Tuesday, October 17, 2017
The Goodman Revives an Anti-Immigrant Tale—and Gives the Audience a Close Look
Chicago magazine | Arts & Culture October 2017: As a playwright, Arthur Miller never shied away from politics. In All My Sons and Death of a Salesman, he poked holes in the American Dream. In The Crucible, he mocked the U.S. government for McCarthyism. And in A View from the Bridge—a short, two-act play first produced in 1955—he tackled our prejudice against immigrants.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I think a play like this one that discusses immigration and the anti-immigrant sentiments shared by so many in our country is especially timely. However, one of the things that struck me immediately while reading about this production was the lack of sets, props, or effects purposefully excluded from the show. As a design and production student, it often feels as if the creative aspects of a show are all we think about-- however this omission of atmosphere and aesthetic, as the article mentions, lends itself to a fascinating development of things like character, plot, and emotion. In Susan Tsu's basic design class we talked about how leaving out one aspect of design can accentuate another-- for instance, if we leave out something like color, texture becomes prominent. Much like this concept, if design is left out of a show then the audience is forced to witness how the raw emotion emanating off the actors emerges, and thus experiences a very different production.
Bringing the audience onto the stage was a brilliant idea in the presence of the lack of scenery. Scenery helps bring the audience into the scene more, and help ground the actors on what would otherwise be a large stage. But when the actors are only mere feet away from you you don’t need to be brought into the scene, and the stage doesn’t seem as large or as empty, if anything it feels intimate. Growing up as the son of an immigrant has kept me very grounded in the reality of the situation as time has gone on and recently things have been in a steep decline. I really appreciate the descriptors that the actors used in the interview like “safe”, and “protective”, and how this interpretation did not feel “voyeuristic” like the original. I think that this experience is one felt by many, and that it shouldn’t feel like you are looking in on personal moments, or that you are spying, but everyone should feel included in the conversation. All of these choices that were made help to foster an atmosphere that sounds perfectly different from the original.
Because I used to belong to the Goodman's education program, I actually had the opportunity to hear Rob Falls talk about this season. And let me say: it is a season I wish I was home to see.
I have been unimpressed with the choices of plays at the Goodman before. For instance a couple of years ago they choose to do Two Trains Running which I would not consider a very good representation of the Century Cycle. But lately all of the choices have been poignant and timely.
I also really enjoy this more immersive and inviting style of theatre. I think it gives the audience a chance to really fully experience the emotions of the play. And with a play like this and what it is trying to do in the world today, it is more important than ever that a play about the humanness of immigrants lets the audience in so that they can see and experience that humanness more fully.
I am both creeped out and excited when i see plays in close quarters. As an audience member I always feel weird when i make long secluded eye contact with an actor. But at the same time I feel compelled to not break contact, but rather engage more into what is going on. I think this has a lasting effect on the audience, they can escape and the actors can’t fake anything. The, what i Ike to call the 40 foot rule, complete goes away. This makes attention to detail so important. It, to me, is a different reality when you can hear some voice naturally with out assistance of a PA system and they do not have to “project to be herd” It is harder to separate the play from reality. I think using this technique as a tool to really get a message across vital for some messages. In this case especially.
Post a Comment