Much Ado About Nothing by Ryan, Aum, Kyle, Bryan
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Transcript of Much Ado About Nothing by Ryan, Aum, Kyle, Bryan
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
A DIRECTOR’S CUT
One of the most crucial members in the theatre field is the director. The
director is in charge of orchestrating the production of a performance by
combining the different elements of theatre into one. The director is also in charge of choosing and modifying the
script in order to best accommodate his vision of the play.
AN INTRODUCTION TO MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Written between 1598 to 1599 by William Shakespeare, Much Ado
About Nothing is a comedy about Benedick and Beatrice, two witty
lovers who try to hide their feelings out in the open. At the same time,
Claudio and Hero are another couple who are spellbound by each and are
broken by a belief that Hero has been unfaithful.
CHOOSING THE SCRIPT
My group decided on “Much Ado About Nothing” as our play and script because it was a comedy written by Shakespeare himself, the setting was interesting and
similar to the popular, “Romeo and Juliet”, as it is in Italy.
As the director, I wanted to keep the play authentic to its time period. Even though the play can be too long to fit into the standard one and a half hours to two hours time frame, it is important for me to utilize the entire script that Shakespeare had originally intended to use. This
would mean the inclusion of all of the minor characters and lines in order to capture the entirety of the play that
Shakespeare originially created.
CASTING
Casting is hugely important in theatre. The actors and actresses chosen will have to embody the
characters of the play to the best of their ability. It is up to the director to find people that fit the description of
the character both visually and emotionally.
The next few slides will contain the main characters along with the
actor/actress I believe would be able to assume the role
MICHAEL CAINE AS LEONATO
Michael has been involved in films such as Batman
Begins and The Dark Knight. In these films, he plays characters who are
serious, but has a sense of humor. He creates a father-figure of sorts for the main
character. He would do well as a nobleman as his
roles are butlers who know how to be ‘posh’.
ANNE HATHAWAY AS BEATRICE
Anne Hathaway possesses comedic experience and
could also believably achieve a masculine look, while retaining that distinct
femininity about her. She would be able to become the
strong-willed and clever woman Beatrice is. Anne is my preferred choice for the
role of the heroine.
ASHTON KUTCHER AS BENEDICK
Benedick is the witty and clever version of Beatrice.
Ashton would play this part well since he is such a
proud and egotistic man, yet can also be extremely
funny. He’d had experience by acting in a multitude of roles. His role in Butterfly Effect showed his variety
in acting.
JOSH HUTCHERSON AS CLAUDIO
Josh Hutcherson is a new face in modern acting. He
has risen as a new compassionate and strong actor in Hollywood. This
would be great for Claudio, as Claudio is a young
soldier who falls in love with Hero. Josh’s latest
role in Hunger Games show his compassion and blindness to love.
EMMA STONE AS HERO
Emma is a beautiful young face to acting
which makes her perfect for Hero. Hero is
characterized as lovely, gentle, and kind. She is also accused of lechery
and is revengeful. Emma’s performance in Easy A shows that she can accomplish being
revengeful and dealing with accusations.
BRAD PITT AS DON PEDRO
Don Pedro is characterized as the “Prince”. He is generous, courteous,
intelligent, and compassionate. As a
philanthropist in reality, Brad Pitt shows these
characteristics on and off the stage. Brad’s role in
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button showcase
his intelligence and compassion.
PETER DINKLAGE AS DON JOHN
Described as envious and dark, Peter would play
Don John perfectly. Peter’s recent roles in the Game of Thrones series layout his villainous part
as Don John. Peter’s dwarfism would be great
as a reason for his betrayal and accusations
of Hero.
MILA KUNIS AS MARGARET
Margaret is Hero’s servant. Although honest, Margaret is seen not as clever as the rest of the
characters. Mila could play this role with her various roles as a ‘dumb’ female character who is tricked frequently. This is seen in
her role in That ‘70s Show.
