By the Bell: Reviews of GSOS

I just decided "GSOS" will stand for the Good Soul of Szechuan. I'm a genius. But without further or due, the compilation of the lighting group's notes/ideas/phrases/pictures/videos/inspirations on several reviews of the Good Soul of Szechuan. Disclaimer: if it doesn't make grammatical sense or seems to just start out of nowhere, you are reading the correct thing. It's just a snippet of what we thought was the most interesting.

• Its insight, its engagement with the real world and, especially, for its ability to provoke.
• What's barely been noticed, oddly, is that the production is set in the present-day.
• I think she’s more of a man [Shen Te]

• A vibrant cast, evocative music and colorful costumes distinguish the play [and] Grays’ performance is supremely sublime, realistic and entirely convincing… one almost wants to rush the stage and protect her from the human vultures ready to devour her.
• One of the real strengths of Chris Honer's production is the variety of styles the piece is presented in, from mime to method, with each choice seemingly just right both for the character and the situation. Tom Khun's essay on Brecht in the program describes him as protean, and the same adjective could be applied to the Director. The way all this comes together into a coherent whole is testament to both his skills, his excellent choice of David Harrower's translation, and the quality of the large ensemble cast.
• I did have some (very minor) quibbles with the production. I'm rarely a fan of back-projection, though here it is at least used sparingly and wittily. I also found myself wondering whether the resurrection of a sub-plot involving heroin skewed the production, despite being Brecht's own revision; though I also wondered how Yang Sun's descent could have been so complete without it. And I couldn't help wondering whether the unexpected return of the house lights was accidental, as interesting as the effect was. But Brecht's aim was to make his audiences engage intellectually with his plays, so it could be argued that even these questions are part of the show's success.
• ‎The audience enters through the dust and grime of a cement factory where sweating workers despatch heavy bags towards a travelling chute. This instantly establishes a context of capitalist toil: ideal for a play about the difficulty of doing good in a wicked world.
• Her only solution is to adopt the ruthless persona of a male cousin, Shui Ta, whose hard-heartedness enables her to survive.
• The adaptability of capitalism + Brecht's vision of unreconstructed economic slavery begins to look anachronistic?
• The industrial chute that contained cement bags eventually turns to heroin production.
• Highlight the unashamed emotionalism of Brecht's play.
• Wonderful aborted wedding scene, both comic and sad,
• [Shen Te] is also quirkily eccentric
• The final image of Shen Te, trapped inside a glass booth as she is instructed by the escaping gods to carry on being good, also brands itself on the memory as searingly as a Bacon painting.
• And the scene where Horrocks promises to be a tigress for her unborn son while a vagrant rummages through a rubbish bin is as moving as anything in The Deep Blue Sea.
• David Sawer’s music cheekily uses “Chopsticks” in its harsh, barebones arrangements for piano and trumpet
• Switches brilliantly between a girlish Shen Te and a gangsterish Shui Ta
• “In Brecht’s apocalyptic vision, the earth is swarming with ruthless criminals and the desperate poor. The situation is so dire that the gods themselves have come down in search of one good person.”
• From this entertaining contradiction Brecht considers our crazy world: How can individuals live good lives when hardship provokes them into corruption & opportunism ? Can 'good souls' survive against such pressures, or must they sacrifice their 'goodness' to survive ?
• An extraordinary pair of complementary sets oppose each other from each end of the elongated acting area which divides the audience into roughly equal halves, stalls & balcony on each side of the traverse stage.
• 'Realism' on stage is a fallacy & that pretence in performance should be exploited for it's own virtues, so this production is enacted pretty straight for a Brecht play. (No scene-locations or date changes written on notice-boards, for example). 'Why did I never ask myself that?'
• Any play by Brecht might be appropriate for our times but 'The Good Soul,' (formerly 'Person,' in earlier translations & originally, 'Woman') is most apropos right now. Too rarely presented 'when our garden looks rosy,' Brecht is not just rollicking good entertainment, he is as Court Jester to the age, reminding us of our self-destructive failings, a propensity to take popular but wrong paths when 'the path less travelled' promises best for the long journey

Much of the information displayed can be found on the BTB page or following the links below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yraye-TICZ4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXFR5ShGZIU

http://www.robertcohendrama.com/productions/the-good-person-of-szechuan/

http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/838.aspx

GSOS: Lighting Concept Sheet

This outline will be used for many purposes and is an integral part of the lighting design. It will help guide the drafting of our lighting plot and will be a less detailed version of our cue sheet. It can be seen as a skeleton. It will shape and work with other parts of the body.

