Ruined

When we started our mock production of Ruined, my group actually decided not to split the duties of the different designers that would normally assemble to create a work of theatre. Instead, we discussed every aspect of the performance as a creative team. This was quite difficult because we all had slightly different ideas of how to best portray Lynn Nottage's work. Our most heated discussion was regarding the venue of the play. We settled on the Daytona Playhouse as a compromise, but I myself might have set this outdoors somewhere. There is no better natural light than...well...natural light. In the end we got everything sorted out by the time of the presentation, and here is a little more of an in-depth look at what we came up with for this production:

Venue and Scene Design

We decided on the Daytona Playhouse as our venue for staging Ruined. This was a perfect venue because it is small enough to give us the intimate feel that the play would benefit from, but there is also plenty of wing-space for us to store the movable platforms required by our scene design.



As far as scene design is concerned, we really wanted to bring the vibrant feel of Mama Nadi's bar to life. Obviously I can not post the renderings that Lindsey drew, but these photos were our inspiration for the themes in our scenes. This one in particular shows a lot of shrubbery. This would be prevalent in the area around Mama's bar, so we would incorporate this around the porch area that we would build on a movable platform. This brings me back to why the Daytona Playhouse would be an excellent choice of venue. We would require their extensive wing-space in order to house two huge movable flats - one for the bar; the other for the girl's room - that we would push out in front of the bar and light when those scenes came.


This is another picture we used as inspiration. There is something about the outside of this building that we all felt had a nice feel to it for the bar's porch.




Costumes

We liked this as a possible costume choice because it looks like a traditional pattern with a more modern cut. People in my group said that they could draw some creative inspiration from this, but it wasn't personally my favorite. I did think it was interesting because of the traditional feel, but if I were to dress this play I would most likely use the colorful dresses from these next photos.




This is more along the lines of what I would want to dress the actresses in. I would probably not use the dress on the far right, but the black one on the left has some beautiful design elements, and the brown and white dress in the middle is my favorite. I would take that one right off the dummy and put it on Salima or Sophie. I think it might look a little too classy for Josephine. It has a very modern feel and is a very sexy dress, and it also feels very African because of the print.






This picture doesn't even really feel like it fits in with the others because of how crazy it looks, but the bottom of this outfit is colorful and fun, and we thought we might be able to use some of those colors. A few times in the book it specifically mentions Mama giving the girls colorful dresses to wear, so we thought we could probably borrow some color ideas from this picture, even thought the outfit itself is probably not usable as is.




Lighting

The lighting design for Ruined is something we wanted to keep very simple. We ended up designing the scenery to be very colorful, because we think that is the way Mama Nadi would have had it. Because of this colorful scenery, too many different lighting schemes would over-complicate the technical aspect of the performance and take away from the experience that we believe Lynn Nottage was trying to create. Natural lighting is what we came up with to best compliment the performance. Aside from one on-stage lamp, everything would be lit with dim white/yellow to mimic sunlight, as shown here:

I like this picture because it almost looks like there is just sunlight pouring in from a skylight or a big, open window. This is the look I would want for most of the show. Our group also decided that red light would be appropriate during Act II Scene VI, due to the swelling of the play's action. I lost the picture of red light since the presentation, but we know what red light looks like.

I did like the idea that someone presented that involved having a spotlight on Mama Nadi and Christian in the very last scene, when they are dancing. I would probably incorporate this into my group's production of the play.









Sound

As far as sound is concerned I think that every group in class had the same basic ideas. Obviously we are going to keep the songs from the original play in tact, and other than that there is only the sound effects that the play requires, and possibly some other authentic African underscores during key scenes in the play. The best clip I have found to demonstrate the sound that the play requires and the types of sounds that we would have to look for is the one that our group and another group presented in class. It is a song from the play that is set to a preview.

Romeo & Juliet

The performance of Romeo & Juliet at the J. M. Goddard Center was very interesting. I liked the choice of a small and intimate setting for this play. It really gave a feeling like we were involved in the lives of the players. This is important to any performance of Romeo and Juliet, because the play, like much of Shakespeare, is a bit long-winded in nature. It feels this way because of how the language differs from modern-day language. During the scenes when there is not battle going on the audience can easily turn against you, unless they have already invested in the characters. The intimate setting helps this.

There are a few costume issues that were addressed during the discussion in class, mostly referring to the players' shoes. I was not a big fan of any of the costume choices just because with a play like this I always prefer a more modern take. The choice was obviously made to be as genuine as possible (with the allotted budget). While it would not have been my choice, I can appreciate the director's intent.

If I was to honestly critique the character development and believability of the actors, I would have a few notes for Juliet. I am not trying to single this particular actress out. Shakespeare is incredibly hard to play, and I respect all of the actors that attempt it. It just seemed to me that she was not a very believable Juliet. It all seemed very over-acted and cheesy. Also her accent went in and out. I was in no way involved in this production, so I don't know what the rehearsal schedule was like. However, if I was the director I probably would have worked with her a little more closely before the show opened.

