lilahdesignforperformance

[lilahdesignforperformance]

CONCEPT STATEMENT

The key themes I have identified throughout the text is mental health, sisterhood, religion and relationships. I have decided to focus on the toxic relationships developed between the three main characters especially those where Da is involved and how they change throughout the play. As the play progresses the relationships between the characters change as Alannah and Fianna become closer and Alannah breaks free of Da’s hold over her. I feel that these relationships are the core of the play and that the needed to be focused on. I decided to show this through a series of silhouette dance scenes at the key moments where these relationships create a pivotal shift in the play; such as when Alannah stabs Da. Each dance scene represents the relationship and focuses solely on the characters involved as all other aspects are hidden behind the screen. 

[lilahdesignforperformance]

MIXED MEDIA

I wanted to convey the dance scenes when the characters dance as silhouettes behind a screen and the transition between the two different ‘sets’. I didn’t have access to a projector after I hurt my arm so I had to improvise and so I used a thin weight paper like packing paper and placed my laptop behind it to create a projector effect. The thin paper also acted as the screen that would come down to allow the silhouette effect to be created. The light used was green from an iphone to show the influence that Da has over Alannah and then was switched to normal lighting.

TESTING

I was testing out how I could make the screen roll down and roll up. So I created a tube rod out of cardboard that I flattened and rolled and the attached the paper around the tube with tape. I carved a hole through the sides of the cardboard sides and put the rod through it as a support system. I also tested the cardboard cutout of Alannah stabbing Da because as the screen rises at the end you realise Alannah has stabbed Da in the set.

This was a test run of the whole set up and I realised that the camera was too far away to see the projector set up I made so I edited that in my final copy.

A set up of how the set will look before the screen comes down with the stage set.

The final play through of how the screen will roll down and up and lighting changes.

ELEMENTS:

[lilahdesignforperformance]

ACT ONE:

The beginning when Fianna sings outside and Alannah is cleaning in the kitchen

Fianna tries to get in and breaks the window

Fianna and Alannah have an argument and Fianna spills the potato chips all over the floor

Alannah and Fianna dance while listening to Africa by TOTO

Da comes downstairs and Alannah helps him onto a chair

A white screen comes down creates a silhouette of the stage showing Da and Alannah dancing while a voice overplays of the script during pages 87-88 when Da tells Alannah what to do and say. The lighter silhouette is to show how they move from that position to the dancing silhouette

It then moves into Alannah stabbing Da at the end of the dance. The lighter silhouette is to show how they move from dancing to the stabbing silhouette.

ACT TWO

The lights turn back on and the screen lifts to show Alannah holding the bloody knife and Da back in the chair bleeding

Alannah then cuts of Da’s legs and and puts them in a pot to boil while Fianna talks to Da.

The screen drops again and this time Fianna and Da dance but it’s not the same as Alannah’s and Da’s as they have a different relationship it’s more intense and aggressive. The lighter silhouette is to show how they move standing and sitting to dancing

The screen lifts and Alannah and Da realise Da has died. The lighter silhouette is to show that they move from dancing back to their stance.

A green silhouette of a crocodile is projected onto the wall as the crocodile voice of played by Da plays

The green crocodile silhouette is projected and moved across the walls as it gets bigger and closer to Alannah and Fianna as they get scared.

[lilahdesignforperformance]

EDITED STORYBOARD

Storyboard image four edited as Alannah and Fianna are dancing as silhouettes to show the relationship between the two sisters. 

[lilahdesignforperformance]

STORYBOARD IMAGES

ACT ONE:

The beginning when Fianna sings outside and Alannah is cleaning in the kitchen

Fianna tries to get in and breaks the window 

Fianna and Alannah have an argument and Fianna spills the potato chips all over the floor 

Alannah and Fianna dance while listening to Africa by TOTO

Da comes downstairs and Alannah helps him onto a chair

A white screen comes down creates a silhouette of the stage showing Da and Alannah dancing while a voice overplays of the script during pages 87-88 when Da tells Alannah what to do and say. The lighter silhouette is to show how they move from that position to the dancing silhouette

It then moves into Alannah stabbing Da at the end of the dance. The lighter silhouette is to show how they move from dancing to the stabbing silhouette.

ACT TWO

The lights turn back on and the screen lifts to show Alannah holding the bloody knife and Da back in the chair bleeding

Alannah then cuts of Da’s legs and and puts them in a pot to boil while Fianna talks to Da.

