Today, in the year 2007, “Grease” still continues to entertain the audience. It has the same magic as it had three decades ago. No one could have predicted that the five-hour show, which was opened in Chicago in 1972, could break all records and continue to be shown for decades! However, when “Grease” was shown outside Chicago, it was reduced to two hours.

The noteworthy thing about “Grease” is that it started with amateur actors and a simple garage background. Later, when the movie “Grease” was made, it starred the much adored John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. What mattered was not the star cast, but the acting skills shown by the actors, the fine direction given by Jacobs and Casey, the amazing choreography given by Patricia Birch, the superb lighting and sound arrangement, and the fabulous costumes designed by the creative team of “Grease”.

The show was enough to rock Broadway and attract theatre fans like honey bees. People were eager to know the story of two rebellious teens who fall in love at high school. The two characters are opposite. One is flirtatious while the other is virtuous. When the two meet, the love story takes an unexpected turn.

The music of “Grease” is the biggest attraction. Even a person who does not want to call himself or herself a music buff will take notice. Some of the hit songs that have made the world go crazy are: ‘Greased Lightinin’, ‘Summer Nights’, ‘Could Do’, ‘Beauty School Dropout’, ‘You’re the One That I Want’, ‘Hopelessly Devoted to You’, ‘We Go Together’, and ‘Sandy’.

The good news for “Grease” fans is that a new revival of this show is in the making. The direction and choreography is provided by Kathleen Marshall. This new production promises to create frenzy among audience. If “Grease” has the magic, then the new “Grease” will have the seduction!

If you are a trendy individual who believes to keep pace with the changing world, then you won’t miss this Broadway musical that has won seven Tony Awards! “Grease” is unique. “Grease” is a love story. It has the music that you have always wanted to hear. “Grease” is a complete family entertainer.

Go alone or go with your family; bring your lover along, or a bunch of buddies; whatever, but do not miss this exceptional teen love story that harbors a rocking party. If you want to join the party, you will have to act fast and dial a number for booking the tickets. You can also log online.

A Master’s Masterpiece

Pygmalion was written by GB Shaw in 1913, and was adapted from the original Pygmalion that was written many years ago by Ovid. Shaw had already distinguished himself as a playwright par excellence. While some plays plodded on in heavy overtones about the social injustices of the times, others were nothing more than light-hearted pieces, with very little or no substance at all. Shaw managed to marry both concepts quite expertly in all his plays- Pygmalion in particular is indeed a stinging satire about class distinctions in England at that time. Nevertheless, it is done in such a light-hearted and witty way, Shaw neatly puts his point across, without being melodramatic or heavy-handed.

Today, fans are prepared to wait in line for a Pygmalion NY theatre show, because the play is still very popular. This has been another notable aspect of the play- while some works are simply enjoyed for what they are; Pygmalion has been adapted numerous times on the stage and in Hollywood to suit the changing times. In fact, the unforgettable movie Pretty Woman that catapulted Julia Roberts into superstardom is a modern take on Pygmalion. However, perhaps the most monumental production of the play is the Academy award winning My Fair Lady.

All I Want Is a Room Somewhere

My Fair Lady was already making waves, even before it went into production. If there is such a demand for the Pygmalion NY theatre show today, it’s because of the buzz that started back then when the play hit Broadway. Julie Andrews was a legendary success in the lead role on stage, but on film, it was Audrey Hepburn, who would beat out stalwarts like Elizabeth Taylor for the role. The play is perhaps best known for its songs, such as ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly’, ‘The Rain in Spain’ and ‘I Could Have Danced All Night’.

If the Pygmalion NY theatre shows were successful, My Fair Lady would prove to be phenomenal, veritably sweeping the Oscars with a stunning eight Academy award wins. The movie would go on to be ranked as one of the greatest American movies of all time and one of the best musicals. Pygmalion of course has done very well for itself too. Not only is it prescribed in curriculums right across the world, it regularly is revived on the stage, with many top-notch actors trying their hand at the immortal roles of Eliza and Henry Higgins. Needless to say, getting tickets for Pygmalion will mean waiting in line, but you can easily avoid all that. Contact an authorized online ticket vendor and you can buy your tickets for a Pygmalion NY theatre show from home.

All electronics, from computers to alarm clocks, are prohibitively expensive when the first come on the market, but they become more affordable as time goes on. Home theatre audio systems have been no different. What was once a luxury item that only people like Donald Trump could afford is now something that tens of thousands of Americans have in their homes. The market has been, and continues to be, flooded with new and cheaper audio systems, especially those of the HTiB, or Home Theatre in a Box, variety. But again, as with all electronics, you get what you pay for, and not all of these systems are created equal. When selecting a home theatre audio system, there are several factors that need to be balanced, including quality, price, and size.

