In our study of learning to write a director's notebook and how to use T.E.A.M, we watched what is now one of my favorite live productions, The Woodsman. I think this play is the perfect representation of how to use T.E.A.M in a show because of how well they could create the atmosphere of the play through sound, props, and lighting. The Woodsman is different from most plays because there isn't much dialogue, and the actors have to tell the story without relying on what they say, and they would have to rely on their facial expressions and movements to tell the story. To add to this, the show designer chose to have a simple set and give the actors branches and blocks to move around to create different scenes. Doing this makes more movement to how the scenes play out and keep the show more fluid. I think my favorite part of The Woodsman was lighting to accentuate the tension, emotion, atmosphere, and communication of the piece. The lighting alone had created T.E.A.M by diming when people were upset or scared and brightening when the characters were happy or in love. Also, the actors used flashlights to develop a sense of magic being used. Like the lighting, the music and sound also created T.E.A.M by emphasizing emotional moments and tense moments. The music would change based off of the setting. It would communicate to the audience the characters' personalities and what was going on in specific scenes. Those were just elements of the show that stuck with me personally because of my love for music/sound design. Still, I've also always wanted to learn how to do lighting design, and I appreciate every element in the lighting design for this play. The acting was also incredible, with the actors creating tension through sharp breaths and moving with the scenes. If I wanted to be in chorus for any play I wanted, this would be the one, but I would also like to work on all the design elements.
0 Comments
When watching the stage production of Comedy of Errors on Digital Theater Plus, I thought the show was brilliant and had a great adaptation modern adaptation of Shakespeares' play. When I watched the show, I was curious about how much they had spent on sets, props, and costumes because of how limited and low budget everything was. I also wanted to know if they had a big budget or not. As I later found out, the director and designer of the sets and props chose to have a limited set and costumes to bring more attention to the play. This was a brilliant choice because they accomplished what they were looking to do, and I don't think I spent much time focusing on the set rather than the actors. This is especially important when your target audience is younger kids who don't understand Shakespeare. When you have big elaborate sets and costumes, people tend to get lost in observing the magnificence of what was done with those elements. Also, choosing to have the actors focus more on their physicality is crucial when making a show easy for kids to digest. Kids tend to pay more attention when there is a comedic element in the performance. The musical part ties it together by setting the scene through the language of music rather than sets and dialogue. What made me the most excited about the music was the music director's inspiration from one of my favorite bands, The Specials, and their song Ghost Town. Ghost Town is an unusual song because it sets the scene of a creepy and weird town with the music's power. This was a perfect inspiration, mainly because of their comedic choices in the play, to derive the song's language from the Specials because it helped set the scene in the weird and wacky world that the director and characters created. When I need to write my director's notebook, these are all elements that I will pay close attention to to create my vision.
|
Past Entries |