When the average person thinks of the Appalachian region, they do not think of a small theater where Shakespeare is performed, even though there are plenty of theaters around here. The average person would probably think of moonshine and bears. There is a bit of regionalism in the United States. There’s definitely a stereotype that Southern accents and academia don’t mix, even though that’s not true whatsoever.
I went to see Othello, the last play in ETSU’s fall program. I’d only ever read Shakespeare before. I loved the sonnets individually, but I always found reading the plays line by line in my English classes mundane and hard to follow without any type of action. However, the performance was fantastic. I can’t get the final scene out of my head. I keep running each step through my head. Shakespeare’s plays demand emotion and adrenaline, not bored tenth graders passing a book around and praying for the school bell to ring. I was inspired to write. My brain took off, and that’s my favorite feeling. As all the actors and actresses were bowing and motioning for the technical crew’s turn to be applauded, I imagined the play being performed through time. Time and place give words different meanings because peoples’ perceptions change. In theaters around the world, the same plays can be performed, but the notions that people take from the plays can be crazily different. Plays tend to have core values that are indistinguishable from the play itself, but it’s a person’s own valuing of the beliefs set before them that shapes who he or she is. What’s most important is that the play is being put on in so many places. That’s undeniable. Out of all the stereotypes that people have about the Appalachian region, the existence of what’s counter to those stereotypes is ever present. Stereotypes can be readily disproven, and yet they still exist.
1 Comment
John Sterrett
11/28/2016 04:50:38 pm
Good job!
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Kyla
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