Month: August 2017

The biggest challenge I had was figuring out how to make my Art Review read more like a review and less like an encounter. I wanted to add a lot of detail to make my audience feel as if they were experiencing the Art themselves, but was challenged to find the wording to make it sound like a review. I read multiple reviews for reference but still feel as though I’ve come up short on the assignment. I was surprised to realize that I enjoyed completing the research for my projects and the smaller weekly assignments because it gave me an opportunity to learn and expand my knowledge on things that I may not have already known. An example of this was with my research on Boris Artzybasheff and his graphic work. As stated in my project, I didn’t really know who he was or what his work was when I attended the lecture at the SUArt Galleries. Researching him as an artist and the work he did allowed me the opportunity to understand the meanings behind his artwork. I was also able to learn more about the use of Propaganda during times of war such as WWII. These experiences are important to my development as a research writer because they allow me to learn and continuing expanding the skills learned during the semester. In the future, I will be able to fall back on information learned, such as how to search the library’s databases for scholarly articles to help back up arguments I may be trying to make.

Research and writing impacted my engagement, interest, and understanding as I worked with the Encountering Arts inquiry in that it forced me to look at Art more critically and with purpose instead of just for aesthetic purposes. Before taking WRT 205, I would encounter Art for the sole purpose of seeing it. Now I am able to experience Art with the intention of thinking deeper about its meaning and what the artist wanted to draw attention to with it. An example of this is the New York State Chinese Lantern Festival. It would be simple for me to attend with the intent of simply enjoying the displays. Instead, I had the foresight to research the event, what it took in order to set up the displays, and the importance of the festival in the Chinese culture. Afterwards, I researched the importance of the various themes I noticed throughout the festival and the importance of them in the Chinese culture.

The project that I hope others will read and be influenced by is my Unit One project: Researching & Analyzing an Arts Experience that I submitted on Boris Artzybasheff. This was by far, my favorite project that I submitted because his work was so unique and I enjoyed learning how his work was used as propaganda during war times and the technological era. The Interviews that we read throughout the semester were most influential and helpful to me and my work as a research writer as I prepared for my interview with Marge Thomas and her work with the Children’s Glassworks Theatre. Reading the different interviews allowed me to see many different styles and formats that others have published. I was also able to get an idea of the types of questions to ask and how to make them flow well. Many of the interviews that I read were in a blog format, which is the formatting that I chose to use as well. I was able to mimic ideas that I liked from the interviews in order to use in mine.

This semester was the first time that I have taken a class where I have really learned or needed to complete research for any assignments. As I progress through coursework towards my degree, I image there will be many classes where the practices I’ve learned will benefit me as I need to read and complete research for papers and assignments. Completing database searches in order to find scholarly works that will support any arguments that I may make in my writing will be beneficial so that I have critical engaging examples to use. I will also use the practice of completing summary heuristics in order to examine texts more critically. This practice will help me to dissect the texts in a way that will allow me to find the authors’ purpose for writing them.

The first summary heuristic that we completed in class was for a review written in The New York Times of Ben Platt’s leading role in the musical “Dear Evan Hansen.” This assignment was meant to help us dig deeper into our readings and examine the texts we were reading. This assignment made me really analyze the texts I read and try to see what the author was saying without saying it. I chose my summary heuristic on Joel Lovell’s review because it gave me a desire that I’ve never had before, to see a Broadway performance, which I attribute to Lovell’s talent of making his audience feel that they are experiencing the musical and his interactions with Mr. Platt, first hand.

 

“How a 23-Year-Old with Mild Anxiety and a Charmed Life Became the Lying, Sobbing, Lovesick Toast of Broadway,” written by Joel Lovell is about the actor, Ben Platt and his role in the musical “Dear Evan Hansen.” In his text, Lovell describes the strengths that the actor has in order to give an emotionally intense performance for 8 shows a week. Lovell’s text was published on May 10, 2017 on The New York Times website. This piece also appears in print in the New York edition. Lovell’s piece can be considered to be a biography because he is writing about the actor, Ben Platt who plays the lead role in the musical “Dear Evan Hansen. It can also be considered to be a review of him as an actor and his performance in the musical because in this text, Lovell goes into great detail to describe Platt’s performance and what it takes for him to perform as intensely as he does.

