Old+Times+Scene+and+Lighting+Design


 * Scene and Lighting Design**

On June 1st 1971, directed by Peter Hall, //Old Times// was first performed by Royal Shakespeare Company, at the Aldwych Theatre in London, England. This theater has a proscenium arch with a short apron. Since the Houston theatre is an arena theatre the set has to arranged slightly differently then is was in the original play. This gives us both the ability to be creative with prop placement and set design. The reason we chose an arena theatre was because the play does not need much in the way of a set being very simplistic in its set pieces and props. The set floor of the arena stage will be painted light brown to display a wood flooring like the one found in a converted farm house. The only set pieces needed with be two open door frames one, two divans, one coffee table, a short window sill and an armchair. The two door frames will be set up top stage left and top stage right, at the very end of the aisles. They will be placed where the rounded edges of the stage meet the aisles. These door frames will not be moved in-between acts. The two divans will have a classic traditional style but be short and low to the ground, light in color (one blue one red) and have a back to them with one arm rest on the left side. The relatively low height of the divans will allow for effective set pieces that the characters can lay or sit on without blocking the view of audience members. This low height will also allow audiences members that are sitting above the stage to see the actors. These arm chairs will be identical in style but different in color. This will help identify them when they are reversed in the second act, displaying that they are the same chairs but in different positions. These divans will be places in alignment with the aisles of the arena theatre in order to allow for the maximum amount of audience members to view the character that currently occupies the divans at that time. The single coffee table will be low in height so not to interfere with the sight of the audience members. This table will be made of wood and have a crystal container of brandy along with 3 glasses. This table will be complete with an ashtray, lighter and a wooden cigarette box. This table will not be moved between acts. At first, I wanted to go with a hanging window that would have been hung from the rafters to hang toward the back center of the stage. This would have been made of a very thin and see-through material, in order to not obstruct the view of the audience. When creating my first sketches of the layout of the stage I realized that no matter how thin the material or what angle the window was hung that it would ultimately always block the view of an audience member. This would take away from atmosphere of the play. The solution to this problem was a short window sill that could be used to create the feel of a window frame without having the actual physical element there. This window sill will have a small black window box on the side closest to the facing audience with potted pansies. These pieces of the set are referred to in Kate’s “I saw you dead” speech when she talks about rubbing dirt on Deeley’s face. The window sill and window box will switch to the opposite side of the stage for Act II. The armchair will be light in color (creme), to stay with the theme. It will also have a classic traditional style but be low in height having a short back and small arms so not to obstruct the audience’s view. The armchair will also be placed in alignment with the aisle to lower its obstruction of view and maximize the ability for the audience to see the actor currently in the armchair. The armchair will switch to the opposite aisle of the stage for Act II.

Another reason the arena theatre was a good choice was due to the simple blocking of the play. //Old Times// is bases largely on the strong language and interaction (or lack of) between the characters. There is minimal movement of the characters. The fact that //Old Times// only three characters in the pay allows for each one to take up an aisle spot. This placement of characters will allow for maximum visibility of the actors for the audience. They will only move when they have to, allowing for one section of the audience to always be able to follow at least two of the actors. In Act II when the stage is flipped the audience will get a different perspective and equal opportunity to view all angles of the play. The arena also creates a more intimate interaction between the characters and the audience. Through allowing the audience to surrounding the stage, this create the sense that the audience is in the same room as the actors and experiencing the conversation along with them. After all the conversation between these characters is what makes the play, by creating an atmosphere where the audience feels involved they can better find a connection with the underlying themes of the play.

The lighting is very prominent in the play being used to create the effect of the window and the two closed doors. This is referred to as projection of stage elements which is the use of lighting to project scenery or to act as scenery on stage. A dark reddish-orange light shining on the floor displays the colors of an autumn moonlit night, creating the outline of light shining through a window. This light will be places a few feet from the bottom of the short window sill creating the effect of the shadow from the window pane. This will be accomplished with the use of a gobo which is a dark plate or screen used to shield a lens from light, in turn creating a pattern. The use of these colors will allow us to set the autumn night time period in which the play takes place. The outline of a door is shined on the floor in a dark grey lighting that displays the doors mass without actually having the physical material that would block the audience’s view. This will also be accomplished with the use of a gobo. When a character walks through a door the light goes from dark grey shadow to a dim white light. The lighting used throughout the play will be either dark blue or white with minimal dimming. Throughout the play we will use composition which is the use of lighting to only display the areas of the stage that the lighting designer wants the audience to see. This is also important to the opening of the play. For example when Deeley and Kate begin the play by talking about Anna, seemingly as if she has not arrived, she is actually on stage just not fully visible to the audience. This will be established by placing a white light on the stage, while spotlighting the figure of Anna in dark blue light. This will highlight the figures appearance on stage while creating a mystery to her presence. When she begins her speech the spot light will be immediately lifted displaying the character and allowing Deeley and Kate to acknowledge her presence in the room. The lighting at the end of the play is also very prominent in the script. At the end of the play the script calls for very bright abrupt lighting. This will be used after creating a shadow casted over the entire set by the dark blue lighting. When the cue for the bright light is given the dark blue light will switch to bright white while allowing other bright white lights to also join in making brighter and fuller lighting of the entire stage and ultimately ending the play. Since these type of lighting cues can be very difficult to handle a computerized lighting effects machine will be used. This will be used to handle the swift switching between grey, dim white and back to grey during an open door transition. All while keeping the important outline of the door and window set pieces. The lights play a large role in setting the mood of the play. They highlight the actors which in turn allows for the highlighting of their performances. This creates an ideal setting for the audience to interpret the conversation between the characters, the basis of the play. The bright lighting is focused on the stage and allows the arena to create a dark atmosphere in the surrounding audience. This keeps the audience members from seeing one another and preserves their autonomy. In turn this enforces the theater’s ability to not only create but keep the intimate feel between the actors and the audience. The lighting contributes to the feel of the play through its creation of the setting. The dark reddish orange light not only creates a creative way to display a window but shows the moonlight of an autumn night. This sets the play, and the mood of a cold dark autumn night.