Friday, November 22, 2013
Arts & Athletics
Please comment on your experience watching the play, RED, or the film, Brian's Song, or a musical performance like Allos Musica which performed Friday 15 November on campus. How is watching an artistic performance similar and dissimilar to watching an athletic performance? Does thinking about the comparisons make you more amenable to trying out a new artistic experience? Does it make you observe athletic performances differently? (You can use excerpts from your papers, but try to engage each other in conversation).
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I did not watch RED, but I have been involved in music and plays all my life. I think a play/musical is extremely similar to an athletic performance. I feel as though there is a misconception about the performer being that their job is "easy" compared to the jobs that are expected of the athlete. For example, like the athlete has to remember plays, the performer has to remember lines and the task that they must be doing while reciting those lines, and some of those steps are more tedious than any play a coach could run. The whole scene could be thrown off by one wrong word or one wrong movement but, while the play may be messed up, the game is easily recoverable after one bad play. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think many athletes today almost look down on the arts as if they're easy or not much to shake their head at.
ReplyDeleteI did attend RED at school. Along with attending RED I have been to plays in the past for other courses in college as well as high school. I played sports all of my life and still currently spectate so have more experiences with athletics. A few things that are similar in the observation of the two are: the manner in which we cheer for favorite teams/athletes in competition as we pick good/bad sides for characters in plays/film, also how we emotionally connect with the participants to try to feel how they are. Something that is dissimilar is how we show appreciation is shown to the participants, such as giving your silent undivided attention during scenes followed by applauding at the conclusion of it.
ReplyDeleteI would say that I have a wide interest in many types of music and various arts like photography and other mediums. Having these types of interests has allowed me to have a vast background of experiences and networking opportunities.
Artists and athletes both respectively are gifted in their unique individual crafts, for there are many strata of capabilities to each. Success stories from either one in most cases will encompass devoted time to perfecting their craft. This is a lesson that can be taken from both types of performances, in that to obtain high accolades in whatever it is we want to pursue, we must devote ourselves to it and make it a part of our very selves as well.
I watched the movie Brian's Song and I would say that it may compare to an athletic experience because they both may have an emotional appeal to the audience but I think they differ because athletics is more a physical test of your body and mind. I do no think that this would make me see more artistic things because I just do not have much interest in them. It may make me respect an artistic play within sports more and look for them more often.
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ReplyDeleteI don't believe art is anything close to athletics. Athletics is about competing and, for the most part, winning. No play I've ever been to is about that. Derek mentions we cheer for actors and such but they only follow a script, or a body of characteristics. Their is relativity little choice as to who you cheer for. It is not free flowing like a sport.
ReplyDeleteAs to what Logan suggested in regards to emotional appeal I don't believe they share the same type of "appeal".
Maybe someone could argue that "artist" are comparable to "athletes" but even then I would find a hard time with this due to the fact that their comparisons, such as time, effort, abilities, determination, etc. can be found in all other activities.
In the end, I feel this is like comparing apples to oranges. The best you can say is that they are both fruit... So I really don't see much of any comparison between the two, whether watching or "performing"
I went and saw Red as well, I actually worked in a class to help build the set. You don't really understand all the work that goes into a play for just the short little time it is running. I do beleive that art can go along with athletics because they put in the time and effort that athletes do, you just don't see it or hear about it. like with football and soccer you can see them practicing just walking to your car, but with plays you don't ever see or hear about their behind the scenes work. You practice for that prefect play in sports but Art you do the same thing for the perfect performance or that perfect drawing it doesn't matter. It takes just as much talent to go play football as it is to get up on a stage and act. It maybe even harder because I know that when I'm on the field its me and my teammates, yes there are people watching but they are far away and you can hear them. When you are acting the audience is right there you can see if they are enjoying it, sleeping, or hate it right in front of you. I know I can play football without any problem in front of people, but I also know no matter how much I practiced there is no way you could get me to get on a stage and act. That is why they go hand and hand because they are working towards the same goal, it may not to beat an opponent but they want to do something they love and perform it to the best of their abilities, isn't that what athletes want to do?