If you’re in college, don’t have a lot of disposable income, but simply must have a home theatre audio system, chances are you’re going to end up with a budget-priced HTiB. These systems, which usually feature small satellite speakers and subwoofers, have an inclination toward spotty sound quality and lack sheer oomph. To quote Napster in The Italian Job, a budget-priced HTiB will never be “loud enough to blow women’s clothes off.” But while Napster might disapprove, such systems have their upsides. They are, as mentioned, affordable for the average individual, and they also tend to have the advantages of being compact and comparatively easy to assemble.

Or perhaps you own a downtown loft in a high rise somewhere and you want a theatre audio system that coordinates with such an ambiance. Some HTiB manufactures offer systems that feature style and are overtly sleek in appearance. A home theatre audio system that goes this route will often have very petite satellite speakers, or perhaps “tallboys,” which are very slender but as much as sixty inches tall. The advantage of a style-centric HTiB, in addition to its elegant appearance, will probably include lots of features and simplicity of set up. The disadvantages? Such a system will probably have limited bass output and limited connectivity options.

Some manufactures are now offering component packages, which are built around separate components. These systems, while forfeiting the traditional HTiB advantage of compactness, usually have the benefits of solid build quality and variety of features. However, as mentioned, such a home theatre audio system will probably be fairly large and clunky, which won’t work if you need to fit it into your studio apartment.

Finally, if you want to go cutting-edge, there are wireless HTiB systems that utilize the very latest in audio technology. These are great if you can afford them, since they save space while maintaining high quality. But as mentioned, they can be extremely expensive and in some cases, you’re better off buying separate components.

Copyright (c) 2008 Steven Magill

Before you embark on purchasing the home theatre equipment you will need for your home theatre, it’s vital that you set yourself a budget within which to work. There are many different items that comprise a home theatre set up, so it’s important to make sure that you have not only enough to cover their actual cost, but their installation as well.

Once you have decided upon your budget, you must go about choosing each individual item of home theatre equipment that you will need. Most people start with the television. The two main contenders currently available on the market are LCD displays, which work much better in lighter environments, and plasma screens, which are the better choice if colour quality is your primary concern.

All too often, people fall under the impression that bigger is better, however the reality is, that unless the space between your TV and where you are sitting is at least four metres, you should choose a television that is under 40 inches in diameter. In fact, far more important is to ensure your television is Hi-Definition (HD) ready.

The next item on your home theatre equipment agenda is a DVD player. Although there are many cheap versions available, it pays to go for one that is better quality from a brand name with a good reputation. Make sure your DVD player is a multi-region one and that it plays your MP3s, CDs, karaoke CDs, MPEG, and AVI footage, not just restricted zone-specific DVDs.

Usually, home theatre equipment includes a number of speakers to provide surround sound, not just stereo sound. The placement of these can be at the front and back of the room in a bracketed system, or from above, in a floating system mounted within a false ceiling. That said, many large plasma screens today come with a pseudo-surround system built in, some of which are surprisingly good.

If you have several speakers, naturally, you will also need an amplifier, with wattage compliant with the size of your room, amount of speakers, and decibel level requirements. However, a word of warning: don’t bother buying one if it’s not Dolby Surround Sound as the quality will be very poor and not worthy of the price you have paid.

Should you wish to include a satellite system within your home theatre set up, then you will need to buy a satellite dish, receiver, and decoder, all of which have to be connected to your home theatre equipment using cables, ideally of a better quality such as gold or silver, rather than the traditional copper. Alternatively, a thicker copper cable would be equally as effective, and last longer than standard ones.

Finally, although not imperative, there is one item which is a nice touch to your home theatre set up and that’s a “bass shaker”. This little device attaches to the base of the chair and vibrates with the bass tones to mimic a cinema feel, very effectively. They add a nice touch and are an extremely well-priced item amongst the many on your home theatre equipment list.

The home theatre. The pinnacle of modern domestic achievement. When our ancestors flocked to the initial cinemas to gaze up in awe at the “picture shows,” little did they guess that their descendents would one day snub such locations in favor of mammoth flat screen TVs and the latest in home theatre audio equipment. Because after all, why go out for dinner and a movie when you can stay in?

The home theatre system is the latest stage in America’s ongoing romance with the television. What began as a simple black and white box has evolved into full-scale, no-holds-barred, virtual movie theatre that dominates at least one room in the average American home. And what is a movie theatre without sound? And not just any sound, but in-your-face sound that blows you out of your chair and makes you feel like you’re actually in the building that just collapsed (or the space ship that just took off, or the semi that just jackknifed…). Yes, sound is the key to the home theatre experience, and when it comes to choosing an audio system to grace your den or family room, there is no shortage of options.

