Arabian Nights

Because of the fact that I was on the crew for Arabian Nights making and fixing costumes, I probably have a very different perspective of it than those who simply went to see it. Although I had seen and heard bits and pieces of different scenes, I had not actually seen the show in full until the first Saturday of it's two-week run. For me, the general mood in the audience seemed to be excited about the show and in awe of the beautifully done set, complete with hanging lanterns and rugs all over the stage, along with a few trunks and Sharyaar's "bedroom" hidden behind a curtain. This also probably spiked their curiosity about how the lanterns and trunks would be used in the production as well as what was behind the curtain.
The Audience seemed to enjoy the show and laugh where it was appropriate. The first time I saw it, I watched it with my parents and younger sister who had just come home from a week in a France and was in turn, spared from me constantly talking about the show and what was in it. They laughed at parts that they thought amusing and even acted shocked at the scenes of Perfect Love and the Merchant in the tent and the Jester's Wife "greeting" her lovers. Jill(the sister) was especially shocked and even looked at me for confirmation that what was happening on the stage was actually happening. The second time I saw it, I saw it with a friend who came in from Orlando and he just laughed at most everything that was supposed to be funny, but not as shocked because I kinda told him about the play beforehand.
The responses of the audience confirmed that the play was indeed, comedic for the most part and some of them were even surprised to find that "The Wonderful Bag" story was primarily improv, thus why it was filled with things from Twilight, Harry Potter, The Neverending Story, and Avatar. To be honest, I was little worried that people who are from the Middle East might not like play, but when I asked my friend Mohamed who is here from Egypt what he thought of it, he said that he really liked it and even told his friends who are also here from Egypt how good it was and that they should go see it. I am happy that my worries about Middle Easter people disliking the play were not confirmed in the least bit.
As for discussing the show afterwards, I didn't really go into a lot of discussion, unless that very long adjudication after one of the shows counts. For the most part, I asked friends and family what they thought of the play and what their favorite story was. Everyone I asked said that they loved it and some even had trouble picking a favorite story because they were all so good! That is something else that made me happy because its no secret that everyone involved in it worked really hard to make it such a great experience.

This play was very different from any film. The stage was a thrust stage, so the audience was very close to the action. The second time I saw it, I was sitting near stage left, close enough to feel the heat from Alejandro's fire breathing. The actors also had the chance to interact with the audience somewhat- some made side comments to amuse them, while others actually turned to say things directly to the audience members near them.

The main conflict of the play was between the king, Sharyaar and his newest wife, Scheherazade. The conflict arises from him wanting to kill her as he did with all his previous wives and her not wanting to get killed and stop the cycle of violence. In a way, Sharyaar represents madness and Scheherazade represents peace. Sharyaar wants to get revenge for his first wife who was unfaithful, and as previously mentioned Scheherazade wants to bring peace to the kingdom by stopping the murders. Its hard to say when the climax is- it could be towards the end when Sharyaar realizes that he loves his wife and decides to set her free, but she wishes to stay with him. One could also say that the idea of the play is that that sometimes a peaceful, clever solution is the best way to overcome even the worst of problems. For me, this means that sometimes you have to think outside the box if you're suddenly thrown into a tough situation and to never lose faith in yourself.