Dollhouse

Starring:Luisa Hermes as DirectorApril Wood as light designer Tabitha Cantu as costume designerMathew Jose as set designer

SEtLights

ACTION! Costumes

By: Rebecca Gilman

Starring:● Jennifer Aniston as Nora: playing the protagonist● Adam Sandler as Terry:Nora’s husband ● Roxanne Hart as Marta: the housemaid, ● Jake Gyllenhaal as Pete: Nora’s and Terry’s friend● Zooey Deschanel as Kristine: Nora’s best friend ● Liev Schreiber as Raj● The whole scene will take place at Nora’s house which is in a condo during

the holidays season.

Director’s Cast List

The play will focus on Nora’s secret andways to overcome the struggles she will encounter.Nora will have to face each one of the characters to decide on what to do about the secret she has.Terry will play the controlling yet calm husband of Nora and will later on discover the secret and make her suffer for what she has done.Raj will appear and be a nightmare to Nora, since the secret is about him lending her money to put her husband in rehab.

Script/Theme

● The play will start with Nora and Marta in the living room near the christmas tree, so the lights will be focused on them, they will be in a good mood because Nora will be giving Marta a gift card for christmas.

● One other scene will be with with Kristine elements of design will be used in these scene, the mood will be tense since Nora will tell Kristine about her secret she is keeping from her husband.

● Another tense moment will be with Pete and Nora as they are alone for an instance. So the they have to be in a great characterization to act the scene when Pete almost kissed Nora.

Script/Theme Cont.

● The language will be very hot tempered. It is a dramatic play. The environment will be suspenseful.

● The language will also be more regional based since they do live in Chicago. We will try to emphasize that with the accents and possible slang they would use. The scenario will be very relevant to todays times, it’s important the audience feels like they can relate or that it is possible for these things to take place in this era.

● It is during holidays, so many secrets will be revealed. We will try to give the feeling of the “typical” american holiday. Where family/friends visit and fights,secrets and the truth starts to unravel.

● The play will happen in the present era (2004) so the everyday attire will be modern.

The language

● The sound effects in the play will be another necessary element. When terry finds out Nora’s secret there will be background music to emphasize the theme of betrayal.

● This will also happen when Raj confronts Nora about the money, there will be some effects according to the mood. Nora will be scared so the lights will be darker.

● The music used will also be modern because of the year it is placed in. It being placed during the holiday season we will try to have hints of christmas music in the background when appropriate.

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Sound effect examples

Lighting

The lighting in this play depends on who is speaking and who is in the room.● Nora is a more controversial character so the lights around the set will

almost always be directed towards her.● The lighting also because of the year dollhouse is set in (2004) will have a

more modern feel because of the new technology.● This play has different relationship dynamics and secrets kept between

characters so lighting is necessary to show this.● The angles are also necessary because the main set is in the living room

with alot of furniture so it is important that the angles make all of the props and people look more realistic to everyday life.

● The play is also set in a condo in Chicago so lighting can add as a complement to the set and will be used in various different angles to show and give a northern middle/upper class effect.

Different Set examples of the play and how we would use them.

To the left is an example of how the backdrop is dimmed and spotlight is on Nora to direct the audience's attention to her.

The picture above is an example of how we would use the door on our set to emphasize the time of day.

To the right is also an example of how we would use props for lighting. The set designer mathew has added lamps to the set for the lighting crew also to use as a source of lighting for the play.

Set example

This is an example of the the theatre space/shape we are going to use for our play. The theatre space being a proscenium allows us to use bigger set pieces and more light features since the play is set in someones house there will be a lot of props and lights needed to make their home more realistic.

● The beginning of the play starts with a nice moment of Nora giving her babysitter a very generous christmas present ($200 gift card). The lighting on this part of the play will be bright and cover the whole living room to emphasize the happy mood nora has set.

● Most conversations Nora has with her husband or vice versa are argumentative or there is tension. This is emphasized by the dimming of the lights and a darker light color such as dark blue.

