Lighting Design the Threepenny Opera

ACS ATHENS IB THEATER YR 1

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

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.

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 prostitutes, beggars, and thieves emphasizes the competitiveness of the capitalist system. In The Threepenny Opera, Brecht argues that a capitalist system drives people to do anything to make money. They steal, kill, and sell their bodies, and none of these actions is out of the ordinary. These activities will arise naturally because the characters live in a system that rewards ruthless competition. For example, Macheath plans to steal the money he owes his friends so he can be successful in banking. He clearly wants to get ahead in the world and does not care who he leaves behind in the process. Jenny lets Macheath sleep with her even though he physically abused her in the

4 past; she gives her body to Macheath in exchange for money. Another example is Peachum, who creates fake beggars that are better than the real thing to draw income from the guilty middle and upper classes. Essentially, he sells pity, and he steals from the public by allowing fake beggars to roam the streets. As an entrepreneur who sells an emotion, Peachum makes the competitiveness of the capitalist system more concrete.

The Brutality of Humans The characters make decisions throughout the play that display their brutality toward one another. According to the play, in a capitalist society, exploitation is not a byproduct of the system but a natural part of it. People like Peachum who know how to use the rules of society to their advantage are rewarded for their cruelty. Macheath demonstrates this brutality that underlies society. Macheath is a vicious criminal, but rather than reprimand him or make him guilt-ridden over his crimes, Brecht puts Macheath’s criminality in context by comparing his crimes to those of banks and businesses. Those institutions do far more harm than Macheath does because they exploit the poor and workers. Macheath’s decision to pursue banking is ironic because in this industry he will be crueler and more evil than he was as a criminal. From this perspective, Macheath is not such a menace to society but just part of it like everyone else. Brecht emphasizes that if capitalism is society’s guiding principle, then even criminals should be accepted. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/threepenny/themes.html

Lights: Brecht believed the stage should be brightly lit at all times; special effects to create mood were not allowed. (Logically, he could have allowed it, if accompanied by some device to draw attention to it - such as a statement from a character.) The sources of light should be plainly visible - just as those over a boxing-ring (Brecht's comparison).

The curtain is to be used for the display of titles, captions or comments. Placards may be placed in the auditorium, bearing instructions, such as “Don't stare so romantically” ( from Drums in the Night). The set behind the curtain is suggestive, not realistic; that is to say, while very authentic props may be used, (as, say, Mother Courage's handcart) there will be no elaborate arrangement of these in a naturalistic stage set.

The music, too, must have a visible source - musicians may even be on the stage. Interruptions for songs are announced or indicated by projection of a title, or flags and trumpets will descend from the flies. http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/drama/brecht.htm#16

Two thesis papers: 1. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College In partial fulfillment of the Requirements of the degree of Master of Fine Arts by Brent Landry Glenn. http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-0411102-220101/unrestricted/Glenn_thesis.pdf 2. A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Fine Arts by Todd A. Proffitt. http://www.iar.unicamp.br/lab/luz/ld/C%EAnica/Pesquisa/a_lighting_design_for_the_threepen ny_opera.pdf

Erwin Piscator and Brecht Brecht disliked the twin clichés of heavily bombastic classics (Shakespeare, Schiller, Goethe) and of naturalism in melodrama or drawing-room. (This is a 19th century development which had ossified into an invariable norm.) Naturalism was developed and perfected by such as Stanislavsky and Harley Granville-Barker.

Against this, reaction had already begun by the 1920s. Naturalism could go no farther, so new types of theatre arose:

 poetic drama

 satire

 expressionism (types not people)

 political theatre

Brecht had been influenced by expressionism and had collaborated with Erwin Piscator, father of political theatre and himself ready to experiment with new technique.

Convinced that theatre must be an agent of social and political change, he sought a suitable form of theatre. Having found it he described it as “Epic theatre”:

“Today when human character must be understood as the 'totality of all social conditions' the epic form is the only one that can comprehend all the processes, which could serve the drama as materials for a fully representative picture of the world.” http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/drama/brecht.htm

Expressionist Style The “German style.” Emphasis on design or mise-en-scène, uncanny atmosphere, and composition (less on story and editing, unlike Hollywood). “The film image must become graphic art” (Hermann Warm).

Expressionism = Stylization that abstracts and transforms reality as we know it (from the conventions of realistic art) through

- photography (unexpected camera angles, little camera movement) - lighting (stark contrasts of light and shadow for various effects) - totally artificial, stylized sets (“paintings come to life”), stripped of all realistic details and psychology— sets that become symbolic diagrams of emotional states - overtly theatrical (anti-naturalist) acting style (actors move in jerky, slow, sinuous patterns) and heavy make-up - integration of all elements of mise-en-scène to create an overall composition

Such Expressionist techniques aim to

- abstract from realistic details and contingencies - bring out the “essence” of an object, situation, or state of being - express a subjective viewpoint - evoke mystery, alienation, disharmony, hallucination, dreams, extreme emotional states, destabilization https://mubi.com/lists/german-expressionism-the-world-of-light-and-shadow

Director’s Objectives

To show: 1. Vicious circle of history (repeats itself) 2. Ridiculousness of humans 3. Actions – consequences

How they will be shown: 1. Stage: circular patterns, circular stage 2. Costume 3. Lighting design: action – reaction a. Victorian: dull b. 20’s: angles, sharpness, abstract geometrical shapes

1st Moodboard

Description: The above moodboard is comprised of various images most from previous productions of The Threepenny Opera. Some images like the lamp post and the police station sign are images that I found interesting and would like to incorporate in the production as part of the light design. They depict a Victorian Era style which is something the director would like to include in the play.

2nd Moodboard

Description: My second moodboard differs a lot from my first. It has more expressionistic pictures and also includes my own photographs of light interesting concepts. In this moodboard the main focus is an expressionistic style along with abstract shadows and sharp angles.

1st Storyboard

2nd Storyboard

1st Cue List

Cue Act.Scene When Description 1 Prologue Pg 3, Mackie the Knife song White daylight, no LFX, plain 2 1.1 Pg 5-13 Beggars Shop Warm indoor lighting, no LFX, stairs dim 3 1.2 Pg 14-33 Stable Stable light. 5x Par SH13 CP61/60, OH 4 1.3 Pg 34-41 Beggars Shop Indoor lighting (φθόρια) 5 2.1 Pg 42-49 Stable (AFTERNOON) Stable light. 5x Par SH13 CP61/60, OH 6 2.2 Pg 49-54 Brothel Brothel light, pink/red 7 2.3 Pg 54-68 Prison Prison light, gobo, blue, dim 8 3.1 Pg 69-79 Shop Shop light 9 3.2 Pg 79-84 Unknown Location - 10 3.3 Pg 84-96 Prison Prison light, not that dim as more ppl

Filter/Gel List

What Gel # (LEE) Prison 068 525 Face 201 708 206 (warm) 009 (warm) Brothel 026 126 Stable Par Lamp CP61 or CP60 Shop Fluorescent Lights