Final: Clybourne Park

Clybourne Park

Produced & Directed By: Teaonca Haddock

Director's Unifying Vision:

 "Clybourne Park" is about racial tension and society's unacceptance of others. Through design we will express the parallel between the racial inequalities present in Acts 1 and 2. We will use the abstract design of the space, the costumes, and the sound to emphasize how society judges others based on superficial elements. We will utilize the colors black and white to express which race dominates during each Act.

Performance Location:

I want my audience to be African Americans of all ages. I feel like the play will have the greatest impact on African Americans because of the irony in Act 2. As Act 1 is performed, the audience will be appaled by how racist the whites are and feel sympathy for the blacks in the story. However, once Act 2 is performed, the tables will be turned and they will see that whites are not the only ones who are racist, blacks can also be racist. I think that this is a key element of the story and African Americans will learn from it.

The Black Ensemble Theatre

4450 North Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60640

 I inside of this theater is the ideal shape because it allows for everyone to have a good view of the play because it is spherical stadium seating.

Scenic Design:

The style of my production of Clybourne Park will be extremely abstract.

I want the entire set of Act 1 to be the color white to represent how in Act 1, the white people were the majority race. Whites were the ones being racist in Act 1 because they thought of the world as their own, "all white".

The set of Act 2 will be mostly black to represent how the tables have turned and how now the blacks are the majority race. The blacks are the racist ones in Act 2 and they think of their neighborhood as being their own, "all black".

This is an example that will be used to inspire the outter structure of the house in Clybourne Park. Of course, it would be impossible to build an exact replica on stage, but we will remove the fourth wall and make this house seem as though it is very spacious and accomadating in Act 1.




However, in Act 2, the same house over 50 years later, will be run down and in need of some extreme renovations. These pictures will be used as inspiration to give the house the decrepit feeling present in Act 2.  The cobweb will look good against the all black set during Act 2. The fact that the house now has cobwebs emphasizes how it has not been kept us since the Youngers moved out many years ago.

Visual Elements:

 Lines: The lines on the set will be vertical and at a slight angle.


Mass: The set should feel extremely spacious.



Texture: The set will be comprised of many different textures of materials.


Color: The entire play will revolve around the use of the colors black and white.

Costume Design:

These are the clothing that will inspire the entire costume design of Act 1:



Bev and Betsy's costumes will be styled to show their elite social status and will be white to coinside with the all white set in Act 1.



This is my perception of how Karl Linder's outfit will look. The cigar prop adds character to him and makes him seem like more of a business man.



This will be the inspiration for Russ's costume. He has a very tailored outfit with a nice hat and tie.




These are the pictures that will be used to create the costumes for Act 2:



This outfit will inspire the costume for Kevin. It is clean cut and shows his upper-middle class status.



Lena's outfit will be somewhat like the one pictured above. It will be sleek and tight fitting, but also very business-like and respectable. She will look modern and very fashion forward.


A major prop I will use in Act 2 to establish that it is set in modern time, is the I-Phone. The characters will be talking on an I-Phone.

Lighting Design:

Lighting for Act 1:

The lighting for Act 1 is going to be extremely bright to emphasize the brightness of the all white set. The mood will be "happy go lucky" and the entire  theatre will feel like it's under a spotlight.

Lighting for Act 2

The lighting for Act 2 is going to be the complete opposite of the li ghting for Act 1. It will be dim and the mood will be melancholy.

Rhythm:
The light for Act 1 is going to slowly fade out, however the light for Act 2 is going to quickly go off.

Sound Design:

This song will play during Act 1 after the audience finds out about Kenneth's suicide.

This song will play in Act 1, as Francine and Albert drop the trunk down the stairs.

This song will play at the very end of Act 2 as Kenneth reappears and is writing his suicide note.

Dsc Presents: A Night with the Bard

Audience Experience:

I attended the Sunday performance and as always, there were not a lot of people. On the way to the show, I was kind of confused at how it was going to be because I never attended a performance at the Daytona State College theatre building. The play at the News Journal Center was one of the first plays I’ve actually seen that was performed by college students. The show began at 2:30pm and I arrived before 2:00pm. I did not like the fact that there were no signs or people to tell me where the performance was taking place. I ended up walking up to the actual theatre building and finding out that the doors were locked. Luckily, one of the maintenance men was riding around and informed me. There was a woman seated outside the auditorium and she told me that the theatre doors don't open until 2:00pm. She was kind of blunt so I decided to wait outside until the doors opened. The atmosphere was somewhat awkward because besides the performance area, the entire campus was empty. At first, I thought that maybe the performance was canceled. I felt kind of under dressed just because the ushers made the performance seem like it was very formal. I was expecting it to be more casual considering that it was a production performed by college students. As the people arrived, the mood was somewhat boring. No one was excited and most people entered the theatre silently. I suppose this is because Sunday is normally a rest day when people do errands and relax for the upcoming week. I think a lot of people were coming straight from church considering that it was in the middle of the day.  There were no cameras or cell phone use permitted inside the theatre and everyone was instructed to silence all of their electronic devices.  During the play, I was looking mainly to see if I knew any of the performers since I attend the same college as them. I enjoyed the performance because it was not just one specific play. I enjoy watching Shakespeare plays because they are usually very dramatic and have an underlying message. However, I find most of the productions of Shakespeare plays to be too drawn out and I tend to lose interest by the intermission. With so many different plays and monologues being performed,  I wasn’t bored with the same old story the entire performance. I was happy that they did perform the old classic, “Romeo and Juliet” because that is my favorite play by Shakespeare.  With only scenes being performed, the performance didn’t seem as long as past performances that I’ve watched. During the ride home, I spoke with my boyfriend that also attended the show about our experience. We agreed that we enjoyed seeing many different scenes from different plays over watching one entire play.  We also like the fact that the performers were students who attend our same college because it kind of makes us think that if we really want to, we can be in a play also.