Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Pitch Notes

I KEPT GETTING DISTRACTED BY THE PITCHES. I just... found myself listening and mulling over the concepts so I did not take many notes... I plan to add more but I don't have time today (midterms ><) so here is the raw form right now.


Director’s Pitch
-          Bertolt Brecht overview
o   German
o   Communism
o   Goodness
-          Why Good Soul of Szechuan?
o   Powerful, relevant moral questions
o   Beautiful set and costume possibilities
§  Art students
o   Fitting cast size
o   Genuine interest and potential for investment in the plot
§  Exploring brechtian ideas
o   Poverty and possible modern adaptation
o   Appealing to a large demographic
-          Focus and Aims of the Performance
o   Goals for ourselves:
§  Learn about Brechtian theatre and how his style manifests itself in different aspects of performance
§  Develop a play from scratch whilst effectively working in production groups
o   Aims:
§  Make our audience question…
·         What do we give up to “survive”… what ethical, mental, emotional sacrifices must we make… should we make?
·         What is true “goodness”?
·         Can it even be measured?
·         What is social morality, not connected to religion, but in the world, how does it work?
-          Issues and themes
o   Plight of morality
o   Naïveté
o   Innocence
o   Facades
o   True Love
o   Man’s inherent isolation
o   Role of Women
o   Social Darwinism
o   Quantitative/Qualitative Goodness
o   Self-interest

-          Concept Spinning
o   Grunge
o   Beauty from roughness
o   Tobacco

-          Correlation of Production Elements
o   Sound
§  Soundscapes – natural sound
o   Set
§  Utilitarian
§  Simple yet compelling

-          Production of the Play: Logistical Feasibility
o   Responsibility for Logistical Feasibility
o   Huge undertaking, huge cast, little time = one big challenge
§  (\500,000)
§  Organization is key
§  Small budget for a large show
§  Recycled materials, thrift stores
§  Reused props
§  Maturity


Set Design
-          Interpretation of the Book
o   Loss of Innocence
o   Caring vs. Apathy
o   Conforming to Society
o   Goodness

-          Light from the windows
o   Shen Te’s shop is the focus
-          Brechtian Influence – detailed tobacco shop
-          Cheap, almost gaudy atmosphere
o   Show that a set is a set
o   ‘something grand’ but it degrades

-          Keywords
o   Modern, Urban feel
o   Falling down, apart
o   Evening Time
o   Not very safe
o   Gaudy but faded colors
o   Grimy

-          ((I keep getting engrossed in the presentation and forgetting to take notes))


Costumes
-          V-effect (Alienation Effect)
o   Makes the audience not feel comfortable
o   Audience can see the performance in the new way
o   Minimalistic
o   Fragmentary Costumes; one or two items in detail and in character
o   Make specific elements stand out or seem strange
-          Costs covered ???
-          Character Analysis <3

Audio and Visual Aspects
-          Bamboo Forest video
o   Beginning and the end of the play
o   At the same place where you started; you didn’t really get anywhere
o   TV screens?
§  Retro equipment (XD)

-          Music Samples:
o   Fitting and a surprising hybrid of both Brechtian and immersive elements
-          Rain Sound Effect
o   Enclose the sound within the stage – the stage is a separate room, separate world, a separate dimension from the audience
-          Gods Sound Plan
o   A collusion of sound effects would be fascinating and if done well, really effective

1 comment:

  1. Oops - I've been posting from the wrong account. Sable is a penname I use online for creative writing XD

    ReplyDelete