Review for English

Matt Sharp

Professor Andy Smith

English 1010-018

November 24, 2009

A Bloody Good Time

The Closing Night of Dracula by Crane Johnson

The Backdoor Playhouse was rather packed for the final night of Dracula, directed by Mark Creter, and after over 10 performances, I have to say that I'm surprised. It was indeed a good play, and it lasted for quite a while so that even slackers and deadbeats like me can find a chance to catch a showing. To retain a large audience even after showing as many times as the play did was truly impressive.

As the lights dimmed and the show began, it slowly started but quickly garnered attention as the play's manic madman, Renfield (played by Evan Montgomery), broke into the scene. For a play based on a horror book, it wasn't really that frightening, save for a few moments, such as the sickeningly good scene of Renfield with Dracula's consorts (played by Sarah Townsend and Shauna Albriton) and the unforgettable fog sequence where the crowd first sees Dracula himself (played by Josh Winscott) sinking his teeth into the helpless Lucy (played by Jordyn Strilecky).

The play was ably carried from beginning to conclusion by each and every player, with only one noticeable but easily concealed slip. It featured fascinating insights into matters of the physical realm as well as the metaphysical. Granted, I couldn't understand most of the insights, but they were there, and they played a great part in deciphering the symbolism of the play itself. The characters more interested in the supernatural, such as Renfield and Van Helsing (played by Simone O'Dell), delved into the meaning of the soul and how such a component of the human presence could be present in the blood that flows through each living human's veins. This doesn't exactly coincide very well with the fantasy situation that is the undead Dracula, but it is an interesting bit to think about even as the play continues.

Overall, the play was remarkable, with a able-bodied cast and chilling light effects. My only want for this play would be that there were a way to manage fake blood onstage. Other than that, the play was enlightening, interesting, and at times spine-tingling. I would definitely recommend this play to any who have not already seen it. Not at the Backdoor Playhouse, however, because that curtain has fallen.

Required Reading for Thursday: Take Two

Well, I read those bits from the Reading Guide, and I just remembered that I was supposed to write a blog about them before tomorrow (i.e. today). So, let's get started, shall we?

Anyway, the first review, the one about the pizzeria, served its purpose in my opinion. It was informative and seemed very unbiased, using good adjectives to describe the finest details of the particular pizza the reviewer bought. This reviewer covered everything, the good and the bad, which is good for the curious consumer.

The second review, regarding Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, was very humorous and, again, seemed to serve its purpose. It outlined the plot without being too revealing and pointed out the pros and cons of said plot in a way that could be easily understood. These elements came together in a very well placed transition, making the quality of the work even better.

A Tale of Two Intake Forms

Ok, so we were given a page with two intake forms on them. One side had the intake form for Helping Hands of Putnam County, and the other had the intake form for some church nearby. I didn't really catch where the church was, but that doesn't really matter to me that much.

What's important is the content. Helping Hands asked very basic questions intended to evaluate whether or not an individual needs help and, if so, how much help they need. The church asks more questions involving one's spirituality/religious affiliation. This makes sense and is not a bad thing, considering the church IS a private institution and has all the right in this country to decide which people they will give money to based on similarity of faith or the opportunity to share faith.

It's also important to have a public resource, however. If donations to the impoverished were all privatized, it would be difficult for each one to be provided for. I appreciate what Helping Hands is doing, and the fact that the church helps some is good, as well.

Required Readings for Thursday

Regarding the Information Report... wow. Just wow. From a personal perspective, this was a terrible event, but from a literary perspective, this was an impressive work. Many details were employed to inform the audience of every aspect of the hijacking. The details conveyed a definite feeling of shock and terror even for the audience members not directly impacted by this event and a sense of empathy for those who were impacted. It was a beautiful work describing a tragic event in our country's history.

I really don't have much that I can say about the Annotated Bibliography. The beginning is creative, and the rest is... a list. The list has some interesting titles in it, but there's not much that I can say about it unless I were to read any of the books described in the bibliography. It's just kind of... there...

The report was entertaining and definitely achieved the purpose of informing on the history of what we know as the blog, that thing I'm using right now to convey a message to an audience. Overall, all of the entries accomplished their purposes, but that's all I can really say about two out of three.

Thursday Night with Samavayah

The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Backdoor Playhouse last Thursday was low lighting and a red backdrop, so things were going well right off the bat. I wandered around for a while since the group was still setting up their props and instruments, and then I sat down in front and listened to one of the singers sing the opening prayer.

At first, it seemed strange. I was given a page that had unusual words on it, and later I found out that we, the audience, would be singing along. I'd never been to such a concert, but it seemed like it'd be fun. Later, the troupe informed us that we would be allowed to join them onstage and encouraged dancing and other actions during each verse.

It was definitely different, but that didn't take away from how enjoyable it was. It was very interactive and was... a liberating experience, at least while singing along. The back store that had Hindu-based materials was entertaining to browse through, as well. The night finished well, and the troupe regrouped at the Thai restaurant across the street.