TOM FELTON AS BORACHIO
A lover of Margaret and a trickster throughout the play.
Tom Felton can easily play Borachio. Tom’s role in Harry Potter show his wickedness
and his age make him compatible with Maraget’s
actress. With his experience, Tom can be believable as the
supporting actor of Don John’s scheme to frame Hero.
SPINE AND THEME OF THE PLAY
Much Ado About Nothing is not a play that can be easily described by a single spine or theme. For this reason, I will attempt to choose the best description for both
Spine: The play follows the spine of “Finding true love”, the play culminates with the characters finding true love. Beatrice and Benedick, Claudio and Hero, Margaret and Borachio ultimately end
up paired together throughout the play.
Theme: While the spine focuses more on love, I believe the themes in this play are the importance of honor during courtship and the transient nature of respect and reputation. The importance of
honor is shown through plots with Hero where it appears that she is not being faithful, even though it is misinterpreted. The transient nature of reputation and respect can be seen
throughout the play as well. Small things can affect the reputation of a character very quickly and negatively impact the level of respect they receive.
As the director, the spine and theme identifies above should be the main focus. As such, actors should be informed and scenes must be established in ways that emphasize both the
theme and spine. Examples of usage of set elements to achieve this include focusing lights on a couple embracing or wardrobe changes for deceived characters (Claudio may wear white
at the beginning of the play, then wear black when he believes Hero is unfaithful and disgraces her.).
By: Aum Patel
COSTUME DESIGN
HISTORICAL PERIOD
•Widely regarded as on of Shakespeare’s best plays, Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy that was most
likely written between 1598-1599, during the Elizabethan era.
•This era was also referred to as the English Renaissance, as many elements of theatre were
changing during the time period. •Costumes in this play should accurately reflect the traditional garb worn by citizens of the time period•This will help the audience better imagine the time
period and better experience the play
PRODUCTION STYLES
•Costumes will resemble the old-fashioned times and will appear as they did in the late 16th century•A disparity in clothing can be seen between the
different economic classes, as the wealthy will have elegant clothing while the working class will be
dressed in more casual attire•A wide economic gap existed in this time period, as
there were many very affluent people, but also many poverty-stricken people who lived day to day
Differences in attire in the play can help the audience differentiate economic statuses of
characters
CHARACTER COSTUMES
BEATRICE
•Beatrice, the niece of Leonato, is depicted as a wealthy woman in this play
•As a strong-willed woman who believes that a woman should be completely independent, she
dresses like a tomboy (harem pants) at the beginning of the play, disregarding her
“obligation” to dress properly•As the play progresses, she becomes more “lady-like”; the costumes she wears throughout the play should evolve in order to show this progression of
her character
Tomboyish attire at the beginning of the play
More elegant dress towards the end of the play
BENEDICK
•Benedick is a great soldier who is in the service of Don Pedro
•Due to his status as a soldier, Benedick will be seen mostly in his military outfit
•As the play progresses and Benedick becomes more infatuated with Beatrice, he starts to wear
more elegant clothing•An example of this is when Benedick wears a
formal vest at Hero’s first wedding, forgoing his usual military attire
Benedick’s late 16th century military costume
Later in the play, Benedick wears a formal vest to Hero’s wedding
CLAUDIO
•Claudio is also a high-ranking officer who is under Don Pedro.