An integrated home theatre audio system is often referred to as “home theatre in a box,” or HTiB. A basic system might include a 2.1 speaker system with left and right speakers and a small, 8-inch subwoofer. The most inexpensive such system will be no more than a few hundred dollars. A step up from the basic, costing several thousand dollars, might include a several-thousand-watt home theatre receiver with five to seven surround sound speakers and a powered, twelve-inch subwoofer. Finally, for those truly dedicated to their DVD collections, it is possible to build an entire room specifically designed for watching movies. Such rooms, which can cost in excess of $100,000, will often boast sophisticated acoustical design elements and will doubtless include audiophile-grade sound equipment. An audiophile, for those unfamiliar with the term, is a person who is enthusiastic about and uses high-fidelity sound reproduction equipment.

Not surprisingly, it is impossible to separate the visual from the audible when it comes to home theatre. The different levels of HTiB mentioned above are all associated with televisions of varying degrees of quality. Whereas the most basic system will probably use a standard CRT television, a mid-range setup might utilize a high-definition television and a matching video format. As for the specialized theatre rooms, well, they often include actual cinema mini-screens complete with projection booths.

To say that there are lots of different HTiB manufactures out there is undoubtedly an understatement. Samsung, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, Bose…all offer a variety of options when it comes to home theatre audio. Not all brands are created equal, of course, and certain labels have better reputations than others. It is therefore advisable to do a reasonable amount of research before purchasing a home theatre system. Factors that should be taken into account include not only desired quality and budget, but the space within which one has to work. It would be unfortunate, for example, to spend $5,000 on a top-of-the-line system only to discover that there is no place in your den for a twelve-inch subwoofer.

With the main purpose of serving the Durham community by presenting films and live performance programming, Carolina Theatre of Durham is recognized as one of the best places to see movies in Durham and Chapel Hill area. It is the theatre that hosts most film festivals that come to the city such as the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Retrofantasma film series, the Escapism Film Festival, and the Nevermore film festival. Apart from the films the theatre has a wonderful surrounding that is further complementing.

With more space and comfortable seating this theatre is well frequented by local and foreign movie and theatre lovers. The theatre is run under the stewardship of a nonprofit organization named The Carolina Theatre of Durham Incorporated. An architectural firm named Milburn & Heister engaged in designing of the museum in the Beaux-Arts style.

Though dating back to 1926, the theatre began showing its movies in 1930.This complex has two cinema screens which can host 276 and 76 seats, while the main hall named as Fletcher Hall can facilitate seating arrangement for 1014. This theatre also offers facilities for receptions which can be held at the Kirby Lobby located in front of the Fletcher Hall, the Upper Balcony Lobby and the Connie Moses Ballroom. The Carolina Theatre’s offerings will certainly unlock your imagination and celebrate the rich cultural diversity in Durham region through cinematic and performing arts.

A holiday in Durham will not be completed without a visit to Carolina Theatre. In your trip to this city find Durham accommodation in a Durham Hotel. One such recommended hotel would be Millennium Hotel, which is located in Durham, North Carolina.

Setting aside an entire room to devote to nothing more than watching television or movies can seem frivolous, but for those who really love entertainment this can be one of the most exciting rooms in a house to set up. Carefully chosen equipment, themes and even movies can combine to make a family’s theatre room the most trafficked place in a house, but if the home theatre furniture doesn’t fit the bill, the opposite might happen.

Choosing home theatre furniture is a very big deal and a proceeding that should be handled with care. The fact is furniture for a home theatre can be very expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. There are a few key considerations that should come into play before any furniture is purchased. These include:

Money: Putting together a great home theatre can be a costly venture. By the time the screen and projector and sound system are purchased, there might be very little left for buying home theatre furniture. While it’s more than acceptable to phase in purchases over time, breaking a budget is not. When planning for this room’s creation, try to put furniture into the mix. Set a solid budget for buys and make sure the other considerations are met to make a room truly spectacular. If money’s tight, use the furniture you have and add on later.

Space: While many people might want to have three rows of specially designed movie theatre seating in their home theatre, this might not be feasible. Take a good look at space before making any purchases. One of the top concerns for furniture is placement not only for viewing, but also listening pleasure. If furniture is too big and bulky for a small room, the actual enjoyment of movies might be compromised.

Style: There are all kinds of options when it comes to style of furniture for home theatres. From basic living room sets to special theatre recliners, there’s no real rule of the road to follow here. Pick a theme and have fun with it. If the furniture needs to be purchased later, have the theme in mind and build up around it as money allows.

Comfort: Don’t discount this as an important factor. Even if an old sofa is used to provide the seating at the start, it should be comfortable to make all night movie marathons more enjoyable.