UPDATE:

Mr. Black has approved of our concecpt sheet! Success!!!! Our next step is to finalize the lighting plot then start working on the cues. During this meeting, we discussed many things. We got the okay for us to utilize a follow spot, discussed whether bamboo gobos would be possible and drafted new ideas for some plots that Mr. Black suggested. It was a successful meeting even though two of the four members were ill and we were able to get a much finer vision of what the final product would look like. These meetings with Mr. Black are honestly so helpful because a lot of the time, I feel like a fish out of water with the design process. He clears up any hazy areas and answers the plethora of questions we all write down when he is absent.

Now, I'm off to APAC Forensics! - Wish me luck, but more importantly, I wish the guys who will stay here without us the luck. Au revior!

Scene	Lighting Description
[Before the Play]	Bamboo Gobos Green general wash
[After the audience has sat down]	Dim to black (Brechtian Elements; do we want black or just a slight dulling?)
Prelude	Ellipsoidal; focused on Wang, representative of Hope The passer byers are in shadow Followspot growing progressively brighter as the gods enter
Scene 1	Before Scene General wash As each character enters the shop The wash will close in on the shop At the end of the scene Fade to Blue spotlight on WANG in his corner
Interlude	Before Scene Blue spotlight on WANG Lantern on near WANG When gods enter Soft edged spotlight on the gods At the end of scene Blackout
Scene 2	Beginning of Scene Half intensity spotlight on shop Lanterns will be used for SHUI TA and HUSBAND When Husband and Wife wakes up Lantern 1 turns on When SHUI TA enters Flips the switch General wash on shop When scene ends Fade to light blue gel wash
Scene 3	When scene begins Blue wash Gobo for willow tree with green gel spotlight When scene ends Fade the willow tree Focus on WANG’s spot
Interlude 1	Represent hope in the beginning, and somehow transition into disappointment. Lantern on near WANG Ellipsoidal light on Wang and the Gods. This may change in the future if we decide we want Wang to move around. During Wang’s last line, dims to black
Scene 4	Spotlight on Shen Te for the first stanza > hones in on her thoughts and her goodness; isolation. After first stanza, the audience is lighted as numerous characters begin to emerge - Ubiquitous thought; Brechtian element. Dims to black.
Scene 5	General wash for the entire scene; Yellow, pollution-like shades. Dim to black
Interlude 2	Color: Early in the morning; beginning of dawn; Dark Spotlight on Shen Te until “sell this sack so Yang Sun can fly again.” After that, half intensity light lit on different parts of the stage. Drug addicts will be doing different things at this time.
Scene 6	Beginning of Scene General Wash (Half Power/Intensity) with a spotlight on MRS.YANG and YANG SUN. PG. 56 Line 1 Spotlight on SHEN TE. PG. 56 When SHEN TE waves YANG SUN over. General Wash (Full Power/Intensity) Start of YANG SUN’s song/monologue on PG. 63 Start bringing up a blue spotlight slowly and should reach full intensity by the time he’s done The general wash should also start to dim down Pg. 64 right after MRS. YANG’s first line Spotlight gone, general wash back up to full intensity Pg. 64 after looking at the door for a while slowly start transitioning to Interlude 3’s lighting
Interlude 3	Beginning of scene Blue/Green spotlight on both WANG and the Gods Lantern on near WANG End of scene Blackout
Scene 7	Beginning of Scene General Wash Before she starts talking about child on pg. 68 Dim General Wash and have a light blue spotlight on SHEN TE and her child when he comes later. When the child says he needs to leave on pg. 69 General Wash full intensity
Interlude 4	Beginning of scene Blue spotlight following WANG Lantern on near WANG End of Scene Blackout
Scene 8	Beginning of Scene General Wash on whole stage When Yang Sun enters General Wash on tobacco shop End of Scene Fade to Blue spotlight on WANG’s sleeping spot
Interlude 5	Beginning of Scene Blue spotlight on WANG’s sleeping spot Lantern on near WANG When gods enter Spotlight on gods End of Scene Blackout
Scene 9	Beginning of Scene Lights on in the WHOLE BLACK BOX Washes EVERYWHERE As the policeman clears the court room The lights will fade to a general wash in the court area only When SHEN TE enters again Blue follow spot When the gods talk after SHEN TE’s big speech Get rid of the blue spotlight Fade to pink glow End of Scene Blackout