The Culture Crawl

I'm gonna try to make this quick since I'm a few nods away from comatose (in case it doesn't say, I'm writing this near midnight). Anyway, on with my review of the Culture Crawl.

Personally, I was okay with the first part, but when it got down to the walking and talking outside, I started nodding off. Honestly, I was still intent on being asleep for another few hours, but I made the most of it. I sat and listened with half honest interest in what everyone was saying and ate Indian food later.

The music was my favorite part. I liked the pieces played at the very beginning of this event, and that was the only part that I really could/would pay serious attention to. The music was amazing (if any players who were there are reading this, you guys were awesome! :D). The very last song was difficult for me to wrap my mind around, but overall, the pieces played were just spectacular. Great job to everyone, really.

In addition to the music, the food was good as well. Usually when I can't pronounce what something is, that means I'm not going to eat it, but most of the food I ate at Indian Palace was pretty good, especially the breaded...thing...whose name I cannot remember. The food and music are the only things that I can really remember in detail, so this is where my review stops. Was the event good? Yes. Would I wake up another Saturday morning to do it again? You would have to drag me out of bed with rope, tranquilizers, and another good breakfast.

Sketch 3

I can't even remember the age anymore, but it was definitely before I was nine years old. My mom was invited to a company dinner hosted by Jay, the boss of a business called Graphic Dimensions, and his wife at their home in Douglasville, GA. I wormed my way through a sea of formal wear and classy dresses as though I were actually a worm in a thick, crowded apple. My mom could probably tell that I was bored out of my mind, and it may have been her who guided me downstairs to where a group of girls were playing with a few things: dolls, toys, and a video game system.

Now, at this point, video games were a completely different world to me. To me, it was just a box that seemed to serve some purpose, so in my natural curiosity, I poked it and prodded it until it turned on (one of the girls there might have had something to do with that). The screen illuminated with color, and I saw a little man made of blocks named Mario scurry across the screen for the first time in my life.

I started the game, and I felt the entire world around me fade away. It was only me, controlling this little man walking around an entire world made of blocks. I leaped across giant chasms and smashed the brains of little living mushrooms, all the while picking up weird stuff like flowers and stars. All of a sudden, one of the little mushroom bastards bit me! This entire world stopped, and I felt the real world creeping up to me again, slowly...slowly...

I could never have understood it then, but that moment changed my life forever. Playing that game led me to a world far more interesting than reality, regardless of its graphic inferiority. As a natural escapist, this world suited me far better at the time than a world filled with people I may or may not get along with.

It was at that moment that I became...a video game addict.

Sketch 2

Previously...in the Premise for Sketch 2...

I was talking about my unusual attraction to Lady Gaga's music. And now, the not-so-amazing conclusion. All that I can guarantee is that there's going to be a meaning, whether you see it or not.

I'm pretty sure I was 18 when it happened. I was talking to a friend of mine from Kansas on the phone (who soon became a disappointing loss of a friend since he turned out to be someone completely different from who he said he was), and at the same time I was compulsively pacing, weaving in and out of my room and my parents' room, my feet sinking into the fuzzy brown carpet.

I occasionally stood still in my parents' room, chatting away while I fiddled with some of mom's jewelry and various other shiny things. I can't exactly recall everything that we talked about, but I'm pretty sure my friend was talking about life at high school and how it was hard and blah, blah, blah. I felt my way around the room, fiddling with the usual stuff: a thick glove without a mate, one of Dad's knives, and many other knick-knacks and do-dads. I think it was during that time that said friend told me about a live performance by Lady Gaga on Dancing with the Stars.

Now, at first, I was excited, and I ran upstairs to the "man cave," as it's called, and sat down to watch the show. It took a while of watching stars I either didn't know or didn't care for jumping around a ballroom with their legs in the air for me to finally get to the main show. I likely bounced myself back and forth on the home gym that no one ever uses while I was waiting for the actual "show" to start.

As I watched the dancers and waited impatiently for the live performance, I thought to myself. What the hell has this crap done to me, I thought, I'm sitting upstairs in a stuffy room waiting to watch a pop star perform on...Dancing with the Stars! I mean, really, if it were any other show it might be different, but...THIS?! These thoughts floated about my head for a few minutes, and then Lady Gaga came on and the world kind of disappeared for about four minutes.

Premise for Sketch 2

I doubt anyone's read this yet, but in case you did, I'm changing this since it seems more to be purely a premise for another sketch rather than a sketch itself.

So then, for those who know me fairly well, you may know that when it comes to celebrities I'm rather reserved and tend to take on a "why the hell should I care?" mentality. This being said, only in the past year have I become aware of a celebrity who, for a time, was able to make me squeal like a giddy schoolgirl whenever a live performance was mentioned. Who is this mystery celebrity, you ask? Well, cover your children's ears, for this truth may be too intense for their little minds to handle.

The celebrity in question is a pop singer who, to some, turned the world upside down with wild styles and so many TMI comments she makes me look politically correct, and that singer is named...Lady Gaga.

