Modern theatre has, to a moderate extent, successfully incorporated puppetry and multimedia. As technology develops and people start watching movies and listening to music, and with theatre having been around so long, it is inevitable that multimedia has been made use of to make for a more interesting theatre experience. At current, I feel that sound has been very successfully incorporated, with many plays making use of music clips for scene changes and/or to set the mood, or for sound effects. This has served to enhance the production in many cases, and hardly distracts the audience from the play.
Video has also made its beginnings onto stage productions, as I have seen from the local productions Cogito by Checkpoint Theatre and A Midsummer Night’s Dream by the Singapore Repertory Theatre. In Cogito, a video of half a woman’s face represented a character in the play that existed only in virtual reality. Granted, there wasn’t much option when it came to portraying a physically nonexistent character onstage besides using a video clip; however, SRT chose only to show her eyes. Personally, I felt this detracted somewhat from the production, as due to the limited scope of the video, they felt that more eye moment was crucial to the display which on a whole I felt was entirely too abstract and didn’t quite fit with the dialogue.
In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, there were certain points in this adaptation of the play where rotating images of the character’s emotionless faces were flashed onto a screen at the front; the audience was inevitably distracted by this surreal and inexplicable display, and as this was a production on a free stage all eyes were on the screen instead of on the actors at the back. Some good use was made of the multimedia where a live video of the actors was screened from time to time that was a great aid to audience members that were too far away from the actors to catch physical details. All in all I feel that the plays I have watched that utilized video turned out to be quite a disappointment. Undoubtedly however, the inclusion of multimedia to the stage has unveiled a whole range of possibilities for theatre to explore and to evolve.
8. Construct one set design for the extract you have studied, and adapt it for two different spaces. How does your set design in each space express the overall atmosphere of this piece?
From what can be gathered from the script, the set of Ubu and the Truth Commission is fairly minimalist. Hence, I have not included any more props than what is mentioned in the script. I feel that having too many props may seem as an attempt to create a realistic scene on stage, whereas the play focuses on abstract ideas and hence should have a minimalist set design to contribute to the surrealistic mood of the play. Also, all the props should either be black or dark colours, to add to the melancholic atmosphere.
I have chosen the proscenium and thrust stages to adapt the set design to.
Thrust Stage
based on
Due to the nature of the thrust stage, the positioning of the props had to be adapted to ensure that no perspective is blocked from view. Through slight staggering of the props’ positions, the audience members on every side are able to see the other important props.
The thrust stage allows the audience to view the stage from three sides; the ‘fourth wall’ effect of the play is hence reduced and there is greater intimacy between the audience and the play. This is achieved as the set is not separated and blocked off from the audience as in the proscenium arch of a proscenium stage, and allows for a more flexible perspective of the set. There will be a soft, dark blue ambient light on the set throughout the play to add to the surreal atmosphere, and to highlight the gloomy and satirical nature of the play. Inevitably, some of this blue light will spill over into the sitting area, and as the audience finds themselves bathed in the light they will feel a greater connection and inclusion into the play and hence will be more emotionally-absorbed in the play.
Proscenium Stage
The more conventional proscenium stage is the most commonly used stage in theatre spaces. The stage is raised above the level of the first few rows of seats, aiding the visibility of the set and actors for the audience. Also, as all the seats are directly facing the stage, all audience members share the same perspective of the play and hence have the same experience, as compared to the different perspectives of the thrust stage. Furthermore, since the set is only viewable to the audience from one direction, the ‘fourth wall’ effect is very successful here as the set is separated from the audience both by levels and the proscenium arch. Hence, it is more likely for the audience members to take a more detached view of the performance, and be constantly aware that they are watching a performance.
The set has been arranged such that the most important props are brought closer to the front, and all the props have been brought forward and spread linearly to ensure that they do not block each other from view.
As the audience members are all on one side of the stage now, the actor is able to directly face the audience, as compared to thrust stage where he has to vary his attention in 3 directions. In this case, the intent of the play hence seems more directed and purposeful, which prompts the audience to look for meaning in the play.
Sources:
http://www.artec-usa.com/03_projects/performing_arts_venues/carolyn_blount_theatre/images/the_octagon_photo_01.jpg
http://www.lib.washington.edu/subject/Drama/images/proscenium.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proscenium
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrust_stage
- Hui Yi
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