Blog 3

I thought about a lot of shows for this blog post.  I tried to pick out shows that had a sense of “truth” in them and that was pretty hard.  I haven’t taken a lot of time to really think about truth in them.  So I picked one documentary-esque show that was done here at LSU and one show that is just oodles of fun.

The first show that came to mind was my favorite show that has been done here at LSU, Elephant’s Graveyard. I read the play for one of my classes but it didn’t really come to life until I saw it. It has been the only show here to make me actually cry and bring out real emotion.  I really felt for this fictional elephant that was murdered, ya know? But I think it was the emotions that I felt that made it something true.  It was a show that convinced you that people in tight knit groups really take care of each other, whether it is animals or humans.  If an outsider comes in and messes up that balance, it really throws you for a loop.

The other show that I was thinking of is How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. This is a fun show. The choreography, the lights and the singing just makes for a fun afternoon at the theatre. Nick Jonas helped with that jazzy aspect as well.  However, I wouldn’t actually follow the advice that Anderson Cooper’s voice gave J. Pierrepont Finch. It’s horrible advice. And it’s very unrealistic.  You can’t succeed without trying. That’s the truth.

Here's the first bit of advice you'd be given if you were J. Pierrepont.

*For the record, I don't support bootlegging shows but I am grateful in this instance. 

This is with Darren Criss as J. Pierrepont.

I think that there is a difference between performances that offer some kind of truth versus performances that strive for documentary or naturalistic theatre.  There will always be some sort of truth or attempt at truth when it comes to theatre or a performance. However, when I’ve looked at documentary theatre, it is super biased. In the Bodies of Evidence article that we read, Martin poses the question, “What is the basis for the selection, order and manner or presentation of materials from the archive?”  I don’t remember if Elephant’s Graveyard was based on a true story or not, but for examples sake, let’s say it was. We got the perspective of the elephant’s caretaker, the townspeople, the carnies, etc, which makes for a well-rounded bit of information. However, that’s not always the case.  With Aftermath, we sort of got a one sided bit of the story from the Iraqi people.  In documentary theatre you choose how you want the story to be told which can eliminate some of the truth from the matter.