The Best of Josh Comune

 Throughout the first three stories in Krik? Krak!  there is a dominant theme of hopelessness that ultimately leads to each characters death. Each story withholds death, directly stimulated from the brutality faced by the Haitian people from its oppressive government. The brutality causes the hopelessness felt by Haiti's people. They seek restored peace and freedom only to face inevitable death. From the slaughtering on the river, to sinking refugee boats, and its people being thrown in jail, They are stripped of all hope, ultimately leading their deaths. War brings out the worst in people and it is constantly felt through each story. In "Children of the Sea" Célianne, a pregnant 15 year old is fleeing Haiti. She was in danger of being killed if she were to stay in Haiti. Her brother Lionel was part of the resistance and thrown in jail by the macoutes. He was most likely tortured or killed. Célianne was rapped by multiple macoute solders and became pregnant in resul...

It is a travel story 2 Narrators- Male (Unnamed), Female (unnamed) are writing letters but not to themselves. Only the audience can see it. no The major themes of "The Children of the Sea" are war, brutality, and the hope to escape Haiti. The Haitian people faced hatred and violence from their oppressive government. Girls were rapped by soldiers, and families were forced to "get imitate" with close relatives. It is truly terrible what happened to these people within their own country. War brings out the worst in people. The civil war was enough to cripple its people into severe poverty and there is a lot of hatred that stemmed from this. Many Haitians dream of freedom and receiving an education from a university. They wish that a hurricane could destroy the island that is filled with hate, and bring back peace. The people on the boat decided to leave Haiti in effort to reach Miami. Their raft did not hold up and they drowned to death. "The Children of...

1 492 - Christopher Columbus lands and names the island Hispaniola, or Little Spain. 1496 - Spanish establish first European settlement in western hemisphere at Santo Domingo, now capital of Dominican Republic. 1697 - Spain cedes western part of Hispaniola to France, and this becomes Haiti, or Land of Mountains. 1801 - A former black slave who became a guerrilla leader, Toussaint Louverture, conquers Haiti, abolishing slavery and proclaiming himself governor-general of an autonomous government over all Hispaniola. 1804 - Haiti becomes independent; former slave Jean-Jacques Dessalines declares himself emperor. 1806 - Dessalines assassinated and Haiti divided into a black-controlled north and a mulatto-ruled south 1818-43 - Pierre Boyer unifies Haiti, but excludes blacks from power. 1915 - US invades Haiti following black-mulatto friction, which it thought endangered its property and investments in the country. 1934 - US withdraws troops from Haiti, but mainta...

Located in the Caribbean Sea, Haiti is an island nation. It shares the island with the Dominican Republic. Population: 10,847,000+ The official language is French Many towns are still named in the French language Culture in Haiti is a mix of African and Europeans elements -Haitian art shows stories of hardship through it. In many famous pieces there is a dipiction of hunger, and poverty. It also show fable with people being disguised as animals Haiti is also known for its folklore and stories being passed down. These stories are passed down from generation to generation. History: Under Spanish control (1492-1625) when Columbus arrived in 1492 1503- frist slaves were brought over by the Spanish  French gained control (1625-1804) January 1st 1804 Haiti becomes an independent nation after fighting in the Haitian revolution (1791-1804)  -The  Haitian Revolution was first seen as a slave revolt  1972- First "boat people" from Haiti seek refuge in F...

Edwidge Danticat is a Haitian-american play writer and novelist She was born in Haiti  immigrated to New York, at age 12  She attended the selective women's college of Barnard College, and then received a masters degree from Brown in Fine Arts and Creative Writing She is most famous for writing about Haitian American experiences and the hardships faced in everyday life She writes from the stories inspired by stories past down from here families generations. The focus of her work is on the lives and relationships women have and their struggles with power, poverty, and injustice. She loves Haitian and her speech was about 200 years of overcoming the French government  Try to understand her heritage She received a multitude of awards for her writings:  " Breath, Eyes, Memory  in 1994 was a semi autobiogropgay and received much praise for how it showed life throughout a long line of Haitian women Krik? Krak!, 1995 , a collection ...