The screen drops again and this time Fianna and Da dance but it’s not the same as Alannah’s and Da’s as they have a different relationship it’s more intense and aggressive. The lighter silhouette is to show how they move standing and sitting to dancing

The screen lifts and Alannah and Da realise Da has died. The lighter silhouette is to show that they move from dancing back to their stance.

A green silhouette of a crocodile is projected onto the wall as the crocodile voice of played by Da plays 

The green crocodile silhouette is projected and moved across the walls as it gets bigger and closer to Alannah and Fianna as they get scared.

[lilahdesignforperformance]

PROJECTION

SCENE THAT CAN BE REALISED WITH PROJECTION:

EXAMPLES OF PROJECTION:

Background/wall projection:

http://www.stephanmazurek.com/projections-1

Lettie by Boo Killibrew. Directed by Chay Yew at Victory Garden’s Theatre. Projection Design by Stephan Mazurek. Set by Andrew Bryce.

http://www.stephanmazurek.com/projections-1

Mojada by Luis Alfaro produced at thePublic Theater, directed by Chay Yew, Video Projections by Stephan Mazurek.

https://www.svenortel.com/mary-page-marlow/

Mary Page Marlow by Sven Nortel

https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/projections-by-clement-briend/

Clement Briend's gargoyle projections

Google images

Multi-projection:

https://www.svenortel.com/projection-design-as-design-discipline

Sven's production table in the Nederlander Theater for the Broadway run of Newsies

https://www.disguise.one/en/community/news/peter-nigrini/

‘Dear Evan Hansen’ by Peter Nigrini

Google images

Google images

https://www.svenortel.com/appamattox/w34y518tt71p1256l1xd26p7lyt1wk

APPOMATTOX by Sven Nortel

Projection colour:

https://www.svenortel.com/rebecca/

REBECCA by Sven Nortel

https://www.livedesignonline.com/theatre/5qs-alex-oliszewski-assistant-professor

The House Of Spirits. Photo by Alex Oliszewski

Floor projection:

Google images

Projection mapping:

https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/projections-by-clement-briend/

Clement Briend's gargoyle projections

Projecting texture:

http://broadwayeducators.com/projections-on-stage-part-iv-choices-about-media/

Brilliant Being, 2016, Plymouth State University

Shadow projection:

http://mrl.snu.ac.kr/research/ProjectShadowTheatre/ShadowTheatre.htm

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/creating-live-cinema-with-puppets-and-shadow

Lula del Ray - Julia Miller and Drew Dir, artistic directors of Manual Cinema

[lilahdesignforperformance]

DESIGN/SET PLANNING

STAGE LAYOUT:

I want to add a screen in front of the stage so that a silhouette can be created for the dance scenes.

[lilahdesignforperformance]

1000 RATS CLASS TASK

Sounds of scurrying from multiple points around the room

Balls rolling down the stage 

Projection of rats 

Mirrors to create the illusion of multiple rats

Balloon rats drop from the ceiling

Human rats

Something drops from behind the audience

Group ideas:

I smell a rat echo and sound and a static projection used to simulate the effect of rats running

Rat like string things being pulled around the room

Laser eyes on remote control cars

3D rats get projected into the audience

Drawings of rats being blown with wind

4D effect of rats touching and hitting the audience

1000 people running around screaming I’m a rat

Projection of their footprints after they have left

Remote control cars zooming through the audience

Cords being pulled to add the effect of the rats tales being around the audience feet

[lilahdesignforperformance]

WAYS TO CREATE WATER ON STAGE

CLASS TASK ON HOW WOLD YOU CREATE WATER ON STAGE WITHOUT USING ACTUAL WATER. THIS IS USED TO FURTHER DEVELOP OUR DESIGN CHOICES FOR OUR FINAL PROJECT.

Paint water on stage

Project water image on stage

Use fabric

Use light to create water effects - shadows

Aquasplash - motorised wheel that creates colour and texture while moving

Create smoke with colour to make a fog like water

Use grass to make wave flow

Textured acrylic with blue light filtered through it

Cellophane 

Plastic wrap on a frame that vibrates

PROJECTION:

FABRIC:

PLASTIC:

ACRYLIC:

DIGITAL:

SMOKE:

[lilahdesignforperformance]

SUMMARY OF THEATRICAL STYLES

REALISM:

Draws from real life

Symbols 

Presented slightly differently, heighten, exaggerated 

Characters are believable everyday types 

Costumes are authentic 

The realist movement in the theatre and subsequent performance style have greatly influenced 20th century theatre and cinema and its effects are still being felt today

Stage settings (locations) and props are often indoors and believable

The ‘box set’ is normally used for realistic dramas on stage, consisting of three walls and an invisible ‘fourth wall’ facing the audience

Settings for realistic plays are often bland (deliberately ordinary), dialogue is not heightened for effect, but that of everyday speech (vernacular)

The drama is typically psychologically driven, where the plot is secondary and primary focus is placed on the interior lives of characters, their motives, the reactions of others etc.