Functionality: This is perhaps the biggest concern in home theatre furniture. From the tables and chairs down to the storage cabinets, the furniture within a theatre should support the room’s overall function. Remember, there will likely be eating and drinking going on in the room, so plenty of drink holders or flat surfaces are absolutely in order. A good place to store equipment and even video library items will also likely be necessary. The functionality is often found in the design of specifically made home theatre furniture items, but it can also be created in a makeshift set up, too.

It doesn’t matter if a home theatre furniture ensembles matches from the start, or if it’s put together piecemeal. What does matter, however, is that furniture is comfortable and functional. The looks can come later if necessary, but don’t compromise on functionality.

Pantages Theatre is a famous venue built in the city of Los Angeles, America. This city of America is also known as the entertainment capital of the world.

A city which is known for many activities going around, here it focuses on a lot of entertainment events. Pantages Theatre is a venue wherein one can come and watch a plethora of dramas and plays.

The Pantages Theatre was built in the 1990″s. The Pantages Theatre has to its credit of showing some very interesting plays having great storylines and performances par excellence.

The Pantages Theatre is also present in other cities of the America to keep the spirit of live entertainment alive in the eyes of the people. It is not just plays that are shown in the theatre but there is other entertainment that surrounds the Pantages Theatre.

For instance, the theatre acts as home for the melodious music played and as a concert venue for people who love listening to music. Although office meetings and work occupation makes it difficult for professionals to take time out for fun activities.

And same is the case with children who tend to enjoy their holidays by trying something different which they have never done earlier, well for them the Pantages Theatre acts as a blessing in disguise making their weekends very enjoyable.

The Pantages Theatre works as a real break through for them. In a stressful environment where there is always a hustle bustle seen just about every where and people who intend to wind up their tasks before they could even think of having some time off from their hectic routine and same goes for the youngsters studying in the educational institutes of any level.

In the fast track global changes where everything demands to be completed in a swish and where the people think of having a magic wand in their hands that could take them far away from the worries of life with just a swift move and take some time out of their monotonous and hectic routine life to entre a place where they would get a dream come true sort of environment and refresh themselves.

All the worries and problems that they come across daily refreshing themselves for some time however, eventually going back to the reality where stress awaits them rather they face the stresses with great new ways.

Where they could close their eyes and sit in a cozy serene environment with melodious music entering their ears and getting a soothing effect and relaxation which seemed to have been lost somewhere under the piles of problems of the daily lives and it is the Pantages theatre that acts as a rescuer and believes that one should adapt to the social changes.

A Hollywood landmark, Pantages Theater signifies both the glorious past and adventuresome future of the world’s entertainment capital. Situated in the heart of Hollywood, on Hollywood Boulevard, this glittering theater has served as a movie palace, music hall and all-around venue for big-budget productions since its opening in 1930. The Pantages’ history is as grand and diverse as its stage and screen fare. Founder Alexander Pantages originally stacked the bill with MGM flicks and vaudeville acts, while center stage gave a way to live theater. The Pantages has also been the site of many gala premieres and spectaculars.

The Pantages Theater was one of the first movie houses built after the advent of talking pictures in 1930. It was designed for maximum audience comfort, with over 40% of the interior space devoted to public areas, lobbies, lounges and restrooms. The opening night audience was more impressed by the interior of the theatre. The Pantages also gained attention for boasting the most elaborate sound equipment anywhere in the world. In 1959, Universal Pictures booked Spartacus into the Pantages as a long-run, sure-fire attraction. To run the event, the house had to scale own its capacity to 1,512 seats. This reduction in seating capacity forced the Oscars to relocate, but there were still star-studded evenings at the Pantages.

The Pantages Theater was a home to the glittering Academy Awards Presentations from 1949 to 1959, and in 1967 it was sold to Pacific Theatres. Pacific briefly closed the house down for refurbishing. After undergoing a major restoration, the Pantages reopened, refreshed, again taking its place as one of the finest movie houses on the west coast. It continued as such for nearly a decade till 1977, when the silver screen went dark. Once again work was begun on the Pantages’ latest and greatest incarnation in preparation for the L.A. run of ‘The Lion King’. The production brought back the magnificent art deco gleam to the facility that had been covered by years of tarnish and deterioration.

Today, the Pantages Theatre is one of Los Angeles’ leading homes of legitimate theatre and a favorite location for TV shows, movies and music videos. Restored to its original conditions, the Pantages offers a variety of performances. It has also hosted rock concerts, for bands including Dream Theater, and Foo Fighters to name a few. Shakira graced the staged in 1997, while in 2006 Mexican pop-group RBD recorded their CD/DVD ‘Live in Hollywood’ at the Pantages. The Pentages Theater is now operated by an arm of the Nederlander Organization.

