Journal Prompt #7: Kiss Me, Kate!

Even though I was not able to make the Kiss Me, Kate performance, watching this on the Internet was just as effective. I have been to a live theatre performance before and I feel like if I saw this live, rather than online, it would be much different than other performances that I have seen in theatres. Other performances that I have seen on broadway or just in a live theatre have been musicals not about a musical, unlike this one. I think that the musical-theatre genre is very interesting. I think it’s job is to engage their audience and bring them to think as if they are in the play with the actors and actresses. Some of my favorite musicals are Mama Mia, Legally Blonde, Rent, and Hairspray. I have seen all of these musicals on broadway, as well as in movie-form. In comparison to the Kiss Me, Kate! Production, these musicals are very different than it. The names seem more colonial in this play. I think this is the case because the performances I have seen are all very modern and have terms and uses that are incorporated into their plays that we use today. In Kiss Me, Kate, they talk about Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, and coming from Shakespeare, it is much less modern than the plays I have seen. I have not read or seen this piece by Shakespeare, but I would imagine it is similar to the language and terms used in Kiss Me Kate. Since I have never seen or read this work of Shakespeare, I had a little bit of a hard time getting the plot down at first. Their names used in this play are also a lot different than in the shows I have seen. Their names in this performance, such as Lippy and Slug are just two examples of how this supports my previous statement. In Mama Mia, more common names today such as Tracy, and in Rent such as Roger, are more similar to my life today. Especially with the strict language used, it was hard to understand and was a bit confusing at first. I adjusted to it later on though. My favorite parts of this performance was when Katharine sand the song “I Hate Men” because I thought the name for the song was amusing and it caught my attention the most. I personally think that this play would be strictly seen on my part for educational reasons. The performances that I have seen in the past are much more relatable to me than this was, but it is always good to get a change and see something that you would not usually be exposed to. I believe that the cast did a very good job in this show and are very talented for their hard work. Actors and Actresses in live performances are very brave and must have it very hard, learning to sign and memorize lines all together, I cannot imagine being in their position. Watching this performance live instead of the internet would definitely be much more amusing and eye-catching I think. Overall, this performance was greatly put together and I would hope that kids learn about it in the future.

Outside Reading 2

Last month, I attended a concert here at Penn State. The performer was Drake, who is the well-known rapper. This rapper is especially creative with his artistic ability. He is a great singer, as well as a great free-style artist. If one were to type into youtube the way Drake comes up with his songs and his talent, noone would be able to find that. He is creative and has the ability to take his talent to another level that noone else can. Drake is able to freestyle and say whatever he wants, to make up hi songs. The cool thing about rappers is that they can put any words together to make a sentence, and it doesn’t matter if noone else understands it because it is meaningful to them. This is how art is developed- by the use of creativity. The way he dresses is also a leading factor in his artistic ability to success. In specific, at the concert he performed at the Bryce Jordan Center, he was dressed in a cut-off Penn State hoodie. He knew that this would get his fans to go even crazier, and he was right. The crowd went nuts when they saw that he was representing our school. It is also very cool and interesting to say that a famous artist is wearing your school’s apparel. The lighting at this concert also contributed to how it related to art. I was fascinated by the way the stage crew narrowed in on Drake the entire performance. Since Drake is just one object displayed with a microphone in hand, he does not take up much space on the gigantic stage at the Bryce Jordan Center. The lighting helped to view Drake through another lens. It struck my attention whenever the bass was used in a song, the lights changed and flashed with the beat. Effects like this really can make or break a performance. If I was at this concert and the lights stayed the same for the entire time, I would be bored. This concert was played to the extreme and got the crowd going crazy. Yes you might say, “Well Penn State is always crazy no matter what concert.” This statement is quite true, however, since Drake is so well-known, having an artist as high up in popularity as him at our school, just over exceeds everything else. Finally, the songs that he picks to sing are artistic in the way that he comes up with the tunes himself, as well as the words and what it is going to be about. When you are a singer, it is up to you to make your fans happy with your songs that you write. Drake seems to impress his audience by using rhyming words and repetition a lot in his songs. The easier the song is to learn, the more his fans are going to enjoy his music. Artistic people know what their fans like, and that is how Drake became so famous. Also what I think is really creative is how Drake enlightens his fans by incorporating meaningfulness and normal everyday thoughts into his songs. These are the reasons why the Drake concert related to art.