By the Bell: Back to Back Theatre

Back to Back Theatre is located in Geelong in 1987. Its ensemble members all are diagnosed with intellectual disabilities. It focuses on moral, philosophical and political questions about the values of the individual lives that are scattered around different societies. It seeks to remove itself from the cultures and societies that are obsessed with beauty and perfection and expose the real outsiders of today. It thus provides a more unique view of the world. 

I think their concepts and what they're doing - taking many risks - is very interesting. I didn't even know that such a theatre company existed! Upon further research, there are several companies around the globe that utilize disabled people! What a unique and creative way to exhibit diverse themes and cultures around the globe. 

ARTifacts review

I think my review of the IBTA year 2 girls will be a little bit different from those of a few of my peers as I was involved in the technical aspects of their play, specifically the projections. But all in all, despite my familiarity with many of the scenes and the overall concept of the play, I think everything went phenomenally. The costumes, first of all, suited the setting and individual scenes exceptionally. They were also, not to mention, really creative and well made! The viewer was able to really understand why a character was wearing his/her costume and how it related to the larger picture. The costumes were varied and distinct from one another further adding to the gravity of the designs. Now, let’s look at the set design. I know that much of the design wasn’t able to be completed to the set designer’s vision at the end, but I thought it was finished as best as it could have been. The back wall was beautiful – thank you Reca – and the octagonal shape of the stage really worked effectively with blocking. The lighting was very well done. The scene changes were evident and the lighting was able to represent the context of the different scenes well. For example, the artsy dream sequence was bright and utilized warm colors. The sound and projections, in my opinion, could have been better. Sometimes, the sounds were softer than others and the video was difficult to hear. The projections also were projected onto the screen in an awkward matter. This, I think was due to the lack of time and the fact that Solene had the main role in her play – talk about the dearth of time. All of the production elements were able to work very effectively together.

             I was able to learn many things from the experiences of the IBTA yr. 2 girls. They overcame many difficulties and I was able to learn from their mistakes. The biggest challenge they had to overcome was probably time. By the end of their 3 or 4 weeks, they did not have enough time to rehearse and perfect some of the acting and blocking. This allows our theatre class to learn that time is precious and we cannot waste it goofing around and being immature. Overall, I really enjoyed the IBTA Yr. 2 play, and I am very excited to be devising our own play next year! (Despite the hard work that lies ahead) J 

GSOS: Lighting Plan

A. the MOTIVATING FACTORS for undertaking this particular performance. (Description of why all decisions were made)
B. the FOCUS or AIM of the performance. (the FOCUS OR AIM of performance)
C. The ISSUES OR THEMES treated by the performance. (Research of the time period or concept: Magazine clippings, pictures from books, written description)
D. a Description of the performance concept. (Research of the time period or concept: Magazine clippings, pictures from books, written description)
F. The ELEMENTS OF THE PERFORMANCE which the student considers would EXCITE AND INSPIRE THEM AND AN AUDIENCE. (Gel and Gobo choices, Description of the mood and tone of the play as a whole and in each scene or section that will be used to create the lighting scape)
G. Any other perspectives of the performance which the student believes would convince a reader of the VIABILITY AND FEASIBILITY OF THE PROJECT.
H. A JUSTIFIED OUTLINE of a concept for performance which communicates the dramatic impact of the intended performance. ( Description of the mood and tone of the play as a whole and in each scene or section that will be used to create the lighting scape )
I. A DESCRIPTION OF HOW THE PRODUCTION ELEMENTS INTERRELATE to convey the performance concept.

