The Mechanicals play Essay Example for Free

The Mechanicals play Essay The Mechanicals play is full of devices which show how incompetent they are as actors. How would you direct the play of Pyramus and Thisbe to bring out the comedy? The Pyramus and Thisbe play is classed as a tragedy but despite this the Mechanicals make it a comedy through their incompetence as actors. As a director I would bring out the comedy by exploring: casting, voices, body, costume, props, movement and blocking. I would choose to put the play on at the Globe theatre because that way the audience could appreciate the words and acting of the play rather than be dazzled by fancy lighting and sound. I would have the people of the court lying down at the edges of the stage so that they are still there but not detracting attention away from the Mechanicals. Quince starts the play with the prologue, lines 108 152. I would cast Quince as a tall, slender man with posh English accent so that he can project his voice out over the court. He would be tall because the play is like his baby, he wrote it and directed it and by being taller than the other Mechanicals he is almost like a father, as fathers are taller than their children when they are young. As Quince speaks I would have him with a fairly neutral expression on his face so that he can introduce each actor in the same way. I would have him in a dark suit with a white shirt and black bow tie almost as though he is a master of ceremonies. As he introduces each actor they should stand forward and bow in an exaggerated manner, Thisbe should curtsey, this is to set the over the top acting style for the rest of the play. Pyramus, who is supposed to be a tall, handsome, hero, would be funny played by a short, balding, fat man with a very camp voice. I would have him in clothes of the period and place, i. e. Athens, similar to those of a king or prince. Thisbe, who is supposed to be a beauteous lady would be funny played by a man in drag, wearing a long flowing dress of the period and place with wig to go with and a scarf and she would have a cockney accent. The wall should wear a sheet with a wall painted on, with a white shirt and trousers underneath, he should have one arm stretched out with the sheet attached and the other bent round with his hand on his hip and a brick in the hole that his arm makes with his body. He should have a Liverpudlian accent so that he seems gossipy, meaning that walls have ears and so hear a lot of gossip and want to spread it around. Moonshine should have a London accent and should wear a white shirt and white trousers to give the impression of shining. He should seem thoroughly bored with the whole production because he doesnt have a very large part. He should have a light bulb to hold to represent the moon, a cuddly toy dog on a lead for the dog and a small bonsai tree to represent the bush. The lion should be very timid to be funny because lions are stereotypically ferocious beasts. He should wear an orangey brown furry all in one with a tail and hairy fur around the head. All the actors should be barefoot to add to their incompetence and show that they are the working classes, i. e. too poor to afford good shoes. At this point in the play, because the people of the court are talking amongst themselves rather than to the actors, the actors would ignore their comments. The wall starts to speak and he should stand across the stage, not facing the front but just turning his head, with his arms in place as before and when he says that had a crannied hole or chink he should remove the brick and slowly wave it above his head so that the whole audience can see it before placing it on the floor, this should be done in a very exaggerated manner. When Pyramus speaks he should do very exaggerated, over the top, arm movements as though he was reaching for something. When Pyramus says show me thy chink, to blink through with mine eyes the wall should point furiously to the hole made by his arm bent round. Then when Theseus interrupts, Bottom should talk to Theseus in a conspiratorial manner when he explains that deceiving me is Thisbes cue to enter. Thisbe enters form the right, seemingly quite bored because he has to play the part of a woman, stands the other side of