Introduction
Beyond All Recognition is a play created and performed by the Master of Fine Arts actors. The production depicts the challenges that former military members face on a daily basis and the problem of social re-integration, in particular. Additionally, the focus is made on the way the modern media romanticize the images of war and soldiers so that many civilians remain unaware of the actual life challenges of military workforce representatives. Therefore, the story in Beyond All Recognition is definitely worth telling. Overall, the play exposes the reality of the problem and demonstrates how Hollywood promotes distorted perceptions of war and its impacts on individual lives. It is possible to say that by doing so, the production team aims to convey a pacifist message.
Design Element
The sound is one of the most effective techniques in the production used to reinforce the dramatic event. It set the tone and atmosphere for the play (Ferris). Most of the sound pieces selected by the team and the sound designer, Charles Osborne, were alternative rock music tracks characterized by intensity and emotionality. There are a lot of conflicts in the character’s dialogs, and this type of sound helped support the tension.
The music was primarily played between the scenes, so it substantially heightened the anticipation. At the same time, the scenery can be considered a less effective technique in this regard. It was too neutral and did not contain any semiotic meaning that could culminate the dramatic event.
Staging Moment: Actors’ Performance
The energetic performances of the actors helped communicate their storylines well. The performers were especially good at externalizing: non-verbal expressions, pitch, and quality of voice, etc. It helped the audience to read the characters’ emotions. However, in rare moments, some actors overacted and were not that convincing. It could be possible to develop the characterization a bit more − even though the characters were ordinary people, some of them lacked uniqueness and other qualities that would make them memorable.
Issues of Diversity
The education about the re-integration problems of veterans and deployed soldiers is the major purpose of the play. Returning military service members constitute a special population group whose needs and interests sometimes are not well understood by the general public. Moreover, the fact that their post-traumatic conditions and community disintegration are widely idealized in cinema, and other modern forms of art that depict military events and the lives of soldiers from the fictional and non-realistic stance only contribute to their marginalization. By depicting these issues, the production team aims to promote fair representation of military service members and encourage the recognition of their needs.
Conclusion
In Hollywood cinema and many other media forms, diverse population groups, including racial minorities, women, and people with disabilities, are often underrepresented or represented in an unrealistic and stereotyped manner. The issue of the unfair depiction of deployed military members is, nevertheless, given less attention in the modern film and theater criticism studies. Therefore, Beyond All Recognition makes a valuable contribution to this discourse by providing a unique perspective on the topic of unfair representation of minority groups in media and art.
The high quality of production helped convey the educational message with clarity. The purposes, storytelling, and stage actions are cohesive and can be read well by the audience. In fact, the storytelling might even be too apparent. Although it is intended as a realistic piece of theater, the presence of a few symbolic messages could make the production more intriguing.
Work Cited
Ferris, Lesley. The Art of the Now: Introduction the Theatre and Performance. The Ohio State University, 2014.