The Pantages Theatre has recently presented large scale production musicals such as Disney’s The Lion King, which ran at the theatre for over two years. It is currently playing host to the Los Angeles production of the Broadway musical Wicked. So, get your tickets and see the season’s most exciting event in the intimate setting of Pantages Theater. Nearby the place, you’ll find bars, tatoo shops and t-shirt shops. There are several excellent restaurants within walking distance that you might like to try out!
For more information about Pantages Theatre tickets visit:
http://www.ticketluck.com/venues/Pantages-Theatre-ca/index.php

SURVEILLANCE AND STERILISATION OF OPERATIon THEATRES

In the Developing World

Dr.T.V.Rao MD – Dr.Chithra.VN MD

In spite of brief stay of patients in the operation theatre (in majority of circumstances), the environment of operation theatre plays a great role in the onset and spread of infection because of a multifactor causation of infection. It is usually necessary to study the epidemiology of infection as a multidisciplinary approach. In resource poor circumstances as in most developing countries, work in isolation and few facilities to make any epidemiological surveys Many believe that routine Microbiological monitoring is most essential but in reality it is not practicable. But every hospital should pay good attention in proper maintenance of air conditioning plants, ventilator systems, and to have greater control on mechanisms and personnel involved in disinfection and sterilization of materials used in the theatres in operative procedures.

Operation theatres should be built with implementation of good civil Engineering standards.

OPERATION THEATRE – DISCIPLINE

1. Only people absolutely needed for an assigned work should be present.

2. People present in theatre should make minimal movements and curtail unnecessary movements in and out of theatres, which will greatly reduce bacterial count.

3. Air borne contamination is usually affected by type of surgery, quality of air which in fact depends on rate of air exchange.

All the persons including the least cadre of employers are partners in infection control and should be aware to comply with infection control regulations

4 Prompt disposal of Theatre waste out of the theatre is of top priority. Any spillage of Body fluids including Blood on the floors is highly hazardous and prompts the rapid multiplication of Nosocomial pathogens in particular Pseudomonas spp

SURVEILLANCE OF OPERATION THEATRE

Role of Microbiological Surveillance

The environments in the operation theatre are dynamic and subject to continuous change. Good infrastructures do not mean a safe environment as human make a greater difference in making the environment unsafe.

Microbiologists should be aware of organisms, sites and populations as surveillance cultures should be chosen carefully to allow meaningful interpretation of results.

Microbiologists should be familiar with the clinical techniques as those normally used for culturing clinical specimens may not yield correct result when applied to environmental specimens.

Sites and cultured reports should not be chosen as etiological sources in the present infections. Culturing unnecessary surface areas causes confusion and meaningful interpretation is lost.

AIR IS THE IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INFECTION

Bacterial counts in operation theatres are influenced by the number of individuals present, ventilation and air flow, the results should be interpreted taking the above facts into consideration.

Surveillance for Air borne Pathogens:

In resource poor Hospitals settle plates with blood agar are used and can detect pathogens, commensals and saprophytic bacteria. Multiple plates are kept and results are based on overall assessment rather than on a single plate study in the room. Microbiologists will clarify the acceptable counts at the different physical locations in multispeciality hospitals.

There is a sea change in analysis of bacterial counts in recent past with advances in medical technologies like Joint replacement surgeries dealing with critical patients. Slit sampler and Air centrifuge equipment for bacterial counts are replacing settle plates, the safe level of colony counts can be calculated as per the standards created with peer reviewed studies by the manufacturers.

How frequently we can do the Surveillance for Air borne Microbes.

Yet there is no definite answer to this question

Doing too frequent surveys are expensive and will not correlate the existing infection rate in the Hospital.

But can indicate the circumstance we operate which can have bearing effect if the safety standards fall

Surveillance for Clostridia spores

The age old tradition of detection of anaerobic spores of C.tetani, and Gas gangrene producing organisms are losing ground with onset of more awareness on theatre sterilization. Routine testing for the Anaerobes is not essential except when there were suspected cases of Tetanus or Gas gangrene attributed to operating in a particular Operation theatre.

But it is ideal to survey the Operation theatres for anaerobes when newly constructed or any remodeling or structural alterations are done. In such situations which will have trust worthy safety of the theatre.

STERILISATION AND DISINFECTION OF OPERATION THEATRES AND CRITICAL CARE AREAS

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. Keep the floor dry when in use.

2. Use only vacuum cleaners (booming to be forbidden as it will dispense the infected material all around and on the equipments.

3. Chemical disinfection of an operation room floor is probably unnecessary. The bacteria carrying particles already on the floor are unlikely to reach an open wound in sufficient numbers to cause an infection

(Ayliffe et al 1967. Hombroeus et al 1978)

Cleaning alone followed by drying will considerably reduce bacterial population.

