Clybourne Park

A Marotte Production:

Directed by Margaret Marotte
Scene design by Margaret Marotte
Costume design by Margaret Marotte
Lighting and sound design by Margaret Marotte

My vision for the set of Act I would be furniture from the fifties, but upscale. I grew up in this house, so I would know exactly what I wanted. Bev would make sure everything had a place. It would not have a homey feel, rather neat and uninviting. 

This picture depicts the starkness I would want to create. Rearranging would be needed for audience focus. Although the set would be neat and tidy, with a show of some money spent; it would not depict wealth as most would envision. Russ seems like a no nonsense type of guy and usefulness and durability would be his objective. It would be up to Bev to give it a softer side and her heart isn't there. The main pieces of furniture would still be in place. A few packed boxes off to the side of the room, there is not a lot of accessories from this room that would need packing.

I would locate this production at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. This was were I was first exposed to live theatre. The theatre is located on Tremont St. which is considered the theater district. This theater is old and worn like the house in Act II, but the area itself is undergoing gentrification. It is very similar to Clybourne Park. The theatre now is a comedy club, hopefully like the theatres around it, someone will renovate it. I have added a picture and facts about the Wilbur at the end of the blog.

My target audience would be the baby boomers. They know first hand of the struggles of racism. Boston like Chicago is perfect as it has a wide variety of ethnicity and classes. The citizens of Boston like to go out. Housing is expensive, therefore space is limited. People go out a lot. They seek food and entertainment.

The costumes for Act I would be styles of the fifties. The movie Pleasantville comes to mind. The parents in that movie are what I would want my Bev and Russ to look like.

     Also Francine would be in uniform. The hired help of this time period looked like help. The men (Jim, Karl, and Albert) would be wearing suits and hats (not indoors of course). Jim would be wearing a white collar to show the audience of his religious affiliation.

I would light the set brightly, although there is a somber mood in this house, the lighting would show the order and cleanliness of the house. Also the emptiness, even with furniture the house is as empty as it is in Act II.

I don't think I would have music in my production as I think it is not called for. Maybe I would take Michael's idea to play "A House is not a Home" while the audience enters. The glee version with Chris Colfer and Cory Moncrief.

                                                          Play     

My set for Act II would be the same house of course, but bare of furniture. Packing crates and boxes here and there. The house would now be worn out. In need of a fresh coat of paint. Out of style of the time. Faded wallpaper where you can see the outline, where something once hung. The boxes would be used as impromptu seating.

The lighting would be dimmer as there is only the overhead fixture, everything else is gone. This gives the room more of a feeling of the dinginess that has enveloped it.

Kathy and Dan would be dressed professional. Kathy would want to have a look of authority. She would want the group to know she is on top of things. Dan although professional would be a little unkempt. Loosened tie, his suit could use a little pressing.

The couples Lindsey and Steve and Lena and Kevin would be dressed modern casual of the day. Lindsey and Steve casual dress would be clothes that would show that they had some money. I am thinking Urban Outfitters as a store they would frequent. Lena and Kevin also would dress with a look from the Express, although casual they would be a little less casual than Steve and Lindsey.

When we return to the fifties, Kenneth would be dressed in his dress uniform. The lighting would be dim. It is early morning and it has started to rain.

I would want my audience to walk away realizing the differences in the times of Act I and Act II. I would want them to experience the emptiness of the home in both scenes.

This is the Wilbur.
Wilbur Theatre is a historic theater at 244-250 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts. It is located in Boston's theatre district.
Clarence Blackall built the theatre in 1913. The National Historic Register added the Wilbur in 1980.
In 2007 the theatre was put on the market.^[2] Bill Blumenreich, owner of the Comedy Connection,^[3] put the building on lease in 2008. It now serves as the new home of the Comedy Connection in Boston (formerly located in Quincy Market), hosting both comedy and musical talent.^[4]
Clarence Howard Blackall (1857–1942) was an American architect who is estimated to have designed 300 theatres^[1].
He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1857. He attended college at the University of Illinois School of Architecture, graduating with a B.S. in 1877, and received training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1882, where he was recognized for both his architectural innovations and his designs of significant Boston landmarks including the Colonial Theatre, Wilbur Theatre, Modern and Metropolitan (now the Wang Center for Performing Arts) theatres.^[2]
Blackall was a senior member of the Boston architectural firm Blackall, Clapp and Whittemore, and in 1889 he helped establish the Boston Architectural College as a club for local architects and as a training program for draftsman.^[3]
He designed the 1894 Carter Winthrop Building, which was the first steel frame structure in the city of Boston.^[4] In addition to its innovative technology, the structure also used terra cotta trim and featured a dramatic, deep, and overhanging cornice. Blackall is also credited with designing the Copley Plaza Hotel, the Foellinger Auditorium (1907) on the University of Illinois campus, as well as the Little Building (1917)^[5] at Emerson College on the site of the Pelham Hotel (1857), the "first apartment house in any city along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States" according to noted architectural historian Walter Muir Whitehill.
Opened in 1908 and designed by Blackall, the Gaiety Theatre was one of the only theatres in New England that would allow African Americans to perform vaudeville^[6]. It was also the first of Blackall’s theatres to use a large steel girder to support the balcony, eliminating the need for architectural columns. Blackall was also responsible for Nathan H. Gordon's Olympia Theatre design, which opened as a film and vaudeville theatre on May 6, 1912.^[7]
Blackall died in Concord, Massachusetts on March 5, 1942

