Contemporary theater, in my opinion, is probably the most engaging form of theater today. If someone were to say years ago, ” Why not make a musical about Hamilton but with rap and hip&hop?”, people would look at you like you were insane. I think it’s a wonderful world we live in were you can take anything, any scene, any situation, any time period, and be able to translate it into a contemporary styled song. I think the only downside to having a play become so popular, as mentioned in class before, is that it becomes extremely expensive to go to, but I guess that’s the way business works. I’m excited to see what new music genre is formed in the future, and how new musical will incorporate that in their productions.

The scavenger hunt, although in the rain, was interesting to say the least. I am not a theater enthusiast, and I had always assumed that theatrical history in NYC was based around Broadway mainly. So I was surprised to see that most of the answers to the scavenger hunt was outside Broadway, specifically the ones that held historical significance to the growth of theater and the arts in New York City.

There were two interesting “finds” in our hunt. The first was the answer to the hint “an actor’s place of worship”. I had always walked passed this temple and the name had always intrigued and stumped me. It was called the “ Actors Temple”, with a purple banner flying with those words and the Jewish star. It was only during the scavenger hunt when I read the clue I realized that this building was the answer! I guess my curiosity helped me remember that clue.

The other find that interesting was something that we actually did not get to find. Originally Tin Pan Alley was located somewhere along Broadway and 28^th, and a plaque commemorating it had been placed there. But as we arrived on the location, we realized that the plaque had been removed to another location. I just found it interesting to commemorate a place in a different location.

I think this class in general had the most interesting experience completing this scavenger hunt. The rain did not let up, and by the end my teammates and I were completely drenched. But overall it was a good experience. I don’t think there is a better way of learning something then going out into the actual world and seeing it for yourself. The classroom can only teach you so much. To go out and see all these different locations in the city made me appreciate theater even more.

What really intrigues me about globalization is censorship. At what point does censorship so heavily impact theater that the art is changed all together? In class, it was mentioned how in Germany a play’s ending had to be re-written completely. When does the producer decide to uphold the value of the play( with all it’s context) rather than popularize it?

At the end of the last scene, Nora leaves her husband because she claims he treats her like a doll. As times progress, so does the divorce rate in this country. The tension in this marriage is reflective of the times. In this play, does art imitate life or life imitate art?

The term avant- garde reminds me of the fashion world, specifically that episode in Project Runway every season where the designer must create something in this category. It is interesting to see and admire, but at the same time could be viewed as outfits that are simply ridiculous. Could the circus be considered avant-garde in a sense, since it also held both concepts in the viewer’s mind?

In the early days of American theatre, unfamiliar stereotypes were portrayed for most groups, while the English remained the heroes. Quite similarly, I just watched a commercial for a makeup brand claiming to be the ” American Way” of being beautiful, and the actors were all white women. Do you think that this early racism in theatre is the reason for bias in commercials and film today?

Visiting this Museum was interesting to say the least. When thinking of theatre as a whole, I never really thought about how one particular group affected contemporary theatre. What stood out to me the most was a quote Molly Picon said. She claims she was told that  her actions, speech, and appearance should be absolutely perfect for the given audience. As Molly put it, she could not be too American for the Jewish community, neither too Jewish for the American general public. I think she was on a very delicate balance between pleasing the public yet still holding on to her roots.

I was impressed with the size of the library itself. And, I’m ashamed to say that, the countless times I have been to Lincoln Center, I have never seen that building, or even knew it existed. What impressed me the most was the fact that they had video archives of Broadway shows for research. I love reading, and growing up in a suburban town I’d love going to the library, but I’ve never really explored one in the city. I’m blown away and look forward to going back!

This form of theatre seems interesting to say the least. What intrigued me the most was the use of music throughout the entire performance. Also, there was no dialogue over the  music whatsoever; the use of facial expression was of utmost importance. It seems interesting that an entire performance would be based on facial expressions and hand movements, and I think it just goes to should how focused on details Indians are when it comes to performances in general (including dances and other ceremonies), back then and now still.

I was intrigued by the intensity of Dionysus’s revenge. Although most Greek plays are extremely dramatic as this one, it made me wonder of the moral of the play. Clearly one way to look at it is that one should never anger or displease the gods; but perhaps also that only gods were capable of carrying out their revenge successfully, and humans shouldn’t try such things.