Realistic plays often see the protagonist (main character) rise up against the odds to assert him/herself against an injustice of some kind (eg. Nora in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House)

Realistic dramas quickly gained popularity because the everyday person in the audience could identify with the situations and characters on stage

Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (A Doll’s House, Hedda Gabler) is considered the father of modern realism in the theatre

Realism in the theatre was a general movement that began in the 19th-century theatre, around the 1870s, and remained present through much of the 20th century. It developed a set of dramatic and theatrical conventions with the aim of bringing a greater fidelity of real life to texts and performances.

NATURALISM:

A study of real life

Copy of real life

In terms of style, naturalism is an extreme or heightened form of realism

As a theatrical movement and performance style, naturalism was short-lived

Stage time equals real time – eg. three hours in the theatre equals three hours for the characters in the world of the play

Costumes, sets and props are historically accurate and very detailed, attempting to offer a photographic reproduction of reality (‘slice of life’)

As with realism, settings for naturalistic dramas are often bland and ordinary

Naturalistic dramas normally follow rules set out by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, known as ‘the three unities’ (of time, place and action)

The action of the play takes place in a single location over the time frame of a single day

Jumps in time and/or place between acts or scenes is not allowed

Playwrights were influenced by naturalist manifestos written by French novelist and playwright Emile Zola in the preface to Therese Raquin (1867 novel, 1873 play) and Swedish playwright August Strindberg in the preface to Miss Julie (1888)

Naturalism explores the concept of scientific determinism (spawning from Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution) – characters in the play are shaped by their circumstances and controlled by external forces such as hereditary or their social and economic environment

Often characters in naturalistic plays are considered victims of their own circumstance and this is why they behave in certain ways (they are seen as helpless products of their environment)

Characters are often working class/lower class (as opposed to the mostly middle class characters of realistic dramas)

Naturalistic plays regularly explore sordid subject matter previously considered taboo on the stage in any serious manner (eg suicide, poverty, prostitution)

Naturalism is a movement in European drama and theatre that developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It refers to theatre that attempts to create an illusion of reality through a range of dramatic and theatrical strategies.

EXPRESSIONSIM:

Dream-like

Nightmare-ish

Thematically driven

Minimalism

Response to naturalism 

Expressionism is a modernist movement in drama and theatre that developed in Europe in the early decades of the 20th century and later in the United States. It forms part of the broader movement of Expressionism in the arts.

Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas. Expressionist artists have sought to express the meaning of emotional experience rather than physical reality.

POST DRAMATIC:

Feeling/atmosphere of the text 

Audience experience

Adding new influences to create a sense of how the world is

The notion of post dramatic theatre was established by German theatre researcher Hans-Thies Lehmann in his book Post dramatic Theatre, summarising a number of tendencies and stylistic traits occurring in avant-garde theatre since the end of the 1960s.

The theatre which Lehmann calls post dramatic is not primarily focused on the drama in itself, but evolves a performative aesthetic in which the text of the performance is put in a special relation to the material situation of the performance and the stage. The post dramatic theatre attempts to mimic the unassembled and unorganised literature that a playwright sketches in the novel.

Thus post dramatic theatre is more striving to produce an effect amongst the spectators than to remain true to the text. Lehmann locates what he calls 'the new theatre' as part of 'a simultaneous and multi-perspectival form of perceiving'; this, he argues is brought about, in large part, by a reaction to the dominance of the written text.

The new theatre, Lehmann asserts, is characterised by, amongst other things, the 'use and combination of heterogeneous styles', it situates itself as after or beyond dialogue and incorporates the notion of the 'performer as theme and protagonist'.