The set was a good choice. The simple balcony and staircase backing, with just an open area in front gave the space a good amount of functionality. The set was able to change into the different place that the play requires, without a lot of hassle.

I didn't notice any lighting or sound flaws. Everything seemed pretty well ironed-out from the technical aspect.

"All in the Timing"

I really enjoyed going to see All in the Timing. From the moment I walked I could tell it was going to be an interesting play. There were clocks everywhere, some projected on the floor and others lining the walls of the auditorium. The energy of the crowd wasn't very high at the beginning, but then again I did go to the Wednesday performance. Once things started, though, the audience was responsive. After it was over I found myself discussing my favorite scenes with the group that I went with, almost as if we had just seen a movie on its opening weekend.

Although discussing the event later with my friends reminded me of an after-movie discussion, the actual experience of watching the play was much different than the experience of watching a movie. Live performance is very unique in that the audience is an active participant in the action. A stale audience might have made the actors uncomfortable, and therefore have less energy while doing their work. Fortunately when I saw All in the Timing the audience got into it. In a movie theater there is a different relationship between the individual members of the audience as well. I would feel less inclined to get upset at someone's boisterous laughter at a play. Sometimes members of the audience at a live theatre performance are supposed to laugh out loud, clap, or be shocked and surprised with a gasp. These things actually help to spur an actor on rather than hindering the experience, and so they have become social norms that do not translate to movie theaters.

I thought All in the Timing was definitely an over-all success. It was a fun experience. My favorite scene was the "Variations on the Death of Trotsky", but I think no matter what type of humor someone prefers, this play probably had something for them.

Collaborative Theater

Collaborative Theater basically deals with a group of individuals (often an interest group)who come together to form an individual work. It is sometimes used to express flaws with society and with government. In some collaborative theater groups there is no director or writers, but rather, the entire cast of actors shares the responsibility of carrying out all the duties necessary to put a production together.


An interesting part of our collaborative theater project is when we talked about the Tectonic Theater Group and their production called "The Laramie Project". I thought this was a great example of a very original piece of collaborative theater. Four hundred hours of interviews is the basis for the script that the actors and producers of The Laramie Project derived. Here is a preview for the HBO movie based on The Laramie Project (I thought this was pretty cool):
The original group that conducted the 400 interviews recently returned to Laramie in 2008 to compile additional research. Check it out:

We also explored the Pig Iron Theater Company. Sweet By-and-By Is a production they did in collaboration with a Swedish theater company named Teater Slava. It is pretty cool, but also kinda trippy.

We talked about a couple other groups, but those are the ones I found interesting.



Works Cited

"The Laramie Project Summary & Study Guide - Moisés Kaufman - eNotes.com." ENotes - Literature Study Guides, Lesson Plans, and More. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. .

Pig Iron | Theatre Company. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. .

Tectonic Theater Project. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. .

"YouTube - laramie project original." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. .

"YouTube - Pig Iron Theatre Company Teater Sláva, "Sweet By-and-By"" YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. .

"YouTube - The Laramie Project - Preview." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 19 Oct. 2009. .

"Carnival Theatre" Works Cited

WORKS CITED

ATS-NY. "History of Carnival." CarnivalPower. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. .

"Brazilian Carnival -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 05 Oct. 2009. .

Felner, Mira. World of theatre tradition and innovation / Mira Felner, Claudia Orenstein. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2006. Print.

"History of Carnival in Brazil." African Music, African Music Albums, African Musicians, African Bands, Reviews, Labels, Discographies, and more, from Afropop Worldwide, the experts on African music. Web. 05 Oct. 2009. .

Jpower98. "Trinidad Carnival '08." YouTube. 11 Mar. 2008. Web. 6 Oct. 2009.

Carnival Theatre

Carnival Theatre is a fascinating tradition across Latin America. I love that it is all about expressing pent up emotions. Peoples who have experienced hardships and oppression use annual festivals to fight authority through celebration. The traditional ways that people express their emotion and vent their feelings are usually very physical and sexual in nature. Clothing is, to put it mildly, kept to a minimum. Some more rural celebrations of this tradition are done completely in the nude. Here is an example of one Carnival festival in Trinidad in 2008 : You will notice that some people are dressed up with cowboy hats and fun little accessories. This is because another tradition of Carnival Theatre is role playing. During these celebrations people can shed their inhibitions and pretend to be whoever they want to be. This is derived from the old "Saturnalia" celebration that ancient Romans used to engage in during the winter solstice. Sometimes compared to our modern day Halloween, it was a time for exchanging gifts and elaborate role playing.