•Claudio is a more qualified soldier than Benedick, however, which is why he wears his military attire
to all formal events such as Hero’s wedding•This shows his high-ranking as an officer
compared to Benedick, who chooses not to wear the military attire to the wedding
•This also shows his high status in society, as soldiers, especially elite soldiers, were held with
high regard
HERO
•Hero is supposedly the main female lead character in the play, although Beatrice is
often viewed as more important•Hero is dressed very formally throughout
the play, wearing elegant dresses to reflect her high social status. She is also seen
wearing pearls in the first act, again reinforcing her family’s wealth
•For both of her weddings, Hero wears a traditional white wedding dress
DON PEDRO
•Don Pedro is viewed as the most socially powerful character in the play as well as the most politically
powerful character•His costume in the play is limited to his military
attire, which reflects his high social standing•He is the leader of both Claudio and Benedick, so
his military costume will feature more visible accolades than that of the other two
•He is often referred to as “The Prince”; again his costume will reflect his upper-class standing in
society
DON JOHN, CONRAD, AND BORACHIO
•Don John is the villain of the play, but the audience should not be able to tell solely through his costume•Don John will resemble the characters of Claudio,
Benedick, and Don Pedro in the manner that he will be wearing his military uniform
•Unlike a couple of the other military men, Don John will be seen strictly in his military uniform throughout the
entire play• His evil actions alone should make him into a villain, with no aesthetic difference from protagonists in the
play•Both Conrad and Borachio will also wear the military
uniforms, as they are associates of Don John
LEONATO
•Leonato is the governor of Messina in the play, which means that his costume will reflect his high
status•He is not a soldier, however, which will make him one of the few upper-class male characters who
will not be wearing a military uniform•He will be dressed in very elegant clothing,
possibly even condsidered a little bit flamboyant, in order to stress his extreme wealth in
comparison to the other characters in the play
MARGARET AND URSULA
•Margaret and Ursula are seen in this play as women who are of a lower-class
•They are both waiting women, meaning that they are assistants to higher ranking
women (in this case Hero)•Their costumes will both be rather plain
clothing, rather than having the elegance of Hero’s formal dresses
DOGBERRY AND VERGES
•Both Dogberry and Verges are policeman in Messina throughout the play
•The two characters are never dressed casually throughout the entirety of the play, meaning that they will only be seen in their policeman uniforms•Dogberry is the chief policeman of the Watch, so his uniform will have a little bit more distinction
than Verges•The costumes will be colored slightly differently in order to help the audience differentiate between
the two characters
BALTHASAR AND FRIAR FRANCIS
•As a musician and waiting-man in Leonato’s household, Balthasar will be
dressed as a lower-class member who will be seen often with a musical instrument•Friar Francis will be dressed in traditional attire that was worn by friars in the lath 16th century; this will be the color brown and will be accompanied with a necklace
with a cross on it
Balthasar Friar Francis
By: Ryan Nguyen
SET DESIGN
• Much Ado About Nothing is regarded as a comedic play written by William Shakespeare roughly around 1598-1599.
• It is considered one of his best comedies because it combines several elements like hilarity and serious matters like honor, shame, and court politics.
• The play was written and took place during the Renaissance Period.
• Much Ado About Nothing is set in Messina at the Governor’s house (Leonato), a port on the island of Sicily. Sicily was ruled by Aragon during the setting of this play.
• The set of this play would closely resemble designs of the Renaissance period with Sicilian influence to help the audience visualize and experience the play in that time period.
HISTORICAL PERIOD
• The play mainly revolves around Leonato’s (The governor of Messina) home and the grounds of his property.
• The main set would be within Leonato’s house. Many scenes take place within different rooms of the governor’s house.
• Other minor sets would be other places among the estate like the garden or the orchard of the house and also the prison.
• For this play, the best thing would be to use one main set that could be manipulated to reveal another set for another scene.
•
SETS USED
SET PICTURES
• This production is more comedic and satirical. So as the stage designer I would create a set that would help show that this play is very comedic.
• A very elegant and stylish set design would be used to portray a high aristocratic society that would contrast the very childish actions of the actors.
• The style of this play would be very classy and elegant, yet allowing room for comedy.
MOOD AND STYLE OF THE PRODUCTION
• This play takes place around the Renaissance period.• The play is set in Messina, Sicily. The set design
would reveal Sicilian influence on styles that closely resembles that of during the Renaissance period.
• The set would most likely be the Governor’s (Leonato) house and his surrounding property (orchard, garden, church).