[lilahdesignforperformance]

DAFFODIL PITCH

HOW WOULD YOU STAGE THIS SCENE FROM SARAH KANE’S CLEANSED

A time-laps video of flowers growing projected onto the stage 

Have the flowers being pulled up from underneath the stage by strings like a puppet

A sections of the floor rises to expose the flowers as if they were growing

Inflatable flowers could inflate from underneath the stage 

Using mirrors and reflections to create the illusion of the flowers growing upwards

A spring mechanism could spring the flowers up onto the stage

The projection mapping technique where everything is one colour and then the colour of each object is projected onto the set

People painted as flowers rise up creating the illusion of flowers

Confetti or t-shirt type of gun shoots the flowers onto the stage

Flowers could be blown up by air like a vent similar to how those inflatable tube man/sky dancers at car dealerships blow up

Other group ideas:

Interactive wall which involved using a wii remote type of sensor

Having the flowers rise from the audience rather than the stage

Live action feed of watching them grow by peoples shoes and then realising that they are yours and they are growing next to your feet in the seats

The audience participation 

The smell of flowers 

Freeze dried effect of the flowers expanding by water being added to them, possibly from the ceiling

Lights used as daffodils and the lights dim to expose them

Inflatable idea response:

The similar idea of using fabric floating in the air by using fans. This idea could be used in the same way as having just flower petals floating/hovering above the ground.

[lilahdesignforperformance]

THREE SCENES THREE WAYS

CREATE THREE POSSIBLE STAGING RESPONSES FOR EACH SCENE (A TOTAL OF NINE). VISUALLY REPRESENT THESE THROUGH COLLAGE, DRAWING AND SOURCED IMAGES OR VIDEO.

SCENE ONE: Fianna and Alannah singing in the kitchen to Africa by TOTO

Pitch one:

Fianna is a voice over throughout the play but is seen on a screen as if a figure of Alannah’s imagination, for the majority of the play Alannah is physically alone in the play

Fianna suddenly stops when she realises Alannah doesn’t know the right lyrics

They then talk about how Alannah doesn’t know they lyrics

The lyrics begin to play on the projector screen in the back as Alannah believes them to be 

As they speak about the lyrics when they mention a particular key word a image that represents that world is played on the projector e.g. when the word Africa is mentioned pictures of Africa plays on the projector, when they mention the peach a peach plays on the projector

Pitch two:

Fianna and Alannah are standing at either end of the table when the music starts to play

When Alannah gives her lil monologue speech about how she interprets the song the lights dim to a spotlight on her

The projector begins to play a clip of how she sees it with her being the solider leaving for mars, Da being the monster Empress Jaro on mars and Fianna plays the earth with her face painted like the earth

Fianna shows her admiration to Alannah’s story and the lights turn into a warm glow as she speaks

Pitch three:

As Alannah and Fianna toast to their Mammy she appears and toasts with them 

When the music begins the the lights brighten to a warm glow unlike the stormy darkness as the outside is described

All three sing along to the lyrics

Every time the music plays they lights brighten and dim when it’s not

Mammy stays int he room watching her daughters and listen to Fianna admit her admiration for Alannah’s story and watches on with pride

Related images:

SCENE TWO: Alannah stabs Da

Pitch one:

Room begins to get darker

Smoke starts to fill the room so you can barely see

The sounds of laughter as Da tells his joke about the woman with two black eyes

All lights go out so it becomes pitch black

Da screams 

Projection plays of Da’s face yelling on a screen in the back behind them

Laughter begins to play again

Alannah in a voice only calmly asks for the saw

Lights start to flicker red and black

The sound of Da yelling and screaming starts to fade out 

Pitch two:

Once Alannah helps Da into the chair a screen drops the from ceiling so everything is performed as a silhouette

The lights change from normal to red 

After the screen is in place and Da starts asking Alannah all of those questions it turns into a voice over 

Da and Alannah then start to dance together (maybe the waltz) around the room while the voice over plays 

Subtle uneasy music plays in the background slowly getting faster and more intense as Da continues to ask Alannah the questions

Suddenly Alannah stabs Da with a giant knife and he falls back into the chair and Alannah stands back where she was before the dance

The screen lifts and Alannah and Da are covered in red 

Feedback from class discussion:

Visually dark and twisted

Giant knife: Comedic

Pitch three:

When Da tells the joke about the woman with the two black eyes a video of Alannah putting on black eye makeup plays in the background in a projection screen

Smoke floods the room

The video of Alannah shows her having fake blood poured over her as she calmly stabs Da

The sound of Fianna saying “J-Jesus Christ!! Allie! Allie, stop! Stop!” plays from multiple speakers in room like an echo almost like it was being said from inside her head, she says it in a sarcastic tone

Related images:

SCENE THREE: Crocodile Da

Pitch one:

The crocodile is played as a voice over only and is represented with green imagery and coloured lighting

A breeze blows the curtain 

The same actor who played Da throughout the play is voicing the crocodile 

A green light starts to form shadows

Slowly smoke begins to pour out from under the curtain

A lighting flash of light causes a shadow of the crocodile to be seen without the actual crocodile being there

The shadow moves around the walls of the set

Footsteps and slithering of tails are played subtly in the background

Smoke gets heavier

When mammy is heard screaming a video if her screaming is shown on the screen from the projector

Mocking laughter is heard - Fianna, Da and Mammy’s voices

Pitch two:

The crocodile is played only as half a costume with the top half being a crocodiles head costume and the bottom half being a man representing Da

Crocodile scales are casted over the stage in a green light

The green light starts off low and dark and rises up the set as it gets more intense and also gets bolder

Mammy walks out and screams on stage while Alannah tells her it was her who started the fire 

Mammy stands with the crocodile as if they are a team

Mammy leaves when Fianna arrives

Pitch three:

Related images:

[lilahdesignforperformance]

CIRCA SITE VISIT

Site Photos:

Main stage grid:

Main stage grid with seating:

[lilahdesignforperformance]

CONTEMPORARY TEXT STAGED

ES DEVLIN - GIRLS AND BOYS

Es Devlin created an all blue stage set for the Girls & Boys play at London’s Royal Court Theatre, which charts the dissolution of a woman’s marriage through different video projections. She created two sets for the play, which sees a working-class woman played by Carey Mulligan directly addressing the audience to recount the story of how she met her then partner.

One of the designs is a simple blue screen, while the other is an open-plan living room and kitchen. After constructing this lounge-like setting out of real, ordinary household objects and children's toys, Devlin then sourced, photographed and 3D-scanned each item and surface. Once all the surface data had been recorded, Devlin and her team then painted the entire set in a vivid turquoise.Video designer Luke Halls used the surface data to create a virtual version of the set in all its original colours, which is then precisely mapped back onto each surface throughout different points in the play.

During the play, Mulligan's character continues to switch between delivering monologues in front of a plain blue screen, and acting out memories with her two invisible children in front of the monochrome turquoise living room setting. It becomes apparent that she is reenacting these scenes in an attempt to rewrite her own memories, erasing the involvement of her husband after the tragic loss of their children.

"The key to the design is the 'hinge' between the states of direct engagement with audience and interaction with remembered space and children," said Devlin.

"Director Lyndsey Turner and I acted out the transitions between scenes in my living room, which is full of kids' debris," she continued. "Each time the character engages in a memory sequence, a normal looking room gets instantly fogged and muffled in pastel turquoise matt colour."

The designer told Dezeen how she wanted to create the illusion that a full-colour set was being instantaneously painted with blue light or paint live during the play. The living room is first revealed in the process of "losing its memory," Devlin explained, as it turns from its normal full colours to one shade of blue. Following this, each time the play transitions from a section of monologue to an enacted memory, the black screen disappears and the virtual 3D scan is projection mapped precisely onto every object and surface in the room, momentarily returning it to its original full colours.With each projection, the colours get stronger. Devlin told Dezeen that she used these colour shifts to reflect the gradual loss of Mulligan's memories as she succeeds in rewriting them.

[lilahdesignforperformance]

DESIGN MATRIX

CHARACTERS:

Physical characters:

Alannah Devlin

Fianna Devlin

Da - Peter

British solider

Mentioned characters not necessarily seen:

Mammy

Father Kearney

Maggie

CHARACTER CHANGES:

Alannah Devlin ( Early thirties)

Fianna Devlin ( Late twenties )

Peter “DA” Devlin ( Mid-fifties)

British soldier ( Mid-twenties )

Crocodile - Da

ALANNAH -

Clean (OCD tendencies), innocent (unsure, on edge), quite, polite.