Prompt #9: Self Evaluation

In English 15 this semester, I mainly learned a lot about art. Different aspects of art were demonstrated through definitions, papers, discussions, and much more. I learned that art doesn’t have to be a painting in a picture frame, a photograph taken of you on the beach, nor does it have to be a sculpture in a museum. Art can be anything that someone considers creativity. Art can also be man-made or naturally made.

I personally believe that my writing as improved throughout this semester. The descriptive and detailed papers I have written in this course have made me a stronger writer and most importantly, a better editor of my work. I enjoy writing a lot, and I think that this course has showed me how writing descriptively can be more entertaining to the reader and the writers themselves as well. I learned that Penn State coincidentally this semester especially, is a majorly thriving institution. We have been through a lot this half a year already at this school, and I think that everyone has contributed a lot of time and effort into helping the school retain it’s amazing reputation. Just because of everything that has gone on, I don’t think it will change major points of our school’s rep because of how high it has been built up already. Also, I think that our high-esteemed institution’s reputation for a party-school will get lessen as time goes on, which is not bad at all. Throughout this semester, I have also learned that poetry can consist of humor, romance, and all other emotions. It can be made up of short stores, or just short stanzas. Everyone has their own type of writing that they enjoy the most. My visit to the Palmer Museum was eventful because I don’t think that I would have been able to make it over to the museum if I did not have that journal prompt to write there, which is sad. I thought the museum was very beautiful and peaceful, and a great atmosphere for a writer to be surrounded in.

I have learned that the arts at Penn State can be considered a lot more than just the Blue Band at football games, or the paintings in the Palmer Museum on Curtain Road. The arts here at this university are so creative because it could be anything you want it to be. Art is any piece of entertainment we have at this school, which could be a list of things that is miles and miles long. I feel so connected to the arts at my school in general because I like to be creative and come up with new ideas and thoughts for different things all the time. I like when something is different and out of the ordinary as well. Unique and new ideas are always more entertaining, anyway.

As far as the course itself went, I feel like this was a very good class for me. The size was definitely a plus, and everything we learned was actually something that was going to be useful for my future, especially if I want to go into the writing field of some sort.

Outside Reading

A week and a half ago, I made my way to the Avicii concert, which took place inside the Bryce Jordan Center here at Penn State. Yes you might be thinking, well how was that art? This concert could not have been more of an artsfest then I thought it would be. Everywhere I looked was like a stream of bright colored lights sprouting from the center of the stage right in front of my eyes. The beats and the rhythm combined with the lights had an empowering quality over the audience, allowing them to fully feel the music. People in the stands on the sides were jumping up and down, shooting their hands up in the air, waving them all around. In the middle of the floor, as I looked up, all I could see were thousands of hands and faces with mouths wide open screaming to the music. It was as if my whole surroundings were going in slow motion around me, and all I could hear was the music, and nobody else- that is how loud the music was. This huge environment filled with entertainment was created by the students themselves. Looking around the Bryce Jordan Center, each seat was filled as well as every inch on the floor surrounding me. If this place was not as packed as it was, it definitely would not have been as fun as it was. As the saying goes, “The more, the merrier.” Each person there had some sort of creativity to bring to the table. This was shown through their outfits, as well as their actions. Most people were wearing neon colors with some white showing as well. Fanny packs, which were also neon colored, were used to hold their belongings, a long with neon accessories to top off their outfits. Sunglasses being worn inside the concert were very common among a lot of people, to make their outfits even more creative. Lastly, everyone’s dance moves mostly consisted of jumping up and down with hands in the air, going crazy. At these types of concerts, where house/techno music is being played, a lot of this tends to be common. I have never felt more at home though, with Avicii himself playing Penn State’s main song at football games, mixed with his music to perform his last song that night. The zombie nation song, “Ooooooh ooooh ohh ohh We are Penn State” played loud and clear in that arena, and I felt connected to every person there. I felt as if it brought us all together at that one moment. Avicii intertwined our school with his music for his last performance, which was very creative and artistic.