Gibson Kente Essay Example for Free

Gibson Kente Essay Gibson Kente: Arguably the most popular playwright-director in South African Theatre history is â€Å"Bra Gib†, Gibson Kente. Born in 1932, Kente became the father of Black Theatre. He was a great patriot and founding father of Black Theatre in South ; an effective voice of the oppressed though the arts, he articulated the socio-economic imbalances created by the apartheid regime. Kente was not only an artist but also a vehicle for change. He conscientised the nation through music and theatre and gave a nation confidence in the midst of repression and brutality. Kente was largely unknown to the white theatre-going population of South Africa – however he produced 23 plays and many TV dramas from 1963-1992. Kente grew up in Duncan Village, a black village in the Eastern Cape. He was schooled at a Seventh-Day Adventist College in Butterworth. In 1956, he moved to Johannesburg and enrolled at the Jan Hofmeyer School of Social Work. He eventually abandoned his studies after he joined a black theatre group called the Union Artists. This is where he embarked on his career writing, producing and directing, where he created the unique genre referred to as the â€Å"township musical. Kente developed a style and pattern for his plays specifically to deal with the challenges and needs of his audiences. His plays were melodramas of township life, which were performed in an over-the-top, stylized manner using stock characters and a declamatory style of performance. His style of directing his actors to ‘overact’ was in order to compens ate for many of the townships venues which had poor acoustics. His use of music, movement, gesture, gimmicks, dance and acrobatics were directly related to his problem with township venues. These large halls were not complimentary to any type of method acting. The movements had to be unnaturalistic, the acting was vigorous and exaggerated well beyond reality, in order to have an impact on the eye and the ear. There was also a devaluing of dialogue – the dialogue is in English, however, most of it was inaudible because of audience noise and interaction, bad voice projection in the acoustically unsound halls, the musical band and unfamiliarity with words from the script. The audiences were not there to appreciate the subtlety of language through the use of puns or witticisms – they were there to be entertained through the stock characters antics – to recognize themselves on stage. Kente’s aim was to fill township venues and he did. The majority of his plays are stylistically similar: the acting style hardly varies, the story development is superficial, there is an absence of conflict other than the physical fights and the slanging matches between characters. The plots were simple – they were made up of occurrences which were happening in the townships and in daily township life. Ian Steadman writes in his article Alternative Politics, Alternative Performance: 1976 and Black South African Theatre that â€Å"while he [Kente] has been criticised by more radical Black Consciousness proponents for being a-political, Kentes theatre succeeds in creating social comment and criticism – sometimes by implication, at other times by direct proseltism† (1984: 219).

Evolution of Women’s Sports: Annika Sorenstam Strives for Perfection n

Evolution of Women’s Sports: Annika Sorenstam Strives for Perfection not Feminism Over the past 50 years, women’s sports have become more prevalent not only in the United States but also across the world. The ability for young girls and women to participate in athletics provides an avenue to experience competitive environments as well as build self-confidence in a world still dominated by men. During the early stages of women’s sports, the main idea was to show that women were worthy of having their own teams and organizations as an extension of the existing men’s sports. In other words, to prove to everyone the women could play many of the same sports that men could play. Women’s sports today are reaching a turning point in their development. They are not necessarily trying to emphasize the feminism and equality so predominant during the inception of women’s sports, but rather focusing on performing and competing at the highest level possible. This includes constantly challenging themselves and always striving for excellence in whatever sport they participate in. Women’s golf is a perfect example of this recent phenomenon. Number one ranked LPGA player Annika Sorenstam turned the golfing world on its head in the past few months by accepting a sponsor exemption to the Bank of America Colonial, a PGA event. Her acceptance was met with all types of media attention, including talk of making a statement for all women. However, Annika was quick to explain that her decision to play in the Colonial stemmed from her desire to challenge herself and elevate her own game to a new, unprecedented level. Women’s athletics has become a permanent fixture at every level in almost every sport worldwide. From y... ...a.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Coach_Pia/coach_pia.html. 1997. â€Å"Ever-Busy, Mulit-talented Nilsson Dedicates Time to Teaching, Traveling, Forming Friendships.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Ever_Busy_Nilsson/ever-busy_Nilsson.html. February 3, 2003. Homeyer, Hilary. Personal Interview. February 2003. â€Å"Sorenstam Says All the Right Things.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Sorenstam_Says_Right/sorenstam_says_right.html. May 20,2003. â€Å"Sorenstam Tries a Proving Ground.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Sorenstam_Proving_Ground/sorenstam_proving_ground.html. May 18,2003. â€Å"Swedish Scoring Secrets.† http://coachingforthefuture.com/Company_Information/Articles/Swedish_Scoring_Secrets/swedish_scoring_secrets.html. November 1997.

