Scene and Character Selection for A Midsummer Night's Dream

In my opinion, it really doesn't matter what part I play or what scene is chosen for me. I believe that every single character in this play will be fun to act because all characters are unique in their own specific way. This will make it challenging to perform a character, but I believe my group and I will be able to figure out how to perfect our acting. As I said before, I don't care what scene I'm in, but there is one exception. I don't want to be in a scene with a bunch of lines. If there are too many lines, my group will have to focus on memorizing lines instead of making our performance pleasing to our viewers. For instance, Scene 3, Act 2, is definitely out of the picture. Even though there is a lot of conflicts in this Act, it almost has 500 lines in it. I don't think anyone wants to memorize about 100 lines.

If I had to choose a single character that I want to be, it would have to be Bottom. His character is very entertaining. He thinks he's the best at everything, even though he isn't. It would be fun to jump into his shoes and try to become Nick Bottom. It also helps me that I did a character analysis on Bottom. So, I've thought about his character and what a good actor would do as him. A scene that I would like to act that has the character Bottom is Scene 1, Act 2. This is when commoners are preparing to put on a play. Bottom is a very lively character in this chapter, which is why it would be fun to act as him.

If I had to choose a scene I would like to perform with a group, it would be Scene 2, Act 2. This is when Puck puts the nectar on Titania and Lysander's eyes, making them fall in love with the first living thing they see. This scene would be fun to act because Puck is such a hilarious character. The person playing Puck will have the challenge of making the audience laugh with their antics. This is the scene where the major conflicts begin. We find out about this love square between Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius.

It doesn't matter what scene I participate in. I will go wherever needed. But, if I had a choice, I would like to be Bottom in Scene 1, Act 2, or any of the characters in Scene 2, Act 2.

Reflection on 1001 Flatworld Stories

Over the past two or three months, my class participated in a writing project that included kids from all over the world. This is a reflection of what I thought of it.

1. What did you like best about the project and why?
I really liked how we were able to work with students our age all around the world for this writing assignment. Even though we didn't get to meet the participating classes face to face, I feel we really got to know each other. We learned the other people's hobbies, culture, and even their level of writing.

2. What did you like least and why?
It really started to bug me that I was getting lousy feedback week after week. It seemed like many of the other students didn't care about giving quality feedback. They were just saying things like, "Your story is missing something but I don't know what." It started to irritate me. I also didn't like giving feedback because it took me a long time to read a story and figure out where it needs improvement.

3. What was something surprising that you learned about the other students (from other schools)?
I mainly learned that some of the students really didn't care about school. I read one story that was about a giant pizza eating all the people of earth. You've got to be kidding me! Put a little effort into school. Not all students were bad. Some gave really good feedback and wrote excellent stories. Some of the feedback I received was very helpful.

4. How do you think the project affected your writing?
This project helped me understand what makes a good fictional story. Every week, we revised on a different writing mechanic. It told me what a good story should have.

5. Describe the most challenging aspect of the project.
Like I said before, feedback was very hard. It took such a long time to think of something thoughtful to help the writer. I spent at least 30 minutes on each story I read and gave feedback.

6. Offer some advice to future participants.
Don't get behind on feedback. You don't want to end up on the Lazy list. Three times your name appears on the lazy list and you're out of the project.

7. Other comments.
If we were to do this again, I would recommend that we have more time to give feedback. I usually had only a few days to read two stories. It is easy to revise your story after receiving feedback. I could do it in two nights. Maybe give us five days to give feedback and two days to revise, instead of three days to give feedback and four days to revise.

Character Analysis #2

Since Bottom didn't appear in our reading of Scene 2 Act 2, in A Midsummer Night's Dream, I've decided to do a Character Analysis of Lysander. Lysander is one of the two suitors that is trying to marry Hermia. The other suitor is Demetrius. Hermia's father, Theseus, promised Demetrius that he could marry Hermia. The man that Hermia loves is Lysander. So, Hermia and Lysander decide to run off into the woods. While Hermia and Lysander are sleeping in the woods, a hobgoblin named Robin Goodfellow sprinkles flower nectar on his eyes so Lysander will fall in love with the first woman he sees when he wakes up. Unfortunately, the first woman he sees is Helena, a friend of Hermia that loves Demetrius. So, the chapter ends with this weird love square where there are no perfect couples.

I feel very bad for Lysander. It's very disappointing that Lysander ran off into the woods with Hermia, so he could be with her. Running into the woods caused more harm because a hobgoblin made him fall in love with another woman. Now, he loves a different woman that doesn't love him back. It seems as if he loved Hermia too much. Since he loved her too much, he destroyed the bond between them by falling in love with another woman. Lysander is an innocent, lovesick character that happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

If someone were to take on the role of Lysander, he would have to be an excellent actor. At one moment, he would have to love one woman. Then, suddenly, he would have to convince his audience that a spell manipulated him to love a different woman. The actor playing Lysander would have to be a decent looking fellow, because Hermia fell in love with him. This is a very hard role to act, but if someone is able to do a great job in the role of Lysander, it will improve the quality of the play.

A Midsummer Night's Dream Character Analysis of Bottom

My class is reading Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. There are many different characters in this wonderful play. A very unique character is Bottom, the weaver. Bottom is part of a group of commoners that are suppose to put on a play at the wedding of Theseus, the duke of Athens, and his soon-to-be wife, Hippolyta. The play is Pyramus and Thisbe, which is about two lovers that eventually kill themselves because of the strong love for each other. Bottom is set to play Pyramus, the lead male role in the play. Bottom is happy to have the lead role, but still isn't satisfied. Along with Pyramus, he also wants to play Thisbe, the lead female role. But Quince, the director of the play, tells Bottom that the role of Pyramus fits him best.

I'm getting the feeling that Bottom is a very confident character, who regards himself as the most talented person in the world. He thinks that he is a really good actor, even though he isn't a professional. He is a weaver for a living, yet he thinks he's so great at acting, that he should be the two lead roles of the play. Bottom says that another role he should play is a lion, because he will roar so ferociously, Theseus will say, "Let him roar again!" This is ironic, because Quince believes that Pyramus is the perfect role for Bottom. Pyramus is a character that is a proper gentleman, which is the exact opposite of Bottom. A proper gentleman would be one who is modest, while Bottom thinks he is the most important person in Athens. Maybe Bottom is a character that always wants to be the center of attention. Bottom thinks that he's the greatest at everything, but his peers think differently of him.

If someone were to play the role of Bottom, they would have to act very confident. He would have to regard himself as the best thing that god created. The actor would also have to be tall and muscular. If someone is tall and muscular, it will improve their confidence because he is bigger than everyone else. For some reason, I also believe Bottom would have a manly voice. It will make the actor that plays the role of Bottom a little more believable if he fulfilled these characteristics.