• The period and time frame in which this play takes place can be established to the audience through the style and designs of the set and its props.
THE PERIOD
SET DESIGN IDEAS
Since many scenes revolve around the house, the house could be used as the main set piece while little scenes like the garden or the orchard could be created by adding back drops like in this picture to the left.
SET DESIGN IDEAS
A movable front piece could be created so that it could be double sided as well. That way one side, when arranged correctly, could portray the outside of the house. And turning the pieces around to the other side and arranging it correctly could reveal the inside part of the house (rooms) used for other scenes.
SET DESIGN IDEAS
Many props can be used like fake plants in pots to simulate the orchard and garden scenes. Also props could be used to portray the church scene as well. It is important to keep in mind that these props must fit the theme from the Renaissance period with Sicilian influence. With these props and set
designs, lighting is crucial to help the audience visualize the artwork arranged. The lighting can help a lot with the set and help create the mood or tone of the scene as well.
• The opening scene takes place before Leonato’s house, so this could be portrayed to be outside of the house before the characters come inside.
• This particular scene would be re-used in scenes:• Act 1, Scene 1• Act 5, Scene 1
SETS FOR EACH SCENE
• The most used scene is probably different rooms inside Leonato’s house.
• The best set to be used in this case would the inversion of the outside of the house to reveal the inside of the house and the separate rooms.
• That way different rooms can be used as the focal set but the same set can be used for many different scenes.
• Scenes that would repeat this set:• -Act 1, Scene 2• -Act 3, Scene 2• -Act 2, Scene 1• -Act 3, Scene 5• -Act 5, Scene 4• -Act 1, Scene 3
SETS FOR EACH SCENE
• Another set to be used would be an orchard for the scene that takes place in Leonato’s orchard.
• Something simple as a backdrop of an orchard could be used here with several orchard props to help give off that orchard scene feel.
• Scenes that would use this set:• -Act 2, Scene 3
SETS FOR EACH SCENE
Something similar to the picture featured in the right could be used as the orchard backdrop. It would be adjusted accordingly to fit the scene.
• Another set that needs to be implemented would be for the scene involving Leonato’s garden.
• This can be accomplished like the orchard scene with a garden back drop and props.
• Scenes that would use this set:• -Act 3, Scene 1
SETS FOR EACH SCENE
• The last major set design that would need to be implemented would be those for the church scenes.
• This can be accomplished through many ways by either having another back drop or actually using church props and pieces.
• Since it is suppose to be an elegant scene, actual church props and pieces should be used as opposed to the back drop to satisfy this.
• Scenes that will use this set:• -Act 4, Scene 1• -Act 5, Scene 3
SETS FOR EACH SCENE
By: Bryan Lee
LIGHT DESIGN
• Helps focus the moment• Keeps the flow transitioning from point to point• Refines the audiences perception of the entire play• Let’s the director selectively decide what the audience
sees
IMPORTANCE OF LIGHTING
The goals of a light designer would be to collaborate with all the other artists in highlighting each other and connecting the different aspects of spectacle into one
whole production.
SET AND LIGHT DESIGN
Messina. Before Leonato’s House
Use a full spectrum light to mimic daylight on the screen
ACT I SCENE I
Characters
CharactersCharacters
Transition Into: Fade In with LightsTransition Out: Fade Out Lights to shift set
A room in Leonato’s House
Using a dimmer (yellower/warmer) light with the assistance of a spot light emphasizing Leonato and Antonio
Perhaps a light from a window in the set to show the daylight
ACT I SCENE II
Leonato
Antonio
Transition Into: Fade In with LightsTransition Out: Let music play and slightly change set with Exuent
A hall in Leonato’s House
A bright central light with an overall cooler light
Accentuate the background as a ball and social
ACT I SCENE III
Characters
Transition Into: Allow set to be moved into place with musicTransition Out: Fade Out with Lights
A hall In Leonato’s House
Using a warmer light and liven up the scene compared to the last set have everything illuminated with a chandelier or other substitute
Have dancers and other guests dancing and
ACT II SCENE I
Chandelier
Characters
Guests
Dancers
Guests
Dancers
Transition Into: Fade in with LightsTransition Out: Shift Set with Music
Another room in Leonato’s House
Illuminate entire set to show that the setting has indeed changed and allow actors to accentuate the moment.