The audience that Lovell is targeting with his text are those interested in the arts, specifically those interested in large scale theater or musical productions. Those interested in this particular production that may want to know more details about the lead actor or his prospective on playing this role may also be an interested in the text. The timing of Lovell’s text is opportune because it was published approximately ten days after the 2017 Tony Award nominations came out.  With the awards-ceremony still approximately a month away and the show receiving 9 nominations, there is still time for readers to go see the show before the Tony Awards.

The author illustrates what Ben Platt puts himself through in order to give a top-notch performance, every time. Lovell attempts to make his audience feel the toll that this role takes on Mr. Platt mentally, emotionally, and physically. He does this by explaining in depth, the actor’s routines to prepare for each performance along with the routines he follows to assist his recovery from each. He also details conversations that he has with those closest to him, such as his mother and co-stars and their concerns for his well-being and the awe they have for the amazing job he does in his role.

One of the key points that circulate in this text is the mental and emotional strength that it takes for Mr. Platt to perform this role as flawlessly as he does, and the reactions of those that witness it on a daily basis. In the following quote, Steven Levenson, one of the three creators of the show, appears to be in awe of Ben Platt and his performance. “I’ve never met an actor who has such emotional access,’ Mr. Levenson said. ‘Yet every night, as intense as the role is internally, he hits each moment exactly the same. He’s technically perfect, every time. I find it a mystery. He really is a unicorn.”

The actress that plays the role of Evan’s mother, Rachel Bay Jones, is also mystified by the actor’s ability to perform so intensely and passionately. “When I spoke with Ms. Jones, she said: ‘I don’t really know how he does it, especially at such a young age. We all have those parts of ourselves we don’t find attractive and don’t want to show thousands of people. It takes so much work to strip away our protections around those things. But he’s able to let his guard fall away so naturally, and just be.”

The strong commitment and dedication Platt has to his role along with to those that come to see the musical can be seen as he describes the “monkish” lifestyle that he leads while performing in “Dear Evan Hansen.” An example can be seen in this quote: “It won’t always be like this, ‘he added. (His contract is up in November.) ‘But I feel as long as I’m doing this role, everything I do has to be in the service of that. I don’t want there to be a single performance where people leave feeling like they didn’t get the best I could offer. If that means denying myself something, that’s O.K. I don’t think anything can be genuinely fulfilling or powerful if it’s not taking some kind of toll. For now, I’m definitely willing to let that toll be taken.”

I chose my summary heuristic for Guilty Pleasures, a chapter from Rick Moody’s book “On Celestial Music and Other Adventures in Listening,” because the formatting of the text was initially difficult for me to understand. A lot of the text was written to mimic a string of email conversations which was at times, confusing to follow. Writing a summary heuristic for Moody’s chapter helped me to see beyond the email conversations, and allowed me to examine the author’s meaning behind the text.

 

Guilty Pleasures, a chapter from the book “On Celestial Music and Other Adventures in Listening,” written by Rick Moody is about an event that the Brooklyn Record Club (whom Moody is a member of) is planning to put on where each member is required to bring two musical selections that they are ashamed of liking. The author uses saved email conversations between the members to outline the event and the feelings that bringing such selections invite. The book was published in New York on January 1, 2012, by Back Bay Books- a subdivision of Little, Brown and Company.

This chapter can be described as a personal narrative because Moody writes about an event in a story format that happened in his life. His primary audience are readers with a broad appreciation for music. This is apparent by the depth the author goes into while describing the various musical genres throughout the chapter. His secondary audience might be those faced with having to make decisions that may cause discomfort, which can be recognized throughout the chapter as Moody discusses the difficulty he has deciding on which songs to bring to the Guilty Pleasures event.

In this piece, Moody is being nostalgic as he discusses music from his past and the feelings it incurs. Moody uses both ethos and pathos to convey his purpose. He uses ethos to show the creditability of his vast knowledge of music. One example of him doing this is when he writes about working at a radio station during one point of his life: “I worked at the radio station when I was in boarding school. I may even have been the program director of the school radio station,” (Moody, 149). He uses pathos to appeal to the audience’s emotions and values. This is done by showing how difficult it was for him (and other members of the Record Club) to decide which tracks to play during the Guilty Pleasures event. He also talks about his sense of nostalgia when picking the Jethro Tull track, which was in part inspired by his late sister’s fandom of Tull.