4. Wall and Ceilings- Wall and ceiling are rarely contaminated. The numbers of bacteria do not appear to increase even if walls are not cleaned. Frequent cleaning is not necessary and has little influence on bacterial counts. Routine disinfection is therefore unnecessary, but only cleaned when dirty.

ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANING OF OPERATION THEATRES

At the Beginning of the Day

1. Only remove the dust with cloth wetted with clean water. ( Mop theatre furniture lamps, sitting tables, trolley tops, operation tables, procedure tables, Boyle’s apparatus)

Note: Need not use chemicals/disinfectants unless contaminated with blood or body fluids

Between the procedures

Clean operation tables or contaminated surfaces with disinfectant solutions.

1. In case of spillages of blood/ body fluids decontaminate with bleaching solution/ chlorine solution (10% available chlorine)

2. All discard waste in plastic bags (do not accumulate around surgical sites)

3. Do not discard soiled linen and gowns in the operation theatre floor.

At the end of the day

1. Clean all the table tops, sinks, door handles with detergent followed by low level disinfectant.

2. Clean the floors with detergents mixed with warm water.

3. Finally mop with disinfectant like phenol in the concentration of 1 in 10 (low concentrations of phenol will not serve the purpose).

4. Keep the operation theatre dry for the next day’s work

Fumigation

1. Seal the room with adhesive tapes round the edges of the doors/windows and ventilators and apertures.

2 For Each 1000 cu.ft of space place 500ml formaldehyde (40% solution) and 1000ml of water in an electric boiler. Switch on the boiler, leave the room and seal the door.

3. Seal the room for 24 hrs

4. Then open the door and neutralize any residual formaldehyde with ammonia by exposing 250ml of S.G 880 ammonia/ 1Lt of formaldehyde used. (Ref – Mackie and McCartney Practical Medical Microbiology 13th Edition)

5. Fumigation is obsolete in many developed nations in view of toxic nature of Formalin. Too frequent use and inhalation is hazardous

6 Several new safe chemicals are emerging but constrains of economy limit the use and several hours of closure of operation theatres can be curtailed with Fumigation.

THE FOLLOWING PRECAUTIONS HAVE GREATLY REDUCED THE RATES OF INFECTION

1. Every Hospital must constitute Infection control committee to monitor the events in the Hospital, on all matters related to control of Infections.

2. The entry of unnecessary personnel to be restricted into operation theatres as every one contributes to Infection.

3. A thorough washing with warm water and good detergent and carbolisation can bring overall improvement than mere fumigation.

4. Frequent monitoring and training of medical and paramedical staff must carry high priority than mere mechanical and chemical methods.

5. Thorough washing and carbolisation if done everyday after the surgeries will greatly enhance the safety standards and economize the repeated expenditure on fumigation.

TRAINING OF PARAMEDICAL STAFF/ RESIDENTS

1. The short solution to control infection lies with trained staff.

2. The principal and control of infection to all new comers and junior staff should be a goal of any good Institution.

3. Formulate guidelines update as per the changing situation in control the infection.

4. Institute should formulate ideas on infection control to the need of circumstances, as there are no fixed guidelines or formulae to control to suit all occasional.

5. Simple repeated hygienic hand wash is most cost effective method to reduce several infections in Hospitals, in particular operation theatres

Note

The knowledge on Maintenance, Sterilization and control of Infections in Operation theatres a rapidly evolving Science

Wish to know more about Operation theatre Maintenance for control of Infection Read through

Principles, And Practice of Disinfection, Preservation and Sterilization by A.D.Russel, W.B.Hugo & G.A.J Ayliffe.

All Institutes wish to develop to improve hygiene and sterilization standards, and start critical surgeries doing Cardiothoracic, Organ replacement and prosthetic surgeries should subscribe to the internationally accredited Journal

“The Operating Theatre journal” published from U K.

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I’d like to begin by differentiating postmodern theatre from its preceding periodizing categorization, the ‘classical’ and the ‘modern’ drama. Classical drama is characterized by the value placed in the plot and its adherence to Aristotle’s laws of dramatic unities. In the nineteenth century we also observed how Hegelian philosophy filtered into modern drama with the movement of ‘man’/character at the forefront of dramaturgy in the character dramas of Ibsen, Strindberg and Chekov. We also see how Aristotle’s mimesis is taken to the heights in the period of naturalism as influenced by the Darwinian science in the stagings of modern theatre. Raymond Williams observes the perfection of tragedy in modern drama where the alienated predicament of the human being in a highly industrialized world is highlighted. He sees Beckett’s tragicomedies representing the reduction and degradation of the human beings in a new absurdist dramatic structure.

