OCR GCSE Drama

20 Directorial choices The director is responsible for the overall concept or artistic vision of the play. They might decide to concentrate on a particular theme or set it in a specific location or time period. The director might consider the playwright’s intention, for example a certain message about injustice, and how they hope the audience will react to their play. The director will guide the actors’ performances, including how they use the stage space and interact with each other and the audience. The director might also choose the staging configuration and work with the designers on how the space is used. Staging Concept: A unifying idea about a production, such as when it is set or how it will be interpreted and performed. Proxemics: How spatial relationships between one performer and other performers and between performers and their stage environment work and create meaning. KEY TERmS: In the round/minimalistic ( Equus set design by Kerry Bradley). Thrust/naturalistic ( The Odd Couple set design by Timothy Mackabee). Traverse/period ( 55 Days set design by Ashley Martin-Davis). Proscenium arch with a combined naturalistic and stylised backdrop ( The Hotel Cerise set design by Ellen Cairns). A In a small group, study the four stage configurations above and decide which would best suit the play you have studied, and why. B Try to recreate the staging configuration in the room you are working. If you have chosen theatre in the round, for example, mark out a circular area, so you know where the audience is and where entrances and exits are. TASK 2.4 C Now choose a scene from the play to act. One member of your group will act as director and will block the scene, indicating when and where the actors need to move. The director should consider proxemics , including between the actors and the audience, and how this affects the audience’s understanding and sense of involvement. 2 COmPONENT 4: DRAmA: PERFORmANCE AND RESPONSE: SET TEXTS