Welcome to Performance and Theater Blogspot. Your first thrilling assignment for the week of August 31st is to write up a brief character description of one of the main characters in Grease, together with your suggestions for playing the part. Give a short 'back story' for your chosen character, how did the character get to be the way he or she was at the beginning of the play? How would this influence the way you would make the character, talk, walk, look, and feel? . Girls - how would you deal with the stereotyping of women's roles in the play. Boys - how would you relate to the girls in the play if they were more contemporary 21st century women? What would you like to see changed about your character and what should remain the same. Be creative
15 comments:
Sandy.
Sandy just moved from Australia to America, so she's in a completely different environment where people have different morals and ideas of what is "cool". She makes friends with the Pink Ladies, and slowly becomes like them, although she is wary of their friendship. They pierce Sandy's ears, give her a smoke, and do things she normally wouldn't have done back in her hometown. By the end of the musical, she fully converts into being "cool". Her hair becomes puffy, she wears tight clothing, and has a cigarette in her mouth, and with that, she gets the guy she wants. If I were to play Sandy, in the beginning, I would behave shyly and cautious of surroundings. But gradually become closer to the Pink Ladies, and act more confidently. I would have liked it if Sandy kept her "goody two shoes" image, and showed the other girls that you don't have to be pushed around or used by the guys in a stereotypical manner. If she stuck with the clothing she wore in the beginning, and did not give in to peer pressure, she could have achieved that. Sandy was able to get Danny to fall in love with her before she became "cool", so I find it possible for her to keep doing so, even when surrounded by the stereotype that women are just things for men to play around with.
Frenchy.
The accidentally pink-haired Frenchy is a member of the senior girl’s group, the Pink Ladies. She is a very ditzy, sweet person, and is perhaps a bit lost too. She is Sandy—the female lead—’s best friend; she’s the first person to make Sandy feel welcome. Frenchy’s actress should really try to capture her kind-hearted ways and her cheerful persona but should also show some inner turmoil, as Frenchy is conflicted between giving up her dream of becoming a beautician or staying in high school. Frenchy’s voice should also come out sounding less intellectual and more ditzy, while her walk should be soft-footed and sweet, like a bird. The way she carries herself and talks should reflect her personality.
Though Frenchy isn’t stupid, she isn’t the brightest bulb in the closet. She is another example of being a female stereotype in this play, as she’s a bit of an air-head and wishes to go to beauty school even if it means dropping out of high school. This implies that women aren’t as intelligent as men and only care about appearances, though there is more to Frenchy’s character than that, (luckily). The other women in the play also show stereotyping. For instance, Rizzo is the tough girl in Grease, so she smokes and drinks and is sarcastic. Out of the pink ladies, she’s probably the most witty and cunning. Towards the end of the play, however, we find out she is pregnant. So, a girl can be smart, but not smart enough to avoid getting knocked up. Furthermore, Marty is the vain one who would sleep with older men simply because they’re famous, while Sandy is the character who would change herself completely, just to be with a guy who can’t even be himself around his friends. If I were to deal with stereotyping in this play, I would most likely end up changing a lot of Grease (like the ending, for instance). Because Sandy became someone she wasn’t for a guy shows that a woman’s life is meaningless without a man. The woman made the sacrifice while the man simply embraced the new and “improved” version of his “true” love.
Changing Frenchy would be harder than changing the ending. So much of the events surrounding her are based off of her character. How would the Angel be able to sing “Beauty School Dropout” without Frenchy dropping out of Rydell and BS? A minor change I would be able to make would be to make her a little less ditzy and more intelligent, and maybe making her realize by herself that beauty school is not for her instead of flunking beauty school. The rest of her I’d keep the same, like her kind and sweet nature.
All these female characters are unique in their own ways, but all make one thing clear: Grease is one of the most stereotypical, sexist plays I have ever seen, which perhaps makes it so enjoyable to the average theater-goer who wishes to sit back and enjoy a good musical without having to think too much, an obvious similarity between them and the characters.
