The acting that beyond the page did was quite incredible and truly flipped the scene on its head for me. I love when BTP changes how I look at texts and it certainly did for Giovanni’s Room. I felt like I was in a room with David and Giovanni and could feel their thoughts more during the acting performances than from reading the book. Also, when we visualized what Giovanni’s room looked like, I was inspired to think about the room in more depth and how it frames David and Giovanni’s relationship. I think I am going to write my upcoming essay on how the room influences David and Giovanni’s relationship.
I enjoyed the performances done by Beyond the Page. They really showed how much creative license you have when reading (or in this case acting out) a book. There were completely different interactions and power dynamics going on between the two scenes (one of which had two female actors, and the other, two male actors), despite the lines being exactly the same. Additionally, through the performance, I was able to pick up on small moments, that I hadn’t really noticed the significance of before. Thank you, Beyond the Page!
Beyond the Page was excellent! I felt that each time that they have come in to do a demonstration, I have been able to see the text in a different way. It was really interesting to think about the power dynamic between both Giovanni and David while they were standing on the stairs. The fear that David had of Giovanni was considerably greater than I had realized. I feel like the concept that was mentioned one time of how movement is tied to a better understanding of the text is so true. In the future, I will think of scenes of different stories in new ways, in the form of movement.
BTP gave me a way to look at Giovanni’s Room from a perspective that reinforces my perception of gender as merely a framework of social norms. Or at least to interpret character as independent of gender. I thought the first performance–by women–felt more more like I was watching the book, watching Giovanni and David, than the second. There are many potential reasons for this (Eg: better acting, more rehearsal, Giovanni and David being somewhat feminine, fictional characters). However, I wonder if there is nothing inherently masculine or feminine about a person except for how they act. I’m not trying to say that the existence of effective cross-gender casting invalidates the concept of gender identity. I just wonder if gender identity is primarily simply about having people make the “correct” assumptions about you on first glance. Although, come to think of it, that might be an even bolder conclusion. Either way, BTP gave me a lot to think about and now I think I want to look at the nature of identity terms of the “Hero” analogy from the end of Fun Home for my essay.
BTP helped me see the dynamics of David and Giovanni’s relationship much more clearly, specifically David’s helplessness in the face of Giovanni’s attachment to him. It was almost like the fluctuating physical distance between the two of them (depicted by the amazing BTS actors) as they walked around the room was representing their emotional instability – every action had so much purpose, like the height difference on the stairs and the way each one of them used their hands. I couldn’t have gotten any of these physical details from the scene on the pages. It is so impressive to me that Maddison had the time to do that so well during their production week of Botticelli, and always a pleasure to have the rest of the BTP crew show me something new about a book!
I really enjoyed both of our BTP workshops. I was amazed by their ability to bring specific scenes of each novel to life with so much careful attention to detail. In general, I just really appreciated their unique approach to all of our activities. The first time they came, I enjoyed simply walking around the room as a way to take it in and appreciate it. The second time, I liked when they asked us to close our eyes while they read us a passage from Giovanni’s Room. BTP helped me find ways to appreciate the significance of seemingly minor details, such as silence and movement.
I really enjoyed BTP from this past week- even more so than the fun home one. I was able to see Giovannis room in such a new way, and was ablate really see the tensions and small moments in places where I hadn’t previously seen them. At a more basic level, I also just loved being able to see the text be brought to life at that high of a level, and it was just fun to watch.
I thought the scenes Beyond the Page selected to act out helped me see the entire novel in a new light. My biggest takeaway from their scenes was the power dynamic between Giovanni and David, and how much power Giovanni has over David. Even when they switched positions on the stairs and David was above Giovanni, it still felt like Giovanni, through his body language and words, had power over David. I also thought their scenes depicted the tension between Giovanni and David when they fight, and how there is a balance of being mad at each other but also still loving each other. I thought they did a great job acting out the scenes and I feel like I understand the novel a little more now!
I enjoyed all of the performances BTP put on. I think it’s really insightful, as well as entertaining, to have them come and act out scenes from the books we read. When we read the scenes that they act out in our head, I feel like we’re kind of limited by our imagination when considering what the actual scene looks and sounds like. But when I saw the scenes acted out like other people, especially trained actors, I feel like I’m seeing what the interaction would actually look like if it happened in real life. I feel like I was also able to think about it more seeing two women performing the scene and then seeing two men do it. That contrast gave me even more things to think about and consider about what the author’s intentions were when writing the scene.
I really enjoyed the scenes acted out by BTP. As I stated in class they helped to show a juxtaposition between the tone of David and the tone of Giovanni which I didn’t pick up on during my initial read. Another really important thing I picked up on during the theatrical reenactment was the power dynamics that exist in Giovanni’s and David’s relationship. BTP did an excellent job of emphasizing this dynamic, really showing the depth of David’s insecurities that present in his defensiveness. Also I felt a persistent duality in many aspects of the story. For example the duality of masculinity and femininity, of home and away, and of love and hate. This is a rather incomplete thought, but I feel like it could sprout into an idea that would guide my final essay. Thanks very much to BTP for another perspective altering experience.
