Dance in Lughnasa

During the holidays, when I came back to Israel, I went to a show in my old school.

It was their final production, just like the second years production. I decided to go to support my friends, and also to see some shows during the break.

I think that altough this experience wasn't a part of the course, it infelcted on my experience as an acter and a theatre student. I understood how language and movement can actually change the whole play and the audience's reaction.

Summary of the play Dance in Lughnasa, out of wikipedia:

The five Mundy sisters (Kate, Maggie, Agnes, Rosie, and Christine), all unmarried, live in a big cottage outside of town. Kate, the oldest, is a school teacher and the only sister with a job. Agnes and Rose knit gloves to be sold in town and help keep the house with Maggie and Christine (Michael's mother) who have no income at all. Recently returned home is their brother Jack, a priest who has lived as a missionary in a leper colony in Uganda for 25 years. He is suffering from malaria and has trouble remembering many things, including the sisters' names and his English vocabulary. Gerry, Michael's father, is charming and completely unreliable. A clown and a vagabond he visits rarely and always unannounced. He has another family back in Wales, although that doesn't stop him from proposing to Christine. He has returned this time to tell her he is joining the International Brigade to fight in the Spanish Civil War.

I saw the show in a different prespective than I usually do. I tried to use "analyse" some things, in a really basic way, but just do understand how did the director work.

The strongest thing for me were the dances. The dances inflected on passion, the passion of the sisters to come back and dance again.

I noticed that the lightning was contrast, most of the time. It was very cosy and worm (red, orange) in one side and very dark and cold on the other side (blue, black). It helped me to understand the character's feelings.

The stage was set in a very special way. It was divided to two: one side was the house, and one side was the garden. The garden was the place were the main character told the story. The story in the house was the past, and the character in the garden was in the present, presenting the story to the audience. It was very interesting, to see the contrast between the two parts, in the same stage.

I think that even if it's hard to explain what you take with you after a show, it is still very necessary to include it as a part of your proccess. After studying theatre for couple of months I try to see what I learned in "real"- lightning, improvization, directing etc.