LIGHTING FOR GODOT A THESIS SUBMITTED ON THE THIRTIETH DAY OF APRIL 2014 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF THEARE AND DANCE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS OF TULANE UNIVERSITY FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF FINE ARTS BY ___________________________ (Derek M. Blanco) APPROVED: ________________________ (Martin Sachs), Chair ________________________ (Diana Cupsa), Reader ________________________ (Jessica Podewell), Reader ii Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1 Part 1: Production Process . Impressions of the Author and Play………………………………………………………….…………2 . A Quick Summary of Waiting for Godot…….......……………………………………….…………4 . Play Interpretation and Research Development……………..………………………………….6 . Research Images………………………………………………………………………………………….……10 . Design Concept, Process and Development………………………………………………………18 . Production Photos & Descriptions……………………………………………………………….……22 . Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………….….38 Part 2: Plates and Supporting Paperwork . Light Plot…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..42 . Ground Plans…………………………………………………………………………………………………….43 . Magic Sheet………………………………………………………………………………………………………44 . Channel Hookup……………………………………………………………………………………………….45 . Instrument Schedule………………............................................................................49 . Color Schedule...…………….………………………………………………………………………………..54 . Bibliography……………………………………………….…………………………………………….………58 ii 1 Introduction Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett's most famous absurdist play, was presented by the Tulane University’s Department of Theatre and Dance on November 12 – 17 of 2013 in the Lupin Theater. The creative team consisted of Director Jessica Podewell, Adjunct Assistant Professor of acting; Set and Costume Designer lulia Gherghescu, 3rd year MFA Graduate Student; Technical Director Vlad Ghinea, Professor of Practice; and Lighting Designer Derek Blanco, 3rd year MFA Graduate Student. The cast was Julia Delois as Estragon, Duncan Becker as Vladimir, guest artist Luis Galindo as Pozzo #1, Visiting Associate Professor Sara Valentine as Lucky #1, Tricia Anderson as Lucky #2, Veronica Bird as little boy, and Jesse Friedman as Pozzo #2. I would like to take this time to thank all the aforementioned people (excluding myself) along with other staff, students, and professors, of the Tulane Department of Theatre and Dance for all their hard work. The purpose of this thesis is to explain and review the Lighting Design of Waiting for Godot presented by Tulane University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, with views of the plays interpretation and author, discussion of conceptual research and design process, and the approach to the physical space and its limitations. 2 Impressions of the Author and Play Writing in both English and French Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet who lived in Paris for most of his adult life. His works offer a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature that has often been coupled with the notions of “black” comedy and “gallows” humor. He is one of the key writers in what Martin Esslin called the "Theatre of the Absurd"(Esslin, 10). Broadly speaking, Becket’s plays deal with the subject of despair and the will to survive in an uncomprehending and incomprehensible world in spite of that despair. During the 15 years following WWII, Beckett produced four major full‐length plays that are considered exceptional within “Theatre of the Absurd” (McDonald). The most well‐known and influential of Becket’s opus of work is the originally French titled, En attendant Godot (Waiting for Godot) Written in the years 1948 ‐49. For the professional Lighting Designer, defining and understanding the general principle of the concept of the ‘absurd’ is also needed. The Merriam‐Webster dictionary definition of ‘absurd’ is “something that is completely stupid and unreasonable”. In a musical context it means “out of harmony” (Webster). In 1962 Martin Esslin wrote his book on the topic of the ‘absurd’ genre of theatre simply titled “The Theatre of the Absurd”. In the book, Esslin mentions the Romanian and French playwright’s Eugéne Ionesco’s definition for the absurd “Absurd is that which is devoid of purpose...Cut off 3 from his religious, metaphysical, and transcendental roots, man is lost; all his actions become senseless, absurd, useless” (Esslin, 23). Waiting for Godot is a story of “time” written in the genre of “absurd” that is set during two consecutive days. The two main characters are tramps awaiting for Godot’s arrival. Nevertheless, Godot’s continual absence wastes time in the lives of the tramps by making them living puppets in the world of the absurd; therefore, they simply “Let it go to waste” (Esslin, 52), instead of finding an appropriate way to spend their time. Beckett’s intention in creating these characters may have been to make them the victims of time, by pointing out that we cannot stop time, and suggesting that we live in the present moment with what we have instead of waiting for better lives or for what we do not have. Anthony Chadwick refers to this intention in his article “Waiting for Godot”, “We seem to have a choice between waiting for one ‘better’ thing after another or simply living with what we have. Both past and future are illusions, and seen under this aspect, we begin to taste the notion of eternity” (Chadwick). With this brief understanding of the “absurd theatre” and its relationship with time and reality, one can read the play Waiting for Godot and thoroughly enjoy the full tragicomedy. 