Reflection on Poem Performances "I, Too"

I watched two performances of the poem "I, Too". In my opinion, "I, Too" is a really powerful poem. The speaker expressed such a powerful idea that people should be treated equally. The first performance was acted by Lauren, Connor, and Mia. The second performance was acted by Daylin, Loki, and Noah. Both two groups acted the same poem, but my feelings after watching these two performances are so different. Both two groups did really well and their performances were nearly perfect. 

The first group’s performance is really good in many ways. It showed me that Connor as the darker brother changed from shy and weak to confident and strong. In the beginning, Lauren and Mia did not want Connor to eat at the table, Connor just left with a sad facial expression. The second time, when Lauren and Mia trying to kick him out, he said “Nobody will say anything” really powerfully. The performance gave readers and audiences a better way to understand the poem since they gave us a really impressive visual experience. Compare to just the poem, performance definitely shows us the real situation and also made the audiences feel they actually in this situation. The best part of their performance is how Connor strongly put the chair next to the dining table. I think this part of their performance really makes the whole situation even more realistic than just say “Nobody will say anything”. I also like Lauren’s aggressive words and facial expressions in their performance. That shows how Connor was treated badly. There is one thing I think they should add to their performance, which is Connor really should say “I, too, am America” at the end of the performance. That could make the idea of the poem clear and straightforward. “I, too, am America” shows how the poet wants people treated equally no matter what they are. They had a really good performance, I really like it.

The second group’s performance is a lot different from the first group’s performance. They have Loki and Daylin acting on the stage, and Noah reading the poem. This made the whole storyline more clear and more straightforward. The way Daylin said nothing after Loki let him eat in the kitchen made an image of how he got treated badly normally and afraid to say anything. The second time when Loki let him eat in the kitchen, the contrast between Daylin’s facial expression this time and the first time is so different. The first time is shyer. The second time Daylin said “Yo, I, too, am America” made him a proud and strong feature. I also like how Loki dropped his thing on the floor, which made the idea of how he got shocked by Daylin’s change. The combination of their acting and Noah’s reading is just great for audiences to understand the idea of the poem. The best part of their performance is that Daylin said “I, too, am America” because this sentence is the most important part of the poem and also the most important idea of the poem.

All in all, I love both the two group’s performances. They both did a really good job. Their performances brought me into this poem and better understand this poem. I truly learned lots of things from this experience.