Sabrina - 1.Research of the time period or concept:
- magazine clippings
- pictures from books
- written description

Kevin - 2.List of all changes of day and other signified lighting changes within the script
6.Description of the mood and tone of the play as a whole and in each scene or section that will be used to create the lighting scape

Peter - 3.Simple plan of where lights will go, lighting areas and what type will be used ( use the scenery designers ground plan for reference)
5.At least 5 special light areas besides those needed for general wash and front

Justin - 7.Description of why all decisions were made/ Explain vision

Post Modernist Play Notes

*These notes were taken from Reca Sarfati's page: http://i-have-forgotten.blogspot.kr/2012/10/notes-in-presentations.html as my notes were extinguished from the face of this planet. Thank you computer.*

Austin: Accidental Death of An Anarchist
- Written in 1970, by Nobel Prize winning playwright, Dario Fo
- Morte Accidentale di un Anarchico
- Based on true story of Giusuppe Pinelli
- Pinelli Fell (thrown) from fourth story during interrogation
- Man accused of Piazza Fontana bombing was a real guy, but
- Uses comedy to depict story in an interesting manner
- Who is the "maniac"?
    - Not to answer questions, but questions answers
- Political themes
- Open-ended (two endings)

George: The History Boys

- Alan Bennet
- Takes place in private school in Northern England in the 1980's
   - Feeling of being in the 50's
- Hector revealed fondling another boy at the school
   - Themes of homosexuality
- "In order to preserve our freedoms, we must sacrifice our liberties"
- Verbatim Theater
- Non-linear (language swaps)
- Theater of Difference - homosexuality
- Dadaism - incorporating poetry into text: Shakespeare, Kipling
- What is education really about?
- Eroticism of education

Joel: Stuff Happens

- By David Hare, from Sussex, England.
   - Interestingly, play is set in an American setting; switches perspectives
- Comedy, Politics, War
- Decision Making - taking apart different issues surrounding Iraq War
- Tensions between Bush and Blair
- Not funny, very serious
- Big name characters
- Moral and Political characters
- Verbatim theater: real politics, real interviews, although some is creative "where the doors close"
- Dangerous theater: Tough topics, tough people
- Non-linear Theater: time jumping
- Disconnect between actor and audience
- Live narration
- Interjection of Song
- Global theater
- Need for background with politics, too much realism, difficult to consider art
- ??? Change races of actors, tech, simple objects, use live narration but leave elements of surprise
- ??? Dance and song?

Kevin: Equus

- Peter Shaffer, 1973
- Weird. Horses.
- Alan committed crime of stabbing the eyes of 6 horses
- Dysart takes Alan in as a patient
- Religion/Sex
- Due to poster, Alan sees horses as God-like creatures
- Doesn't want God to see into his soul
- Non-linear timeline
- Character to narrator
- Actors as Props
- Use of song to convey message
- Bare set
- Speaking directly to audience
- Use of Masks
- Repetition
- Altered states of mind and being
- Recontextualism
- Theater of difference
- ??? Wouldn't change much,

Andy: Arcadia 
- 1993, by Tom Stoppard, born in Czecho Slovakia, born in England
- Censorship/political freedom
- Set in Sidley Park, centered around Lord Byron
- Juxtaposes time/timelessness
- Table with all the prop pieces on it
- THE HOURS by Virginia Wolf

Annie: The Accidental Death of an Anarchist
- Only a couple characters: maniac "detective," superintendent, journalist, inspector
- Written in 1970, by Dario Fo
- Po-Mo is the maniac
- Realism is found in the situation
- Dangerous Theater: politics, gets into the mind, questioning the role of the police force in
- Verbatim Theater: Maniac changes characters through simple changing of clothing
- Idea of massive "hyberbolized" window

Justin: Metamorphoses

- By Mary Zimmerman, American, born in Lincoln, Nebraska - Tony Award
- Idea of 'constantly changing' - how humans react to change, can humans ever really change?
- Looking Glass Theater Company, Chicago --> movements
- Adapted from classic Avid poem, Metamorphoses
- Take into consideration that this play was written in 1990's, during the resurgence of
- Self-contained episodes, connected with an overarching theme of change. It does flow. Pulls you in,
  tragic.
- Non-linear theater
- Dangerous theater: nudity and incest
- Recontextualism
- Q and A
- Insight into present society
- Anthropomorphism
- Art for art's sake, no specific story line, difficult to immerse into the plot
- Set design = simple, yet elegant and intricate
- ??? Stick with Mary Zimmerman, play with water reflections, actors playing drastically different roles in each scene.
- Symbol: Water