the wall to Pyramus, puts her hands on her hips and speaks her lines. Then Thisbe exits on the right and Pyramus on he left. The wall then speaks again but this time in a conspiratorial manner to Theseus. The wall then picks up the brick and exits on the left. The people of the court talk together about the play so far, they should be laughing and joking. The lion enters from the right and timidly speaks his lines with his hands up by his face like paws. He then goes to the back of the stage and squats down and stays there. Moonshine, having entered from the left at the same time as the lion and stood at the back of the stage, comes forward and starts to speak, holding up the light bulb as he does so. Theseus interrupts and so moonshine should look upon him with disbelief, annoyance and that they could have the audacity to interrupt him, this happens again. The third time moonshine says his lines angrily and holds up each prop as he speaks about it, he points at himself for the man in the moon. Thisbe enters form the right and looks around, she says her line with no real feeling; the lion roars very quietly and the people of the court joke about his timid roar as he chases Thisbe off stage left, she drops her scarf when shes chased away. Bottom then comes on stage from the right and speaks his lines whilst doing extremely exaggerated arm movements up towards the moon, he should also exaggerate the irony of the words he speaks on line 256 sweet moon, I thank thee for thy sunny beams. He should then catch sight of her scarf, rush over and fall on his knees by it. He then picks it up and says his lines (265 270), he should be very upset and somewhat angry when speaking these lines, made comical by the camp tone in his voice. He then takes out his wooden sword, when he says out sword, and wound on line 280 and stabs himself with it because he is so overcome with grief at the thought that hes lost Thisbe. He then gets up on to his feet and walks about the stage from side to side, swaying as though he was drunk; moonshine leaves the stage form the left when Pyramus says moon, take thy flight on line 289. Then on line 290, Pyramus falls to his knees and keels over, facing the audience at the front, whilst saying his last line. The play is nearly finished at this point and the people of the court talk amongst themselves and say how they are beginning to get bored of the play. Then Thisbe enters from the right and looks around, she sees Pyramus and goes to kneel behind him; she peers over him to look at his face, seemingly upset, she speaks her lines with her face pointing upwards with one hand on Pyramus side. As she speaks she should shuffle around Pyramus, on her knees, until she is by his knees, then at line 325 come, trusty sword she should reach over for the sword and stab herself. She should then keel over in the opposite direction so that they are top-to-tail, both facing the audience. After Demetrius says hi line, the actors playing Pyramus and Thisbe, i. e. Bottom and Flute, get up and ask the people of the court if they would like to hear the epilogue. Theseus is very quick to say no as all the people have had enough of the play and are bored with it. At this point all the Mechanicals enter, half from the left, half from the right, and they bow, Thisbe should curtsey. Throughout reading this it is vital to remember that the characters accents will play a very big part in bringing out the comedy of the play. In conclusion, despite the fact that the play of Pyramus and Thisbe is a tragedy it is appropriate to put it on as a comedy so that it ties in with the rest of A Midsummer Nights Dream, which is also a comedy. The Mechanicals incompetent acting makes the play of Pyramus and Thisbe comical and as director I would have brought out the comedy by considering: casting, voice, body, costume, props, movement and blocking; movement and voice in particular because by exaggerating all the movements the Mechanicals as actors would seem incompetent, thus bringing out the comedy in the play, and by giving all the Mechanicals a different accent or tone of voice that was very inappropriate for that character, for example, Pyramus with his camp voice, would also bring out the comedy in the play of Pyramus and Thisbe.

