The synchronised slamming and opening of doors grates a little, as does the cast's tendency to shout lines as though that makes their scientific content (at least for us non-specialists in the audience) more comprehensible.

Mr. Brown, who is in his late 50's or early 60's by various accounts, has always made his stamina part of the show, shouting lines like "Jam till your body gets busted!"

The spot features 35 fashion models standing on separate balconies of an ornate hotel, shouting - in French - lines from a poem about egoism.

Its structure was rooted in the history of the slave plantation: slaves would "shout" lines from poems and stories great distances across fields in unison, creating a natural beat.

On six separate occasions, my fellow workers and I were to shout lines or cheer in unison.

An opening vignette in which the cast rapidly shouts lines from Beat writers to the accompaniment of bongos is a muddle; the actors speak so fast and loud it is impossible to understand what they are saying.

Mr. Marsalis's ringing tone on trumpet went through swirling, sometimes shouting lines, while his saxophonist, Todd Williams, plodded through stiff, dry patterns.

Actors also had to deal with an unseen partner when they shouted lines to the camera like "You've got the firepower - use it!"

The audience responded by singing, shouting lines along with and at the characters, waving lighters, and making a wave with their goody bags during a number called "Walk Through the Fire."

"My depressive state is getting worse, and I am constantly hearing voices, shouting and seeing lines," he wrote of that period.