For the class’ mandatory live production assignment, I chose to watch a free Romeo & Juliet play that was performed at Sierra Madre Memorial Park during The Sierra Madre Shakespeare Festival. The production was created by The Downtown Repertory Theater Company and directed by Devon Armstrong. In this Shakespeare play, the children of two rival families fall in love with each other amidst an ongoing feud. The tragic love story takes us through the star-crossed lovers’ futile efforts to be together against their families’ blessings. I specifically chose to watch this play because it did not take place in a conventional theater, but in a park. The location sparked my interest as it made me wonder how well a professional play can done at a park …show more content…
To make up for the small space, the troupe connected a catwalk at center stage to provide more acting space. The set up was very simple; at the back of the stage, there was a large backdrop of a scenic meadow with trees and blue skies that stretched across the stage and curtains on each side to cover the offstage area. For lighting, there were two lights behind the audience, one set up on the left and the other on the right. Costume wise, the director made it very easy to differentiate the characters, their roles, and what family they belonged in; characters that belonged to the Capulets wore red while the Montagues wore blue. The play also had very little props, only consisting of swords for fights and the vial that Romeo and Juliet drinks their poison from. Overall, the entire set up and design of the production was very minimal, the troupe only used what was needed and nothing more. I enjoyed this aspect because it forced the actors to make up for the lack of flashiness with their acting abilities, and they did not …show more content…
The first thing I noticed was the choice minimal design and set up, that of course did not matter for me as the acting was phenomenal and I find that more important. Secondly, the play was performed with a mixture of Shakespearean Language and modern English. Interesting choice but it worked for me since the more iconic lines of the play were kept in Shakespearean while modern English was incorporated in other lines for easier understanding. Lastly, the casting choice, the director casted an African-American actor to play the main character Romeo, and a female to play the role of Benvolio. When the play first began, I questioned why Benvolio was a female; were they short on cast members? It may be a questionable choice to many people because of how different it was, but I thought that was a unique decision. I did a little research on the troupe after watching the play, their website contains a manifesto that states ”We defy the idea that any actor, on the basis of age, gender, or ethnicity is ‘inappropriate' for any role. They’re actors, aren’t they? Is it not fascinating to see them stretch their muscles, to grapple with a challenging role that they would never play in another theater troupe, and to bring a unique life to the character?” (Armstrong). This statement, combined with the director’s keep to his promise, gained much respect
The Hippodrome setting played a big role in the success of the play, because the seats were close to the stage, which made the audience feel more intimate with the actors. The set was filled with everyday electronics and video games that were popular with today’s generation, and it was good way to capture the attention of the younger audience. The costumes worked for the actors because they were outfits that teens and young adults would wear, which made it easier to relate to the characters. The lighting for the production was awesome because it went well with the sound effects. For example, when Ian was doing a simulation for his new job, he set off a missile and when it exploded the lights changed from blue to red to symbolize seriousness of the situation.
From the scene set up to the clothes each actor wore it was all very impressing. The scene set up was a beauty shop and was extremely accurate and realistic. The play had four scenes and each scene was a different season. For each season the “beauty shop” was filled with props. In December it was filled with Christmas trees and ornaments. The clothes each actor wore fit each character’s personality. For example, Annelle was seen as very quirky and always would wear “dorky” clothes. The use of spectacle in this play left no room for imagination because they had everything layer out for
Context is the key to understanding ideas and language in both William Shakespeare’s play and in Baz Luhrmann’s William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet. Elizabethan theatre was more of an oral, than visual experience for the audience. The actors had to express all their emotions that were obligatory, to tell information about the character or plot and to show social classes and hierarchy, between the Capulets and Montagues. Though Luhrmann was able to convey the message of hierarchy and social status effectively through costumes, properties and camera angles. As for the men of Verona, they are portrayed as violent, dominating and conquering especially towards women who appear to be like pawns in a men’s chess game. The two feuding families, the Capulets and Montagues, express violence as a means to solving an ongoing feud. Baz Luhrmann and Shakespeare have effectively worked within context through their movie and play.
The Globe Theatre has had a variety of different audiences in its time who have come to watch many actors and actresses perform in the showing of Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is a comedy that has been interpreted in different ways, enabling one to receive multiple experiences of the same story. Due to the content and themes of the play, it can be creatively challenging to producers and their casting strategies. Instead of being a hindrance, I find the ability for one to experiment exciting as people try to discover strategies that best represent entertainment for the audience, as well as the best ways to interpret Shakespeare’s work.