One concept that resonates within the text is nostalgia. This can be seen throughout the chapter as Moody discusses various music that he and the other members liked at specific points of their lives. One example was in JL2’s email message that she sent after FT had stated that “We Built This City on Rock ‘n Roll” would always be an abomination: “I remember performing ‘we built this city’ on WFMU in the mid eighties. Everyone was smiling broadly and there was a general vibe that it was the best part of the evening.”

A second example can be found as Rick Moody discusses how he took possession of some of his late sister’s CDs after she passed away. In the chapter, he states that she was a fan of Jethro Tull’s live album, Bursting Out. “I’d never much liked Bursting Out back when it was released, but when it was my late sister’s album, it suddenly seemed worth another listen.” Moody continues by saying that listening to that album made him want to listen to other albums from Jethro Tull’s earlier years.

Another concept that can be found within the chapter are concerns of feeling insecurity, discomfort, and embarrassment. One example of how this is felt is when Moody discusses how the two selections he brought to the first Record Club meeting that he attended (songs from Meredith Monk and Captain Beefheart), did not translate his musical tastes the way he had hoped. Moody states: “The Beefheart debuted first, and I was red with embarrassment and anxiety, my head actually in my hands throughout its performance.” He goes on to say how the Guilty Pleasures event provoked the same insecurities and discomfort: “playing really awful stuff in front of very accomplished persons, many of whom I not only like personally but also admire, was difficult.”

Moody ends the chapter by saying that choosing the tracks that he did, indeed caused himself discomfort before and after the event, but as time passed he was able to move past feeling awful about it. The circulation of this piece, at this time during our class is opportune because we may be feeling insecure or uncomfortable about sharing our writing as we prepare to write about our first arts experience. Moody’s chapter helps us to see the importance of sharing our experiences despite our insecurities and feelings of discomfort, and the courage it takes to do so.

Another smaller assignment that I’m including in my portfolio is entitled: “Ringing the Freedom Bell” & Source Ideas. This assignment was intended to help us think about sourcing and research for our Arts Review. Our assignment required us to think about the kind of research Erica Armstrong Dunbar was required to do and the sources she may have used to write her article: “Washington’s New African-American Museum Shows How Black History Shaped the American Experience,” which was published in The Nation. Initially, I was planning to review my experience of watching a local children’s theatre’s performance of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” so I discussed the kind of research I could do. Later, I chose to review a different experience.

“The bell, which dates back to 1886, was owned by the First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Virginia, a congregation founded by enslaved and free blacks in 1776. The same year that the founders of the new nation signed the Declaration of Independence, members of the First Baptist Church defied the law by congregating and worshipping in secret outdoor church services. It seems that in 1776, the spirit of freedom was contagious.”

In Dunbar’s article, she discusses how President Obama spoke at the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. After his opening remarks, the President, first lady, and Ruth Bonner would then ring the Freedom Bell together. Dunbar most likely researched the history of the Freedom Bell and the origins of the First Baptist Church using historical documents maintained by the First Baptist Church or the municipal of Williamsburg, Virginia.

“Once inside, the visitors are captivated by what they see. They move slowly and judiciously through the multilevel structure, carefully reading the descriptions for each object. They match images and items to family stories passed down from one generation to the next. In many ways, this museum validates what these visitors have always known to be true. The experience is both educational and emotional, and the patrons refuse to be rushed. The typical time spent in a museum is close to two hours, but the people who visit here are staying for much longer, sometimes for up to six hours. They photograph themselves in front of exhibits that are particularly moving or triumphant; they fall into silence when they ponder a set of children’s shackles.”

Dunbar could have performed both primary and secondary research as she speaks of the visitors and the amount of time spent inside of the museum. It’s possible that she witnessed the visitors as they traveled throughout the museum, noting their reactions to the exhibits and interactions with one another. Dunbar links to an article on NPR which suggests that she used it as secondary research.

While reviewing my experience of a performance of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” a play recently put on by the Children’s Glassworks Theatre, I would research the history of the theatre and the decommissioned church that the theatre is housed in. It’s owned by the Cleveland (NY) Historical Society so I could reference historical documents that the village has on file. I could also speak with members of the Cleveland Historical Society, as they have lived in our village for many generations and would be a wealth of knowledge.