Ruined

RUINED

Vision Statement

With this production of Ruined I would like to shine a light on the constantly shifting alliances and tragic absurdity that marks the ongo­ing war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I would like to tell the story of Mama Nadi and the women that are working for her at her place place. Mama Nadi, the ambitious owner of a Bar/ brothel that serves everything from a cold beer and a warm meal to the company of a woman. Through Mama Nadi we meet the women who work for her and the businessmen, peddlers, government soldiers, rebel fight­ers and miners who frequent her spot. In this portrait of a place and the people that inhabit it, I will give a window into a country that has suffered immeasurable losses since the beginning of a war that has raged there for more than a decade. Even though men are fighting the war; women are the most frequent target of this war. Sophie, a smart young woman who was destined for a university education until she was captured by soldiers, brutalized and left for dead. The title of the play, Ruined, is a terrible euphemism for what happened to Sophie—and what happens to Congolese women every day. Salima, another young woman brutally raped by soldiers for months; returned home only to be disowned by her husband and family. Sadly, this happens to rape survivors throughout the Congo. Mama Nadi, Sophie and Salima; all survivors who refuse to let themselves be destroyed by the brutality around them. It is this spirit of survival and dignity that gives a sense of hope.

 Theatrical Space

I think a revolving stage like this one would give the audience the feel that they are seeing into two different spaces in the bar.










For my productions of ruined, I choose the Houston Texas Arena Theater. The arena theater is one of

the oldest venues in Houston.

Its round revolving stage allows audience members a degree of intimacy with the performers unavailable in a traditional arrangement. The Arena recently received a substantial facelift Upgrades, include new sound and lighting systems. This venue revolving stage will allow the audience to focus on each scene; without other distractions. I think it would give the feeling that you are moving through each space in the bar. 

             Scenic Design     

The design for my production would have the look of bar or brothel in DRC. The look of the set would have shabby walls and shutters; sub par tables and chairs around the room. The other spaces  within  the bar would have to have the grim look of desperation.

Costume Design

The people in this picture are wearing a mixture of traditional clothing and modern clothing. this is the look i would like to have for this production. i think it would bring a natural feel to the production.

The costume design for this production has to have a mix of traditional African attire and modern attire. This design give a real element to each of the characters in the show. I don't think that everyone is wearing African clothing. Their is a mixture of clothing brought in by suppliers and humanitarian aid.

Lighting Design

Set & Lighting Design - "The Country Girl", Beer Sheva Theatre

The lighting in my show would look something like the picture above. I think this type of lighting would put the most focus on the performance. this lighting would be great for giving the feeling of each of the characters in the space. i think it can give the feel of what the space around the performer is like, if their having a sad or happy conversation or in heated situations.

Sound Design

Sound design for this production, would that of the bar and whats going on outside of the bar. i think inside sounds would be that of a small music player of some kind, a low sound of people talking( not so much that it would take attention from the performance), gunfire and trucks coming from the outside. These sounds really set the mood for what is going on in that region of the world.

 SOURCES

http://www.arenahouston.com/events/about/

http://www.precinctreporter.com/community/inland-empire/1607-ruined-war-a-redemption-in-congo
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2010-08-23-Congo-rape_N.htm

http://www.icexcellence.com/prodtxt.asp?id=2

The world of theater Mira Felner and Claudia Orenstein

American Musical

The first musical productions in the American colonies, a was a production of Flora. Flora was a ballad opera from England. The ballad opera stayed relevant in the colonies for many years. After the colonies were united their many genre of the musical, before we got to the American musical we know today. After the ballad opera's their was burlesque. At that time, burlesque consisted of travesties on or parodies of famous plays, performers or dancers done in song, dance, pantomime and dialogue. The accent on female in flimsy attire came later. Their were the  minstrel shows, first done in  1843 was a representation of a attempt through the exploitation of the humor, dance and song of the African American or Negro at the time. The minstrel shows had no plots, characterization or settings. The first American show to have a plot, characterization and setting, was the play The Brook in 1879. Their many versions of the musical, before the ones you may see on a Broadway stage today. 



A highlight of the Spoleto Festival USA is the opera “Flora” at the Dock Street Theater, where it played in 1736. Center, Andriana Chuchman with Tyler Duncan; seated in front, Robert McPherson.

Maurice Hines, left, joins his brother Gregory (now deceased) in the finale of the smash 1981 Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies

Seeing a musical today would be a lot different than Flora in the 1700's. Today musical theater has the elements of dance, acting, and music. The music usually written for the play by a composer; will usually come together with the dancing and acting. I have never seen musical theater live, but i think their would be great music, dance and dialogue; that would make you feel like you experienced something special. I have seen some popular plays on video and all the elements come together to make a great experience to watch.

This is a Phyllis Hyman in Duke Ellington Musical Sophisticated Ladies

Something i found interesting is that burlesque was originally used to poke fun at popular people and shows and that the first musical production in the us was performed in a courthouse.

Sources

http://www.theatrehistory.com/american/musical030.html
http://www.musicals101.com/
library.brown.edu/exhibits/archive/broadway/
The world of Theatre Mira Felner and Claudia Orenstein

When I walked into the theater to see the show, my fist thought was that I had seen it somewhere before. I couldn't remember at first where I had seen this show, but as the show went on I remembered where I had seen it before. I had seen it as a movie titled Kingdom Come. This version of the play and the movie are almost word for word the same. I would catch myself mouthing the words the actors were going to say next. The only changes that I notice were different between the play and the movie were the last name of the family, the pastor was a woman in the movie the pastor is a man and of course the race of the families.