Smokes secretly

Shuts down gets panicked from the fire alarm

Becomes fed up with Fianna

Over thinks which can be seen by her story about the lyrics from Africa by Toto

Becomes more and more agitated and uneasy

Alannah becomes transfixed by chaos

Loosens up which is seen as she takes swig from the bottle Fianna was drinking

Eats the chips off of the ground

Starts to drink more and smoke without trying to hide it

Stabs DA (character shift) - this is the turning point for Alannah and how she breaks out of the innocent, quite and polite shell she was living in

Becomes wildly drunk

Changes completely from who she was at the start as she now wishes pain on DA when before she was too afraid

FIANNA -

Aggressive behaviour from the beginning

Forward and confronting “i’m not gonna hurt ya, i’m just gonna bash your face in”

Expressive of her emotions 

Fianna switches from chaotic character to being the character with their head screwed on when Alannah becomes erratic 

DA -

Paralysed

Gunshot wounded

Bleeding out fast

Bossy

Rude

Controlling

Becomes legless after Alannah saws his legs off

Non responsive

Manipulative

COSTUMES:

ALANNAH -

Hair in Scrawny little bun

Puts a pair of marigolds on

Becomes covered in Da’s blood

FIANNA -

Wreath around neck

Dirty boots

Tattoos

Leather

Big hair

Denim

Gun

Cigarettes

Becomes covered in Da’s blood

LAYOUT OF SET:

Isolated farmhouse - refurbished in 70’s-80’s

Cream laminate cabinets, wooden table matching chairs, pale tiles, modest stove

Stage left door to outside world, with a small telephone table and mirror hanging above

Downstage right staircase and hallway covered by curtain

Upstairs over the sink, large window that stares out to darkness

Uncomfortably clean

Muggy

Shiny worktop

New wallpaper

Pristine

Toilet down the hall

Everything within the cupboards is colour coded

No bin inside

Chair that Da is sat on

Candles scattered across the room

PROPS AND USES:

Rock thrown through window

Stove - Alannah cleans it precisely and intensely

Eight packets of crisps which are referred to as sad crisps

Incense is lit becomes extinguished by Fianna

Rock smashes window (page 40)

Alannah slices bread - burns it

Gun in Fiannas pocket

Cigarettes DA rolls

Bottle of rum in wine glass

Alannah tops up drink, slices apple

Telephone - Alannah picks up, pauses, puts it down

Pipe on the table

Fianna has a chainsaw

Alannah drinks rum from the bottle

Alannah puts pot on stove

Fianna plays banjo

Fridge freezer stores a CD

Knife used to stab Da

Coin (heads + tails)

Glass of cold water (To revive DA)

SLK riffle at Alannah's head

Petrol bomb

LIGHTING:

Night (dark) - act 1

Occasional search light outside - Act 1

Weather begins to get worse, begins to get even darker

Cloudy weather outside

Light flickers - Page 76

Light flickers - Page 80

Light flickers - Page 88

Black out

Candle light

Candles go out

Flash of light - Page 114

Black out - End

MEDIA REFERENCES:

Thunder crackling (Act one)

Helicopter sounds over head 

Frog croak

“Some say the Devil is Dead” The Wolfe Tones

Window smash

The Shining

The Poltergeist

Fire alarm

Frog croaks again pg 51

Flush of toilet

Knocking from upstairs pg 57

Africa by ToTo plays pg 60

Both Fianna and Alannah sing

Music volume increases (come on feel the noize by quiet room plays)

Roof hammers

A gunshot pg 72

Water splashes onto floor

Telephone rings

Frog croak pg 75

Thundercloud breaks“Africa” TOTO

Turns of music

“You’ll never get away from me” by Tony Bennett plays

Turns music off

Storm raging on

Demented noise, from “Alligator wine” by screaming Jay Hawkins

Carrie

“O-O-H child” The Five Stair steps

Noises upstairs, noise upstairs stops

Pan smashes to the floor

Soldiers radio, speech and the static

Thud from upstairs, house shakes

Crackling on radioHouse shudders

Blood dripping

Predatorily breathing

Female screen from cassette player, scream melts away

Helicopter sounds overhead

Frog croaks

Chainsaw

EXTERNAL REFERENCES:

Set rural Camlough, south armagh northern Ireland 1989

Tayto Cheese and Onion crips

Superking Menthol Cigarettes

Ireland

Bible verses

Paras

G&T

The Clangers

Jay Hawkins

Armagh Jail

Newry canal

Chinless wonders

Armagh

Rachel O’Briain

Rachel Devlin

A Nightmare On Elm Street

Quiet Riot

Bible verses

Asmat tribe

Leviathan crocodiles

One Eyed Willie

Billy Connolly

IRA

Colossians: chapter three, verses twenty-two

Hitler

Bible verses/prayers

Children of the Corn

Brits

South Armagh, North Ireland

Corinthians: Chapter Eleven, Verse Eight

Empress Jaro

Psalms

MUSICAL REFERENCES:

The first song mentioned it Africa by TOTO. "Africa" is a song recorded by the American rock band Toto in 1981, for their fourth studio album Toto IV, and released as the album's third single on September 30, 1982, through Columbia Records. The song was written by band members David Paich and Jeff Porcaro. 

