Eliotolivia

Jackie McAllister Christopher Scott September 6, 2010 Current events

(Half a mile underground lies thirty three miners. Mario Gomez, the leader of the miners who is also stuck with his group, is trying overcome the miners’ fears through spiritual guidance and by being aid to people helping in their rescue. The men have done a combined ninety years of working in the mines throughout there lives. Although there are people from the surface who are helping and although the miners are stuck underground, they must still help in changing their predicament. All the trapped men must move the three thousand to four thousand tons of rock as it falls on them. A rescue that is supposed to take four months.)(NYTimes.com, Alexei Barrionuevo, August 31,2010, Americas –Trapped Chilean Miners Forge Refuge) website, author date, tittle.

Durring the article I felt really sad for all the miners and asked myself a series of questions. If they can communicate with the people from the surface why is it taking the people from the surface so long to rescue them? Don’t we have some type of strong device to take the blocks of stone away from the miners faster without hurting them? If the people from the surface can get them food or water why don’t they move the rocks around that space, making the space larger until they can get them out? If that’s what their doing how come theres was only one small opening to begin with? These men have devoted so much of their lives to mining and this wasn’t there only near death experience. How can there wives take it so lightly? How do the rest of their family feel about what’s happening to them? Even if I knew someone I cared about had gotten out of a near death experience before I don’t think I’d ever get used to it or to the feeling that I wouldn’t know if someone I cared about wouldn’t come back due to something work related.

There are times when I really don't want to get up. I just want to stay in bed all day, I think everyone has that.But not getting up on time has a way of repeating itself. By missing one day it's easyer to miss the rest. My not going to school wouldn't hurt just my attendance record but my first impression with the teacher.This would be my first time meeting them in a class room setting and my first time, other than in orientation ever meeting them. The teacher could get the wrong impression of me even before she sees me.

When I feel that I am falling behind I can either talk to the teacher after that class or after any other classes I might have with that teacher that week.If I don't manage to accomplish that task I can further my exploration by looking for them on campus or/and in their office.Their secretaries are good to find in a time or crisis as well and can give teachers a note that you are not understanding a class and to either meet with that student or set up a place and time for that student to meet with them.

If I had a lot of work due in a little bit of time one of the things I can do is not procrastinate I would both star and finnish my research project that day, on friday and start studying for my psychology test before going to the dance in the evening.On Saturday (Im implying that the football game and party are both at night)morning and into the evening after classes I would study for Psychology a lot throughout the day.Get every question studied, written down and drawn that day so at night I can go to the game and party. The morning of the concert I would start studying for my history test, studying on different days can help the subject stay the same, not jumble up information from one class to another. Write notes on separate notebooks, pages or sections to help me think more clearly. Then study History for the longer time on Monday. On Tuesday before classes study both of them.If that doesn't work I can pick and choose from the list of things I want to do.Lets see... I think I'll take off the football game, I'm not really that into sports.

If I was going to form a study group I would look for candidates who really want to study, not people who would use that time to goof off with friends. Not only would the people who would rather be chatting not really contributing to the group I've assigned they might distract the other people who really want to study.Also if I don't know who to choose I can also ask the already started study group if I can join, if i'm not too far behind.

If my friends were just chillin between classes I can go upstairs and start my homework. Or I can bring my homework downstairs,that way I'm getting work done and hangin out with them at the same time.Another option would be to propose my study group plan or to use that time to find out about activities on campus or to start my own. I could also walk around and make some new friends and suggest we all hang out.

