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Conceiving the Production. Patterson, STAGE DIRECTING Step 3 . Stage Configurations. Stage Configurations. Thrust Stage. Stage configurations. Alley Stage. Lone Star. Found Stages. Any space originally intended for some other use reconfigured for a play such as… Storefronts Warehouses
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Conceiving the Production Patterson, STAGE DIRECTINGStep 3
Found Stages Any space originally intended for some other use reconfigured for a play such as… Storefronts Warehouses Gymnasiums Subway platforms Boilerhouse Theatre, London
THE PROMPT BOOK Like a conductor’s score for a symphony, this is the director’s guide for a production. Its heart is a prepared copy of the script complete with notes, analysis, drawings, schedules, etc.
What to include in your prompt book • Playwright’s background Notes on the play’s structure • Character analysis Action-Personality-Functional traits • Aural notes • Ground plan • Unit breakdown (french scene analysis) • Planning calendar • Rehearsal schedule • Contact sheet • Director’s rehearsal journal • Reviews
Step 3 – Conceiving the Production the world of the play
This step begins after analysis of text Imagine the play WHOLE AGAIN • Return to a global understanding of the script as a whole • Let the pattern of the whole play emerge • Enter the world of the play
Imagination • How is your reading of the play different than anyone else’s? • What images come to mind in your reading of the play? • What colors, textures, shapes, sounds help to define the world of the play?
Presentational or representational? • Is the play highly theatrical? (presentational) • Is the play highly realistic? (representational) • Are some parts of the play more theatrical than others? • What type of performance space best suits these needs of the play?
Two views HAMLET Presentational Representational
METAPHOR A term or phrase that compares two dissimilar things. • “All the world’s a stage!” • “It is like the Three Stooges on valium.” • “It reminded me of the paintings of Escher.”
The emotional world of the play • What value system is exhibited by the characters? Moral? Righteous? Unjust? Fair? • General mood or feeling. Is it a happy world? Sad? Cold? Satiric? Ordinary? • Tempo at which action unfolds. Calm? Jerky? Fast? Slow? • Color of this world. Is it dull? Bright? Primary? Pastel? Drab? Vibrant?
The Visual World • Atmosphere. What are the materials of this place? Textures? Smooth? Rough? Satin? • Abstraction. Is it a literal place? How specific are the references? How much detail is needed? • Focus. Is it dreamlike? Hazy? Sharp? Jagged? Angular? Soft and curvy?
The aural world • Literalness of the sounds. How real are the effects? Are they called for by the text? Are there important background sounds? • Lyricality of the voices. Should the dialogue sound musical and resonant? Flat and harsh? • Use of music. Is it called for? What does it sound like? Is it live? Is it underscoring? Does it interfere with dialogue?
The concept statement A metaphor for the production • Evocative. Not a literal statement • Provocative. Stir the imagination • Illuminating. Suggest how the play will look • Integrating. How the script will be communicated.
Examples of concept statements • As You Like It is love’s mythic fair tale of the American west. • Streamers is a skeleton of death. • Proof is a fun-house mirror reflection of the mind. • The Glass Menagerie is a look through the cobwebs of time.
Step 3 – Conceiving the Production WHAT THE AUDIENCE HEARS
Theatre has also been visual AND aural • We hear the dialogue of the play • We hear the voices of the actors • Nonvocal sounds suggest time, place, mood • Nonvocal sounds enhance or detract and can be real or ethereal • Orchestrating the sounds of the production is an important part of the director’s job
Characterization of sound • PITCH – how high or low on a musical scale. • RATE – how slow or fast as it progresses. • DURATION – how long or short it lasts • VOLUME – how soft or loud it is • TIMBRE – what the individual quality of it is, independent of pitch and volume
VOCAL SOUNDS • Cast members should provide some vocal variation • Ensure that the actor’s voice matches the playwright’s character
SOUND EFFECTS • Familiar sounds like bells, phone rings, alarm clocks, television, etc. • Actors make some effects like the sound of walking, toasting drinks, clapping, pounding fists, sing a song, etc. • Modulate the sounds of daily life to enhance the plays reality (the sound of rain outside, for example)
Other effects • Environmental sounds • Music • Imaginative sounds • Silence • Volume
Helping the Audience See THE GROUNDPLAN
Definition • A birds-eye view of the setting as seen from above. • It is the foundation of the director’s visual production as it provides for movement, the special requirements of the script and variety in acting areas. • Drawn to scale • Provided through a collaboration between the director and the designer
Ground plan should be arranged to help the director generate and motivate action.
Ground plan checklist • GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES • Does the groundplanreflect the production’s sense of time, place and social class? • Is there enough room for the action to unfold? • BALANCE and FOCUS • Are set pieces arranged effectively? • Is it balanced? If not, why? • ADEQUATE ACTING AREAS
Ground plan checklist, continued • WELL-PLACED ENTRANCES AND EXITS • ACCOMMODATING THE PLAY’S CLIMACTIC MOMENTS • FURNITURE THAT CAN FORCE SEPARATION • EMPLOYING THE FULL ACTING SPACE • USING THE STAGE FLOOR • VISIBILITY • SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
TESTING THE GROUND PLAN • Test the blocking of the play on the ground plan itself using checkers, coins, etc. • Test the blocking by taping out on the rehearsal hall floor, adding rehearsal furniture and exploring the blocking
This sketch and all of the following images are from the online portfolio of designerCharles Murdock Lucas for his production at the University of Alabama in 2008.