Lyrics:

I hear the drums echoing tonight But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation She's coming in, 12:30 flight Her moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation I stopped an old man along the way Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies He turned to me as if to say "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you" [Chorus: Bobby Kimball] It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never had [Verse 2: David Paich] The wild dogs cry out in the night As they grow restless longing for some solitary company I know that I must do what's right As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti I seek to cure what's deep inside Frightened of this thing that I've become [Chorus: Bobby Kimball] It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never had [Bridge] Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you [Chorus: Bobby Kimball] It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

The second song to be mentioned in the play is Cum on feel the noize by Quiet Riot. Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal band founded in 1973  by guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Kelly Garni. The band is ranked at No. 100 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock

Lyrics:

[Chorus] Come on, feel the noise Girls, rock your boys We'll get wild, wild, wild Wild, wild, wild [Verse 1] So you think I got an evil mind I tell you, honey I don't know why I don't know why So you think my singing's out of time It makes me money I don't know why I don't know why Anymore, oh no [Chorus] So come on, feel the noise Girls, rock your boys We'll get wild, wild, wild Wild, wild, wild Come on, feel the noise Girls, rock your boys We'll get wild, wild, wild Baby! [Verse 2] So you say I got a funny face I got no worries And I don't know why I don't know why Oh I gotta sing, it's some disgrace I'm in no hurry And I don't know why I don't know why Anymore, no, no, no [Chorus] Come on, feel the noise Girls, rock your boys We'll get wild, wild, wild Wild, wild, wild Come on, feel the noise Girls, rock your boys We'll get wild, wild, wild, baby Come on! [Guitar solo] [Verse 3] Well, you think we have a lazy time You should know better I don't know why I don't know why So you say I got a dirty mind I'm a mean go-getter I don't know why I don't know why Anymore, oh no Come on, feel the noise Girls, rock your boys We'll get wild, wild, wild Wild, wild, wild Come on, feel the noise Girls, rock your boys We'll get wild, wild, wild Oh, wild Come on! (Come on!) Feel it! Come on! (Girls, rock your boys) Work it! We'll get wild, wild, wild (We're gonna get wild) Wild, wild, wild (We're gonna get wild tonight) Come on, feel the noise (Rock it tonight) Girls, rock your boys We'll get wild, wild, wild (Oh, yeah) Ah, ah-ah ah-ah (Whoo!) Ah, ah, ah Come on, feel the noise Girls, rock your boys We'll get wild, wild, wild Ah, ah-ah ah-ah Ah, ah, ah

The third and final song reference made in the play is You’ll never get away from me by Tony Bennett. Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. He is also a painter, having created works under his birth name that are on permanent public display in several institutions. He is the founder of the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in Astoria, Queens, New York.

Lyrics:

You'll never get away from me You can climb the tallest tree, I'll be there somehow True, you could say, "Hey, here's your hat" But a little thing like that couldn't stop me now I couldn't get away from you Even if you told me to, so go on and try Just try and you're gonna see How you're gonna not at all get away from me Rose, I love you, but don't count your chickens Come dance with me I warn you, that I'm no Boy Scout Relax awhile, come dance with me So don't think that I'm easy pickin', the music's so nice Rose, 'cause I just may some day pick up and pack out Oh, no you won't, no, not a chance No arguments, shut up and dance You'll never get away from me You can climb the tallest tree, I'll be there somehow True, you could say, "Hey, here's your hat" But a little thing like that couldn't stop me now I couldn't get away from you Even if I wanted to well, go on and try, just try Ah, Rose and you're gonna see Ah, Rose how you're gonna not at all Get away from me

SPACE CHANGE REFERENCES:

Uncomfortable clean space “shinny, perfect”

Window in kitchen becomes broken from a Fianna throwing a rock through

Floor tiles become muddy from Fianna’s boots

Fire alarm ripped from the ceiling

Becomes smoky from cigarette

Pipe on table- Page 73

Smell of burnt bread

Table moves and becomes dirty as Fianna stands on it

Alannah opens all the cupboards

Crisps opened and crushed all over the floor

Hallway door opens as Da comes in

Blood begins pooling out onto the floor

Pot brewing on the stove

Da slumped in a chair in the corner, legless

Blood spilling out onto the floor

Stew all over the floor and pan is knocked over

Smokes comes out from the curtain

Leviathan crocodile in room

Smoke billows from behind the crocodile

Cupboard door is ripped off to barricade window

PHRASES/SLANG/TERMS:

