Blithe Spirit at Appalachian

Director's Production Concept

Each play produced by ASU's Department of Theatre & Dance has a production team, including the director, stage managers, designers, and sometimes a dramaturg. Each production team begins meeting months before their show opens to discuss ideas and make plans. At the first of these meetings, the director typically presents his/her production concept--a statement of his/her ideas about the play and how he/she wants to realize it onstage. Here is director Derek Gagnier's concept statement for this production of Blithe Spirit:

Blithe Spirit is a comedy I term "eccentric." While it centers around the love triangle of Ruth, Charles and Elvira, and seems like a typical satirical farce of the 1940's, the ghostly aspects of the show make it unique and more macabre than most Coward plays.

Quite frankly, I would like to emphasize the quirky aspects of the play to make it as entertaining as possible. It should be fun to watch and fun to execute as well.

For the purpose of beginning a discussion about each element of the production, I will elaborate on what I am thinking would best work to bring this show to life.

Acting : The acting style is heightened realism with some quirks. There is a satirical edge to the play, but the characters should not be consciously aware that they are being made fun of. Timing and precision will be very important. Standard British dialects will be used, and as this is also a language play, time will be devoted to clarifying the text in performance. Since two characters are ghosts, the question of how a ghost would move, sit, etc, comes up and I look forward to working with the cast to imaginatively solve that.

The setting of the play is Pluckley, County of Kent, England, August, 1941.

Setting and properties : Sets and props must work together to establish the eccentric home and workplace of a mystery writer interested in the occult. The set needs to have hints that it is a place that a ghost would inhabit and that Elvira initially selected it as her home as well. It should also reflect Ruth's five-year efforts to rein in Charles's wacky nature.

The Set changes will be staged as part of the action. I will use the maid, Ruth, as the major instigator. Sound and lights should be elements of the change-overs, and reinforce the comic nature of the play.

In a conversation I had with Joel [Williams, scenic designer,] earlier in the semester, we determined that the set as described is more of a London Flat than a Kentish home. We are thinking along the lines of a "Londonized" conversion of a Kentish cottage, and are all for doing away with complex set elements such as a piano.

The climax of the play has "ghostly" props moving and vases crashing, and the actual fireplace shaking. I think if we boost the ending by using sound and lights to reinforce, we can lessen and simplify while still having a great "button" on the end of the production. Using books as projectiles has been discussed.

Sound: Sound is a major element in this production. While specific pieces are referred to by the text and played on a gramophone, I can also see using period music to underscore some moments to reinforce mood or for comic effect. Sound effects certainly are needed during the séance, (little girl medium voice,) and during the appearance of both ghost wives.

Lights : Lights will be important to distinguish time of day and mood. Apart from the obvious dimming of lights for the séance, entrances of ghosts and the end of the play can have effects as well. My question would be, what would light look like with a ghost in the room?

I do not mean to imply, however, that multi-media or projection of "ghosts" are necessary, as they would clash with our actor-ghosts.

Costumes and Make-up : While the period has some wonderful costume possibilities for our social upper middle class characters, the question of how to create the ghosts' physical appearance arises. Sue and I have discussed this issue, and I like her idea that rather than going "gray" as the text implies, that we go for a leeching out of color. The characters would appear paler and their clothing would have a hint of the color they once possessed. I think this would help with matching colors for lights and setting more than going gray would.

Director's Production Concept

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	Director's Production Concept Each play produced by ASU's Department of Theatre & Dance has a production team, including the director, stage managers, designers, and sometimes a dramaturg. Each production team begins meeting months before their show opens to discuss ideas and make plans. At the first of these meetings, the director typically presents his/her production concept--a statement of his/her ideas about the play and how he/she wants to realize it onstage. Here is director Derek Gagnier's concept statement for this production of Blithe Spirit: *Blithe Spirit* is a comedy I term "eccentric." While it centers around the love triangle of Ruth, Charles and Elvira, and seems like a typical satirical farce of the 1940's, the ghostly aspects of the show make it unique and more macabre than most Coward plays. Quite frankly, I would like to emphasize the quirky aspects of the play to make it as entertaining as possible. It should be fun to watch and fun to execute as well. For the purpose of beginning a discussion about each element of the production, I will elaborate on what I am thinking would best work to bring this show to life. Acting : The acting style is heightened realism with some quirks. There is a satirical edge to the play, but the characters should not be consciously aware that they are being made fun of. Timing and precision will be very important. Standard British dialects will be used, and as this is also a language play, time will be devoted to clarifying the text in performance. Since two characters are ghosts, the question of how a ghost would move, sit, etc, comes up and I look forward to working with the cast to imaginatively solve that. The setting of the play is Pluckley, County of Kent, England, August, 1941. Setting and properties : Sets and props must work together to establish the eccentric home and workplace of a mystery writer interested in the occult. The set needs to have hints that it is a place that a ghost would inhabit and that Elvira initially selected it as her home as well. It should also reflect Ruth's five-year efforts to rein in Charles's wacky nature. The Set changes will be staged as part of the action. I will use the maid, Ruth, as the major instigator. Sound and lights should be elements of the change-overs, and reinforce the comic nature of the play. In a conversation I had with Joel [Williams, scenic designer,] earlier in the semester, we determined that the set as described is more of a London Flat than a Kentish home. We are thinking along the lines of a "Londonized" conversion of a Kentish cottage, and are all for doing away with complex set elements such as a piano. The climax of the play has "ghostly" props moving and vases crashing, and the actual fireplace shaking. I think if we boost the ending by using sound and lights to reinforce, we can lessen and simplify while still having a great "button" on the end of the production. Using books as projectiles has been discussed. Sound: Sound is a major element in this production. While specific pieces are referred to by the text and played on a gramophone, I can also see using period music to underscore some moments to reinforce mood or for comic effect. Sound effects certainly are needed during the séance, (little girl medium voice,) and during the appearance of both ghost wives. Lights : Lights will be important to distinguish time of day and mood. Apart from the obvious dimming of lights for the séance, entrances of ghosts and the end of the play can have effects as well. My question would be, what would light look like with a ghost in the room? I do not mean to imply, however, that multi-media or projection of "ghosts" are necessary, as they would clash with our actor-ghosts. Costumes and Make-up : While the period has some wonderful costume possibilities for our social upper middle class characters, the question of how to create the ghosts' physical appearance arises. Sue and I have discussed this issue, and I like her idea that rather than going "gray" as the text implies, that we go for a leeching out of color. The characters would appear paler and their clothing would have a hint of the color they once possessed. I think this would help with matching colors for lights and setting more than going gray would.


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