Eve Guttman Journal 2

What was the name of the piece you saw? (one sentence)

Eurydice

Describe the final moment of the piece? What happened? (four sentences)

Eurydice decides to stay in the underworld with her father. However, he does not know this so he gives up his memories to not live with the pain of his daughter leaving. After Eurydice returns to see what he has done, she write a final letter to Orpheus before removing her own memory. Orpheus then somehow dies and goes down to the underworld only to see Eurydice laying on the ground before he loses his own memory.

If you had to ascribe a moral to this piece, what would it be? Why do you think that? (four sentences)

A moral of the piece would be to hold onto the ones you love and don't give up. Throughout the play, there was a strong sense of love between the characters, which makes sense considering the roles they were playing. However, their love was so strong that none of them could bear living without another. That ultimately led to a happy ending for no one. It demonstrated that no matter how hard things may seem, you can't give up on those you love and stick it out for them.

What was an element you enjoyed about the piece? Why did you enjoy it? (six sentences)

I enjoyed how they made the piece more modern. Often times a piece such as this one is performed in an older style of English, making it more difficult to comprehend. However, they wrote and performed the play in a way people would speak today while keeping some of the creative elements of the original style. It seems that today, less and less people, especially of a younger demographic, go to see live performances such as this, and if it had been performed in a style of English that was harder to understand, there would be even less incentive to go. A modern version is allows the audience to feel more connected to the play and really get into the story. I enjoyed the fact I knew exactly what was going on.

What was an element that confused you? Why did it confuse you? What could have been done differently to make it clearer to you? (six sentences)

A part of the play that confused me was the lord of the underworld. I'm assuming that the man in the beginning of the play, the one Eurydice met right before dying, was him but it was not 100% clear. Also, when in the underworld I did not understand why he was a child. Any portrayal of the lord of the underworld that I have ever seen has been an intimidating adult figure. So, I do not understand why they would choose to portray him as child. Not only was he a child, but he would change age with ease. He went from an adult, to a child, back to an adult. I just do not understand the point.

Select one of the performers and answer the following questions. What did the character WANT? (one sentence)

Eurydice's dad wanted to be with her to regain her memory to be with her again.

What tactics or actions did they use to get what they wanted. (three verbs)

He informed, delighted, and entertained her.

Did you enjoy their performance? Why or why not? (three sentences)

Personally, I am not a huge fan of this kind of live theater, but the play itself was well performed. I just found it hard to get into this performance for some reason. While the performance was fine I do not think I would go back to see another.

What moment in the piece did you feel the most connected to the performance? Describe it. (six sentences)

I felt most connected to the performance when Eurydice picked to stay with her father. My family and I are very close so I could understand how she was feeling. But then she realized he gave up his memory and she in turn gave up hers. I understood her decision because I don't know what I would do if any of my family members did not know who I was. I don't think I would want to give up my memory also, but I'm not exactly sure what I would do in her situation. She had to make a tough decision about her family which is always hard and I could understand where she was coming from.