However, this also involved a little more thought into the background of the staging and actors. What I'm thinking is having six square rooms set up like a 2-story dollhouse on stage; this way, we can have six apartments for the characters to live in. It will look something like this incredibly detailed sketch.
In any case, The lights will only be up in Louison's apartment (at this time in the show, the apartment is not Louison's, since he has not yet been introduced), and in the Delicatessen. An unnamed actor (probably one of the folks who will eventually play a Troglodiste) will be dressing in trash in that room while Clapet sharpens his knives. Musically, there will be a low drone and slow, quiet, menacing statements of Clapet's leitmotif, slowly combining with the "scheme" leitmotif because of the trash dresser's scheme. Eventually, the "fate" leitmotif will begin playing, and intensity builds as the escapist jumps in the trash can and the trash truck comes up. The scene can play out exactly as in the movie, except this time we'll be seeing it from the outside. Clapet throws his cigarette into the trash can and hears the "ow!", which causes him to carry the trash can back inside and pick up his cleaver. When he swings his cleaver into the trash can, the lights go out and the escapist screams.
The lights come up in the outer rooms, where the other actors will be situated with instruments playing a piece in ironic contrast to the previous scene: probably a nostalgic musette which introduces the leitmotifs of Louison and Julie, foreshadowing a Love Duet. This should probably be brief, as overtures tend to bore modern audiences, so I'm thinking a standard ABA' form or something along those lines, which is not uncommon for musettes anyway. The B section may introduce the other characters and their interactions, especially including Aurore and the Troglodistes.
As for what else I'm going to work on, I think what I want to do next is decide where to end Act I and work on a big finale for it. I'm sure there's a perfect scene to do it in, so I'm just going to review my notes. I'm imagining a big ensemble number, though it also occurs to me that I could just do something fantastic with the first appearance of the Troglodistes to leave the audience excited for when everything goes sour.
Thank you all for reading, again. I'm sorry if this got overly musical and esoteric, but I'd still love your input!
This sounds like a great start. I also like how you've staged certain characters on top and others below...maybe I'm reading too much into it, but I think it's good foreshadowing =).
ReplyDeleteWith the knives sharpening, would you add the music to that sound or have them start at the same time?
Sorry if that sounds like a picknickity question...
@kesizzle the only thing to read into the room placement is how the pipes will work--Aurore *has* to be above Robert and Roger in order to hear the voices coming from the pipes, and Julie has to be above Clapet in order to be overheard through the pipes. Technically, Louison should be below Julie as well so that they can communicate to each other through the pipes, but I feel like there are ways around that one!
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm thinking the music will start with a low drone during the knife sharpening, and it will slowly build toward a climax at the point when the knife comes down.