September 12, 2010

House G.O.P. Leader Signals He’s Open to Obama Tax Cut By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN WASHINGTON — The House Republican leader, John A. Boehner, on Sunday opened the door to a compromise on the contentious issue of the Bush-era tax cuts, saying he would vote to maintain lower rates for families earning less than $250,000 even if President Obama and Democrats insisted on ending the cuts for wealthier Americans. With Congress returning to Washington this week, Mr. Boehner’s decision is likely to reframe both the final intense weeks on Capitol Hill before the elections and the fall campaign, in which embattled Democrats have planned to paint Republicans as obstructionists favoring the rich over the middle class. Mr. Obama in recent days has lambasted Congressional Republicans — at times singling out Mr. Boehner by name — for threatening to block an extension of the tax cuts for more than 97 percent of Americans to preserve lower rates for “millionaires.” And Democratic party leaders had been planning to use the tax fight to help rally their base. “If the only option I have is to vote for some of those tax reductions, I’ll vote for them,” Mr. Boehner said in an interview on “Face the Nation” on CBS, during which the host, Bob Schieffer, pointedly asked whether Republicans would hold the tax breaks for most Americans “hostage” to keep the lower rates for the wealthy. The Bush-era tax cuts are due to expire on Dec. 31 and have become a major issue in a midterm campaign dominated by voter anger over the weak economy and concerns about the nation’s rising debt. Policymakers face a difficult choice: to continue the tax cuts in a bid to appease constituents and perhaps spur economic growth, or let the rates expire as a way to raise revenue and help reduce the deficit. Mr. Obama insists the nation can no longer afford tax breaks for the wealthy, while Republicans say any tax increase is a grave mistake. If Democrats prevail, it would be a major policy victory, allowing Mr. Obama to boast that he had fulfilled yet another signature campaign promise. The White House moved quickly to portray Mr. Boehner as caving in to pressure, including direct criticism by the president in a speech in the Republican leader’s home state, Ohio, last week. But the victory could come at a political cost. Mr. Boehner’s move seemed to deprive Democrats of the argument that Republicans would hurt the middle class to help the rich. And he positioned his party to share credit for continuing the lower rates for most Americans, and still blame Democrats for raising taxes in a weak economy. Mr. Boehner said that he still strongly favored continuing the lower tax rates for all income levels and that the Democrats would hamper economic recovery by not doing so. His comments raise pressure on Congressional Democrats, who are divided internally. Roughly a dozen House Democrats and at least four Senate Democrats have expressed support for temporarily extending all of the cuts. It was not clear that Mr. Boehner’s statements signaled a unified shift among Republicans, particularly in the Senate, where they control enough votes to block any tax-cut legislation. The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, did not issue any statement, but a spokesman said Senate Republicans expected to exert more influence over the debate than their House counterparts. Many Senate Republicans have said that letting the Bush cuts expire for high earners amounts to raising taxes on small-business owners, some of whom fall into those rates because they report their business earnings as personal income. Both White House officials and Congressional Democratic leaders expressed doubt that Mr. Boehner would follow through and said they would continue to press him on the issue. Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, issued a statement welcoming Mr. Boehner’s comments but adding, “Time will tell if his actions will be anything but continued support for the failed policies that got us into this mess.” In a statement, a spokesman for Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, said, “John Boehner is still championing tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires that will add $700 billion to the deficit.” The tax-cut debate is just one agenda item in what is expected to be a frenzied fall Congressional session — a scant four weeks, if the schedule holds firm — that is likely to feature more political jousting than legislating, given that lawmakers are already in full campaign battle posture. The one essential piece of business is a temporary spending resolution to finance the federal government until after the election. And even before the debate on tax cuts gets under way, Democrats are poised to score a quick victory in the Senate this week, where George V. Voinovich, a retiring Ohio Republican, has pledged to back a small-business measure that Republican leaders blocked before the August recess. The bill would provide tax breaks and also create a new $30 billion program within the Treasury that would channel government-backed loans through community banks. Mr. Obama has urged Congress to pass the bill to help the sputtering economy, and Democrats would happily pair it with an extension of tax relief for the middle class as evidence of their efforts to fight a recession for which they blame the Republicans and former President George W. Bush. But Mr. Boehner’s strategy presented unmistakable complications for Democrats. Mr. Boehner’s willingness, however reluctant, to support a Democratic bill gives him an aura of flexibility after two years of working fiercely to block Mr. Obama’s agenda. It comes at a time when Republicans are optimistic about their chances of winning control of the House and eager to present themselves to voters as prepared to govern. In recent days, Mr. Boehner has called for extending all of the Bush tax cuts for two years, which would cost more than $500 billion, and for freezing nonsecurity discretionary spending at 2008 levels, which some analysts say would require cuts of more than $100 billion. But this month, Republicans s will unveil a more concrete legislative blueprint that, they say, will include blocking any money to enact the health care law, scaling back tougher regulation of Wall Street and forcing the White House to slash the budget. A muted debate over the Bush tax cuts could give Republicans more time to focus attention on the temporary spending resolution, which is the most crucial piece of business before Congress this fall. It could also provide an opportunity for Republicans to criticize Democrats on the deficit. In the interview on Sunday, Mr. Boehner challenged Democrats to pass the annual spending bills before the election to demonstrate their commitment to reducing federal spending. Democrats have no time or inclination to do so, given the compressed schedule and the imperatives of an election in which they face the prospect of steep losses. “Even though we have a limited amount of time, we look to be passing a bill a week,” said Representative John B. Larson of Connecticut, the chairman of the Democratic caucus. Any push by Democratic leaders to notch a few more achievements will also inevitably be hampered by internal discord. In a bid to hold their seats, some Democrats have already begun distancing themselves from Mr. Obama and Speaker Pelosi. A number of rank-and-file Democrats, for instance, have said they will not support Mr. Obama’s call for $50 billion in infrastructure projects and other spending as a new round of economic stimulus. And at least four Democrats — Senators Evan Bayh of Indiana, Kent Conrad of North Dakota, Ben Nelson of Nebraska and Jim Webb of Virginia — as well as Joseph I. Lieberman, the Connecticut independent aligned with the Democrats, have expressed concern that any tax increases would hinder economic growth. Mr. Boehner suggested he was content to let those Democrats fight their party leadership and the White House. “I think raising taxes in a very weak economy is a really, really bad idea,” Mr. Boehner said, adding, “I think there is a growing chorus on Capitol Hill to extend all of these tax rates.” —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.10.117.195 (talk) 02:25, 14 September 2010 (UTC)