ReplyDeleteI didn't see Red, but I saw the Workshop that was with Dr. Winner, and he performed 4 pieces from different composers on his guitar. Even though I didn't see the play, I have seen others and have participated in a few. I also have participated in sports and I think when it comes to the time and dedication to the practice of each, it is pretty similar. For the example in the art of theatre in music, it takes time for an actor and a performer to perfect the work they are working on. Actors have to memorize lines, musicians have to practices scales and know the piece their reading. Dr. Winner told the audience that not only does he rehearse for 3 hours daily, but also it took him around a year to perfect one of the pieces he played at the workshop. In sports, many athletes practice their plays everyday to have it memorized with the hopes that it will be executed perfectly in the game. The coach works the players almost daily so they can be good at what they do. When it comes to watching both sports and art, I think it's different. In sports, there's always interaction amongst the audience. There's cheering, yelling, socializing, and drinking. In the art of theatre and a musical performance, it can definitely vary in silence. In a play, the audience cannot talk during the performance, but they can laugh and applaud when appropriate. The atmosphere is also very mellow since everyone is in a dark room compared to a lit up stadium. Overall the atmospheres are very different and I think that's why people favor more than one than the other. Also most sports are competitive and people find a good competition more entertaining than a competition in art. I don't like art competitions personally I wouldn't want someone judging my work based off someone else's judgement. At least in sports, if you play by the rules, you get the points just by completing the play.
ReplyDeleteI think there are many correlations between artistic and athletic performances. I think the biggest difference is the kind to which people appeal. I personally enjoy both sports and art, but I would agree with Jenn the atmosphere is what attract the two different kinds of people. Time and energy are devoted for both activities and each embody what the athlete or artists are trying to achieve through winning, entertainment, or appealing to an audience. I think spectators admire this in both cases. Even though sports and art are fundamentally different as Dexter points out, they can both invoke emotional investment by an audience and that is how they create followings and fame.
ReplyDeleteI watched the movie brian's song and i do think that it can be similar to an athletic experience in a emotional way. The audience can connect to the movie and the audience can relate to others while watching. I also think these two differ in a way that an athletic experience involves more physical assets.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you on the emotional experience that both the arts and athletics have on a person. There is a lot of emotion with the events in relating an experience in the film to real life and with playing in an athletic event where the emotions are out of control.
DeleteAfter attending red i think that sports and theatre is very similar. They take plenty of practice and preparation. Messing up in the middle of a game/play can be devastating. Another similarity between the two are the amount of different people involved like the coach/director, the players need help from trainers and assistant coaches, who are similar to those who help by doing the lights and making the set. Ultimately overall it take a lot of preparation and performing under heavy pressure. Both very entertaining!
ReplyDeleteJust like when you watch a movie, TV show, play, or athletic event it is entertainment. In athletics and the arts both require practice. A lot of practice. Both have a lot of emotion involved as well. Just as a character in a play displays emotion, so does an athlete when he/she is on the field or court. In both the arts and athletics, you have to be passionate about what you are doing. In both it requires a lot of time and effort to be good, and there are different levels of both.
ReplyDeleteI went to see the play RED. I believe that sports and theatre are similar in many ways but they also have their differences. As Matt said the are similar in the amount of preparation the put into a performance just as an athlete practices for big games. Also they are similar in that you have to have teamwork. In most plays you cannot only have one person just as you can't usually win a game simply with one person. I do believe that they both are entertaining and can be an emotional experience.
ReplyDeleteI believe sports can be related to plays or musicals. I read an article in sports illustrated when i was in high school and it was talking about how some of the top professional athletes, mainly football players, would take dance lessons to improve their footwork. With that comparison, you still have to remember your lines, dance moves, and so forth in a musical or play, as in a game you have to remember the plays, and where your suppose to go in certain formations.
ReplyDeleteI unfortunately wasn't able to see RED. However, I did watch Brian's Song and I also saw the Grinch at the Aronoff this past weekend. I must say after seeing that musical and watching sporting events, I could argue that those actors and singers practice just as much if not more than the athletes do. I never thought I would say that. This class has also really opened my appreciation for the fine arts and all the hard work and effort those people put into their individual performances. I was astonished watching the musical and how well and thought out all of the performances were.
ReplyDeleteI believe that sports and athletics can be related. You definitely have to ignore the physical par of sports though. I believe the preparation for both of these are very similar. An actor is constantly looking at lines and learning and becoming his or her character while a athlete is going over plays and learning how the other team plays and the player they will go up against.
ReplyDeleteWatching the movie brian's song i really see the connection because they both an athletic performance and a movie create an emotional appeal to the audience. Both an athlete and an actor have to practice and become knowledgable about their trade. An awesome play made an the overtime of a game is just exciting as an emotional scene that captures the attention of its audience.
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