Things I am solid on: Stage Directions (DL, DC, DR, CL, CC, CR, UL, UC, CR) Dialogue- Back and forth conservation between 2 or more characters Monologue- One character talking on stage Set-pieces- Do not move The Forth Wall- the invisible wall, not supposed to interact with the audience (although some performances require it) Projections- How loud you can project your voice on a stage Enunciation- level of clarity you pronounce with words with on stage Faical expressions- emotions and reactions Body language- communication by movement Cue lines- tell the actor when to start Narrator- person who tells the story Characters in play Point of view- (I, you, him her, or God's view, Limited point of view) Setting- Takes place Climax- Most intense part Conflict- struggles between characters Genre- 1. Musical 2. Straight- drama, fiction, comedy, poetry, Protagonist= Main character Antagonists+ Conflicting character Plot- Events that happen in...

Staging: Stage directions: DR, DC, DL (close to audience) CR, CC, CL UR, UC, UL (far from audience) Dialogue- Monologue- Stage crew Cast Lighting Sound Effects Structure- acts, scenes, prologue, epilogue Props- coustunes Set-pieces- Do not move Cue lines- tell the actor when to start Types of theater: 1. Black box- simple performance space, large square black room 2. Proscenium stage- Auditorium, With a arch around the stage 3. Theater in the round- Audience surrounds the stage from all sides. 4. Thrust Theatre- Stage extends into the audience, audiences sit in three sides The Forth Wall- the invisible wall, not supposed to interact with the audience (although some performances require it) Projections- How loud you can project your voice on a stage Enunciation- level of clarity you pronounce with words with on stage Blocking- Precise positions or movement of the actors on stage, controlled by the director Faical expressions- emotions and reactions...

Today in class all groups performed their FITM verbatim theater projects. Each group had a specific theme to explore. The groups also used the stage in a different ways from one another. In Aaron's group they used different monologues from FITM and combined it to make one performance. The feeling I got from the sound effects and actions on stage really gave the performance life. I liked how Grace threw Aaron to the ground and arrested him forcefully. I felt this was very dramatic and showed the brutality and injustice that many minorities in America face from law enforcement.  In Joey's group, I liked how they did something similar with combing two monologues and created a dialogue  between two interviewed characters in FITM. It was as if they were speaking their mind to one another with each character not wanting to hear what the other had to say. David acted as a voice of reason and popped up at the end of the skit to end the bickering between the Joey and Hellen. In my gr...

 During the verbatim theater project last week my role was a person who was interviewed about how life in Markin was. My interview was then reenacted and put on stage in front of the class. Nan was the actress who tried to reenact my interview. I thought that she did a great job capturing many of my signature phrases and body positions while sitting down. This project was different for me because usually in my group, I am the one that is asked to be on stage acting so it was different being an observer in the audience. I think people like to participate in verbatim theater because it tests their skills as actors. By being able to act as someone else in either a comical or serious way can help actors become better at what they do. Verbatim theater accomplishes the ability to reenact real words spoken by real people. Verbatim theater gives a sense of realism on stage when actors intentionally use words like "um, you know, like, and other pause words that happen when in natural d...

Theater is a way for people to express words through actions. It starts with a vision from a writer who wants to tell a story. Many books have been converted into plays. The thoughts, feelings, and emotions that cannot be shown through pages can come out on stage. Actors can use real emotion and let it come out in their performance.  This is why I think so many people are attracted to theater. It is something real. The audience can kick back and watch a story be told in front of them instead of reading one. This is why many people and I prefer watching theater over reading books. Actors in theater have the important job of putting the writer's vision to life. They play a huge role during the production since they are the ones being featured on stage.  Good actors are always mindful on how they look on stage. It is important to not look nervous but this is easier said than done. Actors need to be mind of all there body movements, and especially ones that can show signs of n...