Alexis

Alexis Constantouros September 21, 2010 College Writing Ron THE DUMBEST GENERATION REFLECTION The author of the Dumbest Generation says, “ Digital habits have mushroomed, but reading scores for teens remain flat, and measures of scientific, cultural, and civic knowledge linger at abysmal levels. Why?” So, our assignment was to answer why. Back in the old days there was not much to do than read. Yet, now days we are given many choices of digital technology. The author of the Dumbest Generation talks about our generation going blank on educational subjects, but yet going gaga over celebrities lives and social networking. “Their interests lead them in polar directions, their knowledge running zero in areas of civics, history, etc., while rising to panoramic grasp of lives of celebrities, the lyrics of pop music, and myspace profiling.” This opinion is somewhat true. Not every person is like this. I know a few subjects pretty well. Yet, I also go on myspace and facebook to talk to my friends. I know how to study and have fun at the same time. The author of this chapter also talks about how our generation focuses movies, tv, and radio. “An average teenager with the same devotion will receive the same benefits, if to lesser degrees. His ego is shaky, and the ordinary stuff of youth culture plays on his doubts with puerile dramas, verbal clichés, and screen psychodelia. With myspace, youtube, teen blogs, and Xbox added to Tupac and Britney, Titanic and Idol, the internet double the duluges of images and sounds from movies, tv, and radio.” Yes, the author speaks the truth in this it is on the Internet. We do not read because they also make movies for the books. We watch new things sometimes on youtube. Our generation really likes digital technology it makes things easier to do. Reading is boring, takes to long, be frustrating, mostly done alone, look down upon, it is not popular, and not stimulating. With digital technology you connect with your friends, instant gratification, connecting you to a generation you can relate to, fun, fast pace, and it is popular. “The Dumbest Generation” is amazing facts that are some true and some false. There are time were I just want to kill the author for saying things that are not always true. Yet, I also know that there is a freedom of speech in this country and he is just stating his point across to all of us.