To Elinor Fuchs, it is in the postmodern theatre that we witness the “death of the character” and the eradication of the plot. In this statement we are reminded of Barthes’ announcement of the “death of the author”, Foucault stating the “death of man” and Lyotard hailing the dissolution of metanarratives. As rigid categorization and structures of modernism collapse, eclecticism now characterizes postmodernism. But unlike Jameson’s notion of pastiche and extreme consumerism of multi-national capitalism, critical postmodern theatre derives its theory from the post-structuralists’ insight on semiotics. De Saussure laid bare the very construction of the human language exposing its structure of signs and codes. Taking off from this, Derrida’s analysis of the subjectivity of man’s meaning-making has furthered the invalidation of metanarratives. Now as the validity of the sign-signified and code-meaning constructs of languages are put into question, postmodernists are forced to investigate the language construction itself. Ultimately, we come to realize that meaning and signification is subjective and should be contextualized. With this, categorizing boundaries set by modernism collapse as well.

How do all these reflect in postmodern theatre?

Raymond Williams notion of the theatre convention explains this. Conventions in theatre according to Raymond Williams are methods such as figurative speech, stage blocking, songs or dance through which specific dramatic objectives are achieved. He pointed out how conventions in the theatre whether, performative techniques or literary devices, are characterized by its acceptability by the audience and its relations to the specific given standards. With this, he stressed the fact how dramatic conventions are maintained as “terms upon which author, performers and audience agree to meet, so that the performance may be carried on.” Nicole Boireau expounded on the concept of dramatic conventions through the Hamletesque metaphor of the ‘Mousetrap’. From this, he claims that the truth can be accessed through the world of illusion; that it is only through theatricality that truth can be revealed. Theatre expresses reality through the use of artificial conventions. He explained that only through the reflective nature of drama and the dramatic conventions that truths presented in drama are validated . It is then through the same dramatic and theatrical conventions set as the medium in expressing truths, that the expressed truths can be validated. It is through the limitations and self-confined means of definition can the expressed truths substantiate.

Williams and Boireau’s explanation is a profound manifestation of structuralist and post-structuralist concept of laying bare language and systems of signs and codes. Although rooted in the Classical and Modern Theatre tradition, this is a postmodern realization of what Linda Hutcheon calls the self-reflexive nature of postmodern theatre.

With the dissolution of a ‘universal’ language, postmodern theatre is but provoked to look into historical and cultural contexts for a language to articulate itself. The same characteristic is seen in other art forms. Postmodern choreographers made dances about dance, inquiring on the very core of movement vocabularies that gave birth to choreographical works on walking, skipping, etc. This is also true in the experimentations on the various dance styles seen in Twyla Tharp’s combinations of jazz, ballet and ballroom. In the Philippines, this is seen in Agnes Locsin’s and Alice Reyes’ fusion of jazz and ballet and Philippine folk and ethnic movements. Postmodern architects see the history of architectural design as a diverse source of signs to be combined and recombined, thus Greek columns, Art Deco ornamentation and Modern Industrial materials are eclectically put together in a single building.

Postmodern theatre sees the various cultural and historical traditions as a vast source of signs. Kaye describes how postmodernism sees history as a store of signs available for postmodern theatre practice. In a recent production of Hamlet in Singapore, Hamlet was shown as a Noh actor Ophelia as a Balinese dancer. Or in the recent staging of Dulaang Habi’s musical Sa Kaharian ng Araw, audiences are taken into an seemingly incoherent worlds of a cabaret/rock concert, a Peking opera stage, and an extremely expressionistic theatrical world. The music is a mixture of Broadway influenced pop and rock songs, and fusion of classical and traditional Filipino ethnic and folk music. In the postmodern theatre, representations in acting style, costumes, production design, music and other elements are taken from different contexts.

With the collapse of the modernist boundaries, postmodern theatre takes on pluralism and multiplicity in style, approach and over-all process. This has been reflected in various approaches to production. Another important postmodern theatre practice is the use of inter-text, or what Jameson calls a culture of quotations, where various texts could be used to comment on each other. Such is in a production of Romeo and Juliet, where the play ends with the closing monologue by Puck from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In Nick Pichay’s musical version of the Oyayi ng Ulan, the character Dugong complained about the accumulating garbage in the ocean. He remarked that the worst kind of garbage is the postmodern poetry of new poets- which of course includes Pichay himself.

