1-23-08 Final Othello Staging

Lesson:
We performed our final scenes

HMWK: Final log entries:
Log #5: Acting Reflection Name:_________________

Part One:
Write one page reflecting on your experiences in the final scene you acted out. Please explain strategies you used to workshop the scene, how you contributed to the group, and explain some of the choices your group made in the production. Focus on at least three sections of your scene that were well thought out for the performance.

Part Two:
Write a short statement (about a paragraph) responding to each of these assertions:

1. Othello’s real problem is his own jealousy.

2. It is very important to the play for Othello to be Moorish (of African descent).

3. Desdemona is not a spineless woman. She has good sense, stubbornness and courage. She can stand up to Othello for the sake of what she thinks is right, even when he is in a dangerous mood and few people would care to face him.

4. Desdemona is not angelically pure. The potential for unrestrained desire must be in her character in order for the drama to work.

5. Iago is not a “motiveless malignity” as he has been called -- a devil who does evil for its own sake. He has a thirst for power and the wit to contrive a way to get it. Desdemona’s death is a side effect he did not really intend.

6. Iago’s cleverness is not total. He builds into the intricate structure of his plot a piece of terrible stupidity; he fails to understand his wife.




Log #6
Movie comparison. Compare the scene your group performed with the scene in the film version of Othello. Pay particular attention to emphasis, staging, and delivery. This will be due after you have viewed the film.