tsmsPlay

** Re: //Play// by Samuel Beckett ** Theresa Stratmann
 * Assignment on Theatricalism **


 * Question 1. //Imagine you were sitting in a small hall watching a production of the play you heard read in class. Then consider the filmed production found below. In what ways has the film maker revised Beckett's instructions given in the text to suit the medium of film and how does that change your perception of the play?// **

At the beginning of //Play//, the playwright, Samuel Beckett, gives very detailed instructions for the set design, blocking, lighting, and acting in the play. The three actors are in grey urns with their necks held fast by the urn’s mouth. They face forward the entire time, are impassive, and say their lines without emotion. Attention is drawn to the desired character by a shift of the light onto their face.

The film production of //Play// adjust these instructions to suit the medium of film, which means there is much more detail and elaboration of the set and costumes. This adds layers to the play which Beckett probably never intended.

The actors do remain in the urns, facing forward. Yet instead of using lights to draw focus to the speaking character, the camera shifts focus onto the speaking character. All the emphasis is put on the actor’s faces, and almost the whole film consists of these close-ups. The nature of close-ups means more emotion is expressed than Beckett ever intends for in the play. The actors do play the roles largely without expression, but eyes speak on their own. And so we gain an emotional connection to the characters that Beckett probably would never have wanted.

Their faces have ashes on them, implying that the characters are dead, which the play does not explicitly do. The play simply describes the faces as “so lost to age and aspect as to seem almost part of urns.” Also, in the film, the three characters are just three of an endless sea of people in urns in an endless rocky, foggy terrain. This is definitely never described in the script. It makes the three characters represent a larger whole. It looks very much like they are three of many souls in purgatory...the imagery reminds me of Dante’s //Inferno//. This more explicit setting means that there is less flexibility in the interpretation of the play.

Beckett clearly outlines much of how he wants his play produced. By choosing to break or embellish this outline, the film leaves less to the audience to interpret while also giving the audience a greater emotional connection to the characters through a focus on close-ups of the faces. These are major alterations to our perception of the play and probably not to Beckett’s liking.

**Characteristics of Theatricalism**
 * De-emphasis of realism
 * Expression of the human condition in a more abstract, symbolic way
 * Larger than life characters, costumes, and/or set design
 * Costumes and props chosen for symbolic significance
 * Breaking the fourth-wall, getting the audience to think more critically and be more involved
 * Using dance and movement as another means of expressing character or themes
 * Often mean to shock
 * Weird or fantastical settings and situations
 * Makes bold statements
 * Uses vivid imagery
 * Speech and communication patterns often altered to make statements about how we communicate with each other
 * Meant to fully engage our senses
 * Meant to make us question
 * A living version of abstract or modern art