Lighting Design the Threepenny Opera
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ACS ATHENS IB THEATER YR 1 Lighting Design The Threepenny Opera Dimitri Grant 4/9/2014 Bellow you will find a light design for Bertolt Brechts Threepenny Opera. This production will take place on May 15th in the Theater at ACS as part of the IB Theater Year 1 curriculum. Table of Contents Brecht as a theatre practitioner .................................................................................................................... 3 Brecht's plays ................................................................................................................................................ 3 Themes .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 The unpredictability of Values .................................................................................................................. 3 The Conflict between Self-Interest and Love ............................................................................................ 4 The Competitiveness of the Capitalist System ......................................................................................... 4 The Brutality of Humans ........................................................................................................................... 5 Lights: ............................................................................................................................................................ 5 Two thesis papers: .................................................................................................................................... 6 Erwin Piscator and Brecht ............................................................................................................................. 6 Expressionist Style ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Director’s Objectives ..................................................................................................................................... 8 To show: .................................................................................................................................................... 8 How they will be shown: ........................................................................................................................... 8 1st Moodboard .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Description: ............................................................................................................................................... 9 2nd Moodboard ............................................................................................................................................ 10 Description: ............................................................................................................................................. 10 1st Storyboard ............................................................................................................................................. 11 2nd Storyboard ............................................................................................................................................. 13 1st Cue List ................................................................................................................................................... 15 Filter/Gel List ............................................................................................................................................... 16 2 Brecht as a theatre practitioner Brecht was both playwright and producer/director of his own, and others', plays. He also wrote extensively on dramatic theory. You should explain his theory in terms of his practice in writing and production. You may be confused if you assume that the theory matches the reality of the plays in production. The theory, arising from a Marxist notion of drama as a vehicle for rational didacticism, describes theatre as Brecht, in a sense, wished it to become. This theory is only partly realised in his own work. Brecht would say that this is the result of the theatre's (and society's) not being ready yet for the final, perfected version of epic theatre. Modern theatre critics might say that Brecht's practical sense of what works in the theatre has (happily) overruled the more extreme applications of his theory. http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/drama/brecht.htm#3 Brecht's plays The plays are humorous, in a rather bleak and cynical way, and present social and political questions, attacking bourgeois values. Technically, the plays are (for their time) innovative: the bourgeois convention of the fourth wall is rejected, stories are improbable, settings exotic, songs serve as commentary on action. The Threepenny Opera was intended to lampoon (send up or ridicule) the conventional sentimental musical. The public lapped up the mock sentiment and missed the humour. Brecht had achieved commercial success, but for reasons which could not please him. http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/drama/brecht.htm#4 Themes The unpredictability of Values The play demonstrates the arbitrariness of values. Throughout, Peachum uses traditional moral stances, such making the characters quote the Bible, to justify exploitation and cruelty. Peachum takes biblical quotes and uses them for his own purposes, as in Act I, scene I, when he demands that Filch pay him because he will be given something in return. Peachum offers Filch a job in exchange for payment, but this job involves preying on people’s sympathies by pretending to be a beggar. Peachum is not charitable toward someone if said charity does not involve making money. But by reciting lines from the Bible, he appears as though he is helping others. Although biblical proverbs are associated with morality, it is clear that the characters are only interested in enriching themselves and not others when they quote the Bible. Peachum makes the same point about the law in Act III, scene I. Peachum proclaims his absolute devotion to obeying the law, but only because he knows that it is a useful tool for helping him exploit those weaker than him. In each of these situations, a traditional moral value (religiosity, obeying the law) is shown to be a mask for exploitation. Brecht’s point is that the foundations of society’s supposedly rigid moral values are in fact made of nothing and appear less noble beneath the surface. 3 Macheath’s actions present this theme from a different angle. Macheath’s middle-class aspirations embody another set of values: the belief in upward mobility and economic progress. Traditionally, these values are associated with a progression toward power and responsibility. Macheath wants to leave his life of crime, put his money into a bank, and acquire the trappings of middle-class life like quality furniture, tableware, and manners. Despite wanting to leave crime, Macheath has no intention, though, of changing his values. He steals the domestic niceties he desires, continues to visit the whorehouse even though he is married, and plans to betray his friends to make it easier to stay on the right path. By showing Macheath’s desire for economic legitimacy as completely unconnected to any change, Brecht reveals that although Macheath may plan to leave his life of crime for a safer profession, his values will remain unchanged. In the finale to Act II, moral values are emphasized when Macheath and Jenny sing the “Second Threepenny-Final.” In the song, they sing that before moralists go preaching about personal behavior, they should make sure that everyone has food to eat. Morality is a tool of the rich and powerful to maintain their positions. For the lower-class citizens, survival has to come before morals. Brecht’s point, therefore, is not to replace one set of hollow moral values with another. Instead, he emphasizes the focus on the wellbeing of society’s poorest. The Conflict between Self-Interest and Love Many of the characters’ decisions create a conflict between self-interest and love. In a capitalist society in which competition rewards ruthlessness and brutality, the characters are forced to trample on each other to survive. In The Threepenny Opera, characters make decisions not based on psychology but on the need or desire for material things such as money. Every action that furthers the plot in The Threepenny Opera is based on a character pursuing self-interest. Peachum decides to bring down Macheath because losing his daughter will hurt his business, not because he fears for her life in the hands of a criminal. He does not consider Polly’s feelings for Macheath or care that she loves him; his business concerns motivate him to destroy their marriage. Jenny turns in Macheath because she needs the money, not because she hates him for abusing her. Instead of showing loyalty to his friend, Brown agrees to capture Macheath because he is afraid of Peachum’s beggars disrupting the queen’s coronation. Polly is the only character who acts out of love and not self-interest. She truly loves Macheath, so she is willing to do anything to help him. Her sweet nature turns to toughness when she must take over Macheath’s business, but her love for Macheath never diminishes even when he betrays her and tells Lucy that Polly is not his wife. The Competitiveness of the Capitalist System The setting of the play amidst