Fear and Tension in Act IV Scene 3 of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet "Romeo and Juliet" was first performed around 1595 on a bare stage without any sets, with only a trap door and discovery room. The fact that there were no sets meant that Shakespeare had to create fear and tension in what the characters would say, not through decorative sets. The audience would stand in front of the uncovered stage. The play is set in Verona in Italy, where two families of equal class lived: the Capulets and the Montagues. These two families were strong
The costuming in the play is said to be like the clothing worn during the era of Queen Elizabeth. Men typically wore boots, pants, shirt, vest and a hat. However, women wore, an over and underskirt, a shirt, a bodice and a hat. In the film Romeo + Juliet, Romeo is seen wearing laid back hawaiian clothing whilst Juliet is seen wearing a white dress. This shows that there is a big contrast between the costuming worn in the the classic tragedy and the film, Romeo + Juliet. This demonstrates that Baz Luhrmann uses modernized costuming in the film to make it more understandable to a modern
Luhrmann modernised Romeo and Juliet through regular amendments of the props and costumes. In updating these aspects of the film, Luhrmann makes the play more relevant to our everyday modern environment. The actors in Luhrmann’s version carry guns instead of swords. Luhrmann, in an act of ingenious brand the guns with titles such as “Sword,” thus, enabling the original Shakespearean language to be preserved. Costumes differ dramatically between both versions of the film. In Luhrmann’s depiction of the motion picture, the Montagues have buzz cuts and pink hair whereas, the Capulets’ dress in vests and mainly dark clothes. All of these adjustments to the original play contribute to the popularity of the fil...
Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been modified numerous times and has been a source of inspiration for many playwrights and directors. Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann are examples of directors that use Shakespeare’s legendary tragedy as a basis for their films.
How Baz Luhrmann Uses Props, Iconography, Costumes, and Settings to Create His Own Version of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare’s best loved tragedy, Romeo and Juliet, has been portrayed in theatres and on film in many different ways. But none have been quite like Baz Luhrmann’s imaginative and unconventional adaptation. He has brought aspects of the plays Elizabethan origins and transfused them with a modern day background and created, what can only be described as a masterpiece. I believe that his use of Props, iconography costumes and the settings he has chosen has helped him to make this film such a great success. The settings of each scene have been specifically chosen to create a desired affect.
First impression of the play when I first walked in was one of confusion. The stage design was not distinguishable. I could not tell what was going on or what it was supposed to be. One thing I could
The director's choice of lighting and music helped to create an actual party scene with the liveliness it brought. The explosion of fireworks in the sky could have been interpreted as an explosion of lust that would occur later on between Romeo and Juliet. Also I found that the use of fireworks in the sky emphasized the stars, and Romeo and Juliet were star crossed lovers of their time. The coloring of reds and gold helped make the Capulet house outstanding and showed the audience royalty and richness. The statues that were on each side of the staircase representing half man and half fish were showing the controversy of how a man is torn from being masculine, to being put in the direction of femininity or romanticism.
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is fully summarized in Shakespeare's prologue: "Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny where civil blood make civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star crossed lovers who take their life" (Universal, 1996). This movie is a masterful culmination of the director's phenomenal ability to create a powerful introduction, to select a realistic, but surreal setting, to choose realistic actors, and to enact specialized dramatic effects.
As my third marriage anniversary date looms in the not so distant future, there are many times that I reflect upon my marriage, the strategically calculated steps taken prior to walking down the aisle and deciding whether the decisions I have made will sustain the life being built with my spouse. The principle decision that we chose as a couple, but is something I find myself reexamining more has been our decision to worship separately. As two people whose parents have been married 58 and 48 years respectively and worshiping under the same denomination, my husband and I appear to be breaking the rules of tradition that says the family that prays together says together. Or are we? Is adherence to two different religious denominations, existing under the same roof even possible?
The dramatic style and preparation of theatre in this movie is of the baroque style. The Baroque style is a period following the Renaissance, from 1600 to 1750, and is characterized by a dramatic expression and performances or theatrical shows. There are several examples of dramatic expression during the movie. During the preparation of the play, there is a fight. For example, when Mercutio fights with Romeo. The poetic verse of the love affair between Romeo and Juliet is dramatic. During Elizabethan times women were not allowed to act in the theatre. However, Viola, the character, wants to act and auditions for a role in the production. When it is found out there is a female working on the production, the theatre is shut down. In my opinion, the most dramatic part, is at the end of the production of Romeo and Juliet, where Shakespeare is acting opposite his muse and she wakes up to find his character laying beside her dead and she stabs herself.