Jackie McAllister I believe it was worth Daniel giving up his kidney because it showed the kind of person Daniel was, kind to everyone. On page fifty four it talks about his kindness to his friends and how he goes out of his way to make other’s lives easier and giving up his kidney was a kind and selfless act. Because of this act of heroism his grandmother lived a full and long life and he got to spend in some ways at least, no matter how short, the rest of his life with her. As for football, not very many people ever go pro and it is impossible to know if Daniel had that kind of ability. Although, he had the surgery he was brought back into the final college game and won the victory so maybe with that hope he could still have played more recreationally during his life. His experience through the surgery made him better equipped to comfort and give support to his friend Lisa through her struggles with her kidney failure and making her calm and happy. I also don’t completely believe that the surgery had anything to do with his death since he died of being shot eight years after the surgery. Their was no way of knowing he would have died in that way after giving up his kidney, but even if he hadn’t, and he had been to other places, at other times, due to the circumstances of the kidney transfer, fate may have still drove a bullet into Daniels head, and then he would have lost both his grandmother and his life.

Jackie McAllister Essay #3 cause and effect The Visitor One of the real interesting parts of the movie The Visitor is when Walter Vale, the main character, goes into his apartment and finds Zainib in his shower, and her boyfriend Tarek in the next room. As a result of having been conned by their friend Ivan it puts into motion Tarek and Walter’s friendship. Walter, from the beginning of the movie you find out that he is mostly a loner, with no real sharp connections, nothing keeping him grounded or making him stay in one place. Walter and Tarek started off as a friendship of convenience and ended up being a really strong relationship in the film. Their relationship they had, due to the mix up with Ivan, got them both to realize the problems and struggles in their own lives. Ivan, although you don’t technically meet him in the movie, his giving Tarek and Zainib the apartment illegally, brought forth a connection that wouldn’t have happened in any other situation. Walter was a white man who worked in a school of mostly white people. He has no real connections anyone other than a friend/acquaintance at work and his students. His family is not close to him, he has a son who doesn’t live that close and his wife died. The movie implies that Walter spends a lot of days very alone and is looking for some kind of company. Terek and his girlfriend Zainib are mostly alone, but for a completely different reason. They are illegal citizens in an area or time when police made suspects more racially. Yet another factor, is Walter due to his shy personality, would never have opened up to anyone if Ivan hadn’t put the friend in his apartment, to learn from and get to know before making the decision of trusting enough to become friends with. Tarek, although he is a very confident and friendly individual, would have had a much harder time trying to get to be friends with people due to his illegal standing. Tarek and Walter’s relationship blossomed to one of convenience, due to Ivan’s illegal involvement, to one of shared interests in music, their eventual trust in one another, and time spent together. In situations where people are living together doesn’t necessarily mean that they are going to just then be friends. In my experience at Thames precollege in Mitchell, the first set of roommates I had I wasn’t very close to. I would spend my time doing things with a group of the Thames students, while one of my roommates was constantly on Facebook and the other got in really late, if at all. Also I had an experience living with certain family members for a long period of time and we became more enemies than friends. One of the things I think helped the friendship bond between Walter and Terek, after Ivan’s uninvoluntary homeal bump, was that Tarek was so kind. Yet, another factor was that Tarek always asked Walter to come with him, and pushed him out of his shell. Their love for music got them to play outside together and made a way for Tarek to teach Walter about the drums. Living together let Tarek make sure that Walter kept practicing, and eating together helped Walter to open up verbally with another human being. The plot of the movie thickens when Tarek gets arrested for jumping the turnstile. Although Tarek paid for the turnstile, it wouldn’t move blocking Tarek from getting onto the train. The police came immediately and hand cuffed Tarek, something they probably would not have done if Tarek had been a Caucasian citizen. One of the reasons that made Tarek and Walter so close is their ability to try to help each other through situations. When the incident happened with Tarek and the turnstile, Walter came in and gave a statement. When that wasn’t helping as much as much as he hoped it would, he went out and paid for a lawyer for Tarek. Because of Ivan’s fraudulent decision of getting Tarek and Zainib a pre owned apartment and Walter showing up, Walter was also able to bring Tarek’s mail to him, to the courthouse and let him read his mail. Despite the fact that Tarek had given Walter his instrument through the turnstile when the turnstile got stuck, and although Tarek let Walter go first, that does not mean that there wouldn’t have been a similar situation in the future that would lead to the same result. If Ivan hadn’t gotten Walter and Tarek together there would be no way Tarek would have even had the possibility of staying in the country because he didn’t have the money for a lawyer. Even though Tarek still got deported, the lawyer Walter gave him, gave Tarek a fighting chance. Without Tarek Walter never would have fought so hard for someone or something, like he did before and after Tarek was deported. Walter also wouldn’t have realized that his life, his teaching and whatever he was or was not doing with the book didn’t matter to him, and that people did. Friendship is a very powerful thing, it helps people move mountains, and fight for what they believe in no matter how slim the chances are, and Ivan gave that to them. People make changes in their lives for many reasons, with Walter and Tarek’s relationship those changes are caused by a friendship as a result of Ivan placing them in the same apartment. Walter learned how to open up and be a friend, while Tarek was able to share Walter’s apartment and learn to count on someone. They were able to create a deeper friendship staring from living in the same place and helped each other through difficult situations. Friendships are very important relationships to achieve especially if you can become as close as Walter and Tarek.