With the similar collapse of the modernist notion of Aristotle’s linearity and the Hegelian logic of cause and effect, postmodern theatre is characterized by multi-dimensionality and simultaneity. A simplified example of this is Maria Irene Fornes’s Fefu and Her Friends where the audiences are divided into groups to see different scenes of the play happening in various places. Or in the seashore scene of the 2002 staging of Sa Kaharian ng Araw, past and present converge with the appearance of Paolo’s deceased parents in the same stage where Paolo lovingly recalls them. On the same space in the stage an actor fishes on one side, while another plays with a rain stick, while other actors waiting for their cue sit attentively on chairs onstage. Here, multi-dimensionality and simultaneity is not just seen in how the plot is (dis)arranged. Even the actors playing the characters go through different dimensions of performance and representation in the same time and space. The actor although dressed up for the character he is to portray sits on a chair on the side waiting for his cue, substantiate both as the actor and as the character. The person exist as both the actor and character simultaneously but in different dimensions – where at one point, while he waits for his cue he essentially is not part of the play but simultaneously, physically and intentionally, he is physically there.

As Fuchs sees the diminution of character and plot in postmodern theatre, she sees the other theatrical elements taking on equal importance with these elements. She sees that “each signifying element – lights, visual design, music, etc., as well as plot and character elements – stand to some degree as independent actor.” She pointed out that the Aristotelian elements survived but their classical and modern structural hierarchies ceased to operate. This attitude in theatre production takes its roots from the Brechtian Epic Theatre. Brecht earlier on said: “Today we see the theatre being given absolute priority over actual plays. The theatre apparatus’s priority is a priority of means of production… The Theatre can stage anything; it theatres it all” (Raymond Williams, p.280).

And as postmodern theatre see the “death of the author” (the playwright), the director now takes the central role as the theorist responsible for creating the language of a production.

Postmodern theatre is also differentiated from the modern theatre with its mode-of-production. The Industrial Revolution and the idea of mass-production and the division-of-labor affected music and theatre production. The symphony orchestra and the opera are megalomaniac inventions of modernism. The eighteenth century symphony captured the massive sound of modernism. Here music is produced by a big group of musicians who are divided into sections. The opera is an even bigger modernist creation. Such massive theatre production requires a complex web of ‘workers’/artists who work as a big company that include an orchestra, singers, dancers, clothes-makers, carpenters, etc. Even the art-products are now produced for mass consumption. While music used to be performed in courts and chambers, the symphony and the opera are staged in large opera houses that sit thousands.

This new paradigm in theatre production calls for a different attitude from the audience as well. In postmodern theatre, Aristotle’s notion of catharsis comes to extreme obscurity in postmodern theatre. Aesthetic experience becomes completely dependent upon the meaning making process. The aesthetic experience that transpires in the postmodern process is closer to Kant’s sublime. Unlike Aristotle’s cathartic drama that succumbs its audience to empathizing attitude towards the mimetic illusion of classical and modern drama, Kant states that distance is necessary in achieving aesthetic pleasure. Brecht in turn, proposes ‘complex seeing’ in theatre: “Complex seeing must be practiced… . Thinking above the flow of the play is more important than thinking from within the flow of the play” (Ibid., p281).

In as much as postmodern theatre is required to go through a dialogic process of taking theory into practice and back to theory for it to be able to express itself, postmodern audience then is also called to go through this process of meaning-making. Here, postmodern theatre forces its audience to always take on a critical stance in watching. Language-creation and meaning-making in postmodern theatre is never a simple one-on-one correspondence mode of cognition. With a wary stance towards subjectivity of language, postmodern productions then are manifested with recurring disruptions in its audience’s cognitive process. John Orr sees this as intentional dis-recognition/mis-recognition and he notes that these are often used as dramatic-shock effects. The audience is provoked to figure out what is ‘menacing’ and ’strange” in familiar objects onstage and they are prodded to “translate back the strangeness, as a performed disguise of the metonymic, into something they truly recognize, knowing there is no complete translation” (John Orr, p.32) .

In the elusive nature of postmodernism as a theory, DiGaetani sees the importance of having a terminology that can serve as a handle. He noted that “it is wonderful to have a term like postmodernism to describe the art” (John DiGaetani, p. xv). To Fuchs, the theatre has indeed what we can call now postmodern and she asserts that the sooner we grasp its methods we are “immediately at a better vantage point from which to view what used to be called ‘avant-garde’ theatre” (Elinor Fuchs, p.171).

Works Cited:

Boireau, Nicole. Drama in Drama. Macmillan Press: London, c.1997. John DiGaetani. The Search for Postmodernism: Interviews with Contemporary Playwrights. Greenwood Press: New York, 1991. Elinor Fuchs . Death of the Character. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, c.1996 John Orr. Tragicomedy and Contemporary Culture. Hong Kong: Macmillan Academic and Professional, Ltd., 1991 Raymond Williams. Drama from Ibsen to Brecht. Oxford University Press: New York, 1969 c. 1968.