-Tessa Richards
Sandy has just moved to Rydell High from her home country Australia. She sticks out like a sore thumb and is clearly desperate to fit in. This becomes clear when she first goes to the sleepover at Frenchy’s house. When the girls urge her to smoke, she does so without hesitation, despite her distaste for the practice. Her haste to conform to these social practices without second guessing it leads me to believe that what made her character get to be the way she was at the beginning of the play was the peer pressure and social norms at her old school. The ease with which she changes her behaviors at Rydell suggests that she is used to succumbing to peer pressure and conforming to social norms. Therefore, this should be reflected in the way the actor portrays her character. She must eagerly listen to everything that her new friends say and at times seem a little insecure when she doesn’t fit into the crowd.
Although the stereotyping throughout the movie is clear, I am not sure I would label Grease as overtly sexist. At the surface, most of the girls seem excessively giggly, gossipy, and dim, yet we see many different female characters and personalities throughout the story. Sandy’s pure and innocent “good-girl” type character is juxtaposed with Rizzo’s sarcastic and witty dark humor. Frenchy, although she drops out of high school, is ambitious and chooses to follow her dream of a successful career. Patty Simcox, although an annoying character, is the intelligent student council president. Chacha DiGregorio is an unfriendly person but an incredibly talented dancer. The individuality that each female character demonstrates prevents women from being “stereotyped” and all being placed together to fit one oversimplified image. That being said, there are definitely aspects of characterization that I would like to see changed. I would have loved to see Frenchy be successful in beauty school rather than drop out of that too. Must a woman’s choice for herself always end up as a failure? I would have liked to see Patty Simcox be much less annoying and more likeable. Must we dislike and shun hard-working and involved students? For the most part, however, the female characters in Grease present diverse personalities and tend to follow their personal ambitions (the exception being Sandy. More on her later…).
HOWEVER, the individuality that each girl demonstrates is completely negated through their objectification by the male characters. Despite their diverse personalities and characteristics, the only comments we hear about them from the guys concern getting “friendly down in the sand” and “she was good you know what I mean”. Because so much of the objectification of women in the play is stated clearly and directly in the dialogue or lyrics of the songs, it is difficult to get around and shift the tone of the play without removing such lines. Therefore, it is imperative that all female actors emphasize the diversity and depth of their characters to combat the simplistic two-dimensional roles assigned to them by their male counterparts. One thing that the male actors should try to do, though, is deliver certain objectifying lines jokingly and as light-heartedly as possible, so that they are not taken too seriously.
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It is a bit difficult to critique the stereotypes in Grease because I do not know if this was a common aspect of the pop-culture of the time. Therefore, I’ve tried to examine the different aspects of the female characters. However, something that definitively stood out for me, which I think warrants criticism, is the ending of the story. Danny refuses to accept Sandy the way she is for fear of being judged by his friends. Thus, it is up to Sandy to “fix” the problem. For some reason, she thinks the solution is to dress in a raunchy tight leather suit, smoke, and dance around sassily. The message suggested by this ending really bothers me. Although most of the female characters seem to demonstrate at least some sense of individuality, I believe Sandy becomes the embodiment of the stereotypical woman: a sucker for love. In the beginning of the story, Sandy sings: “My head is saying ‘fool, forget him,’ but my heart is saying ‘don't let go’”. It becomes clear that in the end, she chooses to follow her heart rather than listen to her head, suggesting that women value romance over intelligence and being realistic. In the end she sings: “to my heart I must be true”. Thus, she stays true to her heart, but not to herself, as she completely changes her appearance and behavior. Even though this may seem harmless, the underlying implications are quite sad. At the drive in, Sandy tells Danny, after he gave her his ring, “I know now that you respect me.” But when he tries to feel her up and it becomes clear that he actually doesn’t respect her for the way she is, (and suggests that he probably never will), Sandy, being the insecure girl she is, begins believing that there’s no reason to respect herself either. Thus, rather than seeing this as a sexist or stereotypical story, I find that the prevalent issues are more about peer pressure, conformism, and a lack of individuality, personal identity, and self-respect. Plus, the fact that Sandy feels satisfied and believes she made the right choice by conforming to social standards in order to get a boyfriend, makes this all the more tragic.