So, I said it. I'm a Lady Gaga fan. Don't know why, but her catchy tunes pulled me in and kept me listening for hours and hours, and they still won't let me go. Plus, the idea of her lighting cans of hairspray on fire in earlier acts is a fascinating thing to my noggin. If you thought that was horrible, I'm afraid I'm inclined to tell you that this is only the premise for the story I'm about to tell next...

Sketch 1

I can't remember much about the first thing on TV that scared me, but I definitely know that it was about vampires, which is why I didn't like them for several years of my life. Now I'm friends with and attracted to one...Go figure. Anyway, it was a short scene from Interview with the Vampire, a movie based on the literary work by Anne Rice. It was the scene where Lestat (I presume; it's been years) throws a young woman onto a bed and sinks his fangs into her neck, letting a small trickle of blood flow from his mouth.

This scene was horrifying, but I was about four or five years old, so I wasn't exactly familiar with vampires anyway. It wasn't intended that I actually watch it; it was one of those things you walk in on that you really weren't meant to see, something like when you walk in on a relative banging their spouse/significant other. Going back to my own significantly less traumatic trauma, my mom immediately pulled me out of the room before I even saw what happened next. This act, in hindsight, somewhat disappoints me. Had I watched the rest of it and seen the movie from beginning to end, I may have seen it in a less negative light, provided I had been a bit older.

A lot of things out there scare us: falling down stairs, being turned down for a date, rape, suicide bombers, death, and most importantly, public speaking. However, when it comes to things as small as what you see in the movies, I've found that some of it really isn't as scary as I once thought. Additionally, the full movie 30 Days of Night is ten times scarier than those 30 seconds of Interview with the Vampire, in my opinion. So, it may be that you find something less scary over time, or it may be that you just find something scarier to be afraid of.

Be afraid...be very afraid. But in all seriousness, don't be afraid.

The Memoirs of Three People I Don't Know

Over the course of this three-day weekend I read three memoirs, and I thought that they were all very...detailed. The detail showed especially in the first memoir, the story of a little girl growing up in Cambodia at the onset of the Vietnam War. The mention of feeling her way in the dark and the piercing sounds of bullets flying outside almost made me feel as though I were in that house.

Although not the case with the first memoir, the second and third were rather humorous. They were funny, slice-of-life type stories, still holding some detail but focusing on the use of humor to convey a point. I'm fairly sure I got the points...

Anyway, I liked Us and Them the best. I appreciated the humor as well as the implied message of how people so close physically can seem so far away figuratively. The idea of hating and lashing out against the misunderstood in favor of introspection was also an appreciated implication.

My Personal Quizzes and What I Thought of Them

On the Myers-Briggs test, I learned that I was an ENFP (Extraverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Perceiving)...again. I've taken this test many times before, and the results are never very surprising. Similarly, I can't really say that I've learned much new about myself.

I've done the political compass test before, as well. Each time I end up somewhere in the middle of the lower left quadron, which never really surprised me except for a time on Facebook when one of my friends called me an anarchist. This is rather far from the truth, since I like government (and accept it as an inevitability). However, I do believe that government, like most other things in life, is done best in moderation.

And, finally, I did the spiritual inventory. I'm not sure if I was further enlightened about myself through answering these questions, but it was fun to express my opinions openly. If anything, I made an effort to solidify my faith and give it a certain form in a mind that is often, for the most part, very uncertain. Regardless, I'm glad this was an assignment. I enjoyed it.

My History with the Pen (and Keyboard)

I have had an interest in expressing myself through my writing for many years, most likely beginning from the age of ten or 13, but I only pursued it seriously in strides during my Freshman or Sophomore year at Merrol Hyde Magnet School.

In retrospect, I find that most of the motivations for my writing were purely a product of self-interest. From an early age, I've always clung fiercely to the selfish desire to belong, either to a person or a group. And so, perhaps in an effort to somehow understand my audience, I made my own thoughts, my own imagination, more open to those around me, in the hopes that it would make those around me more open or more readable in what they were thinking, what they wanted. It didn't work, but the experiences of writing were still enjoyable. It was a form of release to let my thoughts fall onto paper or screen.

Over the last few years, especially in my Creative Writing class during my Junior year of high school, my writing became a bit more...refined. I gave those assignments more thought than simply creating emotionally-charged outbursts full of feeling but lacking focus. In my opinion, though, my personal writing still has the feeling that it had several years ago, the very impulsive musings of a very impulsive individual, and I still have a long way to go before I can create professional, focused, and hopefully entertaining works and do so with consistency.

In summary, my writing certainly has a purpose; it always has, and it always will have such. However, I doubt that this purpose will stay the same forever. Times change, and media is no different. My audience will continue to change in stature, wisdom, and opinion, and I will change alongside them.

(Not half bad for a start to the year, in my opinion. More to come. Stay tuned.)

Well, There We Go

So, one of my teachers asked the class to make individual blogs, and this is the beginning of mine. I haven't had much of a look at it yet, but hopefully it's lookin' good. More updates to come, folks. G'night.