Production Meeting--6-6-11

We have had a whole series of meetings lately about the producer end of things, which have little to do with actual directing but impact the show in any number of vital ways (publicity, budget, atmosphere).  Sometimes these are incredibly frustrating because so little has to do with the actual storytelling of the play.  But as I said, they do impact it in major ways.

Show Concepts: Pros and Cons



Okay, so I have been struggling/juggling back and forth between two concepts for Merry Wives of Windsor.  On one hand, a classic look and setting could be quite nice for this play and on the other hand, a transposition to the American West/Frontier could work exceptionally well.  When I last updated the blog I had pretty much settled my mind on one specific concept and then I went down to the park and everything shifted again.

I want to take a few minutes to lay out the pros and cons of each concept (Traditional vs. Old West).

Where is The Merry Wives of Windsor?

The "where" of a play helps fine tune a production and can make all the difference.  We have all seen productions where not nearly enough was done to physically manifest the storytelling; you get a bunch of people saying lines with feeling but there is no sense of place and the play just sits there.  I've also seen productions (Webber's The Phantom of the Opera, for example) where the settings overwhelm the storytelling, minimizing it.

Finding that delicate balance is one of the chief jobs of a director as he is responsible for the visual storytelling of a production.  Too often, a director lets this slide, and the production is hurt for it.  A really good technical director is a must for any director--one that understands visual storytelling and does what he or she can to make the director's visions a reality.

The director must have a clear vision and be able to articulate that vision.  He needs to not only set the course but be willing to take input that will make the vision better.  A director that sets himself up to honor only one point of view fails not only the production but the process and the craft.

With Merry Wives of Windsor we need to examine the specific places that the script calls for and then figure out how we might adapt them for our production.

When is The Merry Wives of Windsor?

When you consider the time of The Merry Wives of Windsor, there are really three things you are considering:

1. The setting of the script;
2. The time we are setting this production;
3. The time the script was written.

With most plays you don't necessarily consider the second point, but because Shakespeare is so "hard to understand" directors sometimes take great strains to translate the story to a setting that will give their audience another "in" to the script.  I wholeheartedly believe that there is nothing wrong with this.

Purists (oh, how I loathe them) cry fowl when directors update a Shakespeare script.  They think that it is a bespoulment of the good works of a master.  I would say to them The Lord Chamberlain's Men and The King's Men did the exact same thing during Shakespeare's time.  They kept their actors in modern, Elizabethan dress, especially for the history plays.  Why should we be any different?