Craic

Sacred heart

Mother Superior

Wreath off a hearse

Crown during The Famine

Dirty we tout

Firebug

Ye

Hold on a tick and a half

Okey dokey

Daft eejit

Crocodile tears

ALANNAH -

Polite “please, Thank you”

“Flipping sake”

“Oh whoop-dee-flippin-do”

FIANNA -

“Some say the devil is dead

“Thanks be to god”

“Pot fucking kettle, gin eyes” pg 43

“Taking the mick” pg 45

“Ireland, through us summon her children to her flag and strike for freedom”

“See you later alligator, fuck off crocodile”

“So you think i’ve got an evil mind (quiet riot)

“Ye daft cunt”

THEMES/GENRES:

References to mental illness such as OCD

Black comedy

Stockholm syndrome

Sister relationship

Reference to domestic abuse and pedophelia

Sexism

REFERENCE IMAGERY:

70′s Kitchen:

70′s Wallpaper:

Farmhouse:

Crocodile:

Lighting:

[lilahdesignforperformance]

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

Crocodile fever is a comedic, horror/thriller play set in South Armagh, Ireland. The two main characters rebellious Fianna and clean freak Alannah meet again for the first time in 11 years in 1998 during the Troubles. The play starts off with comedic elements as the sisters argue and bicker and then progressively becomes more  heated as the play goes on. Towards the second act the play becomes more violent and bloody. There are some powerful shifts between the characters, set layout, costumes, music and lighting as the characters start to reveal their backstories.

There are many secondary themes that are mentioned through out the play which rely to the audience the common events and topical issues surrounding the play in 1989. These themes include:

ABUSE - 

The abuse the two sisters had endured from their father during their childhood. The continued power Da holds over Alannah throughout the play and they way he manipulates her.

MENTAL HEALTH - 

OCD is mentioned with Alannah’s cleaning obsession which is triggered by the guilt she feels for killing her mother. Da also affects Alannah’s mental health as he has a controlling power over her and manipulates her constantly through out the play.

RELIGION - 

Religion is mentioned a few times throughout the play with references to bible psalms and versus

SISTERHOOD - 

Sisterhood is a theme that is more shown than mentioned as it is the bond between the two sisters and how they interact with one another.

SEXISM - 

An issue at the time of the play 1989, shown through comments DA makes towards the girls 

WHAT I IMAGINE THE SET TO LOOK LIKE:

Old farmhouse

Run down

Clean kitchen

Wall paper pealing at the edges

White and light colour scheme

Lot’s of empty land

Empty cupboards except for the chips and bread

Old 80′s fridge

Curtains with the 70′s lace behind for privacy during the day

Old wooden floor boards, Textured concrete walls painted white.

Bad lighting, a single pendant light above the table

A round wooden dining table with four chairs in the centre of the room

Wooden cabinets 

[lilahdesignforperformance]

ASSIGNMENT TWO

WORDS TO WORLDS

Project outline:

For this second assignment you will create a performance design for Meghan Tyler’s Crocodile Fever. This task requires that you translate the play text from words and ideas into a live performance event. This translation involves more than just speaking the text but asks that you as the performance designer to propose the world that this version of the play takes place in.

The tools at your disposal – space, objects, costume, time, light, body, sound – can be arranged and rearranged infinite times over to shift the audience’s experience of the play. Each element present on stage carries meaning and function, as the performance designer you are able to manipulate our experience of these elements both individually and in combination with each other.

Project deliverables:

To communicate your performance design you will create the following:

- A storyboard of presentation quality images (short videos). This should be a minimum of 10 images. Your selected images should communicate key moments in the play as they relate to your overall performance design concept. These images can be created using a combination of whichever medium you choose.

- A 200 words concept overview statement. This statement should identify the key themes you have identified in the work and describe the arching narrative of the performance design.

- 5min mixed media staging of a section of the play. This does not need to include dialogue, or a performer ‘acting’. You may choose to represent a key element of your design, using this mixed media staging as a way to describe or capture the essence/a sense of how the work might feel. These stagings will be realised at 1:1 and presented to the class in Week 12.

- Blog that documents your process work and in class exercises. This contributes to your overall grade.