Staging in plays

Résumé du document

The staging of plays varies greatly in complexity, beauty and visual effect from one play to another. Writers sometimes focus their ideas rather on the characters' speech and acting than on creating a unique and refined staging technique. Both Henrik Ibsen in A Doll's House and Arthur Miller in Death of A Salesman lay a great importance on the staging of their ideas by creating a whole "entire" world with music, sounds and lighting in a well defined location which can contribute to emphasizing the protagonists' struggles and desires. Yet seventy years later the publishing and first representation of these works from 1879 for Ibsen's to 1949 for Millers' and we can ask ourselves if Ibsen was limited by the techniques of his day, perhaps less evolved. The following analysis will thus endeavor to explore how different or similar both writers' approach to staging are, to ask ourselves finally how staging can affect an audience's reception and response to a play seen in the theater.

Extraits

[...] The first opening of the curtain on stage in a production of A Doll's House reveals a rather complicated and rich scenery. The stage is masked into a Norwegian bourgeois drawing room enclosing certain objects which will have a considerable importance on the main protagonist, Nora, for her needs, struggle and “protection” in a sense. The stove constitutes a certain harbour of protection for Nora from firstly the cold reflected by the Norwegian winter scenery seen through a window but most significantly whenever Nora feels threatened, insecure or ashamed. [...]

[...] Miller is a veritable staging master with his ability and ease at setting mood with music. He uses a happy melody of flute music to resuscitate a nonetheless faded vision of the joyous times of the past, reminding us also of Willy's father, a flute maker who abandoned Willy and thus reflects his unhappy, frustrated childhood, a childhood with no real masculine role model. When Ben comes on stage, “idyllic” music is heard, illustrating Willy's admiration of him whereas ironically Ben's values are far from idyllic. [...]

[...] Her wearing of a coloured shawl when practising the Tarantella dance shows of her desire to cling on to the delights of life whereas the black shawl she wears for the actual performance is a sign of an end to the masquerade as when she declares Torvald, I've changed”, having physically changed clothes and dropped the pretence and illusion as well as having evolved intellectually. This technique would particularly appeal to the audience by helping them further their understanding of the play. In Death of A Salesman the very opening stage directions also set a particular mood and atmosphere “Towering angular shapes” surrounded the Lomans' little house, imprisoning it in a sense which clearly reflects Willy's sense of being trapped in his deluded beliefs of success. The “angry orange glow” sets an aggressive mood, perhaps foreshadowing Willy's final sacrifice in his suicide. [...]

[...] When the stage villain, Krogstad announces Nora's crime she retreats to the stove for reassurance. When Dr Rank admits his love for her , she realises how immoral the action she was about to perform is and that she cannot possibly seduce him into obtaining financial aid from him, his love being genuine and hers oriented in her very own interests. Ashamed, she again seeks reassurance in the stove; this technique helps the audience to perhaps understand the torment taking place in Nora's childish mind and then her evolution as she begins understanding the truth about her superficial marriage. [...]

[...] This is essential in helping the audience understand the full extent of the writers' message as well as the issues raised by the plays, but staging also brings certain aesthetic qualities, adding to the enjoyment of the show by the audience. Yet even if staging holds a great role in establishing tensions and a particular mood to the play, the acting is clearly also of the utmost importance, and its quality will most definitely also affect and determine an audience's response to the play. Bibliography Miller, Arthur. [...]