really glad that i could identify the different literary devices from the play while watching the movie.

shakespeare wallah

we had to watch this movie Shakespeare wallah today. the purpose was supposed to be for exposure to Shakespeare's work. i somehow did not enjoy much of as the plays in the movie was really short and was not really helpful in enhancing my knowledge about Shakespeare's work. i think it would have been better if they focused on few plays longer than many in such a short time. the play about Othello was good and i did recognize the script from Anthony and Cleopatra which is quite good for though. i am looking forward to the next movie and hope that it is better than this.

teiresias

i have always been fond of greek mythology for it's wide range of characters. it is somewhat fascinating to learn about the different Gods and their roles, though i have to say i never really heard of Teiresias. as i read Oedipus Rex, i never really expected the characters to be based on the greek mythology. as i searched the web on Teiresias, i was surprised to find out that Cadmus really existed and it was just not a name i stumbled on in Oedipus Rex. Tales about Teiresias seem to vary but i really like the one about Hera cursing him to be a woman for 7 years just because he disturbed mating snakes. but about him being blind, i am really not sure as he being cursed by Athena for watching her bathe and Hera cursed him for agreeing with Zeus seem to relevant and his foresight was given by Zeus as well as his ability of augury seem consistent. which one could it be? i have no idea but i really like his tale and i think that it tallies with his role in Oedipus Rex as a blind seer who has visions but tries his best not to reveal them. Teiresias must have been cursed really badly,i mean seven generations is a really long time even if you are physically blind.

implicature

i really like this term implicature as this is one term that i can immediately connect with real life. implicature means saying one thing but meaning another, well isn't that what we commonly do in real life? just like how you tell your parents you really want to come back from christmas to be with them but you have outdoor work overseas, when actually you are going to attend a friend's party.
well that is exactly how Albert and his mother was like. one indirectly telling the mother that the party is more fun than the card game that they were supposed to have and the mother indirectly telling him not to leave her alone. i really think it is easier to learn literature this way as we can connect it with real life, and IMPLICATURE is a long word so it is now easier understood when it can be related to one's life.

tradition

this is regarding the exercise we did in class on traditional dance. in my opinion i think tradition is really important and i agree with Jairaj from "Dance like a Man" by Mahesh Dattani, that traditions should be preserved as culture represents identity, and when there is no interest and passion to preserve culture it could end up like the Mak Yong dance as Mak Su said, neither alive or dead.
so, literature in some ways, part of culture, so love it, live it and preserve it.

different stages of life

im comparing the different views of Yeats, Shakespeare and Sophocles on the different stages of men. in Sophocles's Oedipus rex, there are three stages of men that is recognized by the riddle from the sphinx, from a crawling baby to a man and then an old man with a cane. Sophocles seem to think that these are the elements of life.
Yeats differs from him as he says that there are four stages of man taken from the fourth quater of Supernatural Songs. Yeats conclude that in life the four stages are body, heart, mind and God. in my opinion i think this poem is spiritual as it shows that in life everything that is physical, emotional and intellectual in the end is taken back by the Creator. the body leaves then man, the heart leaves the body, the mind leaves the heart and God wins it all back in the fight.
Shakespeare in As You Like It however differs from both Yeats and Sophocles by saying that there are seven stages in life. first the infant, then the school boy,to lover, to soldier, to justice, to the lean and slipper'd pantaloon and finally to the second childishness stage.
in my opinion i think the clearer of all stages and the most closest to real life is Shakespeare because in life the seven stages in life is different from just the three stages that Sophocles conveys. but yeats however is talking about the after life which is also something i strongly agree on as everything given has to be taken back one day.

things that you consider in a play

when acting out a scene or watching a scene, the things i look out for in a play to comprehend the message that is being delivered, is of course the actions of the actors, the expressions, gestures and their intonation. these elements are very important because it sends a non-verbal message when the actor is not saying anything or when the actor cannot be heard. these paralinguistic and non-linguistic cues help the audience get a clearer view of what the actor is trying to convey, thus making the comprehension of the entire play much easier. this shows that stage directions are very important in a play as it tells the actors what to do non-verbally.

oedipus rex

i have jus completed Oedipus rex and i think it is seriously a really good play. as we have been discussing much about the incest, ignorance, kindness and blindness not forgetting fate and prophecies, not many people noticed that Oedipus is also a little bit selfish, not on the whole, just a tiny a little bit. in my opinion i think when he decided to find Laois murderer, fearing that he could be next shows selfishness eventhough the ulterior motive was to help his subjects, that is just my opinion.
something else i noticed was also the fact that Lacoste did not notice the scars on Oedipus's ankle. just slightly curious.

plot

i really like the the idea of a Brechtian plot. The fact that this type of plot actually makes you think pleases me. The m,ost interesting part of it that i like is the actor questions his or herself outside the context of the play. the fact that there is also no suspense is likable to me as the whole idea is to make you think and not be anxious.
an aristotelian plot is also interesting but it does not appeal to me that much as emotions is not really my thing and usually most of the storylines are slightly predictable.
so far my understanding of drama is getting slightly clearer than it was when i jus started but i still find it rather tedious to read and understand so much in such a short time.

drama

i think the introduction to drama was a learning experience to me as i really had no idea at all that Aristotle had anything to do with dramatic plot let alone plays. always thought he was just a philosopher. it is really sad that he Greek period drama had to end as I think that reading Oedipus the King has made me realize that the play seemed more interesting than the roman soldiers and slaves. that is just my opinion. i do wish we get the chance to at least have a glimpse at comedy plays even though it is said to be really difficult. well that is it for now.