3/26/19 - Journal #2 This last week, I spent the majority of my time working on my director's notebook, and ironing out little details. After I decided to change the time period of the piece, and set it in the United States during the 1950s instead of Norway in 1879, there became many little things that needed to be shifted around. For instance, the costumes completely changed, and instead of the traditional Norwegian household and style, the set and all props needed to be appropriately changed. This meant going back into work that I had already done on the piece, and changing specifics around to reflect this. The main struggle I had was finding a way of expressing how I wanted the set to be, and figuring out how to show this to the reader. I knew I would have influences on the actual set from popular sitcoms of the time such as Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie, but simply finding an image and citing it didn't seem adequate. I then decided to draw a rough sketch of the set to the best of my capabilities and include it. I will have four sides to the set, with each side showing a different room(s). Side 1 will be the kitchen, with the attic up above. Side 2 will be the living room on the bottom and upstairs will be the children's rooms. Side 3 will show Nora and Torvald's bedroom, and side 4 will be the front of the house. The next few days I need to spend time working on the other specifics, such as costumes, and staging two moments. As I've already decided upon the color schemes of characters, and the set, the next piece will be to figure out how each of the characters will look, and for those in the two scenes to be staged, move.
3/15/19 - Journal #1 This past week, although I was not in class much of the time, I spent the majority of my energy re-orienting myself with A Doll's House, the play chose for my director's notebook, and began brainstorming how I wan't to proceed in the process. I began the week by re-reading the actual play in order to make sure all the details were fresh in my mind. I then dove into the brainstorming and thinking. I looked back at a play report I had done the previous year, and was able to see initial costuming ideas I had had, and got a really good feeling of how I had wanted, and currently am wanting the "production" to be. When reading the play now, I thought of having Nora in in violet or a pale purple, and when reading my report, I had mentioned the same pastel coloring and light blue colors. The other topic that I began thinking about is the set. As I will not be changing the context (when/where) of the story, much of my thinking also aligned with that of the play report. I would like a clean looking set, and to have the Helmer's house feel tidy and intentional. Everything will have a place, and everything will be "used" in their day-to-day lives. Another aspect of the set that I would like to look into more this next week and so on, is having hydraulics in the floor that could turn the set around in a circle. In this sense, the house will feel even more like a doll's house tot the audience, as they can see within all parts and areas. For instance, if it is going from one scene to the next, and say Nora or another character is walking from one room to another, as the set is turning, the audience will be able to slightly see the actor transition as well. This will come into play especially in one of my moments (when Nora arrives home in the very first scene) that I would like to explore. In this way, the audience can get situated and comfortable with not only the actor but also the set and their surroundings.