ACT II SCENE II
Characters
Transition Into: Finish Shift of SetTransition Out: Fade Lights out like a sunset
Leonato’s Orchard
A warm and red/orange sunset type of lighting to place a time on the situation. As the scene progresses have it end with the sun completely set and the people walking into the house for
dinner
SCENE II SCENE III
Characters
Transition Into: Allow “sun” to setTransition Out: Fade out with lights
Leonato’s Garden
A dark garden scene with dimmed spot lights on the actors have Beatrice hidden with a dark blue light behind the trees.
Only have the bright lights follow Hero and Ursula
ACT III SCENE I
Moo
n
Light
CharactersCharacters
Dark
lig
hti
ng
for
Beatr
ice
Transition Into: Fade into lightly with dark lightingTransition Out: Fade Out With Lights
A room in Leonato’s house
Have a strongly lit foreground with a dimmer background. Everyone enters and approaches the front as they “go aside” with a speaker while the people not speaking will make their way to the
back.
ACT III SCENE II
Characters
Characters
Transition Into: Fade into with LightsTransition Out: Fade Out with Lights
Messina. A street.
A cool lighting scheme with a moon to allow the audience to realize that they are indeed outside and in the streets.
ACT III SCENE III
Stro
ng
Moo
nlig
htCharactersCharacters
Transition Into: Fade Into with Dark LightingTransition Out: Fade Out with Lights
Hero’s apartment
Simulate morning with rising light that could mimic a sunrise. As Ursula wakes Beatrice it should be a full daylight.
ACT III SCENE IV
Characters Characters
Transition Into: Fade into with Lights simulating a sunriseTransition Out: Shift Set with Music
Another room in Leonato’s House
In the same brightness show Leonato meeting with The Watch
ACT III SCENE V
Characters Characters
Transition Into: Finish set transitionTransition Out: Fade out with Lights
Messina. Inside a church
Start with a beautiful depiction of a church and wedding. Slowly heat the atmosphere with light shades of orange as the conflict rises and cool it down
as the friar resolves the conflict
ACT IV SCENE I
Friar
Characters Characters
Transition Into: Fade in with LightsTransition Out: Fade Out with Lights
Messina. A prison
A cold place with only one ray of light shining down on the prisoners Borachio and Conrad
ACT IV SCENE II
Ray
Borachio and Conrad Characters
Characters
Transition Into: Fade in with LightsTransition Out: Fade out with Lights
Before Leonato’s House
A full spectrum light to emulate sunlight on the road to Leonato’s house
ACT V SCENE I
Characters
Transition Into: Fade In with LightsTransition Out: Fade Out with Lights
Leonato’s Garden
Have a warmer late day light a more yellow hue in lighting which also reflects the intensity of the situation
ACT V SCENE II
Characters
Transition Into: Fade in with LightsTransition Out: Fade Out with Lights
Messina. Inside a church
Early in the morning which implies a white or bluer light on the grave at which Claudio is mourning the death of Hero which hasn’t happened. Try to confer a true feeling of sincerity in
Claudio to show the cruelty in the situation
ACT V SCENE III
Characters
Transition Into: Fade in with Dark LightingTransition Out: Fade Out with Light
A room in Leonato’s House
In this light show a white light of that illuminates the truth on a situation
The intensity of the light also signifies the ending of the play
ACT V SCENE IV
CharactersCharacters
Characters
Transition Into: Fade in with LightsTransition Out: Fade out with Lights… Curtain Call