The acting that beyond the page did was quite incredible and truly flipped the scene on its head for me. I love when BTP changes how I look at texts and it certainly did for Giovanni’s Room. I felt like I was in a room with David and Giovanni and could feel their thoughts more during the acting performances than from reading the book. Also, when we visualized what Giovanni’s room looked like, I was inspired to think about the room in more depth and how it frames David and Giovanni’s relationship. I think I am going to write my upcoming essay on how the room influences David and Giovanni’s relationship.
I enjoyed the performances done by Beyond the Page. They really showed how much creative license you have when reading (or in this case acting out) a book. There were completely different interactions and power dynamics going on between the two scenes (one of which had two female actors, and the other, two male actors), despite the lines being exactly the same. Additionally, through the performance, I was able to pick up on small moments, that I hadn’t really noticed the significance of before. Thank you, Beyond the Page!
Beyond the Page was excellent! I felt that each time that they have come in to do a demonstration, I have been able to see the text in a different way. It was really interesting to think about the power dynamic between both Giovanni and David while they were standing on the stairs. The fear that David had of Giovanni was considerably greater than I had realized. I feel like the concept that was mentioned one time of how movement is tied to a better understanding of the text is so true. In the future, I will think of scenes of different stories in new ways, in the form of movement.
BTP gave me a way to look at Giovanni’s Room from a perspective that reinforces my perception of gender as merely a framework of social norms. Or at least to interpret character as independent of gender. I thought the first performance–by women–felt more more like I was watching the book, watching Giovanni and David, than the second. There are many potential reasons for this (Eg: better acting, more rehearsal, Giovanni and David being somewhat feminine, fictional characters). However, I wonder if there is nothing inherently masculine or feminine about a person except for how they act. I’m not trying to say that the existence of effective cross-gender casting invalidates the concept of gender identity. I just wonder if gender identity is primarily simply about having people make the “correct” assumptions about you on first glance. Although, come to think of it, that might be an even bolder conclusion. Either way, BTP gave me a lot to think about and now I think I want to look at the nature of identity terms of the “Hero” analogy from the end of Fun Home for my essay.
BTP helped me see the dynamics of David and Giovanni’s relationship much more clearly, specifically David’s helplessness in the face of Giovanni’s attachment to him. It was almost like the fluctuating physical distance between the two of them (depicted by the amazing BTS actors) as they walked around the room was representing their emotional instability – every action had so much purpose, like the height difference on the stairs and the way each one of them used their hands. I couldn’t have gotten any of these physical details from the scene on the pages. It is so impressive to me that Maddison had the time to do that so well during their production week of Botticelli, and always a pleasure to have the rest of the BTP crew show me something new about a book!
I really enjoyed both of our BTP workshops. I was amazed by their ability to bring specific scenes of each novel to life with so much careful attention to detail. In general, I just really appreciated their unique approach to all of our activities. The first time they came, I enjoyed simply walking around the room as a way to take it in and appreciate it. The second time, I liked when they asked us to close our eyes while they read us a passage from Giovanni’s Room. BTP helped me find ways to appreciate the significance of seemingly minor details, such as silence and movement.
I really enjoyed BTP from this past week- even more so than the fun home one. I was able to see Giovannis room in such a new way, and was ablate really see the tensions and small moments in places where I hadn’t previously seen them. At a more basic level, I also just loved being able to see the text be brought to life at that high of a level, and it was just fun to watch.
I thought the scenes Beyond the Page selected to act out helped me see the entire novel in a new light. My biggest takeaway from their scenes was the power dynamic between Giovanni and David, and how much power Giovanni has over David. Even when they switched positions on the stairs and David was above Giovanni, it still felt like Giovanni, through his body language and words, had power over David. I also thought their scenes depicted the tension between Giovanni and David when they fight, and how there is a balance of being mad at each other but also still loving each other. I thought they did a great job acting out the scenes and I feel like I understand the novel a little more now!
I enjoyed all of the performances BTP put on. I think it’s really insightful, as well as entertaining, to have them come and act out scenes from the books we read. When we read the scenes that they act out in our head, I feel like we’re kind of limited by our imagination when considering what the actual scene looks and sounds like. But when I saw the scenes acted out like other people, especially trained actors, I feel like I’m seeing what the interaction would actually look like if it happened in real life. I feel like I was also able to think about it more seeing two women performing the scene and then seeing two men do it. That contrast gave me even more things to think about and consider about what the author’s intentions were when writing the scene.
I really enjoyed the scenes acted out by BTP. As I stated in class they helped to show a juxtaposition between the tone of David and the tone of Giovanni which I didn’t pick up on during my initial read. Another really important thing I picked up on during the theatrical reenactment was the power dynamics that exist in Giovanni’s and David’s relationship. BTP did an excellent job of emphasizing this dynamic, really showing the depth of David’s insecurities that present in his defensiveness. Also I felt a persistent duality in many aspects of the story. For example the duality of masculinity and femininity, of home and away, and of love and hate. This is a rather incomplete thought, but I feel like it could sprout into an idea that would guide my final essay. Thanks very much to BTP for another perspective altering experience.