Lady Anne Essay

In Richard the third, there are many different female characters that are put in contrast to men. The audience is aware of their presence and effect on the men in the play. In this essay the four main female characters will have a character analysis and viewing scenes when women overcome men or either the men make them look vulnerable. The traditional view of men was that they were Dominant, strong, brave, owner and Lord of all that he possessed. The traditional view of women was the object of possession, weak, obedient and homely. They were taught to stay at home, cook for the husband and bring up the children, also to generally do everything in her power to look beautiful for her husband. Men were expected to go out and work, to bring in money to bring up his family, to treat his wife as he saw fit and to be the master of the house. Shakespeare’s time is actually different to Richard the thirds time, however the view on women is still the same. However, ironically some of the strongest monarchs that England has seen have been women. This shows that although times change, women can still prove to be just as strong as the men. Such as, Bodica who lead her Viking troops into war and defeated the Romans many times. Elizabeth the first was also a very strong monarch in Shakespeare’s time. That time was a patriarchal society, so men, who could influence the characters in Richard the third, dominated it. Women are seen as the victims. However, the longest reigning monarch is Victoria who reigned for 60 years. This demonstrates long life, strength in war and battle, and also strength of mind in many situations. Shakespeare’s female characters have been demonstrated as weak. Such as Lady Macbeth. When she knows she has to murder another human, she calls â€Å"unsex me now†, which would demonstrate her needing to lose her traditional feminine self and caring characteristics to enable her to do such a deed. She has been subverted to the patriarchal society. Another female character that Shakespeare’s written of, is Hero in Much ado about nothing. She plays a weak character that the male villains set up a plot against her in front of her betrothed and other male witnesses. The plot is then announced in front of her whole family and household. She is disgraced and Claudio will not marry her. In order to prove her innocence, she has to deceive all of her household until her innocence is found when she can truly step back into society. However, a very strong character is shown in the same play. Beatrice is a strong minded, outspoken and somewhat swaggering. Especially in her responses when Benedict challenges her, a male character that mirrors her perfectly. If the play were not set in such a loving family environment, she would not be accepted as an honorable wife or possession. How the story ends is her strong character is just a front, and she loses it when she falls in love with her reflective character, as she does not feel threatened anymore. In Richard the third, there are many female characters that reflect Shakespeare’s views on females. The first character analysis is of Lady Anne: She is a woman in control and shows this in the first sexual scene when Richard seduces her. She is shown up at first as weak. She is walking behind the coffin of her dead father; this shows that the strong male in her life is no longer there to support her. She is also in mourning and very vulnerable as she could be bewildered about her emotions. Richard knows this and so he makes sure it is used to his advantage. Everything he says to try and woe her though, she throws back at him. Line 50 Act 1 scene2 â€Å"Foul devil [†¦ ] trouble us not† and on Line 70 â€Å"villain, [†¦ ] no beast so fierce. These are insults thrown at Richard to make it seem like she does not care for his compliments and this male character will not knock her down. She represents female characters as strong in this scene, even if it is just a front to protect her from the exposed position she finds herself in. However, Richard always replies with a compliment in order to woe her and targets her vanity. This works and she shows that she is helpless when she is flattered by comments like†¦ Line 49 act 1 scene 2 â€Å"Sweet saint [†¦ ] be not so curst. † Here, Richard is deluding her whilst aiming at her weakness as he does with each of his victims in different ways. The significance that she is a woman is important because it demonstrates her as being a specific target that he is weakening.

The Dangers of Teen Sleep Deprivation Benefits of...

â€Å"Bueller?†¦Bueller?† The monotone history teacher appearing in the popular 1980’s film â€Å"Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,† proceeds to take role-call in his morning history class: a positively lethargic group of students, comically struggling to stay awake. As the teacher monotonously pronounces each name on the attendance list, one student gives a deadpan stare, mouth slightly agape and eyes drooping, while another student can’t beat the fatigue and sleeps with his head on his desk as a trickle of drool escapes his mouth. While this comic scene takes place on a Hollywood set, it is not far removed from many classroom situations across the country as Aarthi Belani, a high school student from Minnesota, notes about the 7:20 a.m. chemistry†¦show more content†¦Teen sleep deprivation is a major problem infecting this country, and it continues to spread as high schools open their doors at earlier hours. If America wants to raise a gener ation of healthy, successful, and well educated young adults, then high schools must join the fight against teen sleep deprivation and open their doors at later, more reasonable hours. Teenagers are notorious for staying up late. And late nights coupled with early-morning high school start times means kids are losing a great deal of valuable sleep. Sleep experts now know that teenagers need, in fact, more sleep than adults and children. Sleep studies have found, and Dr. Maas concludes that â€Å"adolescents need a minimum of 9 hours and 15 minutes of sleep each night to be fully alert during the day† (Crombie 2). Statistics show, however, that few young people even come close to getting their required amount of sleep, with only 15 percent sleeping 8  ½ hours or more during the week (Finger 2). The majority of America’s teenagers, according to a study released by Stanford University, get a scant 6  ½ hours of sleep on school nights (â€Å"Adolescent Sleep† 2). With such inadequate sleep, it is no wonder that teenagers slump through the school day; they are legitimately and desperately sleep deprived. The blame for teens’ sleep deprivation, however, often falls on their own wearyShow MoreRelatedOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 PagesOrganization theory is central to managing, organizing and reflecting on both formal and informal structures, and in this respect you will find this book timely, interesting and valuable. Peter Holdt Christensen, Associate Professor, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark McAuley et al.’s book is thought-provoking, witty and highly relevant for understanding contemporary organizational dilemmas. The book engages in an imaginative way with a wealth of organizational concepts and theories as well as provides