Jackie McAllister Essay #3 cause and effect(REDUNE)Jackie McAllister Monroe November 28,2011

The visitor

	One of the most interesting parts of the movie “The Visitor” by Tim McCarthy” is when Walter Vale, the main character, goes into his apartment and finds Zainib in his shower and her boyfriend Tarek in the next room. Ivan in having conned his friends Zainib and Tarek put into effect Walter and Tarek’s friendship; a friendship that helped in problem solving and in an unexpected closeness. Since the beginning of the movie you find out that Walter is a loner with no real strong connections to anyone. Walter and Tarek started off as a friendship of convenience and ended up being a really strong relationship in the film. The relationship they had, due to the mix up with Ivan, got them both to realize the problems and struggles in their own lives.

Ivan, although you don’t technically meet him in the movie, in him giving Tarek and Zainib the apartment illegally, brought forth a connection that wouldn’t have happened in any other situation. The first reason for the importance of Tarek and Walter to become friends is for Walter to open up and for Tarek to talk to someone even though he and Zainib were in trouble. You can tell Walter is a loner because you see him go home alone, he talks really soft if at all to people and trys to end conversations abruptly: the only three people you see him with is the music teacher, he got from after his wife passed, the friend/acquaintance from work and a guy who lives in his apartment with his dog Mrs. twinkles. Tarek and Zainib were alone because they were illegal citizen’s and were afraid of going back to their country. Without Ivan the openness Tarek and Walter had would have never happened.

Jackie McAllister Monroe November 28,2011 Aids When you go into the doctor’s office you expect all your information to be kept confidential. If doctors wee aloud to disclose people’s personal information, patience would be less likely to come forward with their symptoms for fear of judgment or other personal reasons and people with life threatening conditions might be might be misdiagnosed. With a disease such as Aids many people have different ideas of what that means, victims of the disease need privacy and deserve the right to give the information to whomever they see fit. A person’s write to enclose personal information about their medical conditions should be of the victims own will. There are many reasons why people don’t want to disclose a life threatening disease like Aids to the public; and it’s a doctor’s job to keep information secret. Like a psychiatrist might talk to someone about personal interests, when you are with a doctor you have a certain level of confidence which means you can tell them stuff, but they can’t tell anyone else. Another reason is when a person has HIV which is the begging stages of Aids they aren’t allowed to disclose that kind of information , the same should be said about Aids. Granted, Aids is more dangerous and can get worse in some kinds of bacteria, thoroughly washing and sanitizing hands can be the answer to this problem. A person with Aids can talk to their doctor about finding other treatments to help stay safe with Aids instead of having the doctors divulge personal information. Next if doctors allow others to learn about a patience medical condition it puts the victim in a very difficult situation. If the person is a teenager or elementary student, and other students learned about their condition, students might stay away from that person. People the victim might want to be in a relationship with might back away. Since Aids is basically a higher form of HIV you cannot contract it just through spending time together , sports or kissing. It is an important factor for doctors not to put an automatic target on a person, a target which in a case like this could destroy the victim’s whole life. HIV is contracted through sex, blood and from mother to child. Aids is no more contractible than HIV so there is no extra amount of harm that can be brought to others and the loom of people knowing of the victims disease can destroy their life forever. Other than the people the victim doesn’t know becoming a potential threat, victims might not want their family or friends knowing about their condition; the victim might have wanted to handle this matter by his or herself. When parents or friends find out about something like Aids they might automatically think that their loved ones will be leaving them soon. The victim would feel as if he or she has lost her life before the time is even up. Sometimes when people have Aids they live years after they have been diagnosed and some one out of the two point seven percent of people who have Aids survive the disease. In that case a victim might be living a very long life with everyone wondering when their going to go. Proving yet another factor, of why the doctors should keep the information under wraps. If the victim is into sports or any clubs the teacher or coach might have them taken out because of what the instructor thinks makes things safer or by other players or members’ parents taking them out of the situation of being with someone with that particular disease. The ridicule would make things harder for the victim and for people who might really want to get to know the victim. Therefore when identifying a reason to disclose personal medical information you need to think of it on all sides. The side of which a victim of Aids would be victimized a second time by doctors if they disclose the information to the public. People have an aspect of privacy when they go to see their doctor and not feel like their doctor will plaster the information into the lives of those you care about. When victims tell others about what Aids really is the people might have a tendency to disbelieve them; think that the victim is just trying to shield a light on a much worse situation. When people don’t understand something they have a tendency to stay away from it, now how is that for future victims of the disease.