4 A Quick Summary of Waiting for Godot Waiting for Godot begins with two men meeting near a tree. Vladimir and Estragon converse on various topics and reveal that they are waiting there for Godot, a man or perhaps a deity. While they wait, Vladimir and Estragon fill their time with a series of mundane activities and trivial conversations interspersed with more serious reflection. While they wait, two other men enter; Pozzo, holding the end of a long rope, shouting and wiping, and Lucky with the other end of the rope tied around his neck. Pozzo is on his way to the market to sell his slave, Lucky. The four men proceed to do together what Vladimir and Estragon did earlier by themselves: namely, nothing. Lucky entertains them by dancing and thinking for a bit. Lucky and Pozzo then leave so that Vladimir and Estragon can go back to doing nothing by themselves. The nothing is interrupted by the arrival of the Boy, who reports to Vladimir that he is a messenger from Godot. The Boy tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming tonight, but that he will surely come tomorrow. Vladimir asks him some questions about Godot and the Boy departs. Estragon and Vladimir talk about suicide some more and then resolve to leave the stage. To add to the absurdity, since night is falling, they are no longer waiting for Godot, and having resolved to leave, neither man moves as the curtain falls. 5 The next day, Vladimir and Estragon again meet near the tree to wait for Godot trying to fill the idle hours in the meantime with nothing of significance. Lucky and Pozzo show up. Only this time Lucky has gone mute and Pozzo is blind. They putz around the stage for a while, Vladimir tries to understand why Pozzo is blind and Lucky is mute (to no avail), and Pozzo declares that, having lost his sight, he now has no sense of time. Pozzo does not remember meeting the two men the night before. Pozzo and Lucky leave again and Vladimir and Estragon continue to wait. While waiting Vladimir gets rather poetic, wondering if maybe he’s sleeping, agreeing with Pozzo’s claim that life is fleeting, and concluding that habit is the great deadener of life. Shortly after, the Boy enters and once again tells Vladimir that Godot will not be coming. The Boy insists that he did not speak to Vladimir yesterday. After the Boy leaves, Vladimir and Estragon contemplate suicide. They have in mind to hang themselves from the barren tree with Estragon’s belt since it is the only thing around that could lend itself to such an endeavor yet the belt fails. The men resolve to leave since its nightfall and they no longer have to wait for Godot, but neither man moves as the curtain falls. 6 Play Interpretation & Research Development After many re‐readings of the play and some critical thinking, I am left with the thought that the concept of a past and future within the play is an illusion or non‐ existent. Waiting for Godot seems to be only set in the “present”, yet the present does not appear to have a fixed beginning or end, as a result the play tends hold the audience in a kind of limbo (their own form of waiting if you will). This listless sense of self‐ awareness that is presented suggests that we as humans cannot control time and that it is pointless to attempt to stop its passage. Time passes, we age, become sick, and one day we eventually die; the truth is that time stops us. Therefore, no matter how hard we try to succeed in our lives, all our achievements are buried with us as time survives unchanged. This despair of the frivolousness of our lives, the unachievable meaning of this world was really quite the depressing subject on which to ponder. A possible solution to the despair for Vladimir and Estragon would be the path to eternity through Hope, or rather the way to eternity through Godot. Since the two men are certain that Godot is able to guide them, it would be advisable to invest their time in that hope, in reality, it proves to be the most absurd investment; an eternity spent waiting for the mysterious Godot to come and rescue the two vagabonds. The above argument proves that Vladimir and Estragon do not live in the present moment, and instead of using the precious time they are allotted, they waste it by 7 waiting. They wait because they are excited that Godot will come along and “Will miraculously save the situation” (Esslin, 50).