"From Sanctuary to Stage"

Despite the fact that this video was a bit corny, I found that many aspects interested me and grabbed my attention. In particular, I enjoyed learning about the role of the guilds in medieval theatre.  It makes perfect sense that the guilds were in charge of different plays based off of what props they had in their possession. For example, the Butchers dealt with the death of Christ, the Pinners dealt with Christ’s crucifixion, and the fisherman dealt with Noah’s Arc all because they had the materials to make up the play.

I also thoroughly enjoyed watching and learning about the community plays and festivals that are reenacted in New York. It was nice to actually see the visuals of how the plays were produced and how popular they once were. The usage of wagons allows the audience to have an intimate relationship with the actors, and the plateau where the acting on the ground took place brought the audience even closer to the actors. Like we discussed in class, these plays possess a clear resemblance to Mardi Gras. Just like Mardi Gras, these plays have an element of production and thorough entertainment.

It was also fascinating learning about the role of a dramaturge in a production. Although old language does not interest me, I see the value in having a dramaturge help with the production of old plays in order to ensure the quality and authenticity of the dialogue.