Tarek and Walter’s relationship blossomed to one of convenience to one of shared interests in music, the time they spent together and eventually trust in one another due to Ivan’s illegal involvement. In situations where people are living together, that doesn’t exactly mean that they are then going to be friends. In my experience at Thames precollege in Mitchell, the first set of roommates I had I wasn’t very close to. I would spend my time doing things with a group of Thames students, while one of my roommates was constantly on Facebook and the other got in really late, if at all. Also, I had an experience living with certain family members for a long period of time and we became more enemies than friends. One of the things I think helped the friendship bond between Walter and Tarek, after Ivan’s apartment mix up, was that Tarek was so kind. Yet, another factor was that Tarek always asked Walter to come with him, and pushed him out of his shell. Their love for music got them to play outside together and made a way for Tarek to teach Walter about the drums. Living together let Tarek make sure that Walter kept practicing, and eating together helped Walter open up verbally to another human being. The plot of the movie thickened when Tarek got arrested for jumping the turnstile. It started when Tarek and Walter went out to play music and look at the surroundings. As they went to go home from their journey Tarek let Walter go ahead of him on the turnstile. When Tarek went to go through the turnstile it jammed and he held his instrument up to Walter to take with him on the train. No longer had that happened then a bunch of cops came and hand cuffed Tarek. Tarek had paid for the turnstile and even if he had not it was such a small crime that had he been Caucasian, an American looking citizen they probably would not have arrested him. Since Tarek is of another race the police took him more under racial circumstances than anything else. One of the reasons Tarek and Walter became so close was their ability to try to help each other through tough situations. When the incident happened between Tarek and the turnstile, Walter had come in and given a statement. When Walter realized that the police weren’t going to drop the charges against Tarek on Walter’s word alone, Walter went out and got a lawyer for Tarek. Because of Ivan’s fraudulent decision in getting Zainib and Tarek the apartment preowned by Walter, walter was also able to bring Tarek’s letters to the jail so he could read them. Some people believe that because Tarek let Walter go first, that Walter was the real reason Tarek was arrested. I understand that notion but, I think Walter brought the opportunity of Tarek going to jail, the place and time. Although Walter did supply the particular bad time when Tarek got arrested, who said that if Tarek hadn’t gotten arrested then, that something else wouldn’t have happened to the same effect. The only difference then would be that if Walter wouldn’t have been in Tarek’s life, then Tarek would have no way of getting out of jail. Tarek never had the kind of money to afford a lawyer and with Walter’s help, Tarek would never have had a fighting chance. Without Tarek Walter still never would have fought so hard for someone or something in his whole life the way he tried to get Tarek out of jail. Walter also wouldn’t have realized without Tarek that his life, his teaching and whatever he was or was not doing with the book didn’t matter to him and that people did. Friendship is a powerful thing, it helps people move mountains, and fight for what they believe in, no matter how slim the chances were; and Ivan gave that to them. People make changes in their lives for many different reasons; with Walter and Tarek’s relationship those changes were cause by a friendship resulting from a mix up of venue. Walter learned to open up and be a true friend, while Tarek was able to share Walter’s apartment and learn to count on someone else for help. They were able to create a deeper friendship starting from a friendship of convenience (they were living together ) to a relationship where they helped each other out of sticky situations. Friendships are very important relationships to achieve, especially if you can become a close as Walter and Tarek.