The Delusional Governess in Henry James The Turn of the Screw Essays

The existence of the ghosts in The Turn of the Screw has always been in debate. Instead of directly discussing whether the ghosts are real or not, this essay will focus on the reliability of the governess, the narrator of the story. After making a close examination of her state of mind while she is at Bly, readers of The Turn of the Screw will have many more clues to ponder again and to decide to what extent the governess can be believed. While critics like Heilman argue that there are problems with the interpretation that the governess was psychopathic, textual evidence incorporated with scientific research show that the governess did go through a period of psychical disorder that caused her insomnia, out of which she created hallucinations. In the prologue, Douglas gave a detailed account of the master from the governess ¡Ã‚ ¦s point of view. She regarded him as  ¡Ã‚ §handsome and bold and pleasant, off-hand and gay and kind; he struck her ¡Ã‚ ¨ (James 4). Later on we learn from Douglas that the governess accepted the job at Bly for the master ¡Ã‚ ¦s sake, and of course the generous salary offered by the master. Without any experience, the governess ¡Ã‚ ¦s passions for the master supported her to accept the job and confirmed her decision to take the challenge even though she feared not having the ability to accomplish the job.  ¡Ã‚ §The moral of which was of course the seduction exercised by the splendid young man. She succumbed to it ¡Ã‚ ¨ (James 5). With the love for the master, the governess had the courage to visit the master again and eventually took the job.  ¡Ã‚ §He held her hand, thanking her for the sacrifice, she already felt rewarded ¡Ã‚ ¨ (James 6). Her obsession with the master was somehow repressed owing to the absence of the master and the condi... ...ose cannot be the proof of the reliability of the governess. The issue whether the governess was insane or not may never be solved. Not only because critics seem to be able to find as much evidence as possible to prove their arguments but also, the reliability of the account of the governess colors the whole story with great ambiguity. We are not certain of the state of mind of the governess when she wrote down the story and when she related the story to Douglas. However, as we closely examine the state of mind of the governess, her reliability does appear to be in question. Beidler provided two readings of The Turn of the Screw and in the second one he declared:  ¡Ã‚ §the governess saw only what she wanted to see ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Beidler 9). She was so exhausted from her prolonged insomnia that she envisioned a story with ghosts for herself to fulfill her growth as a governess. The Delusional Governess in Henry James' The Turn of the Screw Essays The existence of the ghosts in The Turn of the Screw has always been in debate. Instead of directly discussing whether the ghosts are real or not, this essay will focus on the reliability of the governess, the narrator of the story. After making a close examination of her state of mind while she is at Bly, readers of The Turn of the Screw will have many more clues to ponder again and to decide to what extent the governess can be believed. While critics like Heilman argue that there are problems with the interpretation that the governess was psychopathic, textual evidence incorporated with scientific research show that the governess did go through a period of psychical disorder that caused her insomnia, out of which she created hallucinations. In the prologue, Douglas gave a detailed account of the master from the governess ¡Ã‚ ¦s point of view. She regarded him as  ¡Ã‚ §handsome and bold and pleasant, off-hand and gay and kind; he struck her ¡Ã‚ ¨ (James 4). Later on we learn from Douglas that the governess accepted the job at Bly for the master ¡Ã‚ ¦s sake, and of course the generous salary offered by the master. Without any experience, the governess ¡Ã‚ ¦s passions for the master supported her to accept the job and confirmed her decision to take the challenge even though she feared not having the ability to accomplish the job.  ¡Ã‚ §The moral of which was of course the seduction exercised by the splendid young man. She succumbed to it ¡Ã‚ ¨ (James 5). With the love for the master, the governess had the courage to visit the master again and eventually took the job.  ¡Ã‚ §He held her hand, thanking her for the sacrifice, she already felt rewarded ¡Ã‚ ¨ (James 6). Her obsession with the master was somehow repressed owing to the absence of the master and the condi... ...ose cannot be the proof of the reliability of the governess. The issue whether the governess was insane or not may never be solved. Not only because critics seem to be able to find as much evidence as possible to prove their arguments but also, the reliability of the account of the governess colors the whole story with great ambiguity. We are not certain of the state of mind of the governess when she wrote down the story and when she related the story to Douglas. However, as we closely examine the state of mind of the governess, her reliability does appear to be in question. Beidler provided two readings of The Turn of the Screw and in the second one he declared:  ¡Ã‚ §the governess saw only what she wanted to see ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Beidler 9). She was so exhausted from her prolonged insomnia that she envisioned a story with ghosts for herself to fulfill her growth as a governess.