                                                          

  

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                                                            Reason's to Be Pretty

The major conflict of "Reason's to Be Pretty" is the crumbling relationship of Greg and Steph. Steph's insecurity about why Greg is with her and Greg's inability to express his emotions.
The story starts at the home of Greg and Steph, as they are arguing about a remark Greg made. Steph's girlfriend, Carly, the wife of Greg,s friend Kent, overhears Greg comment that the new girl at work has a pretty face.The remark doesn't stop here, he also adds that Steph's face is regular. A remark that kind hearted Greg finds innocent, he loves that face.
I would call Greg the protagonist, and Steph the antagonist.The verbal lashing hurled at Greg in the first scene by Steph, has you waiting and hoping it will soon end. Greg takes it all, he wants this relationship to continue. This argument is the turning point and Steph walking out of the apartment and Greg's life the climax. For someone who is an avid reader Greg just can't find the words to smooth the situation over.
When Steph and Greg meet at the mall you realize there is no resolution to their conflict, but the meeting at the restaurant ties up some of the loose ends so that both are able to move on.
Carly, Kent's pregnant wife is the one I feel most for, although she is the reason for all of this fighting.
Carly is the one filled with grief. Grief at the loss of her friends as a couple and the grief she feels over the loss of trust in her cheating husband.
It is the fight betwwen Greg and Kent that gives Greg the courage to move on. Mild mannered Greg comes to terms with his own morality. Kent gets what he deserves an ass kicking and the loss of the trophy.
The language although appropriate at times, goes a little too far for my liking. I realize that this is the language of the 21st century. Being around teenagers and young adults I hear this language often. It doesn't mean I have got use to it. I feel sorry that the art of conservation is being lost. If using the F word is the only way to express yourself, college english is just a waste of time.

Almost Maine

                                                           Almost Maine

A Play by John Cariani

This is a play in eight scenes, a prologue, an interlogue and an epilogue.This play has no main plot but has eight sub plots that tie the play together, with a central theme of love. LOVE LOST, LOVE FOUND! It takes place at 9:03 on a Friday night in a place called Almost, Maine. All the scenes take place at the same moment all over the town.
Some scenes there is love lost, but you have hope for the characters. Others scenes behold love found and its lovely and quaint. From the scene "This Hurts" love is described the best. The character Steve who states that he is unable to feel pain keeps journals of  "Things That Can Hurt You " and Things To Be Afraid Of" and it boils down to one thing "love". There are lots of kisses and some heartbreak (the broken heart in the bag) throughout the play. There is lots going on in this small town, we meet nineteen characters. The play is quirky and funny.
The play is cleverly staged. Although the set is minimal it gives the feeling of the vast openness  of Maine.The lighting gives you a feeling of a snow sky. If you are from or have ever been to the Northeast during the winter months you'll know what I mean.
Bravo! Professor Kershner for a great production.
  The major conflict of this play could be love found, love lost. Although the play is in different scenes really not connecting except for the same town and time, the main theme going on is love. Love for better or for worse, as each scene depicts the rewards or complications of falling in or out of love.The eight scenes all have different yet slightly similar conflicts since they all contain the same theme. Some of the scenes are amusing and some others have you feeling for the rejected.
The scene between the two guys hanging out, swapping horror stories of the failures of their love lives, comes to a turning point when one declares love for the other. This is major as their friendship will never be the same again. The climax is when the second fellow realizes he has also fallen in love. I don't believe there is resolution because this love realization between the two would take time to resolve in this small town. My thoughts during this scene were: here are two guys, who evidently get along so well, like the same things, (when they could choose the next night out they both agree on the perfect night) it seemed inevitable that there would be some kind of love between them.The humor in this scene is the characters themselves, two big, burly men in a tender moment.
Another scene has Hope returning after a number of years?, to answer a marriage proposal. The turning point is the lack of response to it, not only a lack but no response at all. The climax is her return. In her return you see hope in the reuniting with her lost love until the door opens, here we meet the new wife and all hope is lost. To add insult to injury the new wife is with child. the resolution is he goes back to the house. Hope is left alone, ironically the same way she left her lover.
I believe all the characters in the play had hope in love. What exactly the meaning of that to each individual was different. the subject in one word love, some looking, some finding, and others losing. I liked even when love was lost, you were left with the feeling that it would be alright.
The idea of the play as I stated before is love either lost or found. The play showed that love may be interpreted in many ways. Love is ever changing.

