Critique for "the piano lesson" play at stagehouse theatre Essay - 1

Critique for "the piano lesson" play at stagehouse theatre at grossmont college - Essay Example In The Piano Lesson, Esther Skandunas provides the costume design. Danielle Dudley sets the stage for the play. The stage manager is Aimee-Marie Holland. On the stage is an antique piano directly under an ancient painting. A stool covered with an old tablecloth stands in front of the piano. A sofa faces the audience just behind the piano. There is a kitchen and a wall clock hung above the cabinet. In the center of the stage are dining chairs and a table. On the table are four glasses with whisky. A staircase leads to an upper room. The piano is the major prop located in a place from where we refer all other items. It is the artifact in which all the family history is enshrined. The setting was in the 1930s. The piano is customized with the curving of the owner which indicates a strong connection of this item and the central theme. This arrangement of the stage suffices all the activities in the play that convey different themes. Some of the ideas are not well displayed in the stage design applied. Superstition is a theme in this play. We expect the stage to be equipped with props that suit this theme like caskets or smoke emanating from one corner of the stage. The lighting design was provided by Craig Everett. It is partly produced by a bulb hanging from the ceiling of the stage emitting yellow light. Blue light comes from a bulb directly above the audience. The lighting patterns in this stage help emphasize the theme. Supernatural powers apparent in this play are illustrated by the blue light that is visible even outside the room. All the scenes were lit all the time. If the stage was darkened at times when the spirits were say talking, the show could be livelier and express some fears in the audience at the thought of ghosts’ visitation. The question of Family history is well captured in the play. The piano is a family souvenir that reminds it of its historical legacy. Two characters, particularly bring out the issue of historical legacy, and

How does the therapeutic relationship help children to make sense of Essay

How does the therapeutic relationship help children to make sense of difficult life experiences - Essay Example To determine how play therapy could enable children to positively deal difficulties in life, the researcher will examine the importance of play therapy in different health care settings. Prior to the conclusion, the researcher will discuss some ways on how to maximize the use of play therapy when dealing with difficulties in life. Play Therapy – â€Å"a developmentally sensitive therapeutic modality that is used by well-trained play therapists to allow children to easily resolve their psychosocial difficulties in order to enable them to reach their optimal growth and development.† (Bratton et al., 2003) When designing the type of play suitable for each child, health care practitioners should consider the cognitive, physical and social development of the child. According to von Gontard & Lehmkuhl (2003), among the five new approaches to play therapy includes: (1) the Parent-Child interaction therapy; (2) the behavioral approaches such as the Cognitive-Behavioral play therapy; (3) therapies designed for preschool childrean such as the Filial therapy, developmental play therapy and thera-play; (4) developmental play therapy; (5) the focussed of play therapies for specific disorders; as well as and (6) family therapy. Selecting the type of play is necessary to effectively arouse the child’s interest in participating in the play therapy. Depending on the number of children as well as the child’s gender, cognitive, physical and social development, health care professionals may choose to implement either the use of Child-Centred Play Therapy (CCPT), Group Play Therapy, or a Non-Directive Play Therapy. (Ray, 2008; Jones, 2002) Even though further study is required, the study of Ray (2008) shows that the application of Child-Centred Play Therapy is more effective in terms of reducing the parent-child relationship stress among children with internal and external