● Nora’s first conversation with Kristine is a perfect example of mood and style. She is telling Kristine a secret that she does not want her husband to know, so there is a spotlight on them as the conversation goes on to emphasize the secret and the dim lights around the set emphasizes how her husband is in the dark about that as well as other things.

Mood and style in lighting

● Intensity: A good portion of the scenes that take place in this play are taken place inside so the lighting intensity is not as important as it would be if there were a lot of scenes in and outside. The time of day is mainly told by the windows and how bright it is on the inside of the house.

● Color: This production uses color scrollers since it is a more modern play the technology that is new is appropriate to use in this case. It is the easier method to use because it allows up to fifteen color changes. The colors are chosen by our costume designer who is Tabitha.

● Distribution: This being a modern production. The lights are coming from the stage above. The director and set designer have decided since this play is based in 2004 there is not a need for footlights. The angle is generally at 45 degrees to give a more realistic sense of sunlight/daylight.

Properties of stage lighting

● Movement: The lighting in this production I believe would be more cool rather than warm because of the dramatic theme that takes place. Rebecca Gilman writes the play in a time period of downfall in America and she acknowledges this with the mentioning of Kristine losing her job with Arthur Andersen and the Enron scandal that took place. She made all of the characters deeply flawed and left you with no one to really root for in the theme. I believe the play is suppose to be somewhat dark and dramatic to really emphasize what was taking place in modern times.

Properties of stage lighting Cont.

● Ellipsoidal reflector spotlight: The “Flow Spot” will be used in Dollhouse really only on Nora since most of the relationships are centered around her. She is what the book describes as the person in the “limelight” of things

● Soft-edged spotlight: Since this play will be on a proscenium stage with an arch the Fresnel will be mounted on the walls close to the stage out of the way of the audience. It will be used for our production because it does have high-wattage spot so it can cover a small spot or cover a large area.

● Floodlights, strip lights, and border lights: These lights will be used in our play for the purpose of toning down the set and making the props look real. This is important because we want the audience to be able to relate to the set since it is a modern play.

● Automated or moving light:Our play will be using the Ellipsoidal Spotlight which is a moving light that has a independent shutter function.

Types of Stage Lights

Stage lights examplesTo the left is an example of how our Fresnel lights will be.

These blue lights are an example of Variable beam profile spot lights. That will be used for whoever is the leading performer on stage.

To the right is an example of what a Ellipsoidal Spotlight would look like in our play.

The play setting is in a cold winter season in December

2004, taking place in Chicago. Around this time of the

season many are well bundled in dark clothing due to the

very cold temperatures. Each character’s costume

selection is based on their personality throughout the play.

Costumes Design

● Nora Helmer- Enters scene in all knock off designer dark washed jeans, a white sweater, a plaid(burberry like)scarf, and white coat. Along with her black, knee high, designer boots with a slight wedge with her hair down and nicely curled. Accessorized with a necklace, earrings, bracelet, and watch.

● Iris- Dressed in a light blue loose shirt with permanent bleach and or cleaning supply stains, in light wash, loose fitting jeans, with some off white sneakers with her hair pulled back and out of her face.

● Terry- Wearing a maroon button down with a black suit, not wearing the suit coat, with some nicely polished black dress shoe.

● Pete- Wearing a white polo, khaki slacks with a brown belt, a tan coat, and some semi casual brown boots.

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Costume Design; Act 1

● Kristine- wearing some black sheer tights, a grey dress, with a red coat and some black closed toe heels with her hair straightened.

● Marta- Wearing a navy blue sweater with a grey coat, some dark jeans, black tennis, hair up in a messy bun.

● Macey- Wearing some black tights, a pink sweater, with her pink puffer coat over(missing the hood to the coat), pink boots, with her hair all over the place.

● Skyler- Wearing some jeans, a red longsleeve shirt, black boots, black coat, with her hair in a braid.

