Theatre History

Rip Van Winkle is a classic fairytale which will interestingly document life in the mid-20^th century and harmonize the efforts of well talented actors in making the story believable. The production will emphasize on a realism style which demands for audience contemplation with various roles which depict life in the past. A realism style will make the story to sound more natural and convincing to the audiences hence attracting their attention maximally throughout the play period. It will encourage prediction of future scenes hence developing a state of suspense which will attract their emotions and making them part of the acting too (Brocket, 1999).

The choice of actors will be achieved through monitoring both the creativity and intelligence of different characters in playing the assigned roles. Physique is also a key aspect in portraying different messages relevant to the characters’ roles hence will be paid attention to as well. I will choose Kelsey Grammer to play the lead character due to his productivity over Rip who is less productive though intellectual and liked by many people. Mr. Grammer has good qualities which make him equally likeable as Rip and he is intellectual, and able to arouse extreme emotions through acting like a tortured painter. Bebe Neuwirth will play alongside Mr. Grammer as his wife replacing the actor Dame who initially played as Rip’s wife. Her cold, icy interior and classic swan makes her more effective in playing the role by increasing her attractiveness on the stage. These two characters have been trained as stage actors hence choosing them for the various roles will not be taking chances on their performance. Moreover, Rip junior will act the son role due to his charming and completely serving qualities. Judith will play the daughter role due to her simple and earthy, artistic and nurturing qualities which are effective in developing a natural scene. She is also prone to bi-polar emotional outbursts which are suitable for a girlish nature. Channing Tatum will play the 1950s Korean War Naval Soldier due to his submissive nature and masculine body which will make the theatre interesting to young audiences. Nevertheless, Neil Patrick Harris will play the role of Mark in his late 20s due to his ambition for fun in life which makes him entertaining to the audiences.

The play will aim at encompassing most of the changes that took place in the mid-1970s where the eve of modernization was significantly awarded attention in the society especially by the upper-middle class Americans. The costumes suitable for this play will be hot pants and bellbottoms which depict the replacement of dresses that were used in the early 20^th century. The characters will play use of drugs such as beer and cocaine which replaced use of Amphetamines and Martinis during this era (Brown, 1995). The stage will be rarely lit whereby dim rays will be projected hence impacting a tunnel-like effect to the audiences’ vision. This aspect will effectively portray the mid-20^th century streets. Jazz music will also be played and neon lights projected on the stage to elude a sense of the front part of a bar in order to portray the mid-20^th century fun.

Since this play is supposed to elude a natural sense of life in the concerned era, I will focus on stage movements in the rehearsal process. Creativity being the key basis of awarding roles to various characters, the rehearsal process will not aim at dictating them on their performance, but to award them a chance of making the play communicative and interesting. My vision is to make the play believable through triggering physical telling rather than making it thematic.

References

Brocket, O. (1999). History of the Theatre. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon.

Brown, R. (1995). The Oxford Illustrated History of Theatre. Oxford: Oxford University Press.