Director's Notebook !

For our next exam, we are working Director’s Notebook. I was quite scared of this exam in particular – I prefer demonstrating my ideas A LOT more through acting than I do through simply writing, perhaps this is why I took up theater in the first place. At first, since Theater of Cruelty has been my favorite theater tradition so far, I decided I wanted to direct “The Woman in Black.” However, a huge problem with living in Saudi is the lack of theater materials available. So I searched for a few days for its script and was unable to find it, even online. Furthermore, I realized that the direction of this play might be a bit bland due to its lack of many characters and its mundane setting. When Talah told me about the scandalous nature of the play she was thinking of working on, “Cloud Nine,” I was intrigued. And when I found out she had decided not to direct it solely for this reason, I was even more intrigued. What could possibly be so wrong about it that she would not even be able to read it completely? The controversy surrounding Cloud Nine intrigued me to find out why the play was considered so shocking when it was released in 1979; after reading the script, I was further intrigued to study the techniques Churchill used when directing the scandalous scenes. Also, as a woman I have always been interested in the topic of women and gender, and the repression of women – living in the Middle East, there is a taboo placed on the sexuality of women, as is the case in many traditional cultures. Hence, I was intrigued to study such a culturally shocking script, and analyze the techniques used while figuring out the purpose and message Churchill wished to communicate.

It was definitely difficult to direct this script without being able to avoid the controversial issues of sexuality and homosexuality– thus, in my directorial version of this play, I think it is important confront the audience with these ideas in order to do justice to Churchill’s purpose in writing this play. It is important to do so in a way that shocks, and maybe even disturbs, the audience. The sexual actions of the characters are important to be depicted rather than simply inferred, such as the way in which some theater productions have chosen to do so. The plays extensive use of sexuality and obscene language has raised much controversy – however, beneath the humor of the play lies the potent message that Churchill wanted to communicate, which is that people should be accepted for who they are and people of different sexualities should not be forced into social constructs of how they must behave. This important message is the reason why I was intrigued to study this play and to find out more about Churchill’s effective use of shocking techniques – both storytelling and theater conventions - to convey a deeper meaning that is still relevant to society today, although gender constructs and sexual repression are becoming less of an issue due to a rise in more liberal thinking. Most challenging of all was attempting to analyze the entirety of this lengthy play in only 20 pages. Thus, I have decided to focus on the specific topics that will specifically be helpful for the two moments I have chosen, rather than other topics that are not touched upon in these two scenes.

Here is an excerpt from my notebook:

Scene Title

Props

Space

Rhythm/Pace

Introduction Scene

-Doll: Edward must be holding a doll. Because dolls usually symbolize femininity, his doll reveals his inner desire to be seen as feminine and his feminine tendencies including his attraction towards males rather than females.

-Gun: Clive must be holding a gun, which reveals his complete power over all the other characters in the scene; he has the potential to destroy every else’s life because he is a white male.

In the direction of this scene, I believe it is important for Clive to be standing on a platform while the other characters worship him as their role model. There must be different levels present on stage: Clive will be standing higher and more towards the front than Betty, and Betty will be standing higher and more towards the front than Edward, while Joshua stands on the lowest level and the least visible to the audience. This leveling of the characters reveals the social hierarchy that exists amongst the characters in this order: male, female, male and gay, and then lastly African-American.

The overall rhythm of the scene is almost impatient because of its fast, constantly moving nature. The characters are introduced quickly by Clive, and the pacing of the scene gets faster and faster as he moves on from Betty, to Edward, to Joshua. This reveals the idea that Clive is losing patience as he is introducing the most important person in his eyes to the least important – once again, this reveals the social hierarchy that exists amongst the characters in this order: male, female, male and gay, and then lastly African-American.

Sex Goddess Scene:

-Wine Bottle: A wine bottle will be lying alongside Lin, Victoria, and Edward as they drunkenly call on the sex goddess, perform an orgy, and call out to a stranger standing in the dark. The bottle will emphasize on the way in which the characters have let their inner sexualities to overcome them without heeding to the social constructs of gender in society.

-Gravestone: The gravestone near which the characters are performing an orgy adds a disturbing, eerie mood to scene as the audience begins to question their perspectives on the vulgar actions the characters are committing.

In order to emphasize on the drunken nature of the characters, it is important to for them to be in vulnerable states. Lin must be lying on the ground half naked, while Victoria is barely able to lean on the gravestone to call out to the stranger to come over.

Although the scene starts off with a fast-moving pace due to the characters excitement during their drunken orgy, when Edward notices a man staring at them in the background, the pace suddenly draws to a sudden stop. The characters question themselves for a few moments, before deciding that what they are doing is right because it is enjoyable. The moment picks up speed as Victoria calls out to the stranger with excitement.

*Update: I TURNED IT IN!! I was two days late but I’m so glad I’ve finally gotten around to finishing it. Now the hard part: waiting for Mrs. Morris’s feedback.