conceptJL

CONCEPT FOR THE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE:

Essentially, //The Universal Language// is a comedy about a young woman struggling to find her place in a world in which she does not fit due to her speech impediment and the man who tries initially to swindle her but winds up falling in love with her. The cosmos seem to be involved, from Dawn's finding the newspaper ad to Don's and Dawn's names being so eerily similar. The characters call it, "di anda di destiny"--the hand of destiny. My concept for the play revolves around an apple, a perfectly red and juicy apple. Apples historically have represented temptation as well as purity, a theme in //The Universal Language//. Also, a lesson in love and kindness is taught in the course of the play; an apple is an appropriate symbol for teaching and for learning. As far as design goes, the set should also reflect an apple in that apples are polished and simple. Nothing more than the bare essentials is needed; the focus needs to be on the characters, as their romance blooms in such an unlikely place as an old classroom. Additional justification for the use of an apple as the starting place for all aspects of the process: apples are universal.