"Danny is the leader and main male "Grease" character of the T-Birds. He falls in love with Sandy, but when they get back to school, she doesn't fit in with his reputation as the school's “bad boy.” In "Grease", he is way too cool to admit any type of feelings for Sandy." He is a very energetic lad, and one of the very few who does not act like a jackass in front of his friends. Danny brings the romance to this movie and without him the passion and love does not exist therefore altering the whole plot. Danny's character is loved by everyone who watches grease because of the passionate moments he has with his love, Sandy. The songs Danny sings also bring another aspect to this story, showing us his many personalities. Danny is my personal favorite character for all these reasons.
Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton John) Sandy, the female character counterpart of Danny, is a foreign exchange student from Australia. She comes to Rydell High and unexpectedly finds her summer fling, Danny. Her virginal image doesn't sit well with the Pink Ladies and she is a little bit of the odd girl out. In the end, Sandy goes through quite a transformation to show she isn't just the good girl of "Grease.
Rizzo
Rizzo has probably been in the Rydell area for most--if not all--of her life. But we really don't get much of her backstory. There's hints as to some former romantic relationship with Danny (which might be the motive for her later relationship with Kenicke) but as to how long she's known the rest of the Pink Ladies or the T-birds is in complete shadow. Her personality is that of a emotionally hurt individual lashing out at the world. She detests Sandy (possibly because of her relationship with Danny) and lashes out at her by either ignoring her, ridiculing her, or patronizing her for much of the play. Although she puts on this strong and aloof exterior you, in playing Rizzo, would also need to show her emotional depth in possibly being pregnant or her interactions with Danny. She is a tart--whether to get back at Danny or because she was so originally we may never know--in the way she dresses and in the way she acts but she is still the strongest female in the play. When she finds out that she may be pregnant she does not go running to the father for his help in either getting rid of or supporting the baby she takes the burden on herself and makes her own decisions. Luckily enough for her that really didn't amount to anything as she wasn't actually pregnant. That being said she also paints a very negative image of the female stereotype constantly controlling everything around her, being the queen bee, being mean to just about everyone, and constantly flinging herself at guys. That being said you can't really change anything about the character because she is who she is and we really just need to accept that. Do most of the other females in Grease either conform to standards or are completely blank slates yes but Rizzo is her own woman and quite happy with that fact. Although she really needs more backstory.
"Danny is the leader and main male "Grease" character of the T-Birds. He falls in love with Sandy, but when they get back to school, she doesn't fit in with his reputation as the school's “bad boy.” In "Grease", he is way too cool to admit any type of feelings for Sandy." He is a very energetic lad, and one of the very few who does not act like a jackass in front of his friends. Danny brings the romance to this movie and without him the passion and love does not exist therefore altering the whole plot. Danny's character is loved by everyone who watches grease because of the passionate moments he has with his love, Sandy. The songs Danny sings also bring another aspect to this story, showing us his many personalities. Danny is my personal favorite character for all these reasons. If i were to play Danny Zuko in a school play, i would make the character my own. I would still keep the significant qualities that he delivers, but the accent, the charm, the looks, all the factors that he uses to make up his beloved main character i would make my own, in order to make the most natural of performances derived from my abilities from being an actor and acting in 5 drama plays, all with outstanding performances which left the audiences in awe. Thank you for reading this thoughtful, detailed, and biased, piece that i spent my time writing.
Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton John) Sandy, the female character counterpart of Danny, is a foreign exchange student from Australia. She comes to Rydell High and unexpectedly finds her summer fling, Danny. Her virginal image doesn't sit well with the Pink Ladies and she is a little bit of the odd girl out. In the end, Sandy goes through quite a transformation to show she isn't just the good girl of "Grease". I think it would be interesting to act Sandy because she's a "pure" young girl and different from her society and friends. I was disappointed that sandy changed though out the film for example she smokes and wearing tight cloths, and did not stick to her real personality, even though people might refer it to been grown up. If my girlfriend would have to act sandy she would probably use her own style of wards and would not give up her personality but still keep all the accent and the main significant lines.
Danny.
Danny is the leading male in the movie/stage production of Grease. Danny is the "cool" guy in the movie, he's the guy that everyone wants to be. He is the leader of the T-Birds, and an idol to the other guys apart from Kenickie, who has more of a brotherly relationship with Danny. Danny is the guy who never does as he is told in Grease, the “badass” you could say, and the one who doesn’t seem to care about girl’s feelings. However, it appears that he is a different Danny Zuko away from Rydell High School. He met Sandy while he was on vacation and they had a summer romance and in the opening scene of the movie he is seen as a sweet, charming guy with Sandy, but that all changes once school starts.
I think that Danny is played very well and not much could be changed accept maybe be a little less aggressive when around the girls in the movie. I think you would have to act as the “cool” stud that everyone in the High School wants, and that you know it.
I don’t think the girls are badly acted towards in the movie they are not even harshly stereotyped in the movie only that they are told to act giggly, and ditsy; I think if Grease were set nowadays you wouldn’t have to act much differently to the way they are acted to in the movie. Maybe the guys could be a bit more respectful but if acted now the girls wouldn’t be as ditsy unless a strong stereotype was being portrayed.
Danny is one of the main charterers, he has to personalty, he use the first "cool" personalty with his friends, and the second "uncool" personalty with his girlfriend Sandy which made his friend and his girlfriends angry, he meet sandy on the beach in the summer holiday.
Danny
“The leader of the “Burger Palace Boys”. Well-built, nice looking, with an air of cool, easy-going charm. Strong and confident.” These sentences describe for who Danny is in the fantasy, love genre of 1970s in the popular play of the time, Grease. His personality that creates the onset of ingenious perfection based on the stereotypical group leader of the greasy looking gang draws the attention of the people who watches through out the whole film. This spectacular recreation of the 1970s couldn’t have been completed without the outstanding existence of Danny and his team of leather jackets. The story of the play goes as Danny finds himself in the border line of split personality, reserved for both social life and personal time with his forever love Sandy. He is the leader of the T-Birds with his best friends Kenickie, Doody, Putzie and Sonny. During over the summer, Danny found himself in love with a girl from New Zealand named Sandy. After both bid farewell to each other, with unknown fate, Danny and Sandy find themselves attending Rydell High. As they met each other the first time after months of speration, Danny, with his unusual behavior in front of her immediately switches because of his friends. This shows that Danny in the end respects more on reputation than true love. Soon, through out the play, because of his greaser character, taking both personality and disguising himself for whom he really not is conflicts both sides of the play. If I were ever to play the character Danny, then his past really does affect the style of the character in the act. First, the accent of Danny would be an American from the 1960s where a strong distinctive voice is spoken through out. His method of walking would be a strong, audacious, step-by-step march across the stage to impress every single lady in town, my hairstyle had to be shaped in a V with heavy amount of grease, and mostly feel arrogant and omnipotent. If I were to relate to the contemporary girls of the 21st century to me, I would first connect myself in the instincts to form a social group of my own. The vital aspects of creating a gang would be a essential part of becoming a popular star in side the community, and it influences on both male and female of the time. Other things I would want to relate is the sense of flamboyant fashion that follows the popular trend of the modern times to impress the opposite person. From my perspective, Danny is a perfect character himself. His act and the fashion that creates from the outermost character to the inside, is what makes all people attracted to the play. However the only thing that needs to be changed is the provocative attitude to change his character from his girl to his friends to retain his sense of charisma. Though I don’t blame him for this, however, to make one self a more considerable and admirable person, standing up for the girl would have been my first choice.
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