blocking and music

after a very exciting read-through with my actors on monday, I was filled with emotions and excitement for the project, which is turning out to be not very much like a noose around my neck at all, but rather some kind of caffeine or cocaine related drug, pumping me up with a chemical like adrenaline and setting my creative fire alight with such force that it keeps me from sleeping, and forces me into ridiculous bouts of theatrical action.

I spent a lot of time on my feet today in riverside theatre, moving through planned actions and thinking of dynamic and potentious blocking that will help to heighten the theatricality and conflict within the script.

the ground plan I developed looks like this. keep in mind that the window rests on a risen proscenium at top, and that the audience sits on four sides of the space. the exits are the vomitoria at stage left and right.


 

 
what I am currently struggling with is the dead space that rests stage center, but I'm hoping that I will be able to motivate movement through and within that space, either as part of the through line between the vomitoria, or as passage from the major set elements, most likely between the table and the bar. chair two and four, wait, what happened to chair three. amazing, my first mistake. anyway, I added those two chairs today, upon the suggestion of my professor who thought that the chairs flanking the bar might help to motivate movement down stage right for purposes other than refilling a scotch or wine glass. I think he was smart to do that. (I probably would have figured it out eventually anyway, being young and incredibly gifted and modest myself, but thank you dick nimke.) I've got antonio sitting in chair four for a good page or two, which gives him ample time to down drinks in his quest for diminished lucidity in his knowledge of his culpability in the affair.

 

 

I don't normally do blocking in photoshop, as I like to be on my feet in development, but you guys deserve an effing illustration.

 

I am not sure what the conventional blocking notation  is, but I've got a handwritten version of the image at left next to every page of script in my prompt book. it allows me to quickly and simply see a visual representation of the blocking I have created. the numbers next to each movement are doubled on the script itself, so that I can see which movement is intended for which part of the play. this is the blocking for page one of 'the vise.'

movements 1-6 happen in silence. 1: anna lights the gas lamps on the table and exits. 2: giulia wanders to the window. 3: she sees antonio outside and sets her knitting on the table. 4: she checks to see if the bedroom door is closed. 5: she prepares for his entrance by moving to the doorway, but stops as 6: antonio enters and hangs in the doorway. 7: she moves to him. 8: he moves away and pour himself a scotch. 9: he sets his drink down on the table at c1 and lights a cigarette.

I then do this for every page afterwards. blocking is mutable, and frequently changes in rehearsal. we have our first blocking rehearsal, for the first fifteen pages, tomorrow.

 

next on my list of things to do is to pick music for my production. I am pretty confident that I will have no sound at the start of my show, and definitely confident that there will be no underscoring during the play. something that I have been clear on since the beginning of the process, however, is that I am looking for a cinematic smash-cut to black immediately on andrea's "murderer!" I think this jarring slam to black will put a nice cap on what has become an avalanche of action and language up until the end. I picture andrea building the shout up in himself and spitting it at antonio, with the blackout happening before we can even gauge the younger man's reaction.

I am leaning towards one of two options for the music to play in that black, over curtain call, and into the transition to dominique's play. I've looked into the work  of the italian tenor enrico caruso, specifically the following two (public-domain) recordings.

'mi par d'udir ancora' from georges bizet's lyric opera 'i pescatori de perle.'
[audio=http://www.cjkrueger.com/media/05%20Mi%20Par%20D%60udir%20Ancora%20(I%20Pescatori%20Di%20Perle).mp3]

and 'una furtiva lagrima' from gaetano donizetti's 'l'elisir d'amore.'

[audio=http://www.cjkrueger.com/media/09%20Una%20Furtiva%20Lagrima%20(L'elisir%20D'amore).mp3]

both recordings are from the very early 1900's, and remain in period with my piece. they were also featured in woody allen's 'match point,' which I love. maybe right now I am leaning more towards 'una furtiva lagrima' for it's irony, 'oh, heavens! yes, I could, I could die! I ask for nothing more, nothing. yes, I could die! yes, I could die of love.' any thoughts? suggestions?

I will continue to keep ya'll updated on the ongoing process of putting together this production, hopefully with photographs from tomorrow's blocking rehearsal as soon as they're uploaded.