hbdesign

Hannah Byars THEA2100H Dr. Richmond 2 November 2010

Design Questions
 * 1) Neither Mrs. Trotsky nor Ramon have any awareness of the audience, but at three points in the play Trotsky addresses the audience specifically in an aside, so he has awareness of his audience.
 * 2) It wouldn’t matter whether what kind of stage it was, but it seems as if it would work better on a smaller stage, perhaps a blackbox theater, because of his asides giving it a more confidential and small feel. Also, it is a one-act, so it would not draw large crowds, further pointing towards a small theater and therefore the audience being in the same room.
 * 3) The period of dramatic action refreshes itself eight times as Trotsky dies eight different times.
 * 4) It’s in central America, Mexico, Coyoacan, the Trotsky house, the study, and next to the desk.
 * 5) It is sometime in the afternoon, because the Trotskys discuss what to tell the cook about supper, so it is before 6 most likely.
 * 6) It seems as if the set is rather dark. As one imagines a study to be full of dark woods and deep colors. The play specifically states that there are louvered windows upstage, which let in less light than normal windows, furthering the assumption that this is a dark set. This dark set does not reflect the personalities of the cast. It actually is the direct opposite of them. They are carefree and joking around with each other, while the set reflects the darkness of the material. The lighting would be equally as dark as the set. The music and the costumes could reflect the characters. The only time music comes on would be before the play begins, and that contrast with the dark set would be a good preparation with the lightness of the characters and the darkness of the material. The costumes could go along with this contrasting theme. They could reflect the characters’ lighthearted personalities against the dark set.
 * 7) The weather seems to be warm, based on the fact that the gardener was outside working on plants, and the fact that it’s August in Mexico. Outside is bright and sunny, or at least what little bit can be seen through the slits of the window is.
 * 8) Mr. and Mrs. Trotsky are probably upper-middle class based on the fact that they have a house with a study and a gardener, and of the way that Mr. Trotsky speaks of himself; he gives off a somewhat pompous air of someone important. Ramon is posing as lower-class since he is a gardener in Mexico, but there is no way to tell what he actually is.
 * 9) Ramon is a gardener, Mrs. Trotsky has no occupation than one can tell about besides running the house, and Trotsky is a former Russian government agent.
 * 10) Trotsky was 60 when he died, and therefore is 60 in the play. Mrs. Trotsky is roughly the same age, and Ramon is about early 30s.
 * 11) Ramon is a gardener and has no personal connection to the Trotskys besides that he’s sent to kill them. Mr. and Mrs. Trotsky are married.
 * 12) Trotsky himself is to be emphasized. Mrs. Trotsky is only there to further Trotsky and to show more of Trotsky’s character. Ramon is simply a walk-on who does merely furthers Mrs. Trotsky’s job of emphasizing Trotsky’s character on a smaller scale. Ramon is the most subordinated. Mrs. Trotsky isn’t really subordinated or emphasized, she’s in the middle.
 * 13) There is only the entrance of Ramon towards the end and then his exit. Mr. and Mrs. Trotsky stay on the stage the whole time.
 * 14) The property needs are a mountain-climber’s ax, a pen, a paper, an inkstand, a skull, books and newspapers, a large encyclopedia, and a bell. The furniture needs are a desk, two chairs, and possibly a clock, and a bookshelf. The characters do not do a lot of moving around save for when Ramon enters, so there are not many property and furniture needs of any of the characters. The main need is the ax, which is smashed into the skull of Trotsky and is the point of the play. The fewer props emphasize the importance of the ones that are actually there.