The Lay of the Land

[collisionwork]

Went to see Greed at The Brick again last night -- it closes this weekend and I more than liked it enough to go back.

Afterwards, I walked the stage, trying to imagine a set for Temptation there. As always, theatre spaces are much bigger in my memory than in reality. The plan I had in my head for how the set for the show would go just won't work at all.

Problem for me is, as I feel the script now, it really cries out for the most part for realistic sets. This is not my normal style in any way - I think I've done one "realistic" set in all the plays I've directed - but it's what this script is saying right now.

There are four locations in the show - the Office of The Institute, Foustka's Library, the apartment of Vilma (Foustka's girlfriend), and the Garden of The Institute. My first thoughts were to create two upstage stage left/stage right areas which could be individually curtained off, but each with three walls, real doors, etc. Stage right would be the Institute Office, stage left, Foustka's and Vilma's places, with set changes happening behind the curtained-off side. The whole back area would be curtained off at midstage with a scrim for the Garden scenes, which would happen downstage, with background activity visible, dreamily, through the scrim (unlike the other scenes, these do not feel like they take place in a "realistic" setting). A reread of the script made this clearly impractical in terms of what location followed another -- the changes would take far too long in theatre terms, and I agree with Havel's note in the script about the changes happening as rapidly as possible (he, however, doesn't help by having a number of major costume changes happen to people who are onstage at the end of one scene and then the beginning of the next).

So, I thought that maybe, just maybe, I could break the upstage area into three parts for the Institute, Vilma's, and Foustka's. Nope. Way too little space.

On top of all this is the sheer impracticality, on my budget, of creating good realistic sets. Havel's descriptions of the locations are very detailed, and maybe I fell in love with them too much, but none of it seems to be unimportant. He's specific for a reason. However . . . I just can't accomplish what he writes for the set. I'd need real walls, real doors, lots of furniture I don't have and can't get. My budget and the space won't permit it.

I walked around on the stage, trying to think up a solution that would get me a "realistic" set, but Berit helped me see clearly it wasn't going to happen, and as she said, "A well-thought-out stylized set is infinitely better than a half-assed realistic one."

So, no walls, no doors - open. We lose the claustrophobic quality I wanted, of rooms WAY too small for the number of people in them (somewhat, I can stage that back in to a certain extent). Institute still stage left, Foustka's stage right - Vilma's place gets dead up center. Set pieces from one locale can be turned and changed to move into the next one (Berit noted that one of the Ikea desks we modified for That's What We're Here For, so pieces could be stuck into it, could double easily as a desk in the Office and a vanity at Vilma's with a mirror piece added). Still curtain off the whole thing at midstage for the Garden. How to mount the curtains?

Wait -- how about I do build two wall pieces, about 6' high by 8' long - frames with scrim material in them - that could be rolled around to block off the sections of the upstage not being used, and then come downstage to wall the whole thing off for the garden. Okay. That's good. That works. No other walls or doors though. Just the brick walls and black curtains. Well, I do need a real door into the Office and Vilma's - too much involved in people being "on the other side of the door" there. I can just place The Brick's house door in one place upstage that works for both places. Most of the furniture I need they have in house at the space, or I have myself. No bed, though, and Vilma's crucially needs a bed. Have to build it? Oy.

Well, if I build it I can keep it just as small as needed and no bigger for the two people who are on it. Then it just sits there dead upstage for the whole damned show.

Wait. Wait. The other big scenic problem is the "bower" that's supposed to be downstage center in the garden. How about . . . I build the bed so that it can stand up on its head and roll downstage with the floral bower on the underside! Hot damn, that's something! Okay. Pain in the ass for those lifting and moving it, sure -- it has to be heavy enough to support two people moving around on it, but I'll have a bunch of big strong guys in the show. It'll work.

So the big expenses on the show will be the three set pieces I have to build. Okay. Well, and the royalties that I do have to pay for (at least I get a discount for being in the Festival). And a nice color card. If I could possibly spring for it. I have a great image for the front. Edward asked all the Havel Fest directors to find an "iconic" image to represent the show for the Havel Fest webpages, and I said that the only thing I could think of would be a "devil" bobblehead doll. He emailed back just a few minutes later with a link and the words, "Like this?" The link was to an auction of exactly what I wanted, only better. So I bought it. It'll be the icon, and hopefully I can do a card with it, too.

Ah. Step back. Okay, no realistic set, but I think I can get the effect I want by only using practical light sources upstage for those three settings. That'll do it but good. Stage lights only for the Garden. Everything else, lamps (and the important chandelier in the Office that has to come crashing to the floor at the end of Act One - Berit and I are still disagreeing over how to accomplish that little effect). So, no walls, but furniture pieces in a void with specific practical lights demarcating each "room." Nice. Heck, done right, I wouldn't need the two wall/screen pieces . . . but I think I still need them for the Garden.

All right. That's in a good place for now. Next, casting. Auditions tomorrow afternoon. Have to make up sides. Now? No, do it tomorrow, Saturday morning, when the local Staples is dead (we live in a heavily Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, which means there's plenty of businesses closed down on Saturday, but its the absolute best day to hit the ones that are still open).

Feeling better. I can make this show work acceptably by my standards within the resources I have.

Comments

MattJ

[(Anonymous)]

I'm interested to see how you handle this issue of a "realistic" world on an unrealistic set. I'd love to hear more about how you deal with it. I've been in similar positions before and it's definitely difficult to do without creating textually unsupported holes. But you tread the difficult line between the physical stage action and the thematic and character arcs. Can't wait to see how it works out.