Performances Reflection

The first performance I chose to analyze was Boy and Egg acted by Bowen and Tom. This portrayal does a great job emphasizing how innocent the young boy was. It shows how because of this, he experiences a great deal of joy and happiness over discovering something as simple as an egg. Their presentation also highlights the part of the poem where many other children, while playing with a ball, make fun of the boy with the egg. The performance made me think differently about the poem because Bowen does a great job portraying the innocence of his role. This was a characteristic I did not see in the boy as an individual when just reading the poem. When bringing the original poem to the stage, this portrayal does a great job showing the misery of Bowen's part when the other kids begin to bully him and play without him. This presentation also does a great job explaining the setting with barely any props. Viewers understand where the scene takes place without it ever being mentioned in the character’s lines. My favorite aspect of the performance was how despite Bowen's role being much younger than Tom’s, he was still able to stand up for himself enough that Tom did not end up stealing his egg. I enjoyed this part of the presentation because even though he was young, Bowen’s character does not let himself be pushed around by the bully. The other performance I chose was Eating Poetry portrayed by Paige and John. This presentation emphasizes the parts of the poem where the librarian becomes heartbroken over the man destroying the poetry in the library. The performance made me think differently about the poem because I did not understand when reading that the poetry was actually physically ripped up. John does a very good job portraying his part so this could be better understood. This portrayal accomplishes so much when bringing the poem to the stage. This is done as Paige and John achieve very good timing throughout their presentation. Right after the man rips up the paper is when the librarian looks shocked and then once the papers fall she begins to cry. Once the man walks out, the librarian falls to her knees in sorrow. I believe the best part of the performance was how the great timing allowed the viewers to see a clear progression of the grief and sadness the librarian felt over the man's actions.