100 Years of Solitude 10.0

Aim of task: Watch a theatrical performance to better understand the concept of theatre.

Description of Task: All theatre students at LPC went to see the play which was called 100 years of solitude. It was based on the book written by Gabriel García Marquez. The play had a very abstract meaning, it was not the usual type of play most of us were used to. There were a lot of actors, at first, many of them where dressed in white. They walked from one side to another one while making different gestures. There was only one actor who was dressed in black, seated on a chair looking away from the audience. All of the actors who where dressed in white started making different gestures, sometimes pointing to the right side, they sometimes stopped. You could see these people almost in all of the play, but many other things were introduced as the play progressed such as lights, people shouting, etc. It is difficult to explain due to the complexity of the acting. One important thing was shown with the projector though, a message that said something like "Of such a culture deserves such a revolution." There was a lot of lights and sound effects, and it ended with many of the actors dressing with casual clothes and walking in the same direction they were walking before.

Reflection: The abstractness of the play made it difficult for me to understand it. I really enjoyed seeing the coordination and expressions of the authors though. It was definitely something enjoyable. I think the play had to do something with the change of a culture, from a conservative to a liberal culture: at first all of the actors where dressing the same but in the end they where all wearing casual clothes. I think the actors shouting and doing different kinds of stuff that was out of the normal was a representation of what people go through when going through a cultural change; the stress and anxiety people can experience. I cannot relate any part of the play to the title though; perhaps the guy that was seating, looking away from the audience might have been representing a feeling of being alone, a feeling of solitude. I can also see the play as the thoughts of this person in his solitude. Probably the play and the actions of the actors represent how this person feels through the 100 years of being alone.

Conclusion: There are definitely very different types of theatrical performances, we have to think outside the box and be open to more unusual, abstract types of acting. I think it's own abstractness was it's major strength and weakness at the same time. A part of the audience might have enjoyed looking the awesome lightning, preparation and coordination of the elements in the play. However, another part of the audience might find it confusing and hard to understand, like most of us. I think this also taught me that, in the end, the meaning of the play is what the audience perceives. I would definitely like to see another play which is as abstract as this one after my two years of studying theatre to see how I interpret it different after knowing more about the art.