Hospital Glove Supply Chain Proposal Essay

Team A Hospital has been a successful hospital in San Francisco, California for a number of years. The hospital has often been at the cutting edge of exciting and new technology but as with many other organizations the downturn in the economy has affected the hospital’s bottom line. The CEO of Team A Hospital is looking for any way possible to help cut costs. One way to cut costs would be to use a different supplier for surgical gloves. Currently, the gloves are purchased from a local supplier, but union issues have caused the price of the gloves to rise and have led to many inconsistent deliveries, which has often put the hospital in a difficult situation. The CEO would like management to look into purchasing gloves from an international supplier, preferably in China. Due to the many issues and problems Team A Hospital has had with the local union, the hospital has decided to look into purchasing gloves from Hello Kitty Gloves out of China. Currently Team A Hospital uses an average of 500 boxes of gloves a week. Research done by the hospital shows Hello Kitty Gloves will be able to meet all of the demands of the hospital. An agreement can also be made to guarantee next day delivery in the case of emergency, if needed. Purchasing gloves from Hello Kitty Gloves will solve all of the issues the hospital had been having with local unions. Team A Hospital will no longer have to worry about inconsistent deliveries from the union, and save money in the process. Total quality management (TQM) is a management approach aimed at satisfying all customer requirements, needs and expectations using a Continuous Improvement (CI) approach (Dvir, n.d.). There are six principles TQM follows to improve management. The six principles are customer focus, leadership, teamwork, continuous improvement of processes, measurements, and benchmarking. Customer focus is an important part of TQM. For the new materials requirement plan to be a success the plan needs to focus on the needs of the customer. By contracting with Hello Kitty Gloves, Team A Hospital will be putting the customer first. The hospital will no longer have to concern themselves with missed deliveries and concerns about not having needed supplies. Leadership is another principal of TQM. Management needs to take a leading role in looking for ways to save Team A Hospital money. It isn’t enough for management to look for ways for different departments to cut costs. For the new materials requirements plan to be successful management also needs to look for ways to cut corners in their department as well. Everyone in Team A Hospital needs to be involved for the plan to succeed. Teamwork plays an important role in the success. Each team member that is part of the new plan needs to be on board to help the hospital reach their goals. Without each team member playing their part the plan is doomed to fail. No plan is perfect. When management set up the new plan to purchase gloves from Hello Kitty Gloves they did all they could to ensure there would be no problems, but as with every plan unseen problems are sure to come up. This is where continuous improvement of processes comes in. When problems do come up management needs to address these concerns quickly so the same problems that developed with the previous glove manufacturer don’t develop again. The best way to tell if a plan is a success or a failure is by measuring the results. Some ways to measure if the new material requirements plan is a success is by measuring a few main points of the plan (example- delivery time, stock on hand, inventory turnover). By analyzing these measurements against the old methods used the hospital can measure their success, or failure. Benchmarking is also an important step in TQM as well. Team A Hospital can look at other hospitals and see who is supplying their hospital gloves. Perhaps the other hospitals have found ways to save even more money in purchasing hospital gloves. Also, other hospitals might have a better way to measure results of the plan as well.

Christopher Columbus Hero or Villain Essay - 1788 Words

School taught us about the infamous Christopher Columbus who was known as the hero who found the Americas in 1492, but is that the truth? Is Columbus really the hero that grade school portrayed him to be? Columbus was not. Columbus was a greedy man who destroyed an entire race of people with genocide just so only he could benefit and become a man of money and power. Columbus was a very good speaker and very persuasive. He convinced the King and Queen of Spain to fund his expedition to â€Å"Asia† and he told about all the gold and spices that would be discovered there and how they would be wealthy.# Columbus told them his famous terms which stated that he would receive no less than one-tenth of all the wealth that would arrive from Asia†¦show more content†¦According to Meredith, Columbus had said that the Arawak Indians willingly traded everything that they owned and that they seemed a poor people.# He later states in his log to make himself appear humble that he g ave gifts to one particular man, a red cap, a string of glass beads, and two hawks’ bells which were together worth less than 3 cents.# â€Å"But, should your Majesties command it habitants could be taken away to Castile, or made slaves on the island. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.†# Columbus noticed that some of these Indians had little golden ornaments in their noses and ears, This made him take some of the Arawak Indians that they help prisoner onto the ship and insisted they guide him to where they were the source of the gold was, this had lead him to sail to what is now Cuba then to Hispaniola.# There bits of gold were visible in the rivers. Columbus and his crew built a fort and left thirty-nine crew members there to collect gold and store all they would find. Koing states, â€Å"I am not going to assert that this was all Columbus’ fault. 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