Peter: Euridice
- By Sarah Ruhl, based off Greek tale
-More modern sense, based off Euridice, rather than Orpheus
Adds Characters, such as Euridice's father
When Euridice dies, she loses all memories and knowledge she had before she died
THEME: mind
dreamlike, nothing seems linear in the speaking of it
Remembering vs. forgetting
Relationships between Orpheus and Euridice: based around relief, playing music when she's sad
Between Father and Euridice: overcoming hardships
When Orpheus goes to retrieve her from hell, she instead chooses to stay with her father, but her father had already chosen to forget her
Anthropomorphism: Some of the characters are rocks
- Altered States of Mind:
- ALL OUT for set design - look for different art styles, out of the ordinary
- Using very simple stage design: just split into pastels and navies.
- Symbol:

Georgia: The Blue Season

- Man, Woman, Prologue, Epilogue, Doctor, Nurse
- Play within a play
- Set within a mental hospital
- Relationship between man and woman begins to deteriorate,
- Recontextualism: difficult to follow story with Epilogue and Prologue
- Non-linear
- Art for Art's sake: writing was very eloquent
- ???Very obviously staged, white open light. Fun casting characters, personifying epilogue and prologue
- Symbol: Snow

Sammy: Accidental Death of an Anarchist

- Dario Fo: Satyrical radio star, hooked on Italian politics
- Been arrested, put on trial, beaten.
- Maniac breaks into police station... etc. Anarchist revealed to be innocent, bomb is to be revealed to be put together by an
- Unnamed characters
- Change in perspective: character of Maniac changes situation he walks into
- Non-linear
- Dangerous Theater: unearthing political corruption... came out the same time of actual event -
- Verbatim
- Not art for art's sake: show corruption through theater
- people in the presence of corruption will be drawn to corruption
- ??? Smoke machine, long arms, lighting changes with each character shift
- Symbol: chalk outline holding bomb

Emma: The Exonerated

- First performed in 2002
- People convicted for murder, on death row
- Based off real interviews
- Real people's names
- Non-linear
- Macaronic: most experience racism, convicted because of race
- Bricolage: Gathered from legal archives
- Expressionism: what characters felt through their experiences
- Recontextualism: Narrator has his own story
- Purpose: Shine light on these people who were convicted for what they didn't do.
- Connected to society: reflection of injustices in American justice system. People in power aren't willing to go into depth to find truth.
- ??? Table and seat vs. Three chairs on a completely blank stage
- Symbol: Chair with light over it

TPPP List

Plays Attended:

• Wicked
• The Comedy of K
• Pina Bausch film
• BlackWatch
• Gulliver’s Travels
• The Odyssey
• Parsons Dance
• Yoshito Ohono (Butoh Dancer)
• Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
• Fame
• Other Desert Cities
• The Crucible
• APAC Theatre Performances
• Artifacts

Plays Participated In:

• The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
• The Good Soul of Szechuan
• Artifacts – IBTA yr. 2 play
• The Pajama Game

Plays Read:

• The Last Days of Judas Iscariot
• Angels in America
• The Flu Season
• Metamorphoses
• The Good Soul of Szechuan
• Hotel Splendid
• The Pajama Game
• The Love of Three Oranges
• Antigone
• The Crucible
• Mother Courage
• The Laramie Project
• Trojan Women

Workshops Attended:

• Mark Hill
• Andong: Korean traditional masked dance
• APAC Theatre 2013

Festivals Attended:

• Seoul Performing Arts Festival
• The World Festival of National Theatres
• APAC Theatre
• SEDance

Production Work Done:

• Projections – Artifacts
• Set building – Artifacts, The Good Soul of Szechuan 
• Acting – The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, the Pajama Game, The Good Soul of Szechuan

Styles of Theatre Studied:

• Post-Modernism
• Modernism
• Realism
• Suzuki
• Viewpoints (Bogart)
• Butoh
• Dance Theatre
• Stanislavski’s System
• Brecht
• Brooke
• Pina Bausch
• Wilson
• Bunraku
• Noh
• Kyogen
• Kabuki
• Greek Theatre
• Underground Theatre in Japan
• Neutral Mask
• Found Mask
• Commedia
• T'alchum
• Kathakali
• Devising of theatre
• Directing
• Technical theatre
• Play analysis