The play and the movie are both hilarious to me.  Everyone around me seemed to be busting their guts laughing. Their was so much energy coming from the audience. People in the theater were genuinely having a great time. Their were no parts of the show that I didn't find myself intrigued by what was happening on the stage. I think the movie was a little more subtle in being over the top. I don't think this was a good move for the movie; because I think all the situations were meant to be over the top, to me that’s one of the things that made the play funny. I thought the woman playing Juniors wife was very good. She really made me forget that she was the only black person in the play. I think she was convincing; that she belonged in that crazy family. the Lady playing Aunt Margaret was good also she definitely got my attention in the very beginning of the play, singing that song and slapping the phone with that spoon it was great. I thought all the actors were good those two just stood out to me.

When Left the theater I went across the street to the Arena sports bar to meant up with my sister brother and some friends. I was telling them about the show and what a good time I had. I had invited my sister and brother to come with me and they said that plays were not their thing but after i finish raving about how funny the show was they were wish they had went. When I did finally make it home i search the internet to find out about the movie and the play. I found out that the original producer and director of the play were behind the movie of a different title. the play was a hit. the movie was not much of a hit. I did personally think the movie was funny but I found the play a bit funnier. I had a good time at this show. I was by my self and didn’t think I was going to enjoy myself but I had a great time. I looking forward to seeing another show soon, even when I’m no longer in this class.  

Anna in the Tropics

In the play Anna in the Tropics I saw two different major conflict one between the Owners of the factor and wheater they should install machines. If the owner Santiago put in machines a lot of workers would lose their jobs; on the ther hand if he put in the machines he can boost production of his cigars. The other conflict i can see is between Juan Julian, Cheche, Palomo. Cheche conflict with Juan Julian is the fact that Juan Julian is a lector and his wife ran off with the last lecterand Palomo sees his wife is have an affair with the new lector. Cheche and Palomo represent jealousy and Juan Julian represents sensitivity and romance.   On the other hand I think Santiago and most of his family represent the appreciation of had work. Santiago seems to prefer quality of over quantity; on the other hand his brother thinks the opposite and would rather install the machines and lay off the workers. The turning point between Juan Julian and the men was when Palomo saw Conchita kissing the lector in the factory. The turning point between Santiago and the machines is when Cheche brought the cigar rolling machine and was trying to convince Santiago that the new machines would modernize their factory and boost sales. The climax of the conflict between Juan Julian and the men was when Cheche got drunk and shot Juan Julian out of hate he had for lectors. The climax for Santiago is when he decided to not use the machines and keep the workers. Santiago also decided to make a new cigar and put his daughter picture on it to boost sales. In the end Palomo recognized what his wife had seen in the lector and change his ways. The Santiago family realized that they had made the right decision keeping the old traditions were the right thing to do. I really had a good time watching this play. I didn’t think that I would. I found myself intrigue by the actors and their performance. I was always wondering what was going to happen next. The difference between viewing this play and seeing a movie is I could feel the situations the actors were portraying. I felt like I was in the cigar factory; watching the event of the day takes place. Seeing a movie is entertaining but the feeling of seeing this play had a different feel to it. The performance was very believable and lot of feeling behind it. This was my first live play. The experience of seeing this production change what my perception of what live theater is.

Commedia dell'Arte

Commedia dell'Arte is a form of improvisational comedy, which began in Italy during the 16th century and spread out from there. The performers have a scenario in outline form. A Group Would  have a week or so to improvise an entire performance from stage directions. The performers write the dialog and since the performance is improvised timing requirements are greater than in regular theater. The main characters usually are Pantalone, Gratianom, Pedrolino and Arlecchino. Pantalone is a merchant of Venice and he is rich, greedy, and he's miserly. Gratiano is usually a lawyer type. Pantalone and Gratiano are old male characters, they are referred to as the "vecchi", which is Italian for old male.  Pedrolino and Arlecchino are the servants of the old men. Collectively they are known as zanni.

Seeing a commedia Dell’ Arte performance; would consist of professional actors trained to perform the art of Commedia Dell’ Arte. The staging of the set would be simple, so the audience can focus on the characters being portrayed. The actors will perform their dialogue with different props, music and dance. If the performance is traditional the focus should not be focus on the dialect but on the physical aspects of the story telling. The reason for focusing on the physical comedy is that you probably won’t be able to understand the dialect. I think this keeps the audience focused on the performance more than the subject of the play.

                                       
                                       These are some of the different traditional commedia dell'arte mask.

In this video the modern art of the clown traces its roots to the Italian Commedia dell'Arte. This is theatre based on improvisation. Even when an overall script existed at all, each performance still differed from every other.

In the beginning actors would often interact with the people watching, suiting the comedy to the audience's taste.  If people of the upper class were in the audience, the comedy tended to be smarter. On the other hand, if the audience was more of the middle or lower class the improvisations were bawdier.

   

The Zanni never does well at his job, since all he thinks about is food or sleep.  Often, he is distracted while on a mission, after hearing the name of a fruit--or after falling asleep.  Zanni seems to be stupid, poor, and slow, and therefore is the lowest character on the social scale. A modern version of the Zanni would be Homer Simpson.

Ciatations: Commedia dell'arte: a handbook for troupes By John Rudlin, Olly Crick,www.commedia-dell-arte.com, Wikipedia,The World of Theatre, by Mira Filner and Claudia Orenstein

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