Acting

Jackie McAllister

Play 'Southern Comefort'

     In this paper I will be discussing the element of acting in the play I saw called 'Southern Comfort'.The job of an actor is very difficult and it is the job of the actor to make sure everything he or she does is believeable to the audiance in all three major elements the mind the body and the spirit. Only with fully achieving those three things as well as possible can a person and performence contain great acting.Prier to my arrival to ther theatre I was informed that 'Southern Comfort was going to be a comedy of an older couple who fall in love. Acting is one of the major pasrts of a play and the only people the audience really ever gets to see.As I watched the performance of 'Southern Comfort' as interesting as it might have been done with different actors I was thrown off visually by their not complete control over the character they were trying to portray. When I saw down town caberet or broadway i was entranced into the performences thagt I saw of them and how well they could stay in character this particular production although it has it's moments did not completly do it for me.   
    The play 'Southern Comfort' at longwarf theater was a romantic comedy about two next door nieghbors who were probebly somwhere in their sixtys. The woman was from the south and moved to the city, where the man lived in the city all his life and about how she got him to come out of his shell, stop being so grouchy and go join the living. In some ways I believe the actors were believeable, such as the woman's enthusiasticness toards life and toards getting to really know the male in the play. He would mope and react scared when he heard the lightning because his character was dealing with issues from being in the war.Although they moved their bodies in the way the script most likely directed them too I had trouble really believing they were the people they were trying to portray. It seemed like the woman was happy but that their was nothing really behind it, it was more like she just made a big smile, same with the guys grumpyness and he wasn't verry good at reacting to the thunder( which was a sound made backstage.  

Not that he didn't jump or make a face, it was justy that, no real, him actually putting himself in that possition. Also when they were doing their lines at least once per sceene they would forget a word or a line, pause for about two seconds and then stumble in with their own word and finish the sentence.Another main part where something wasn't totally believeable was the supposed to be passionate kiss at the end, i mean they didnt have to really kiss (which they didn't), but it was just so overly fake looking that it made the end seem like they were trying too hard. With all that said one of the better parts was when they were talking about the war, and how it was on both their love lifes, they were able to, in that moment get totally into character without any screw ups.

   In the Longwarf take of southern comfort there were only two people in the entire play, which was quite new to me.The male who I didn't like so much because he was supposed to be dreary and was in and out of his character was really good in a particular part where he and the woman came back from a party and she was supposed to be hitting on him. He displayed flattery almost as good as any other actor, with his head drwn high and a smile on his face, Ive seen and he memorised a good deal of his lines in a sceene with quite a few lines. This particular sceene the female actually had alot of trouble with and screwed up her lines two or three times.With that said I'm pretty sure the majority of the audience, including me at parts liked the female better given to the fact that it was her character who was the one who was primarely happy and witfully sarcastic. The female character was also the one who had her way through most of the entire play.
   Because their were only two characters its hard to really say who was good and who was bad because they draw their individuallity and fed their information with communication and information from each other. I would say I liked both characters evenly both the happy go lucky and the solness of the male roll sounded good together. 
  Both actors work pretty well together , they listened to each other, I think you could tell that more when theirs only two actors because your very intune to what their both doing whereas with alot of actors if one person might be a little off or not tottally focused you don't notice it as much. In the play the two actors talked, faught,flirted, had to help each other to put in a window and solve problems mainly the one of opening up the male character so that he reacts possitivly with another person but also their was a grave stone near the end and the male had already had a tombstone and was going to be eventually berried with his first wife wear the woman wanted to be burried with the man.She left to go back to texas which was where she was from and when she came back he got a tombstone with both their names on it and told her that he would rather be burried with her than with his already deceased wife.Also since they were both messing up as much most of the time the other actor stayed in character. Although their was this one time where the female character, in the flirting sceene after the party, forgot her line pause for that three seconds that she usually did and came up with another word and then the male actor looked at her with this discusted face for three seconds and then they went back into character.
  Although this play didn't totally do it for me I could imagine how things could have gone worse and how some things have gone worse in theatre at least in the two years that I have taken it in highschool. In Highschool people were out of character constantly and eather laughing or totally nervous.one thing I can say in it's defence is that even though it got out of character alot the actors were able to get back in reasonably fast. That being said it wouldn't be qa performance I would genuinly recomend a person seeing especially someone who is a first time theatre observer due to its lack of ability to really hone the characters they were performing. If the actors did that a bit better even with the few mistakes they made I might have been able to overlook or ignore the speach differences.