                                                                           

Vaudeville

Vaudeville
From the french word voix-de-ville
(voice of the city, song of the street)                                                                                       

Everyone loves a clown,............a dancer, a singer, a juggler etc. This is why vaudeville in its day was so popular. The American audience enjoyed the variety of acts that vaudeville provided from the 1880's to the1920's. The variety show was the predecessor to vaudeville. Variety shows catered to the working man,in beer halls and honky tonks. These places were no place to take a lady. It was after the civil war that a performer Tony Pastor opened a theater on 14th street in New York City, and banned drinking, smoking, and profanity. This was the start of "clean" entertainment and the beginning of vaudeville's boom. Other producers witnessed the success of Pastor's theater and started their own theaters throughout the United States. Keith and Albee, two partners, started with two theaters they opened in Boston, Massachusetts and  their partnership produced three hundred fifty vaudeville theaters. They were also the proprietors of the "crown jewel" of vaudeville, the Palace. You had made it big in vaudeville if you played the Palace.

The vaudeville stage was home to dancers, singers, acrobats, comedians, pantomimists, animal acts, and actors performing dramatic sketches. The weekly shows averaged nine varied acts. The life of a vaudevillian was not a glamorous one. Some performers had three shows a night, in different theaters. When silent films came along, they shared the stage with the vaudeville acts. Then came radio that let the audience stay at home and be entertained for free. The crushing blow to vaudeville was the start of talking films. some vaudeville acts were able to make the transition from the vaudeville stage to the big screen ie: the Marx Brothers, the Three Stooges, Milton Berle, W.C. Fields, and Judy Garland, just to name a few. 

Vaudeville still lives on. On television we watch shows that have a vaudeville format, the Ed Sullivan Show, Dean Martin Show, Red Skelton Show, Jack Benny Hour and today there is America's Got Talent. Bob Hope entertained the U.S. troops overseas for decades with a traveling variety show.

E.F. Albee summed up the appeal of vaudeville, "In vaudeville there is always something for everybody, just as in every state and city in every county and town in our democratic country, there is opportunity for every body, a chance for all."

Works Cited

Felner, Mira and Claudia Orenstein. The World of Theatre. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. 2006.

Slide, Anthony. The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. 1994.

Sobel, Bernard. APictorial History of Vaudeville. New York: The Citadel Press. 1961. Print.

Commedia dell'Arte

During the Renaissance,Comedia dell'Arte was born, but you can trace its origin back to Greek mime and Artellan farce. Commedia dell'Arte is improvisation with masks that portray stock characters. Literally Commedia dell'Arte means artistic comedy. This art form had great success in the second half of the sixteenth century. Commedia dell'Arte focused on physical comedy rather than dialog making it able to transcend from region to region where dialects differed. The ensemble traveled by wagon to perform for the elite and the common. From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century this art form found its way to stages in France and England. The basic elements of Commedia dell'Arte are prevalent in today's television sitcoms.
A performance would include a story with a popular theme of the time and was distinguished by comic bonds that tied the action together. This is called lazzi, from the word lacci meaning trick, to evoke a quick laugh. The actors would portray the same stock characters. These characters were given characteristics over time that became standard for each performance. The introduction of women into Commedia dell'Arte came much later and the the women actors did not don masks. The audience spurs on the characters actions, the actors performance depends on how the audience is responding. Each production would include in it a story, a climax, a love scene, and acrobatic stunts.
There were many characters but pictured is Il Capitano (the Captain) originally an Italian character that later on became Spanish. The Captain was portrayed as a soldier that "talked" a brave fight. When Il Capitano had lost favor with the audience Scaramouche was born. Scaramouche was more of a gigolo than a soldier. This character started as a soldier and through the actor created a life of his own. Tiberio Fiorilli often played Scaramouche and with such flair that he became forever associated with the character. Fiorilli received applause and success wherever he performed. Pantalone was a venetian merchant. He was depicted as greedy, rich, and naive. The other characters would use Pantalone to get at his riches. A quote that became famous was "e Pantalone paga!!!!!" which means Pantaloon has to pay.                                                                                                                                                        





















                                                                Works Cited

Bellinger, Martha Fletcher. "A Short History of the Drama. pp. 153-157 " Theatre History.com. 2011.

Web. 23 September 2011. http://www.theatrehistory.com/italian/commedia_dell_arte001.htlm

Ducharte, Pierre Louis. The Italian Comedy. New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1966. Print.

Felner, Mira and Claudia Orenstein. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. Boston: Pearson

Education Inc., 2006. Print.