A common question in the Junior Cycle exam is being asked to stage a scene, either from an unseen extract you have just read or a scene from your studied Shakespearean text. When you are answering this question, you must back up your decisions with references to your drama extract or text. A good way to think of the role of the director is to imagine that the audience cannot hear anything. Try to show what is happening on stage without the words.
When you are asked to imagine that you are the director, it is expected that you will make decisions that will make the scene more dramatic for the audience. There are a number of ways to do this, under the following headings:
Stage Positioning: Where characters are located on stage has an impact on how the audience views these characters. For example, the characters in the middle of the stage are generally more prominent than those on the edges of the stage. To show the power a character has, you could put them in an elevated position to highlight the power they have. An example of this is Portia in the Trial Scene of The Merchant of Venice. She has the power to put Antonio to death and the power to ruin Shylock, therefore you could decide to put her at the centre of the stage, higher than the other characters, like a judge in a modern courtroom.
Posture/Facial Expressions: The posture of your characters can reveal a lot about the feelings of the characters in question. For example in the Trial Scene, Antonio’s body language at the beginning of the scene would show the audience that he is resigned to his fate and has accepted that he will die. In contrast, Shylock would be standing upright in a confident manner, showing that things are going his way. As the scene progresses, Shylock would slowly lose the upright posture and eventually leaves the stage with his head bowed, having lost all that he owns. Antonio transitions in the opposite manner and his body posture at the end signifies the relief at having his life saved by Portia.
Costumes: When deciding on costumes, you must pick costumes that tell the story of the character. For example, in Blood Brothers, there is a clear distinction between what Mickey wears and what Edward wears. The costumes on stage indicate the division in social class between the boys.
In Romeo and Juliet, colours can be used to good effect. For example in the ‘Fight Scene,’ the director could dress Tybalt in red to indicate his fiery temper and his urge to fight. The Montagues and Capulets could be dressed in opposite colours like red and blue to indicate the two sides involved in the feud. Think Liverpool/Everton, Man City/Man Utd…
Characters wearing white could be innocent, characters dressed in black could be sad/depressed or evil. Again, when you make a decision, make sure you explain why.
Sound Effects: Sound effects are a great way to add drama to a scene. In the Trial Scene, when Shylock asks for the weighing scales to be introduced to weigh Antonio’s flesh, you could decide to have a squeaky wheel to bring attention to the scales. The silence on stage and in the audience would be broken sporadically by the squeak, which would add tension to the scene.
In Blood Brothers, the gun shot in the final scene is used to add drama and tension to the scene. The silence before the gun shot builds the tension, as the audience wait in anticipation and the boom around the theatre will have a huge impact.
In Romeo and Juliet, when Romeo kills Tybalt and looks to the sky saying, ‘O I am fortune’s fool,’ some directors would include the sound of thunder and lightning to add drama. This is also using pathetic fallacy to highlight the feelings of the main characters.
Remember: When you are making decisions, make them under the four headings above and always use a reference/quotation from your play to back up your point.
Enda's English Notes 