Performance Responce Blog Post: Dead Man's Cell Phone

While watching plays and films both entail an audience watching a story being performed by actors and actresses, they are quite different.  These differences include audience response, setting and atmosphere, and performers. 

As far as audience response, plays practically require some form of participation from the audience. During a play, people are expected to applaud at the end, if not during the scene breaks. When I saw "Dead Man's Cell Phone" on opening night, the audience was not extremely involved; meaning that they did not clap between scenes, but they did know to applaud during the curtain call. This audience was also not very expressive as far as laughter; however, they did understand the conventions of being quiet during the performance.   While seeing a film, on the other hand, people obviously do not applaud. In fact, the audience is not expected to be involved in any way. This is partly due to the fact that the performers do not feed off the energy that the audience provides.  Also, the viewer is able to talk during the film (although, this often breaks the social norm of being quiet during a movie) due to the fact that there is a rewind button or that the movie can be watched multiple times. This is not the case with a play – even if a play can be watched many times, it is ephemeral.
    The setting and atmosphere are other examples of how viewing plays and films differ.  For instance, in a play, there are lighting effects which are used to affect the way people feel during the scene. These lighting effects are usually unrealistic, unlike the lighting used in a film. One example of this in “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” occurred when Jean and Dwight are professing their love for one another and Dwight actually says that the lights will dim down on them.  I have never had a spotlight put on me while I was smooching someone, thus detracting from the feeling that the play was realistic.  Films, however, are typically meant to seem as based in reality, as possible.  Film sets have the facilities to move to various sets in order to get their lighting and scenery to match the mood of the story. They have the ability to use lighting and camera angles if the object is to focus on characters who are in a tender moment. However, due to lack of space and an inability to zoom in, spotlights are a common, if not unrealistic, way of highlighting the movements of particular characters. The sets of plays also somewhat dictate where the audience should be watching. For instance, when Mrs. Gottlieb is at Gordon’s funeral and she is at the podium, she has a spotlight on her, and she is standing on the highest platform on the stage. This use of the set and lighting focused the audience’s attention on her rather than on Jean who was on the lowest place on the stage. 

Another difference between a play and a film are the performers.  For example, the performers in a play typically over-dramatize their movements, physical expression, and vocal inflections. In a movie, the slightest details in the performance can be seen and heard due to the fact that the camera can zoom in on the actors. Another advantage that movies have overplays is the fact that, while filming, the actors have multiple takes to fix and adjust their performances. Plays do not have that; instead, they must go out on stage with one chance to act without being told how to fine-tune their acting. During “Dead Man’s Cell Phone,” Dwight scuttled across the stage instead of walking. While it was humorous, had he over-exaggerated his walk in a film, I might have thought that there was something wrong with him.  

Seeing a live play is a different experience than seeing a film. People view plays with the anticipation of having some relationship with the performers, imaginative sets, and amplified characters. Watching films, on the other hand, means that one can watch it alone and that the setting and characters are usually based in reality. These are things that are expected of films and plays which means that the two should not be judged by one another’s standards.