● Max- Wearing a blue long sleeve, black pants, black sneakers, a navy blue puffer coat, with his hair gelled.

● Raj Patel-Wearing a white button down, black slacks, black coat, and some black dress shoes, with his hair in a mess.

Costume Design; Act 1(continued)

● Nora-Wearing a white long sleeve sweater(as previously worn), nude lace bra, grey sweatpants, hair in a ponytail, with some light blue slippers

● Marta- Wearing some dark jeans, black tennis, hair up in a messy bun(as previously worn) and a red sweater.

● Kristine- wearing some black sheer tights, with a red coat and some black closed toe heels(as previously worn), with a black dress, and hair in a ponytail.

● Terry- Wearing a black suit, polished black dress shoe(as previously worn), with a blue button down, and black tie, with his suit coat.

● Pete-Wearing khaki slacks with a brown belt, a tan coat, and some semi casual brown boots(as previously worn), with a dark green polo.

Costume Design; Act 2

● *Wardrobe change*Terry- Stays in socks(as previously worn), wears jeans, and a brown sweatshirt.

● Raj- Wearing black slacks, black coat, and some black dress shoes, with his hair in a mess (as previously worn), with a grey button down.

Costume Design; Act 2(continued)

● Raj-Wearing black slacks, black coat, and some black dress shoes, with his hair in a mess (as previously worn), and a black hat.

● Kristine-wearing some black sheer tights, some black closed toe heels(as previously worn), a black and white color blocked dress, with her hair down and straightened.

● *Wardrobe add on* Kristine- Puts on red coat and black scarf.● Nora- Wearing some bright blue tight leggings, a pink off the shoulder

sweatshirt, ton of makeup, and a big afro looking wig.● Terry-Wearing a black tux, with black dress shoes.● *Wardrobe take off/on*Terry- Removes tux coat, Puts on Ronald Regan

mask, then removes the mask.● Pete- In a Pee Wee Herman type suit with a white undershirt, red tie, white

high socks with white polished dress shoes.

Costume Design; Act 3

● *Wardrobe take off* Nora- Removes her afro wig, leaving her hair in a bun.● *Wardrobe change* Nora- Wearing a pink off the shoulder sweatshirt, ton

of makeup (as previously worn), jeans, and white sneakers in hand, picks up her black coat.

● *Wardrobe take off* Nora- Removes coat

Costume Design; Act 3 (continued)

● The whole play takes place in the living room of Nora's house. It will be a nice room with expensive furniture set to show the spending nature of Nora.

● The set will also have the Christmas decorations with ornaments and gifts boxes to show the holiday season.

Set Design

● The day before Christmas.● The play opens in the living room with Nora bringing Christmas gifts. ● There will be nice wall with a fireplace and two doors, one for the study

room and one for the bedroom. Two side walls will be attached in a 120 degree angle to the main wall with the front door on the right wall and a window on the left.

● There will be a leather couch a small table and a chair in front of the fireplace. Adding more furniture could reduce the space of the stage.

Set Design:Act I

● The room will be decorated in a normal Christmas theme with a Christmas tree in the corner, covered in ornaments and lots of wrapped gifts underneath.

● Everything on the set will represent the childishness and the spending craze of Nora, since her husband Terry does not seem to have her spending in control. There will be pictures and frames of their wedding and their kids hanging on the wall. There will also be picture of Terry and Nora together to show their relationship dynamic.

Set Design:Act I (continued)

● Five days after Christmas● Same living room with a little changes as

Christmas is over now. ● The gifts under the tree are all gone now.

Few toys on the floor and some in the box● The act opens with Nora folding clothes.

So a small pile of clothes on the couch with some folded ones next to it.

Set Design:Act II

● The New Year’s Eve at Nora’s house.● The set stays the same for act III with slight changes such as the removal

of the christmas tree and all of the holiday decorations.

Set Design:Act III