Jackie McAllister

Questions to develop writers concep 1. the play asks us to think about our lives and who we are as people. What are our flaws do we suffer from adiction, the need to control the lives of the people we hold dear to us, are we fake, are we too trusting, are we minipulantive, do we want someone we cant have and what went wrong because we have those flaws.If we have the chance to fix those flaws and we do to never go back to making the same mistakes or the same consequences will occurr. 2.the themes are man vs man(lovborg vs tesman the book situatuation),woman vs man(lovborg and his addiction vs Hedda and her conroling behavior or hedda vs Judge braks lust or hedda vs lovborgs lust, woman vs womanvs woman (theas love for lovborg vs Heddas control/lovborgs lust over hedda),man vs adiction(Lovborg vs. his adiction to alchohol), have vs want(tesmans want for his wife to love him),woman vs society (Hedda said she didn't kill lovborg because it would cause a scandle.)money vs love our abilities vs our wants(berta's wants for hedda to aprove of herand keep her job vs her unsertanty she can ever be up to heddas standards)If you make bad choices they lead to dire consequences. 3.The central theme of this play is selfish decisions lead to dire consequences because hedda married George Tesman for his money and now she's unhappy,Tesman married hedda for her looks and descovers she doesnt love him,Lovborg drank and became an outcast,hedda trys to convince lovborg to kill himself and she gets caught sircumstantually by the judge, Judge Brack trys to use Heddas situation with lovborgs death to get her to havea relationship with him and she kills herself. 4.The stance the play takes on the central theme is that you should be careful what choices you make or something bad could happen to you 5.I think the play is worth performing today because people today are still dealing with alot of the same problems the play was dealing with such as alcholism bad choices and love.With alcoholism especially I think people can relate to because even one mistake can make someone right back to wear they started if they make bad decisions with drunkiness and it could warn them that even one glass can really effect you. 6. The playwrights purpose in telling the story I would say would be a combination to entertain because its a play and most plays are entertainment and this one shows the lifes of many different people some like hedda who are minipulative can entertain, to educate on how our decisions effect us, with catharsis I don't think there really was one at the end but there were parts in the play where people wernt minipulating each other (or you couldn't tell the were) like when hea came over up until the point they talked about their childhood.Probe the human condition would be each time hedda tried to control someone like Tesmans overal character was probed from the time his aunt came in and you see how he adores his wife but later that she/heddaisnt happy in their marriage or how hedda is abble to artact and control people like thea,lovborg and make Lovborg and brack attracted to her.

Jackie McAllister Intro to Theater Homework Assignment Chapter 16 pages 362-364 & 371-372 only post WW2 1. A Few of the world wide historic events that impacted theater post WWII is there were more inventions such as computer technology- later used in theater for animation and effects, before WWII the public had tv’s /movies, which they used more than the radio after WWII, which was big in theater because it’s filmed acting, acting is a major element in theater. Internet was created after the television and is a creative way to find plays and some videos are on the computer. 2. Selective realism- focusing intently on certain aspects of theater while ignoring others. 3. Two playwrights of select realism are Tennessee Williams who wrote ‘The Glass Menagerie’ and Arthur Miller who wrote ‘Death of a Salesman.’